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Seattle-Tacoma Radio Ratings: August 2015

I wonder how long it will take for the original Voltair to end up in my museum on Vashon. Selling to broadcasters is such a niche market let alone only the stations in a PPM market. With the number of units sold I would say that 25/7 did very well. I do know that there are those waiting for the new Neilson encoder.

How many points separate KQMV, KISW, KJR-FM, KRWM and KIRO-FM, about a Voltairs worth? If any of them are using Voltair I double dare them to turn it off. But then again that's just the beauty contest numbers. The real number are there target audience the station sells.

I like Optimod they are my processor of choice. Sorry it took a box that grunges the audio to wake Nielson up. We will have to see how things look in the spring. Till then I would expect Voltair sales to go down, they pretty much sold to everyone that's going to buy one. But based on the sales numbers it is a safe bet that more stations on that list are using a Voltair than those not using it. I think it's a safe bet that KING-FM is not using a Voltair. Now that the Voltair horse race is even it's back to good old programming and pulling in the listener.

Voltair is like that shadow creature on Doctor Who. I closed my eyes and there was one, blinked and there were 5, and now they are every where. You need to go to Aberdeen to get away from it.
 
Question: is the Voltaire that you all are speaking of a processor, or is it another box that injects some sort of signal that is read by PPMs better?

I read the Orban article and it hints at things, but you engineering guys may as well be talking Greek for what I understand the problem is with the Voltaire box.
 
boombox4 said:
Question: is the Voltaire that you all are speaking of a processor, or is it another box that injects some sort of signal that is read by PPMs better?
Click to expand...

Very simplistically, the Voltaire looks at the audio in the range where the Nielsen PPM encoder inserts its watermarks (sometimes called "tags" or "codes"). Since the level of the audio in the range used has to be high enough to mask the tag, the Voltair enhances the level to allow the tags to be inserted and to make them inserted at a higher level.

The result is supposed to be more detections of the PPM tags by the meter carried by each participant in the panel.

So it's a processor that enhances the levels where a tag can be inserted so the tag is either more frequent or more "legible" by the PPM respondent devices.
 
xmtrland said:
I wonder how long it will take for the original Voltair to end up in my museum on Vashon. Selling to broadcasters is such a niche market let alone only the stations in a PPM market. With the number of units sold I would say that 25/7 did very well. I do know that there are those waiting for the new Neilson encoder.

How many points separate KQMV, KISW, KJR-FM, KRWM and KIRO-FM, about a Voltairs worth? If any of them are using Voltair I double dare them to turn it off. But then again that's just the beauty contest numbers. The real number are there target audience the station sells.

I like Optimod they are my processor of choice. Sorry it took a box that grunges the audio to wake Nielson up. We will have to see how things look in the spring. Till then I would expect Voltair sales to go down, they pretty much sold to everyone that's going to buy one. But based on the sales numbers it is a safe bet that more stations on that list are using a Voltair than those not using it. I think it's a safe bet that KING-FM is not using a Voltair. Now that the Voltair horse race is even it's back to good old programming and pulling in the listener.

Voltair is like that shadow creature on Doctor Who. I closed my eyes and there was one, blinked and there were 5, and now they are every where. You need to go to Aberdeen to get away from it.
Click to expand...

I doubt any of those stations are using it. If they are, I doubt turning it off will make much difference. The top 5 in Seattle has been pretty steady for as long as I've been watching. If one cluster installs a Volter then sees a major spike in ratings, then we may be onto something. I think KJR-FM's success has more to do with the loss of KMCQ.
 
104.5 is not a rim-shot signal- just a class C2 from Cougar Mtn (same an KNHC)- covers Tacoma - Everett with a city-grade signal The stations from S. Sound 102.9/93.3/and now 96.1 etc. would be a rim-shot
 
DavidEduardo said:


The Nielsen data shows that, while the Voltair increases the frequency of tag insertion in some types of program content, it does not have any material impact on quarter hour credits.

In any event, Nielsen is pre-empting the Voltair with a new version of the PPM encoder to be rolled out starting in a few months.

Of course, there will be the Voltair 2.0, likely to be announced at the NAB radio conference in a coupla' weeks.

And then there is the secretive but very definitely "in progress" MRC evaluation of whether the use of the Voltair constitutes ratings distortion. The MRC will likely also give Nielsen recommendations on updating the PPM encoder, I believe.

And then there is the now-overdue final decision from Numeris in Canada about the temporary ban on Voltair use in that country.
Click to expand...

I love this.
Nielsen says the device makes no difference- however there is a committee to determine if in fact it works, a country that bans it because they think it does, and Nielsen themselves rolling out a new version of their product that they hope renders the device (that they say doesn't work) ineffective.
I think stations that use it should have to disclose it to Nielsen so that it can be a footnote in the ratings report and we advertisers can see who is and isn't using it when we make our media buys.
 
CarAgencyGuy said:
I love this.
Nielsen says the device makes no difference- however there is a committee to determine if in fact it works, a country that bans it because they think it does, and Nielsen themselves rolling out a new version of their product that they hope renders the device (that they say doesn't work) ineffective.
I think stations that use it should have to disclose it to Nielsen so that it can be a footnote in the ratings report and we advertisers can see who is and isn't using it when we make our media buys.
Click to expand...

