• by Frank Saxe , February 13, 2003

Radio ratings company Arbitron saw its Fall survey response rates drop 4.4% to 34.4% – the worst ever for a Fall book. The only book ever worse was last Summer’s survey, when response rates hit a 20 year low. That is according to an analysis by Katz Media, released Wednesday.

“These most recent declines in Arbitron response rates are alarming and mirror research trends in other industries,” said Shaunagh Guinness, VP/director of research for Katz Radio Group. Her number crunching found the average market consent rate dropped 6% in the Fall, compared to Fall 2001, which pushed the response rate down 4% in each market. In other words, people are still sending the diaries back once they agree to participate, but fewer and fewer people will agree to participate at all,” said Shaunagh.

The drop is across all markets, regardless of size and ethnicity. However, larger markets, and those with both Black and Hispanic weighting, show bigger declines in consent and the lowest overall response. Shaunaugh said markets in the top ten would have fared even worse if Arbitron didn’t offer ethnic diary keepers a bigger incentive to return their book.

Network Radio researchers are also worried about the “tumbling” Arbitron response rates. The Network Radio Research Council is voicing “extreme disappointment” with the falling response rate, which they say will impact the reliability of the RADAR network radio measurement service. Starting with the release of RADAR 76 in March, the survey will be solely dependent on diary research as Arbitron phases out its telephone research component. NRRC chair Len Klatt said the telephone system gave response rates that were 15% to 20% higher than what Arbitron is typically getting with diaries. “This concern is compounded now for the NRRC as this problem now extends to the RADAR,” said Klatt, adding, “We challenge Arbitron to undertake an aggressive plan to improve their diary response rates. Klatt is director of research for Premiere Radio Networks, which along with ABC Radio Networks, Westwood One, American Urban Radio Networks, and Dial-Global make up the NRRC.

Media Ratings Council executive director/CEO George Ivey said that the lower they go, the more likely they will be of service to buyers, explaining, “Although we do not know the true impact of these falling response rates, I believe the lower they go, the more likely projectability will be impacted.”