This letter was sent on Friday, September 26, 2008, to General Managers in Houston-Galveston.
Dear Houston-Galveston Broadcaster:
During the past several days, Arbitron has been in contact by telephone or home visit with many of our Houston-Galveston panelists. Panelists have been very forthcoming with our Panel Relations Specialists and Member Representatives, sharing their personal experiences during Hurricane Ike and its aftermath. Panelists have indicated they are trying to return to normalcy in their lives, which includes wearing their meters and meeting compliance expectations. Data received from meters (including In-Tab and performance metrics) confirm that panelists have been returning to their routines of wearing their meters. Arbitron representatives are continuing to communicate with our panelists while being mindful of their current challenging life conditions.
Data from October Week One (September 18-September 24), including In-Tab and performance metrics and reporting options, were evaluated this week. As cited in previous correspondence, Arbitron makes every attempt to produce a radio market survey, taking into consideration the physical and economic impact of an event of this type and our ability to reach respondents in the markets affected. However, we will refrain from publishing audience estimates if conditions so extensively impede our ability to place or receive sample that we are unable to produce audience estimates in which we have confidence. We also will consider input from subscribers concerning their interest in receiving a report.
Regarding October Week One, next-day preliminary In-Tab has continued to improve as panelists return home and power and telephone service is restored. Next-day In-Tab for September 24 was considerably higher than previous days and has been increasing each day since the low mark of approximately 100 on September 13, compared to a pre-Ike In-Tab of approximately 1,100. Although we are seeing a continued increase in In-Tab, it is not yet at an acceptable level for reporting. Therefore, based on the information we have collected and analyzed for September 18-September 24, Arbitron will not issue a weekly report for October Week One.
For the abbreviated September and October 2008 surveys, the following services will be available for the Houston-Galveston market: Summary Dataset for third-party processors, PPM Analysis Tool, Arbitron eBook, TAPSCAN Legacy, SmartPlus/IRS and Corporate Roll-up. We are still assessing a revised delivery date and will let you know as soon as that has been determined. Several new Web-based Arbitron software applications are unable to run the abbreviated PPM survey data for Houston-Galveston. TAPSCAN Web, The PDA Web Preference Level Trend Report and the 18+/21+ AQH Audience Composition Report will require modifications to run the September and October 2008 PPM surveys for Houston-Galveston. No other Arbitron PPM markets are affected.
Here is a recap of our plans for the September and October Monthly and Weekly Reports:
Sincerely,
Jay Guyther
Senior Vice President, Ratings Services
This letter was sent on Friday, September 19, 2008, to General Managers in Houston-Galveston.
Dear Houston-Galveston Radio Broadcaster:
I write this e-mail with the utmost hope that you, your families and your employees are safe and your stations were minimally impacted by the Hurricane Ike.
The storm moved through your market during the September 2008 PPM reporting period. I want to provide you with an update on the Houston-Galveston panel and a brief summary on how we are handling the survey process in Ike's aftermath. In addition, I will share our plans for Houston-Galveston's September weekly and monthly data releases and give you contact information for people to call who can answer questions about the hurricane's potential impact on your station and market.
The Survey Process and the Hurricane
Our Sampling and Panel Management departments have monitored the storm since early last week. With the likelihood of an impact on the Houston-Galveston market on Wednesday, September 10, we briefed Recruiters and Panel Relations Specialists calling households in the market. Calling to PPM Houston-Galveston households was suspended on Thursday, September 11, and remained suspended until September 17.
Local market conditions (at a county level), panel management activities and panelist contact have been and continue to be closely monitored. We have also been monitoring the meter data coming back to Arbitron, including In-Tab and performance metrics. Panelists, whether they have made it back home or are still away, have slowly begun to check in with us. We are also beginning to contact panelists whose PPM data has come back to Arbitron. In all cases when we contact the panelist we are mindful of their current conditions.
Many stations are on the air and encoding. Arbitron's engineers have reached out to station engineers and are available 24/7 to help with any encoding questions or concerns.
Meanwhile our Sampling, Interviewing, Panel Management, Encoding Operations, Report Processing, Research and Product departments are meeting frequently (as often as hourly) to ensure that we have the latest information on the panel so we can implement survey process adjustments as needed. We will communicate our status with you regularly over the next several weeks.
September Reporting Period
Arbitron makes every attempt to produce a radio market survey, taking into consideration the physical and economic impact of the event and our ability to effectively sample respondents within the market. We will refrain from publishing audience estimates if conditions impede our ability to sample so extensively that we are unable to produce audience estimates in which we have confidence. We also consider input from subscribers concerning their interest in receiving a report.
Based on the information we have collected and analyzed since Hurricane Ike's landfall on September 13 (including the number of stations on-air and encoding, Daily In-Tab and listening data received), there will be no weekly reporting for September Week 4 (September 11-September 17). In other words, the weekly report for the fourth week of September will not be published.
We are planning an abbreviated three-week September monthly survey (August 21-September 10). This abbreviated three-week report will require special processing. We will provide you with the release date as soon as we know how much additional processing is required.
We will continue to keep you informed of the survey progress as we move into October's reporting period.
Who To Call List
Your Arbitron Account Manager, Jan Bournstein, is always available to take your calls and work through your concerns. Jan can be reached at (972) 385-5398 or jan.bournstein@arbitron.com.
Station programming, simulcasting information, technical difficulties and encoding questions should be directed to Arbitron as follows:
We salute the radio broadcasters of Houston-Galveston for their invaluable service to the community in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
Sincerely,
Jay Guyther
Senior Vice President, Ratings Services
Last updated: 9.26.08