Will Arbitron’s New Ratings System Mean Less Hip-Hop And Even More Nickelback On The Radio?

New York City’s urban radio stations got a rude shock when October’s Arbitron ratings–the listener-tracking system that determines whether radio stations can actually sell enough ads to remain in business–gave “mainstream pop and rock stations” a major (and unexpected) ratings boost. “These numbers could put us out of business,” a WBLS program director told the New York Daily News. “And it’s not just us. Listeners need to know this could threaten the future of black and Hispanic radio across the board.” The reason? A new way of monitoring listeners’ habits that “reads like a death warrant.”

Until this summer, Arbitron measured listening by having participants record it in diaries.

As of October, it switched to the “personal people meter” (PPM), with participants carrying an electronic recording device.

Under the diary system, WBLS was No. 1 among listeners 25 to 54, averaging 5.2% of the audience.

In the first PPM ratings, WBLS was No. 12, averaging 3%.

WBLS’s afternoon Wendy Williams show, Brown noted, fell from No. 1 out of the top 10.

“We’re the same station,” said Brown. “What happened?”

Arbitron has already taken lumps from radio stations for the buggy nature of the PPM system during its initial run this summer–though it is “still fine-tuning the system”–but the first month’s results in NYC have “[revived] fears the new system undercounts black and Hispanic listeners.” It’s definitely interesting that urban and Latin stations took such a uniform hit, and it wouldn’t be the first time that marketers have actively or inadvertently discounted non-white audiences. On the other hand, maybe people really do want more Colbie Caillat.

New “PPM” Ratings Do A Number On Urban Radio [NY Daily News]