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August 20, 2026

             Image by geralt from Pixabay.

I live in a small market and because of that, I’m no more than ten minutes away from whatever I need. As a result, I spend less time in the car and, by extension, less time listening to the radio. So last week I decided to “lock in” the local rock station.

There was this one break that got me. The “Guaranteed Human” voice tracker gave this setup: “What is the most dangerous thing you can do to your ears (or words to that effect)?”

A decent tease that got me ticking through the possibilities. Then came the kicker: “I’ll tell you the answer in 18 and a half minutes.”

Wait, what? I won’t wait that long for my lunch order. In our instant world no one is going to “stick around” for an answer they can immediately Google.

My point is not to pillory the talent or the break, but to talk about what we can do to (hopefully) turn listener behavior into ratings gold.

In Diary world, teasing tune-in outcomes can have little effect on the ratings. Even with the new electronic diaries, the game is all about recall. How memorable is your product? When listeners reconstruct their broadcast days, they will record what they remember, not necessarily what they consumed. (Try this: write down everything you have had for lunch for the last seven days.)

In PPM world the rules are dramatically different. That pesky little meter records real listening, in real time. As a programmer you can have an impact on one of the key components of AQH listening. Specifically, Average Weekly Time Exposed (AWTE).

AWTE (or TSL) is composed of two elements:

• Occasions—how many times someone tunes in to your station for at least three minutes in a quarter hour.
• Duration—the length of the occasion.

We know that most average durations last between eight and eleven minutes (do you know yours?). Creating what NPR calls “driveway moments” is difficult. When most people reach their destination, they are not likely to sit in their car waiting for the payoff of a tease.

Where you can have an impact is with Occasions. Getting a weekday listener to tune in on a weekend, or vice versa, will increase your AWTE. Converting them to more horizontal occasions is an art form that can yield positive results. Or, getting that morning commuter to listen on their way home is a (somewhat) easier behavior modification to encourage.

Personalities and Programmers who live in the moment not only develop a relationship with their fans, but they also gain a level of trust with their audience. Asking for the order has more credibility if you consistently deliver on your promises with some level of value.

This whole rant falls under the heading of audience recycling. Increasing cume is a marketing issue. Growing tune-in occasions is something you control and track.

And for heaven’s sake—don’t make anyone wait 18 and a half minutes!

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

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