Why no STL PPM data here?

Even though PPM ratings data for July has been released to radio subscribers in the market, the new method of determining listenership will not achieve currency until October, according to Arbitron's website:

Arbitron PPM™ data will not be the official ratings currency in St. Louis until October 8, 2009. All Arbitron clients who conduct business in St. Louis are contractually required to use Diary data for their transactions until the PPM data are commercialized. Arbitron clients may not use PPM data for transactional business until that date.

In other words, it makes no sense combining diary and PPM data to continue monthly ratings updates...that whole apples and oranges thing. We'll just have to wait until October to see what a complete run of three months of PPM data brings.

Therefore, the 6+ numbers for the market will not be available to media subscribers until then, and that includes STLMedia.net.

On the upside, Secret Squirrel has had his beady little eyes poring over the available data and will be making some observations in the next few days. Look for some surprises and some real upheavals, including one stations's web stream outpacing several broadcast stations. This is gonna be interesting...

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