Radio Audiences in Europe PSB Audience New Measurement Systems

1. Radio Audiences in Europe PSB Audience New Measurement Systems Alexander Shulzycki European Broadcasting Union First Cross-Radio Conference, Frascati, Italy, 29 May 2009

2. PSB National Radio Share and Long Term Change - 2007 Average share in 2007: 38.8

3. PSB National Radio Share and Long Term Change - 2008 Average share in 2008: 39.1

4. Shareof the new supports in the volume of listening ALL radio % Traditional supports Aged 13-19 86.2 % Traditional supports 13.8 % new supports Téléphone mobile Ordinateur Baladeur multimedia Poste TV Total new supports 2.7 %

5. Socio-demographic characteristics of the new supports users L'auditoire sur les nouveaux supports est plutôt masculin, majoritairement âgé de 13 à 19 ans et inactif. 14.1 % des élèves et étudiants ont déjà écouté la radio via un téléphone mobile, un ordinateur, la télévision ou un baladeur multimédia.

6. Current methods for measuring radio audiences • Recall – a rotating sample is asked what they were listening to the day before. (telephone or face-to-face interview) • Diary – usually a seven day form that people fill out themselves • For both systems, The drawbacks are obvious: • reliance on memory ! • consistency of sample (recall) • response rates, station identification, etc. • the typical listening interval is 15 minutes Other traditional research techniques include focus groups, online panels, CATI Surveys, etc.

7. The new passive systems for measuring radio audiences • The Radiometer(GfK/Telecontrol) – a watch-type device is worn and receives and records audio signals. The recordings are then matched against a central server to identify the program. • The Portable People Meter(Arbitron PPM) – a pager-type unit is carried and receives audio. Each broadcaster transmits an inaudible code which allows the device to identify the station • The Media Monitor(Eurisko NOP World) – Similar to Radiometer and can collect additional information (location, involuntary listening) The PPM requires all broadcasters to participate, but audio-matching is more complicated.

8. The PPM System Hardware Personal Docking Station Station Encoder HH Data Collection(Modem) Unit Portable Meter

9. PPM Market Rollouts in The US

10. Advantages of new systems • More complete data and more granular data • More accurate information – (reduction of false positives and false negatives) • Better information on out-of-home listening • Identify listening across all platforms • Harmonization across national systems • Application to other media Broadcasters will be able to track listener behavior more accurately

11. Disadvantages of new systems • Higher costs for broadcasters (hardware, software) • More information to process – more staff/cost, analysis SW • Short-term disruption of audience analysis • Long-term winners and losers • Acceptance by listeners not proven • Technology risk Research companies and advertisers are most keen for change while broadcasters have remained reluctant.

12. Broadcaster needs • Commercial radio broadcasters need better data for their advertisers and want to identify target groups more accurately • Public radio needs to understand the usage of their services and know their reach. (Remit justification) • All radio channels need to measure consumption through new digital platforms. • All radio channels can potentially benefit from better information about their listeners. Although many established broadcasters are not enthusiastic about introducing new measurement systems, there are clear long-term benefits.

13. Developments in Europe • Switzerland has fully switched to measuring radio listening with an electronic device, the Radiocontrol watch, in 2000. • In Belgium, VRT has used the PPM to measure radio and TV exposure since 2003. Panel size is about 1000 individuals. • Norway launched a PPM system in May 2006. It the official currency for all national radio channels. • DR introduced PPM in 2008. • UK has delayed an adoption plan.

14. Developments in Europe - CH Sample of minute-by-minute data from French-speaking Switzerland: Graph demonstrates importance of informational programs to radio audiences (the rises in the curve). Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. more people listen to the radio than had been previously assumed.

15. Developments in Europe - Norway • Daily reach of radio increased • The highest increase was registered for 12-19 year olds • key benefits for understanding listeners: • Continuous minute by minute data with daily reports • Distinguish among media platforms: FM, digital, mobile, web • Distinguish between live and time shifted; home vs. outside • Better analysis of individual programs and audience flow between programs ...

16. Developments in Europe - UK • The UK Roadmap: • In late 2004, a plan leading to electronic measurement was announced by the UK radio industry. • Companies submitted proposals in 2005; extensive national field tests were conducted with Arbitron and Eurisko • Parallel surveys, diaries and meters, ran between April and October 2006. • Project stopped last year after £3 million+ investment

17. Developments in Europe - UK “The decision by the RAJAR Board to draw a line under its current investment in the experimental electronic measurement panel in London, was unanimous. Following a review of the first year’s research it was felt that the pace of change and innovation within the industry needed swifter action than electronic measurement is able to offer at this juncture. It has therefore been agreed ...to cease further data collection from the end of June 2008, and to focus solely on analysing the data already obtained. The Board has also concluded that electronic measurement will not form part of the 2009 RAJAR contract due to significant concerns regarding issues of panellists’ behaviour and the feasibility of meter measurement to deliver a credible UK currency for the entire industry, at an affordable cost.”

18. PSB National Radio Share and Long Term Change - 2008

19. Conclusion Advanced audience measurement systems for radio are available but implementation has been slow. Public Service Broadcasters have been leading efforts to introduce new effective measurement systems. Better research is important to PSBs to understand and serve their audiences better, not to measure advertising effectiveness. • Better research often has a direct impact on programs. (e.g. overlap) A variety of methodologies and techniques will be necessary to gauge new listening patterns. * * *

20. Future Measurement Systems “Unambiguous measurement requires us to measure consumer engagement in a manner that is not subject to linguistic, semantic, and interpretive errors. The most direct and accurate way to measure KPIs is directly at the brain where we can gather data before it is subject to cognitive reformulations and expressive biases.” “Market mix models that utilize the KPIs based on direct measurements at the brain result in vastly superior predictive power, and vastly increased forecasting capability. The next generation of elasticity computations is based on direct measurements at the brain.” Source: Nielsen Media Research - Methods of Neuromarketing Dr. A. K. Pradeep / NeuroFocus * * *