Posted by chicagomedia.org on August 05, 2009 at 15:49:58:
Case of missing eBay PPMs solved.
from Inside Radio
Last month's sale of a PPM Encoding Monitor and three portable meters ended abruptly after Arbitron attorneys demanded eBay yank the auctions off its site. But the equipment didn't just vanish. The seller found another buyer.
Consultant Randy Kabrich now holds the PPMs. He tells Inside Radio, "I'd like to buy a drink and fine Cuban cigars for Arbitron's lawyers. By pulling the auction it saved me a lot of money." When eBay ended the auction for three PPM devices, bidding was at more than $200. Kabrich won't say what he ended up paying, but implies it was a lot less.
He's also not disclosing if he bought the encoding monitor but intends to put PPM through several tests. One will be to verify a claim made at last week's Morning Show Boot Camp that PPM can detect stations from inside a woman's purse. "We want to know how sensitive these things really are," says the consultant-turned-PPM watchdog.
It may not be the easiest way to get answers, but Kabrich says, "For the last five years when I've asked simple questions, Arbitron has refused to answer them."
He offers photographic evidence he's holding the PPMs above.