Arbitron has sent out a notice to subscribers about a situation in Kansas City involving the website http://www.listenlonger.com/ that may have been set up to affect the ratings in May. The unidentified owners of the website are aggressively seeking PPM users so they can make an impact on ratings by contacting them. "If you know someone carrying a PPM, LET US KNOW using the form at the top-right of this page." The website tells listeners to sign up for "Get My Perks" because the station makes money off the program. Entercom stations use the Get My Perks program.
Arbitron says the website encouraged listeners to support a local station and "posted general information about ratings methodology and ratings data, and solicited information on PPM panelists." Arbitron says the website is not affiliated or endorsed by Arbitron and that Arbitron has taken substantial steps to ensure the integrity of the Kansas City PPM panel and all Arbitron audience estimates for the market.
Arbitron went on to say that, "PPM households that disclose their participation to the general public or to any unauthorized party become ineligible to participate. Such panelists? households are removed from the panel. Arbitron monitors social media sites daily, interacts with panelists on a regular basis, and has confidential processes in place to help identify panelists who may have disclosed their participation. We have also taken special measures in light of the Kansas City website to protect the integrity of in-tab panelists included in the recently-released May 2013 Kansas City data."
Following a review of the information available, Arbitron released the May 2013 Kansas City audience estimates as scheduled.
(6/17/2013 8:16:28 PM)
Commenters still seem to think this site was in any way created by a media company or was ever designed to unethically sway ratings. Not the case. I created ListenLonger.com for educational purposes only, and asked for panelists to contact me simply to learn more about the process and teach others. There was never intent to use panelists to affect ratings.
Arbitron and a local media company completely overreacted and created a story out of nothing.
Commenters still seem to think this site was in any way created by a media company or was ever designed to unethically sway ratings. Not the case. I created ListenLonger.com for educational purposes only, and asked for panelists to contact me simply to learn more about the process and teach others. There was never intent to use panelists to affect ratings.
Arbitron and a local media company completely overreacted and created a story out of nothing.
If major markets hadn't decided to live and die by the Arbitron ratings and thus spending all their time trying to affect them in any way possible this wouldn't happen. Be careful what you wish for...you're now getting it and this will probably spread elsewhere.
(6/17/2013 10:41:25 AM)
Call me when Arbitron finds a way to really track listeners. From my point of view, the ratings system is nothing but a protection racket that's designed to give all agency business to a few large groups and to hell with the rest of us!
(6/17/2013 10:29:33 AM)
Sounds like Arbitron has better investigators than the FBI. Let's put them in charge of national security.
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