6-17-14
Time will tell what, if anything, happens to the Univision employee who turned the ratings in Los Angeles upside down. Nobody has named the employee fired by Univision but many are wondering -- and speculating -- who it could be. The L.A. Times is reporting the person is a "programming executive" at popular Regional Mexican KSCA. And The Wall Street Journal says, "The employee at Univision-owned radio station KSCA was able to skirt Nielsen's guidelines that forbids media-affiliated employees from participating in their panels." The Times also reports the tip that bagged the Univision employee came from inside the radio station.
One of the first things every manager tells an employee is, "If you're ever contacted by a ratings firm, tell them you work for the radio station and report it to us right away." It appears this rogue Univision employee might have done completely the opposite -- and had a direct impact on the ratings in L.A. Ratings in big markets like Los Angeles play a major role in how radio is bought by ad agencies, with most buying a three-book average to avoid minor inconsistencies. Small changes in the ratings can translate into tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, shifting from one radio station to another. And at many stations ratings also impact bonuses on the programming side.
The total damage done to all stations in the market by this person's actions is still unclear and may be for some time. Nielsen is conducting an investigation that will look at the ratings as far back as a year. This entire nightmare for Nielsen shows just how vulnerable the ratings are when one or two households can have such a dramatic impact.
In L.A., on average, there are about 2,848 panelists participating in the ratings. The city is made up of approximately 12 million people. One L.A. owner told Radio Ink on Monday, "We haven't been told much, only to expect our ratings to go up."
All industry eyes will be on the numbers that come out today. In L.A., they will be interested, for sure, in the overall numbers, but more specifically, stations will be looking at the KSCA morning numbers for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Another L.A. manager tells Radio Ink the surge by that show is "now called into question."
Nielsen says, the May Week Four (Weeklies data) will be released today at 9 a.m. PT (noon ET). June 2014 Week One data will also be released along with the May 2014 data. Nielsen will issue revised Los Angeles data for the April 2014 report period on Thursday. All Los Angeles data releasing on June 17 and 19 will reflect an in-tab sample that excludes both households deleted by Nielsen.
(6/17/2014 12:19:52 PM)
In our market, albeit a small market, a radio station that buys the book is allowed to determine the weight of panelists selected from which counties in the market, which also skews the results.
Small sample groups, and questionable tactics for implementing the survey combine for a pretty bad scenario of credibility. I agree with the "Live by the Numbers - Die by the Numbers" mentality.
The radio ratings are a traveshamockery.
its time for radio to wake up. we need better creative! how long can we depend on a flawed system (arbitron/nielsen). radio needs to adopt the pandora ratings paradox. and while i'm at it, give AMs a translator, file an antitrust suit against soundexchange, nullify consolidation, bring back hooper & pulse. finally management and ownership simply needs to care more.
(6/17/2014 10:34:07 AM)
Ratings = Witchcraft!
(6/17/2014 9:36:59 AM)
"Our advertisers are getting spectacular results! Ratings? Don' need no stinking ratings!"
Make that happen and the issue is closed.
The mantra in radio has always been, "Live by the numbers, die by the numbers." In spite of that, buyers still put the greatest focus on numbers, pressuring stations to achieve greater rankings. Several years back in our market area one rep violated the non-participation rule and caused the book to be revised. That rep was not fired. Makes one wonder if there is sometimes complicity with station management.
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