Today marks a new beginning in the world of diary measurement.

Continuous measurement? Well, not exactly. All but the smallest markets (basic) will now be measured for a period covering 48 weeks of the year. During those 48 weeks, markets will be surveyed every other week. Four weeks that span the end of December to the beginning of January are not measured.

It seems the term “continuous” is used in order to keep pace with their larger market (PPM) brethren.

This is indeed a great development – a good compromise with a variety of benefits. We are now able to cover a broader time frame in a way that should serve to limit unpredictable bounces.

All but the basic markets will now have two releases each year, spring and fall. That is a substantial benefit for the markets which previously had only a Fall book. If a station had a bad bounce in the Fall, they had to wait a year for a correction.

Each surveyed household will be limited to one week per year, assuring broader coverage. This is compared to PPM methodology which surveys the same people week after week.

I will discuss the controversial aspects of PPM markets in a future article. The controversial aspect of today’s release is the fact that it deviates with this new approach.

This book will blend random results from the last available survey with the six weeks of “continuous measurement” data in fall 2019. While less-than-desirable, this is a one-time anomaly which was necessary in the transition to the new methodology. As such, we can’t really trend this book with the last release. We’ll save that for the spring book.

For now, let’s take a look at five market results from this book.

Ottawa-Gatineau: Bragging rights at the top of the ratings heap go to CBC Radio One which is way out in front delivering a 14.9% share for A12+. Hot 89.9 grabs the top spot with women 25 to 54 delivering a 12.7% share. CBC Radio One holds the lead for males 25 to 54, posting an 11.4% share, followed by 106.1 CHEZ at 9.0%. CHEZ leads the way for men 18 to 34 with an 13.5%. For women 18 to 34, Hot 89.9 leads, posting an impressive 22.2% share.

Winnipeg: CBC Radio One grabs the top spot for A12+ with a 14.3 % share of hours tuned. Taking the top spot for women 25 to 54 is 103.1 Virgin, posting an 12.4% share. 92CITI grabs the lead for male listeners 25 to 54, delivering a 13.5 % share.  92CITI also heads the list for men 18 to 34 with a 16.2%. For women 18 to 34, the favourite is QX104 at 16.2%.

Halifax: CBC Radio One Radio takes the top with A12+, posting an 19.2% share of hours tuned. C100 Radio takes top spot for women 25 to 54, delivering a 16.6% share. Q104 tops the list for men in that age range with a 23.6 % share. For men 18 to 34, Virgin leads the way with 24.1% followed by Q104 with 21.5%. When it comes to women 18 to 34,Virgin Radio takes top spot posting a 23.7 % share.

Hamilton: For Hamilton-originating (non-Toronto) stations, 102.9 K-Lite leads the way for A12+ with an 8.8%. K-Lite is popular with women, taking the 25 to 54 demo with a 13.5% share.  For men 25 to 54, Y108 rules with an 8.2%. Y108 also takes top spot for men 18 to 34, delivering a 16.8%. KX 94.7 steps up and out front for women 18 to 34, posting a 15.9 % share.

Victoria: CBC Radio One is number-one for A12+ with a 20.0% share, and also took the top spot for women 25 to 54, delivering a 16.1 % share, followed by Ocean 98.5 with 15.1%. For men 25 to 54, The Q is on top at 19.2% share followed by the Zone with 16.5%. For men 18 to 34, The Zone leads with 20.9% followed by the Q at 19.5%. Ocean 98.5 is #1 with F18-34 posting a 23.1%.