Radio Top 50 May Be PPM Markets By 2007

Arbitron has proposed to follow up its April 2006 Houston commercialization of the portable people meter with Philadelphia and three other markets in 2007; by 2011, all of the top 50 markets could be PPM markets, Mediaweek writes. But the change will be anything but predictable. PPMs show a 20 percent diminishment in quarter-hour ratings, the audience measure the industry uses to set rates for commercials, which broadcasters may be slow to embrace. On the other hand, Arbitron's Houston PPM findings show that most radio stations in Houston have twice as many weekly listeners compared to diary measurement.