Arbitron: PPM Can Correctly Credit Multicast Listening

For broadcasters splitting their digital HD Radio signals into several channels, one question they’re asking is, “How can we get diary credit for that listening?” Arbitron says that’s no problem with its Portable People Meter system.
The audience research firm said in recent tests on the digital channels of a station in one of the top ten metros, separately encoded multicast channels did not conflict with the main channel’s encoding. In addition, the PPM correctly identified each of the multicast channels, according to the firm.
“It doesn’t even matter if a listener does not know the names or slogans that broadcasters are using to differentiate analog signals from digital signals or primary digital channels from multicast sub-channels, states Pierre Bouvard, president, Portable People Meter, Arbitron Inc. “With the PPM, each distribution stream can have a unique identification code. If a listener hears it, the PPM can identify it with near-perfect certainty.”
Previous tests with HD Radio technology have demonstrated that the system can recognize a PPM code in a multicast channel that is encoded at a bit rate as low as 12 kbps, says Arbitron.