An upstart radio measurement company is taking on dominant ratings provider Arbitron. Three-year-old Navigauge, of Atlanta, Ga., announced last week that it will use global positioning technology and continuous tracking of the radio dial to measure radio listening in cars. The new system is unlikely to overtake Arbitron but the move may heighten controversy over rating methods for radio. Arbitron currently depends on paper diaries, although it has been testing people meters.
Navigauge began with a 500-vehicle test run in Atlanta and hopes to be up and running in the 10 largest U.S. markets by early 2006. The company plans to include Toronto, and possibly Vancouver, in its second-tier rollout to the top 20 markets in North America later that year, says Navigauge spokesman Bruce Layman.
