My Money Is On Arbitron To Survive…

Monday, December, 8, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

You know why Arbitron will ultimately win their ratings battle with Nielsen and anyone else that challenges them?  They have ’steel ones’ - that’s why.  Arbitron president and CEO Steve Morris said it all in this statement:  “We’re not going to give an inch on the Cumulus sticker diary.  We view it as a fight and we intend to win.”  That’s the kind of view you want to hear from your president/CEO.  That’s the statement of a winner…

There are always complaints when new ratings are announced, something that’s already happening with New York’s new PPM numbers.  Stations complain because there are always more losers than winners.  That’s the real reason, it’s not PPM weighting.  There are even stations that complain when they’re number one and I have a perfect example.  When we tried to resurrect Hooper ratings in the late 70s, one of the markets I opened was St. Louis.  When the coincidental results came back, KMOX pulled a 30 share, twice the share of the second-rated station.  Robert Hyland, Jr., GM of the legendary KMOX called, complaining that there must have been a mistake because he just had to have a higher share.  Explaining to Bob that he had twice the shares of station #2, did nothing to satisfy his complaints or hunger to annihilate the St. Louis market, something KMOX did in every research study regularly.  He wouldn’t back down.  Losers are always more adamant…

What’s likely to shake out with the Arbitron/Nielsen battle is that the former will continue to dominate major markets while the latter will make a dent but be second best in smaller markets.  End of story… 

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1776] What did Delaware?: General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with retreating American Revolutionary Army troops, from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, apparently in only one boat.  Washington will again cross the Delaware on December 26th for the battle of Trenton…
2. 1863] Reconstruction: President Abraham Lincoln announces plans for Reconstruction of the South…
3. 1940] Scalped: The Chicago Bears annihilate the Washington Redskins 73-0. It’s not only the biggest one-sided score in NFL history but the Bears were forced by officials to run for their final extra point because there was only one football left…
4. 1941] U.S. enters WWII: The U.S. enters World War II as Congress declares war against Japan one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor…
5. 1952] TV history is made: For the first time a pregnancy is used on TV’s “I Love Lucy”…
6. 1964] “Happy Trails“: Actor William Bendix dies of lobar pneumonia at 58…1978] Former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir passes away from cancer in Jerusalem at 80…1982] Singer Marty Robbins dies from heart failure at 57…
7. 1980] Rock & Roll Tragedy: John Lennon is fatally shot by Mark David Chapman…
8. 1987] Nuking the nukes: President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev sign a treaty calling for destruction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles…
9. 1993] Thanks Bubba: President Bill Clinton signs into law the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)…
10. 2000] Counting hands: The Florida Supreme Court orders an immediate hand count of about 45,000 disputed presidential ballots…

Music Memories:

• 1961] Released on this date: “Surfin” -The Beach Boys release their first single.  This is the actual rehearsal for the session…
• 1995] Died on this date: The Grateful Dead announce their break up after 30 years of making music. The news comes 4 months after the death of lead guitarist Jerry Garcia.  The Dead will always be ‘Truckin‘…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:

Dominic Monaghan (32), Mike Mussina (40), Sinead O’Connor (42), Teri Hatcher (44), Ann Coulter (47), Kim Basinger (55), Gregg Allman (61), Jerry Butler (69), James (”Book em Dano”) MacArthur (71), David Carradine (72) and Maximilian Schell (78)…

Timeline Countdown: 13 days until winter, 14 days until Hanukah, 17 shopping days until Christmas, 23 nights until New Year’s Eve and 26 days until the NFL Wild Card Playoffs…

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