Are Ratings Really Radio’s Problem?

January 22, 2026

You may have read Tracy Johnson’s recent blog about radio’s singular focus on ratings. If not, there is a link at the end of our blog.

The article is long and provides some valuable insight. His general point seems to be that the radio industry has stopped innovating, growing, and building in its pursuit of Nielsen ratings. We—as an industry—have focused more on playing the ratings game than on building connections with our audience.

I may not agree with that.

Has radio stopped building connections? In large measure—yes. Unfortunately, I do not think this is due to our laser focus on chasing the numbers. The industry has become more homogenous, in general, due to consolidation and budget cuts. The industry lauds personalities while cutting those positions and replacing them with overworked voice trackers or generic formats.

We have been fortunate to work with many stations (both past and present) that succeed in the ratings BECAUSE they invest in things like talent and connections. This has become even more important as radio has lost its exclusive hold over music.

Radio stations that tend to win in the ratings (and revenue) wars are not doing so because they are manipulating their clocks. While this can be an effective tactic it is not a recipe for long-term success. Winning brands listen to their market and their listeners. They fill an emotional need. They are informative, entertaining or engaging. They provide companionship or comfort. Any one of those emotional bonds is a strategy on which you can build.

We have deep experience in analyzing ratings for stations in large markets and small, in a variety of formats. We have a deep understanding of how the systems work. We also know that no station succeeds over the long term by playing TO the ratings service, be it diary or PPM.

Nielsen ratings are a tool for every programmer. Yes, as Tracy points out, they are a lagging indicator. That information has value. It can show you how audiences have reacted to changes in the marketplace and on the air (looking at you, holiday music). That data provides insight. It is not the road map for the future.

We have never told any of our clients to program to Nielsen. We advocate the opposite. We believe that creating great products will garner ratings successes. That said, knowing how the game is played can help you refine your tactics. The baseball analogy to this is—know how the strike zone is being called and plan your at-bat accordingly.

One other point is important. Sometimes ratings rise and fall for reasons beyond anything you have done on the air. Diaries land in the “wrong” zip codes. Heavy listening households drop out of the panel. These indicators are worth noting as they can keep you from making a bad, or hasty, decision.

Great radio should be everyone’s goal. Our products should entertain and provide tangible ROI for our advertisers. I think laying the problems of the radio industry at the feet of a myopic ratings focus loses perspective on some of our larger issues.

Nielsen is our currency. It is real–ish. It generates revenue. Until we have some sort of “one ring to rule them all” system that accurately records audio across all platforms, we have to acknowledge Nielsen’s importance.

Feel free to tell me I’m full of it: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com

Here’s the link to Tracy Johnson’s blog: https://tjohnsonmediagroup.com/blog/the-ratings-treadmill/

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