‘Nielsen To PPM… Come In, PPM… Over’

So, the big news yesterday for many radio stations was finding out that due to a migration to a new audio data collection site, Nielsen recently lost contact with 8% of installed PPM devices in 48 markets during the December survey. Whoopsie! The good news is, the other 92% of the meters were apparently unaffected.

Late yesterday Nielsen released a statement that read, “As the result of a move to a new audio data collection site last weekend, we discovered that 8% of the installed PPMs across the aggregate of 48 PPM markets lost connectivity and became inactive. This connectivity issue began in week one (11/3-11/9) of the December PPM monthly survey. Our Panel Relations Specialists have already been in contact with these homes and all affected panelists have now been sent new PPMs. As of today, 49% of the replacement meters are back online. We expect the balance to come online in the next several days.

We forecast the percentage of installed and fully operational meters eligible for in tab will be 97% for the month of December and 92% for week one of December across the aggregate of markets. Weighting will adjust for demographic and geographic imbalances. Therefore, buyers and sellers will be able to transact business with confidence. Please note that lower in-tab doesn’t equate to lower ratings. However, temporarily higher weights may contribute to more variation during the period of time it takes for these panelists to be back in-tab and fully accounted for.”

The statement concluded, “Nielsen is conducting an analysis to evaluate panel representation and impact to audience estimates. We will share the results of this analysis with you during the week of November 21 prior to the delivery of the Weeklies data for week one of December. Nielsen is committed to meeting high quality standards and we are taking steps to assure that these types of issues do not recur.”