Two Streaming Radio Stations Join Arbitron PPM Trial

  • March 19, 2002
Arbitron Inc. announced yesterday that two Philadelphia area radio stations have begun encoding their Internet-streamed audio signal for the U.S. market trial of the Portable People Meter (PPM). The two stations, WDEL-AM (1150) and WSTW-FM (93.7), are using separate Arbitron encoders to differentiate over-the-air audio from Internet-streamed audio. The distinct station identification codes - one for broadcast, one for the Internet - will allow the PPMs being carried by Philadelphia area consumers to distinguish between exposure to the over-the-air signal and exposure to the Internet-streamed audio. As Arbitron progresses into the second phase of the PPM trial, 45 radio stations, eight TV stations, 22 cable networks and 2 internet audio streams of radio stations in the Philadelphia market are now participating by encoding their signals using the latest generation of Arbitron encoders. Many of these outlets have been using Arbitron PPM encoders since August 2000.

The PPM is a pager-sized device that is carried by consumers. It automatically detects inaudible codes that TV and radio broadcasters as well as cable networks embed in the audio portion of their programming using encoders provided by Arbitron. At the end of each day, the survey participants place the meters into base stations that recharge the devices and send the collected codes to Arbitron for tabulation. The meters are equipped with a motion sensor that allows Arbitron to monitor the compliance of the PPM survey participants every day - a quality control feature unique to the Arbitron Portable People Meter in the realm of media research.

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