Radio Presurvey Bulletin, Summer 2008
This bulletin provides radio stations, advertisers, agencies, and other users of Arbitron services with information regarding Summer 2008 survey specification changes and key dates.
PPM™ Markets
Additional PPM Market Added
Effective Summer 2008, the Continuous-Measurement radio markets below are converting from Diary measurement to electronic measurement using Arbitron’s Portable People Meter™ (PPM™). Audience estimates based on Diary measurement will not be available for report periods after Spring 2008 in these markets:
Chicago
Los Angeles
Middlesex-Somerset-Union
Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island)
New York
Riverside-San Bernardino
San Francisco
San Jose
Additional Information Available on PPM Markets
Information on other Arbitron PPM markets and on the Arbitron PPM service in general is available in the separate PPM Survey Bulletin. Information is also available at: http://www.arbitron.com/portable_people_meters/home.htm.
Market Definition Changes
No market definition changes are being implemented for the Summer 2008 survey.
Metro Definition Reevaluation Requests
Arbitron Metro Survey Area definitions are reevaluated on a decennial basis, taking into account updated commuting data published in the decennial census, as well as available data concerning listening patterns. Arbitron Metro Survey Area definitions may also be reevaluated at the request of report subscribers.
Subscribers should note, however, that Metro Survey Area definition changes in any market scheduled for conversion from Diary measurement to PPM measurement must be finalized within the twelve months prior to the market’s first Pre-Currency report period. Requests for Metro Definition reevaluations of any market scheduled for conversion to PPM should therefore be made more than 12 months in advance of Pre-Currency reporting. In addition, to ensure a smooth transition from Diary measurement to electronic measurement, market definition requests involving the addition or deletion of Metro counties (or county equivalents) will not be considered for any PPM Currency or Pre-Currency market until three years after the market’s first Pre-Currency report period, or until January 2011, whichever comes first. Arbitron will continue to implement changes involving the creation or consolidation of split counties (or county equivalents) in Diary markets that have been converted to PPM markets, provided the changes do not require the addition or deletion of the corresponding whole counties.
High Density Hispanic Area (HDHA) Criteria
Effective with the Spring 2008 survey, counties in Diary markets—other than those indicated below—became eligible for a High Density Hispanic Area (HDHA) when the county meets both of the following criteria:
- The county must contain at least one ZIP Code whose population is at least 40 percent Hispanic; and
- The proposed ethnically split portions of the county (HDHA andBalance) must have sufficient population, as a proportion of the total Metro, to appropriately be allocated an in-tab target of at least 21 diaries. An HDHA will be retained as long as the target for each portion of the county is at least 18 diaries.
In counties in the markets identified below (in which Arbitron has installed PPM panels), a county remains eligible for an HDHA during the Summer 2008 survey only if the following criteria are met:
- The county must contain at least one ZIP Code whose population is at least 25 percent Hispanic; and
- The proposed ethnically split portions of the county (HDHA and Balance) must have sufficient population, as a proportion of the total Metro, to appropriately be allocated an in-tab target of at least 21 diaries. An HDHA will be retained as long as the target for each portion of the county is at least 18 diaries.
Effective with the Fall 2008 survey period (which starts on September 18), the 40 percent threshold referenced above will apply in counties in all Metro Survey Areas.
Counties in which the 25 percent threshold will remain in effect (until Fall 2008) are those counties in the following Metro Survey Areas:
Atlanta
Chicago
Dallas-Ft. Worth
Detroit
Houston-Galveston
Los Angeles
Middlesex-Somerset-Union
Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island)
New York
Philadelphia
Riverside-San Bernardino
San Francisco
San Jose
Washington, DC
Discontinued Reports
Effective with the Summer 2008 survey, the Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island) Black Summary Data Set and San Francisco Black Summary Data Set are discontinued.
Expanded Total Line Reporting Options
In 2006, Arbitron introduced Total Line Reporting as an option for AM and FM stations that simulcast their programming 100%, including commercials and PSA’s. Listening for stations that request Total Line Reporting is combined and reported on a single estimate line with the call letters of the “primary” station selected by the combo (subject to meeting Minimum Reporting Standards).
