PPM Contract for Norwegian Radio

Norway has become the first country to use Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) for commercial radio ratings. A Steering Committee of the Norwegian National Radio has signed a five-year contract with TNS Gallup, a member of the worldwide TNS group, to install a panel of 400 people from Q1 2006.

An agreement of intent foreshadowing the contract was announced in DRNO in April (www.mrweb.com/drno.news 3985.htm ).

The PPM system will gather continuous information on the radio listening habits of all Norwegians, and will be provided by TNS through a licensing and royalty agreement with Arbitron.

Steering Committee Chairman Geir Jangås points to the importance and difficulty of getting reliable radio audience figures, particularly with the increase in Internet-based radio. 'It is gratifying that Norway is in the forefront in adopting new measurement tools. I believe that the PPM data will contribute to strengthening the position of radio in the minds of the advertisers. We will be able to deliver far better and more detailed listening figures and data that not only are more useful for advertisers and agencies, but also for programming our radio stations'.

The PPM's ability to measure and identify all broadcasts wherever and however received was a key factor in the decision. Other audience measurement systems, including one based on audio matching, were considered. Mike Gorton, Head of TV and Radio at TNS says the advance of the PPM reflects 'the increasingly personal and multiplatform nature of broadcast consumption in the 21st century'.

Singapore, Belgium and Canada already use the device as part of their measurement of TV audiences. Tests have been conducted in more than 15 countries, and commercial license agreements signed covering more than 30 countries. Arbitron is on the web at www.arbitron.com and TNS Gallup at www.tns-gallup.no

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

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