PPM Watch

Launched across Canada on August 31, 2009, Portable People Meters (PPMs) are the current system in place for measuring national television audiences.

The system which PPM replaced was based on set-top units attached to the television in panel member households. The old set-top system required panel members to interact with the unit each time they entered or exited the room which contained the metered TV, this created compliance issues.

The new PPM system is completely passive. All panel members need to do is to remove the PPM (which is the size of a pager) from its docking station in the morning, carry it with them throughout the day, and return it to its docking station when they go to bed. The unit does the rest of the work including sending the recorded data to BBM. With PPM compliance issues have been virtually eliminated, the unit even includes a motion sensor to tell BBM if a panel member is not carrying the device.

The PPM unit "listens" for any encoded television signal which is audible to the wearer. As a result, television audiences reported by PPM are higher than the old system because the PPM captures more viewing. While the old system only captured viewing at home, PPM captures all television to which the wearer is exposed as long as the television signal has been encoded and is heard by the panel member. This means that in addition to home viewing, PPM captures out of home viewing which can include television exposure at work, school, at a restaurant or bar, at the cottage or any where else. There is no escaping the PPM.

Below are comparison statistics between the old set-top system and PPM, and well as some other statistics from PPM. Please be aware that direct comparisons of PPM data vs. Set Top Meter data do not reflect changes in viewing patterns, they reflect the change in measurement methodology. PPM technology enables BBM to capture more audience through out-of-home viewing and greater compliance.

Audience data provided by BBM Canada. Data generated using InfoSysTV. For more information, please contact BBM Analytics at 416-445-9800.

Click here for important notes from BBM regarding PPM vs. Set Top Meter.

Click here for an analysis of PPM presented at TV Day 2010.

Click here for a TV Day/PPM media release.

The "Change" figures below compare the broadcast year-to-date audience for the week ending August 29, 2010 for PPM, and the same period in the prior year for set-top meters. All figures are based on complete weeks/final data (i.e. includes data from "late dockers").