The Arbitron and Eurisko Radio People Meters will proceed to the next
selection stage in RAJAR’s moves to introduce electronic
radio measurement in the UK.

Three systems were subject to recent tests and the field has now narroweed down to two PPM systems, with Arbitron along with the Eurisko system getting the go ahead to progress to the next stage.

Arbitron, which is represented in the UK by TNS, has worked to develop the
radio audience measurement and marketing intelligence solution in a
three-way pioneering Audiometer Validation Test by RAJAR in
November 2004.

TNS Sector Head of the TV and Radio Division Mike Gorton says: “We are delighted to learn that PPM technology has passed the
requirements set by this stage of the RAJAR tests. We also welcome the
recent publication of RAJAR’s consultation document following its industrywide
survey on the future requirements of radio audience measurement.

“We are confident that PPM is in a strong position to meet the requirements
identified, most noticeably in its use of encoding within the broadcast. This
allows the accurate identification of the platform on which the station is being
listened to, and whether time shift listening has occurred. We feel both are
vital components of future audience measurement for TV as well as radio, as
we enter an era in which the public’s consumption of broadcast entertainment
is increasingly non-linear and multi-platform. We look forward to working with
RAJAR on the next stage of testing.”

TNS has already put PPM systems into practice for VRT in Belgium and supported BBM’s recent switch to PPM currency measurement in Montreal.