October 28, 2024
Ahhh, OCTOBER. The foliage, the taint of pumpkin spice on, well, everything, and the MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL post-season. The time when the biggest question on everyone’s mind in – why do fans boo when the visiting pitcher attempts a pick-off? Truly one of the most profound mysteries of our time.
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the seam savants from XTRENDS – bring you the latest in the NIELSEN numbers. The OCTOBER survey spanned the period from SEPTEMBER 12th through OCTOBER 9th. There were no federally-mandated holiday breaks, most people had settled into their regular schedules, and the election buzz was intensifying. Here’s how it affected the radio landscape:
Read More…
October 24, 2024
For as long as I can remember, the holy grail of radio demographics has been 25-54. The cynics among us have often said this is a family reunion, not a homogenous group of people. To put this in contemporary terms, a 25-year-old is a digital native while a 54-year-old is a digital immigrant.
The fact is that radio’s demographics are aging. Look at your market and you’ll see that one of the strongest demos for radio listening is 55-64. Countless formats depend on – and deliver – rock star-level shares with this group. Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Adult Hits, News/Talk, Talk, Sports, and Urban AC all play extremely well with the age cell.
Yet, the sales target remains the same as it ever was. As a result, programmers do whatever they can to avoid those 55-64 listeners.
Read More…
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.
Read More…
October 10, 2024
This time of year is special in my family. Last week my parents celebrated their 42nd anniversary; my wife and I will celebrate eight years of marriage on October 21st; and my mom was born on October 5th, 19*ahem* (don’t worry mom, I would never give that up).
What does this have to do with you? Well, you can learn a lot about your listeners’ milestones if you have access to quantitative data like Scarborough, Media Audit, and others.
Read More…
October 4, 2024
After you do this stuff for a while, that old cliché becomes reality – the more things change, the more they stay the same. Month after month, survey after survey, the usual suspects are generally seen at the top of the ratings leaderboard. There was a time when we would see volatility – especially in the 25-54 sector. Now it seems like the status is quo in almost every demo except for those 18-34 young’uns. Is this because they are fickle and have little brand loyalty to radio? Or are they so screen-distracted that they cannot focus long enough on – squirrel! It will be interesting to see how the upcoming three-minute qualifier affects this.
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC – in alignment with the number-crunching pishogues from XTRENDS – bring you our final installment of the SEPTEMBER survey. This ran from AUGUST 15TH through SEPTEMBER 11TH. School buses were on the streets, football was back, and there was a three-day weekend wedged in there as well. Here’s how it all played out:
Read More…