1/14/2004
TORONTO - The board of directors of BBM Canada unanimously voted to adopt the Portable People Meter as the standard technology for electronic measurement announced Chris Pandoff, chairman of the board, announced today.
As BBM expands its meter measurement to new markets or replaces the current Picture Matching Technology (PMT), PPM will be the technology of choice, says the company.
"We are ecstatic about the Board's decision", states Jim MacLeod, president and CEO of BBM. "It solidifies what we have long believed is the only way we can address the next generation of wireless technologies in the marketplace and the changes in the viewing and listening habits of our audiences.
"The ability, in a wireless world, for audiences to view or listen while being mobile, makes PPM the only technology which will accurately capture the data. It's time for audience measurement to get out of the home", said MacLeod.
"BBM has believed strongly in the potential of PPM since we first acquired the exclusive rights to the technology in 1992. The market trials in the U.S. and the favourable results of our ramp-up in Montreal and the balance of Quebec have shown PPM to be stable and reliable", said Ron Bremner, BBM's vice-president of television.
"PPM builds on the success of PMT technology, and addresses next generation technologies", said Pandoff. "The board shares the view that the future television viewer will be like the radio listener of today - wireless and mobile. The board believes PPM is a major step forward in capturing audience exposure more accurately.
"The board has also noted that that there has been a demonstrated interest in adopting electronic measurement for radio in the future."
The Portable People Meter, developed by Arbitron Inc. is a pager- sized device that is carried by a representative panel of television viewers which automatically detects inaudible codes that broadcasters embed in the audio portion of their programming using encoders provided by BBM and Arbitron. At the end of each day, the survey participants place the meters into base stations that recharge the devices and send the collected codes to BBM for tabulation. The PPM can measure exposure to any electronic media, which has audio that can be encoded: television, cable, and radio, even cinema advertising and in-store media.
Tests in the U.S. and Canada have shown the PPM system is capturing TV viewing and radio listening that is not being measured by current audience measurement systems.
The board encouraged BBM members to develop a strategy (in appropriate markets) to adopt PPM as an alternative to diary measurement as it feels that the PPM technology will more accurately capture audience exposure and will be able to deal with new home entertainment technologies.
BBM Canada, Sondages BBM in Qu�bec, is a non-profit, member-owned tripartite industry organization, which has been operating since 1944. It provides ratings information for both radio and television to broadcasters, advertisers, and their agencies, representing almost 1,000 member companies across Canada. BBM's evolving meter service enjoys the support of all conventional private broadcasters in Canada (where meter services exist), a large number of specialty channels, and agencies that represent over $1 billion in annual television billings. www.bbm.ca.
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