Some broadcasters are worried Arbitron's coming Total Audience Measurement service will help Internet radio pureplay services "siphon off radio ad dollars," Inside Radio reports. That service will measure both over-the-air and Internet radio listening, providing an "apples-to-apples comparison" for advertisers.
"Many buyers today complain that it’s difficult to buy online audio ads," writes Inside Radio, "because the metrics are much different than what’s used by radio stations for on-air spot sales." Arbitron's new service aims to remedy that problem by creating one metric for online and AM/FM listening (RAIN coverage here and here).
But that reportedly makes some broadcasters anxious that advertisers will spend more money on pureplay webcasters and less on broadcast radio. Slacker has already confirmed that they've had discussions with Arbitron (more here).
Because Arbitron's new service relies on participation from broadcasters, their fears could apparently delay the ratings platform's launch. The company previously said they hoped to roll-out the new ratings platform next year, but now Inside Radio writes that Arbitron "isn’t able to say whether its web ratings will go live in 2012."
COO Sean Creamer tells Inside Radio that the Total Audience Measurement service "will be ready when our customers are ready to embrace it."
Currently, the sole ratings service for the U.S. Internet radio industry is Triton Digital Media’s Webcast Metrics (formerly known as Ando Media).
You can find more coverage from Inside Radio by subscribing to their daily newsletters here.
Comments