Toronto radio is about to get a reality check. We're about to get a clearer, more accurate look at who's listening to what stations and how often.
9000 people across Canada are, as of today, wearing PPM devices. Here's what these PPM devices do, according to the BBM Canada press release.
The PPM is leading edge technology that allows BBM to follow television viewers no matter where they watch television, and record radio listening to one minute accuracy almost anywhere the listener is, in real time. The television system it replaces is wired to BBM panelist's television sets. The PPM is about the size of a pager and automatically detects inaudible codes that broadcasters embed in the audio portion of their programming using encoders provided by BBM. At the end of each day, the survey participants place the meters into docking stations that recharge the devices and send the collected codes via modem, to BBM for tabulation.
The old honour system radio diary system is dead. You can no longer listen to EZ-Rock and claim you were tuned into CBC Radio. On a daily basis, true data is being collected from these 9000 peeps. The truth will soon be known.
I'm guessing some Toronto stations are in for a shock. Some are not as popular as they think they are, while others have far more listeners than previously suspected.
Any guesses out there as to what this new PPM technology will teach us about Toronto radio?
