Launch of Online Radio Ratings

Arbitron Inc. and comScore Media Metrix have announced the launch of comScore Arbitron Online Radio Ratings, a new measurement service designed to provide traditional broadcast ratings for the online radio industry.

Data will be released monthly and the first estimates from the service will be released next week. America Online's AOL Radio Network; Yahoo!'s LAUNCHcast; and Microsoft's MSN Radio and Windowsmedia.com have signed on as charter subscribers.

The service is based on a subset of approximately 200,000 US participants from the comScore global consumer panel, whose behaviour (including online radio listening) is passively and continuously captured by comScore. It will provide customers with Average Quarter Hour and Cume audience estimates for 38 demographics and 15 standard broadcast dayparts, allowing planners and buyers to utilise the same metrics for online as for traditional radio.

Lynn Bolger, Executive VP, Agency Development at comScore Media Metrix says the service is a critical step in the continued commercialization of the fast-growing medium. Bill Rose, VP of Arbitron New Ventures, comments 'We are combining Arbitron's expertise in radio ratings with comScore's online measurement capabilities to provide the numbers that agencies need to evaluate online radio in the same terms as traditional broadcast media'.

Microsoft Product Manager Chris Korol says that the two companies are well respected by agencies and advertisers and therefore provide the credibility needed for online radio measurement.

The average weekly audience for persons aged 12+, Monday through Sunday, 6AM-Midnight will be published each monthly on the Arbitron Web site at www.arbitron.com . comScore Media Metrix's site is at www.comscore.com/metrix

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

• comScore Media Metrix
• All news