The 60th Anniversary of BBM Canada

The illustrious history of broadcasting in Canada all started in December of 1900 when
Reginald Fessenden of Quebec first transmitted the human voice. That makes radio older
than that fuzzy food item wrapped in tin foil in the bottom of my refrigerator.

Fessenden’s exploits were followed up my Marconi’s first transAtlantic signal between
England and Signal Hill, Newfoundland. Even when considering all of the things
invented by human beings, this development has to stand out as magical. By 1919 the
first broadcast license had been issued to XWA Montreal (later CFCF). In 1922, 34
private commercial stations across Canada were licensed. In 1925, John Logie Baird sent
the first live transmission of a human face via television. Of course, even magic requires
a sponsor. So…. the introduction of broadcasting was followed by the advent of
advertising and competition for ad dollars.

In today’s age of consolidation, competition between broadcasters is hotter than ever.
Still, there remains one body that is a bastion of cooperation for the collective
good…..BBM Canada, which is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary. The concept
for the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement was jointly developed by the Canadian
Association of Broadcasters and the Association of Canadian Advertisers which produced
and sponsored radio programmes and therefore required reliable information about the
number of people listening to those shows. As the print industry moved to develop
quantitative readership information it became obvious that radio would have to provide a
"value" for the media they were hoping to sell.

BBM was officially born in May of 1944, as a non-profit tri-partite co-operative of
broadcasters, advertisers and agencies with the mandate of providing high-quality,
impartial measurement of radio audiences in Canada, at the lowest possible cost to all
concerned. The first BBM survey, released in October 1944, was conducted by the
private ratings company Elliott-Haynes using an unaided mail ballot. Instead of checking
stations from a prepared list, participants compiled their own lists of stations to which
they had listened. By today's standards the forms, which asked that listening be reported
"by household" as it related to only two day parts (daytime and after 6 PM) seem very
rudimentary. There was a simple request that a member of the family identify themselves
by gender and indicate if they were over or under 21, reporting that someone in the
family listened to individual radio stations once, three times or daily during the week.
This was reported on a county by county basis across Canada.

Later, BBM records note that "premiums" were sent out with each "ballot" as recompense
for the respondent's efforts and cooperation and in order to assure a high percentage
return. In fact the "premium" was a package of safety pins. It is also interesting to note
that the initial membership fees for broadcasters were $25 per year.

These surveys gradually increased in frequency from once every two years to once per
year and in 1956, to twice per year. Today, with the recent changes made by the
Extended Measurement Committee, BBM will report radio audiences 4 times per year.
In 1952, BBM introduced its television measurement service when the CBC established
its first two TV stations. Today BBM has over 100 TV station members.

The same year, BBM began producing time-period ratings for radio and television using
a panel-diary method pioneered in Canada by International Surveys Limited. The new
surveys were initially conducted every spring and fall with each member of participating
households keeping a week-long diary of listening and viewing by half-hour periods. At
the same time, the circulation surveys were increased from every other year to twice a
year.

In 1964, BBM became the first ratings service in the world to introduce computerized
sample selection. It also increased the number of surveys, redesigned the bilingual
household diary, and switched its premium from a card of safety pins to a 50-cent coin.
An important step was taken in 1967 when BBM decided to switch from household
diaries, which had usually been kept by the harried home-maker, to personal diaries sent
to selected members of households---including children, although their diaries were filled
out by an adult. This change increased the response rate for mailed diaries to almost 50%
and facilitated the acquisition of demographic data. Within a few years, BBM became the
only audience measurement service for radio in Canada, and in television the competition
was reduced to Nielsen. Between 1963 and 1968, BBM increased its membership from
357 to 534 or about 90% of the broadcasting industry, including the CBC.

Unlike the original household diary, the new personal diary was used for both radio and
television, largely for reasons of cost. In theory, however, the most reliable diary is the
single--medium personal diary. In 1975, therefore, following several studies and
considerable debate, BBM adopted separate diaries for each medium, including different
samples and survey dates. This move greatly increased survey costs, however, so that in
the mid-1980s BBM implemented household flooding or saturation sampling for both
radio and television. Ironically, this development brought BBM almost full-circle back to
its original household diary technique and illustrated the fact that audience measurement
methods generally are determined as much by economic considerations as by the
requirements for scientific validity.

In the early days, the BBM Board was comprised of 3 advertisers, 3 agency
representatives and 3 broadcasters. By the 1990's, the BBM Board consisted of 14
members: 4 representing radio stations, 4 representing TV stations, and 6 Buyers - (4
representing advertising agencies and 2 from advertising companies). Reporting to the
Board of Directors were two Executive Committees developing policy which they
recommended to the Board. The radio committee (REC) consisted of 18 members, and
the TV (TVEC) committee, 21 members. Both consisted of broadcasters, agencies and
advertisers.

Today, the majority of the funding continues to be supplied by Broadcasters. Of course,
in the ongoing debate, advertisers are quick to point out that the funding broadcasters get
comes from the advertisers.

In recent years, BBM has continually upgraded the quality and usefulness of its research.
Single source qualitative information has allowed for extremely targeted analysis,
planning and buying. In 1998, BBM introduced RTS, which after starting off in three
major Canadian markets – Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria, has grown into the largest
syndicated consumer study in Canada with over 60,000 respondents and coverage in 11
major markets as well as regional and national data. With a release every six months
covering, 11 Canadian major markets, this “return to sample study” includes over 70
questionnaire pages covering every major consumer category.

After a period of extended development in cooperation with Arbitron in the U.S.A.,
BBM introduced the PPM meter. Implementation of the television measurement system
in Montreal has been extremely successful and rollout in other major markets is expected
in the relatively near future. Tests have also been done on radio listenership with these
devices using the same panels.

In 2001, with an eye toward increasing public visibility, BBM adopted a new name and
logo and is now officially known as BBM Canada. Along with this goes a PR campaign
designed to increase awareness of BBM and the services it offers.
Throughout its various incarnations, BBM has consistently displayed professionalism and
integrity beyond reproach. When there are errors, they are quickly corrected. When a
member violates policy, it is dealt with in a fair and impartial fashion. There is an
ongoing effort made to keep improving service and methodology while remaining
extremely cost effective. Best of all, BBM is living proof that competitors and
representatives from different sectors can work together in a constructive fashion for the
collective good.

Happy anniversary BBM. Here’s to many more years of valuable service.