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Hey Bud

October 17, 2024

The buzz about the upcoming three-minute qualifier in the PPM measurement world has captured the industry. Without question, this will be a boon for our medium.

So let’s talk about the gaping hole that will still exist in PPM measurement. According to Edison’s Share of Ear, AM/FM radio (including streaming) is the dominant ad-supported platform, with an overall share of 68%. To state the obvious – the streaming portion of this audience is a huge, largely unmeasured market.

If you look at the quarterly PPM Additional Characteristics Report, you’ll see that about 97% of panel households have a smartphone. As a result, you likely devote a significant portion of your promotional inventory encouraging those folks to listen to your app. Based on what I’ve heard from our clients, their server side data shows this is working.

Unfortunately, Nielsen is not capturing most of that listening. That’s because most of this listening is done via earbuds or headphones – something the PPM meter cannot hear.

Yes, Nielsen has developed the mysterious headphone adjustment. Depending on your format and the demographic involved, this can result in up to an 85% increase in that listening. Amazing. Who wouldn’t want that kind of ratings boost!

<Quick disclaimer: We are confident Nielsen has arrived at this figure through a rigorous series of testing. But to be real, it is still a guesstimate.>

The biggest issue we have with this is that you only get the adjustment if, and this is a big IF, a meter picks up your stream listening. Chances are this listening is coming from a smart speaker. It never hears that earbud listening. Think of your own life. How much of your audio consumption is piped directly into your ears? Do you think this resembles how your fans listen to you?

The new three-minute qualifier is predicted to increase PUMM (Persons Using Measured Media) by around 23%. We know this because Nielsen has told us that 23% of occasions are in the three- and four-minute category. This is not new listening; this is “found” listening.

Imagine how much actual stream listening is currently “lost.”

Years ago, Nielsen had a solid initiative to address this issue. We have been told that the industry nixed it.

We desperately need a new initiative. Digital listening will continue to grow. If we do not have a better way to measure it, radio will fall behind.

-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

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