Damn You Nielsen!

April 17, 2025

For as long as any of us have been involved with radio there is one constant complaint that is heard at every level – it’s all Nielsen’s fault. (It was Arbitron’s fault, too, but Nielsen bought that intellectual property).

Of course, radio people generally gripe about Nielsen when they have a bad book or run of books. The diaries or the meters were in the wrong places or hands. The sample isn’t large enough. Either way, the problem is not with our stations.

I admit, in my days as a Program Director I often fell into that trap. As I have spent more time analyzing Nielsen data and working with clients, I have come to a few realizations.

Sample – Yes, we need more sample. In both diary and PPM markets. I especially believe this is true in PPM because of the length of time a panelist can be in-tab (24 weeks, more or less). This is great if that household is giving you tons of quarter hours but not so beneficial to the other stations. We see formats and stations rise and fall quickly thanks to just a few panelists. The problem with this complaint comes down to money. Recruiting and maintaining a sample is expensive. If radio wants more sample they will have to pay more for it. And that is an “end scene.”

Location – It is important in real estate, not so much in the Nielsen sample. We can stress over “hot zips,” but remember that Nielsen samples by sampling units (usually counties), not zip codes. PPM lends an air of predictability to this issue while diary markets can literally change from week to week.

Reliability – Nielsen is radio’s ratings currency. It fuels a large portion of our business. Accept this and work to gain a greater understanding of how it all works and what the numbers are telling you. Do not react over one book – ever!

Reliability, part deux – The Personal People Meter is a truly marvelous invention. It accurately reflects – in real time – how people are using our medium. Format changes or monumental market events are almost instantly reflected in the ratings (think Christmas music). There is also a world of market level data you can mine to see how you are performing versus how the market is doing. The best example of this is the new three-minute rule. Is PUMM up in your market? By how much? Are you pacing or lagging that change?

Sample, part two – We preach to our clients all the time that they (you) are paying Nielsen for sample, not for ratings. In a PPM market Nielsen’s responsibility is to make sure all meter keepers are in compliance with their guidelines. That said, the sample needs to be sufficient in every demo cell and sampling unit. This is all about indexing for proportionality. How well do the participants in a given sample match the real world population? A perfect index is 100. However, with all the variables Nielsen must balance, you will never get a perfect sample across the board. The preferred range is between 90 and 110. The acceptable range is between 80 and 120. Anything that falls outside the 80-120 range means the sample is not balanced well enough. This is the one place you can legitimately hold Nielsen accountable. And you should.

Complaining about the ratings may be cathartic but it accomplishes nothing. Dig into the numbers. Understand the system. Learn how to use it to your advantage.

BTW – this is exactly what WE do for our clients. We’d love to show you how to maximize the value you receive from one of the biggest line items in your budget, your Nielsen agreement. For both programming and sales.

To find out more, all you have to do is e-mail us at info@researchdirectorinc.com. Operators are standing by.

-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

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