Dan Mason Admits He Was Wrong About PPM

Dan Mason

Recently retired former CBS Radio President Dan Mason was a keynote speaker at Radio Ink’s Hispanic Radio Conference in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday, and he made some news.

Mason told the crowd that when the Portable People Meter was introduced back in 2006, he was all for it. He said PPM was going to put a shiny new coat of paint on radio. Now, with a decade of ratings experience in the rearview, Mason says he was wrong.

Mason said that when former CBS radio researcher,  master of the all-news format, and ratings expert the late Roy Shapiro told him radio would be better off spending all that money on improving the diary system, he didn’t believe it. “When PPM came out, I was jumping up and down,” Mason said. “I was all for it. I didn’t listen to Roy. I wanted to make radio the shiny new thing.”

Mason said, “Roy was right and I was wrong.” Then he elaborated on what the industry has done  since radio began programming to the PPM. “I thought, ‘Wow, look at what we’ve done.’ We’ve made determinations about talent based on PPM. We’ve reformatted clocks and music based on what people were allegedly wearing on their belt.”

Mason went on to say that Voltair proved radio listening jumped up, then Nielsen put out a new (ECBET) product, and listening jumped up again. He said, “Brad Kelly was right. Roy Shapiro was right. I was wrong. I wouldn’t mind having the diaries back.”

As for the possible sale of CBS Radio stations,  Mason said he doesn’t know anything more than what he’s seen reported and that there are probably three options.

Those three options are: #1) that nothing happens, #2) a company like Cumulus buys it or #3) a spin-off. Mason was also asked what it meant for the industry that CBS CEO Les Moonves appears ready to turn his back on radio.

Mason said, “I’ve worked for a lot of people. Les Moonves was the best boss I ever had. He always gave us (the radio division) everything we needed. He was great for our division. I’d work for the guy again in a heartbeat.” Many in the industry believe Mason saw the handwriting on the wall about jobs in the division being cut, and the possibility of CBS radio being sold, as the reason Mason did not stay with the company.