June 13, 2008
RADIO'S NEW PPM WORLD
Chris Huff
Assistant Program Director/Music Director
96.3 KSCS
Dallas/Fort Worth
 
Arbitron's People Meter has been the standard in Houston and Philadelphia for over a year now, so who better to discuss its effects on programming than KKBQ-Houston's Johnny Chiang and WXTU-Philadelphia's Bob McKay. Throw in Bob Michaels of MediaSense (and formerly of Arbitron) as a moderator, and what followed was a valuable discussion of how the PPM truly operates and what its telling us.   McKay cited the strength of special event-type programming, such as a live performance from a core artist, as being able to measurably increase listening.   Both McKay and Chiang stressed how, now more than ever, brevity is critical in all aspects of programming.  Everything from jock talk to sweepers must be concise and focused.   All three agreed that despite their experience, programming for metered listeners is still in its infancy and therefore there is no such thing as an "expert" at programming in a PPM world.
Johnny Chiang had this to say about the panel at CRS 39:
"It was highly rewarding to take part in the programmers' PPM panel at CRS this year.  Not only was it interesting to share my experiences and ideas with Bob McKay of WXTU, but it was inspiring to see so many other programmers interested in the future, and present, of radio ratings."