Effective with the Summer 2008 survey, Arbitron is expanding the Total Line Reporting options to allow combinations of AM, FM, HD-Multicast, and streaming Internet stations that simulcast 100% (including commercials and PSA’s) to request Total Line Reporting.
- Total Line Reporting combos that include an AM or FM station must select an AM or FM station as the “primary” station.
- Separate estimates are not available for stations that receive Total Line Reporting.
- AM, FM, and HD-Multicast stations home to an Arbitron market may request Total Line Reporting for 100% simulcast partners home to the same Arbitron market or an adjacent Arbitron market, but may not request Total Line Reporting for stations home to different nonadjacent markets.
- Effective with the Summer 2008 survey, additional band indicators are being added to the previously available band indicators (i.e., AM and FM) to reflect Digital Radio stations. While separate estimates will not be published for Digital Radio stations in Arbitron’s Diary service, Arbitron’s Diary crediting procedures, effective Summer 2008, have been updated, where applicable, to reflect the addition of these new band indicators.
Format Descriptors
Effective with the Summer 2008 survey, Arbitron is updating its list of format descriptors to include Spanish Contemporary Christian.
Description of Methodology
Effective with the release of Summer 2008 Radio Market Reports, all links to Arbitron’s Description of Methodology contained in the Radio Market Report will provide access to a detailed version of the Description of Methodology. Previously, in some instances, links provided access to an abridged version. (All pertinent information previously contained in the abridged version will be included in the Radio Market Report.)
Diary Enhancements
Several minor changes are being made to the appearance of Arbitron’s survey Diary (for example, font changes) to enhance the Diary’s appearance.
Key Dates
| Survey | Survey Period | Station Information Packet (SIP) Mails to Station | Station Information Due Back to Arbitron | Station Name Preview Mails to Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer 2008 | June 26–Sept. 17 | 5/8/08 | 5/27/08 | 6/23/08 |
| Fall 2008 | Sept. 18–Dec. 10 | 7/31/08 | 8/18/08 | 9/15/08 |
| Winter 2009 | Jan. 8–April 1 | 11/20/07 | 12/8/07 | 1/5/09 |
| Spring 2009 | April 2–June 24 | 2/12/09 | 3/2/09 | 3/30/09 |
Station Information Updates During the Summer 2008 Survey
Please remember to notify Arbitron in writing immediately of any call letter, Station Name, or other facility changes that occur at your station during the survey (June 26–September 16). Station updates that should be forwarded to Arbitron include:
| Accepted Through | |
|---|---|
| Sign-On/Sign-Off Changes/Total Line Reporting Changes Spring Phase 2 ArbitrendsSM (Jun/Jul/Aug)* | July 23 |
| Summer Quarterly | September 17 |
| Call Letter Changes | September 17 |
| **Network Affiliation Changes | September 17 |
| Rep Changes | September 17 |
| **Station Name Changes | September 17 |
| Station Facility Changes | September 17 |
| Technical Difficulties | September 17 |
**Diary edit information is not retroactive and becomes effective upon our receipt.
Please address updates to:
Address:
Radio Station Relations
Arbitron Inc.
9705 Patuxent Woods Drive
Columbia, MD 21046-1572
Attention: Station Information
Fax: (410) 312-8619
Station information updates will be accepted through September 17. All updates will be acknowledged by e-mail, letter or postcard. If you do not receive an update confirmation, please contact Radio Station Relations at (410) 312-8062.
Station Information Profiles on file with Arbitron for the Summer 2008 survey can be reviewed online at www.ArbitronRadio.com, effective with the first day of the Summer 2008 survey . Click on the Station Information Profiles link, and enter the call letters of the station you want to review.
The policy and procedure amendment(s) set forth in this bulletin are hereby incorporated by reference into and deemed to amend and supersede in pertinent part the most recent Description of Methodology as published in the Local Radio Market Report or as otherwise furnished to subscribers.
For more detailed information on the topics in this bulletin, including the specific markets affected by Arbitron’s ongoing efforts to improve sample quality, please contact your local Arbitron sales representative. ArbitrendsSM is a service mark of Arbitron Inc. Portable People Meter™ is a mark of Arbitron Inc. PPM™ is a mark of Arbitron Inc.