Houston radio says put down the diary, carry a meter

Broadcasters measure radio and TV ratings with diaries in some markets and for television in other markets - a meter you hook up to your TV.

Houston is changing all of that by being a test market for Arbitron's Portable People Meter.

Now the test is over for the radio portion and it's going live reports the Houston Business Journal:

The PPM system uses a passive audience measurement device to track inaudible codes embedded in media and entertainment, including broadcast, cable and satellite television; terrestrial, satellite and online radio as well as cinema advertising and many types of place-based electronic media.

Carried throughout the day by randomly selected survey participants, the PPM device can track when and where consumers watch television, listen to radio and interact with other forms of media and entertainment.

Great, another device to hook to our belt. CONTACT: Leave me a Houston or Texas media news tip | COMMENT: Click to leave your thoughts on this post here