Radio listener numbers/ratings question

[T Roosevelt]

Not having a local AAR radio station, all my listening is online. Is it better to listen to AAR on their website (WLIB), or through one of their affiliate stations around the country?

ie, do the online listener numbers show up in the ratings, and can that help some of the softer markets (wherever those are)?

As an aside, I imagine this helps the AAR servers, which lately have been overloaded/having problems.

[Unstuck In Time]

1. You'd need to be part of the Arbitron survey to show up in the ratings

Same for TV -- if you're not in the Neilsen survey, just watching a show won't affect its ratings.

Edited to add:

How TV Ratings Work - http://www.howstuffworks.com/question433.htm

The Arbitron system for radio ratings is comparable.

[BoX o BooX]

2. Makes no difference...

Where you listen doesn't matter in the ratings, UNLESS you are consulted by ArbiTron or another rating service.

They have no way of determining what stations people are listening to unless they report them to ArbiTron in a diary or through an additional electronic device. The people whom ArbiTron polls are not self-selected, so you can't just volunteer the information.

[otohara]

3. Although Online Listening Doesn't Show Up

in ratings, you can bet AAR's sales staff in NYC is touting thier online listening numbers to potential NATIONAL advertisers. Local advertisers wouldn't give a rats ass, because I'm sitting in Denver.

Also, I know in Denver & other cities where Clear Channel has picked up AAR, the true line-up of AAR is not being played. For instance - the girls w/ Chuck D is one of my favorite shows, is not played at all, and we get tape delay of Morning Sedition during that time slot, then live Al Franken, then Ed Shultz (he's on Jones Cable), then tape delay of Randi Rhodes, then some weird guy named Phil Hendrie instead of Mike Malloy.

I listen online - yesterday I was freaking out because of the problems they were having - randi rhodes has her own site w/ listening abilites

[T Roosevelt]

4. Do the stations themselves have the ability to identify

number of online listener numbers? I would think they could track their webcast stats...

[otohara]

5. Yes

AAR online listening is huge -

[LTR]

6. Arbitron does measure online streaming listening

It's a new service they started offering.

AAR is one of the most-listened to services on the web.