The problem is that nobody really uses the eBook radio ratings reports, and there is no printed book. Besides that, nobody ever looked at the front of the book, either.

The real issue is that the Voltair's metering shows increased tag insertions. Neilsen's data shows that whether that is true or not, it does not affect the individual quarter hour crediting. It only takes 5 tages detected to get credit for a quarter hour, and in some cases just 3. So adding tags in minutes that already had them does noting to enhance share levels.

The MRC is looking at whether the device constitutes ratings distortion. Numeris is waiting for it to be sorted out by US broadcasters and Nielsen. In the meantime, Nielsen is jumping ahead to build a better encoder as the old one is essentially using 15 year old technology used back when the PPM was being tested in England, Wilmington and Philly.
 
Voltair, Shmoltair, who cares... look your station is getting its ass handed to it because A, your product sucks. B, your PD is joke and couldn't program a VCR. C, your jocks are awful and don't know how to work a clock and rock qtr hours. Or D - All of the above. This is the game we play and so put on your big girl panties and deal. The meters are all ready in the market YOUR job as a GM or PD is the get all the meters you can. No silly little rack mount machine will get you meters. If you have a good product and it's well executed on air then you should be fine. It's when stations have NO identity, no quality leadership, lack of vision or a clear vision I should say, that's when things get wonky. Hey maybe, I don't know just maybe folks that are seeing some awesome and HUGE numbers are those that are busting their asses and doing a great job. You don't get to be Top 3 or Top 5 in this market in ANY day part with out hard work, talent and a great staff.
 
I love that people can't do math any more. 1000 Voltair units sold. They only work in Markets measured with the PPM meter. So that's 48 markets surveyed with PPM. If 1000 units were sold then on Average 20 stations per market are using Voltair. So I would say it is safe that more than half of the stations in the 48 PPM markets are using the Voltair. Simple math, no gut feelings. I would bet money the top ten in Seattle use Voltair. I would double down and say that Even KHHO runs a Voltair. Just look at units sold to see how much the Voltair has penetrated the markets surveyed by PPM. If a station spends $15,000 on a processor they are going to use it. I would expect Voltair sales to decline with the markets they can sell to saturated and stations in the PPM market that have not bought, waiting for the new Nielsen box.

1000 voltair units sold, divided by 48 equals 20.8 units per PPM market on average. Some may have more, some less. To say Seattle is the market using less is an inaccurate assumption.

Yes you have to have the Listener tune you in first, so programming and talent are very important. But the PPM meter is the one that gives you credit for the listener tuning in. I'm sure Nielsen has a grasp of who is using it and who is not. After all they are good with numbers and can probably do the math.

How many stations of a like format will add the same song or even play it within the same hour. Same applies to PPM gaming. One does it and the others follow. Even if 25/7 sold only 900 units that would still indicate that half the stations in the 48PPM markets are using a Voltair.
 
I'll throw this out there just for laughs: It's very unlikely that non-commercial stations use Voltair. They certainly don't have a big motivation. Yet in many major markets, they're beating stations that use it. And most of these non-commercial stations are running programming like news/talk or uncompressed music, the very formats that critics claim get hurt without Voltair. How can that be?

Imagine if KUOW or KING used Voltair.
 
I do not think that KING-FM, KUOW, KPLU or KBCS uses a Voltair. I would agree with you on that. It's that extra .1 to .3 stations are willing to pay $15,000 for. KUOW and KING-FM stations are almost niche formats in themselves. Most commercial stations find it hard to adopt the KUOW or KPLU cadence in delivery, But that style does draw listeners. Most non-coms don't have to sell their format, it's a different model that allows them to operate a format that may not be able to compete in style if commercial stations duplicated it exactly. Don't get me wrong KUOW enjoys good ratings, which I bet reflects on sponsor announcements, but they also have Fund raisers. Comparing non-coms to commercial is difficult especially for me an engineer to spell it out.

In two years or less this will be a non issue if the new Nielsen encoder pans out. I find it interesting that a company with a niche product to a very selected group of stations, has most likely reached their sales goal in one year. Hopefully they will come out with a software plug in that will make it a kick-ass AGC so it will still be useful.

25/7 sold around 1000 of these units to radio stations in only 48 markets for $15,000,000.00, in less than a year of the product being out in the market. How can that be? Bet TFT wishes they developed a product like that.
 
xmtrland said:
Comparing non-coms to commercial is difficult especially for me an engineer to spell it out.
Click to expand...

Then let's talk about it in terms of engineering. The main advantage of Voltair is to improve tag recognition for the station. Talk radio programmers believe they've been at a disadvantage because their content is mainly speech, which is less compressed than music. So they feel they would get better ratings if their tags were better recognized, and Voltair helps them. But KUOW's programming is also mainly speech. Why is this not a problem for them, or other non-coms, while it is for certain commercial stations?
 
That's like asking why don't commercial stations change to sponsor announcements and pledge drives. Overall has KUOW gone up or down the last 6 months? If you have ever worked for a non-com versus commercial station then you know the difference. There is even a difference in how they justify purchases and engage new technology.
 
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