For Immediate Release:

Thursday November 5, 2009

As more and more radio operators are discovering the value of Arbitron's PPM, Bridge Ratings' analysis of station performance in PPM-rated markets is uncovering listener behaviors not seen in the eight years of Bridge Ratings Market Analysis Tools.

Primarily used to generate true listener behavior culled from personal interviews, focus groups and electronic analysis, Bridge Ratings Market Analysis Tool measures radio station sampling over short consumption periods - often days and weeks - as well as listener passion for radio station content.

Over time, these bridges of consumer sampling and passion reveal true station appeal.

With the advent of the People Meter, listener reaction to station programming has been more eratic.

In a just-released study of the Dallas-Ft. Worth market CHR genre, evidence of immediate sampling of Cumulus' new CHR, KDBN-FM shows good passion and sampling during the station's first weeks of tracking by Bridge Ratings.

Clear Channel's perennial leader, KHKS-FM, shows a slight dip in sampling while passion for the Clear Channel CHR product barely wavers.

Sampling indexes are determined by looking at the station's sampling levels over time and comparing those averages to a month or week in question.

KHKS-FM's 1.03 index in August 2009 reflects the station's higher sampling rate than the average of the previous six months. It's .96 index in September/October, reflects some reduction in sampling at the hands of its new CHR competitor KDBN-FM (i93.3FM).

i93's surge (1.50 index) in the August/September period reflects a significant boost in awareness and sampling by virtue of the new format launch during that time. The 1.50 index indicates that sampling was 50% higher than the station's sampling in the previous six months.

Even this 50% increase number is significant. Historically, when stations change format to a highly mass-oriented format such as CHR, Country or Adult Contemporary, the strongest performers - those with the greatest potential to succeed - see indexes over 1.60.

Passion scores for both of this Dallas CHR's is more revealing.

Depsite the launch of a direct competitor, KHKS-FM retains its high passion scores from its primary listeners.

The Significance of Market Analysis Tools

Measuring sampling and passion in unison reveals a much deepr knowledge of a station's true consumer behavior far beyond electronic measurement.

Sampling and passion comparisons to direct competitors or stations in-market with significant sharing give program directors clarity which enables them to avoid over-reaction with programming changes which often results in eratic listener behavior.

Sample size: 1874, persons 12-34