Yahoo Wins in First Edition of Arbitron’s New Online Ratings ‘Book’

Yahoo’s Launchcast won the race for both cume and average quarter hour persons in the first release of audience ratings from Arbitron and comScore Media Metrix.
The ratings organization said that, in an average broadcast week in October, there were an estimated 4.1 million people age 12 and older listening to the three major online radio networks that make up its charter subscribers. Those three are America Online’s AOL Radio Network, Yahoo!s Launchcast, and Microsoft’s MSN Radio and WindowsMedia.com.
The new ratings service aims to create traditional broadcast ratings for online radio in standard dayparts and demographics.
For the period Monday to Sunday, 6 a.m. to midnight, Launchcast led with 1.9 million cume persons and 128,900 AQH. The AOL Radio Network had 1.8 million and 81,700, respectively; while MSN Radio and WindowsMedia.com had 424,700 and 20,400.
Cume is the total number of different persons who tune to a radio station during the course of a daypart for at least five minutes. Average Quarter Hour is the average number of persons listening to a particular station for at least five minutes during a 15-minute period.