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On March 11, 2024 North Carolina became the 30th state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to legalize sports gambling. This revenue category has grown exponentially over several years and will continue to grow as other states follow suit. Estimates have the sports betting industry spending over $2 billion in advertising, with radio capturing greater than its historical 7% share.
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Ahhh, FEBRUARY. The time of winter’s nadir. The buzz from the holidays has receded and the warmth of spring is still a dream in the distance. The days are still too dang short, and football is over. Sure, pitchers and catchers report, but that only intensifies the gloomy nature of the month.
Sorry, we need a moment…
OK, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the logarithmic legends from XTRENDS – will get it together so we can bring you another round of ratings results. The month in question began on the 1st and ceased to be on the 28th. There was a holiday weekend, meteorological predictions from a fat rat, and the stress of choosing just the right romantic gift. Hopefully, we will also see a return to more normal listening behavior.
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Here’s another useless FEBRUARY fact for you. It is the only month that can pass without having a full moon. Betcha won’t see that on Jeopardy.
But we are not here for trivial factoids or meaningless drivel. No, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a close-knit formation with the numbers crunchers from XTRENDS – are here to deliver industry-relatable knowledge. We are dealing with the ratings: that 28-day recurrence that can, among other things, lead us to question our very existence. Yes, it is that important (except when it isn’t).
The FEBRUARY survey ran from the 1st through the 28th, had a long holiday weekend and features a rodent predicting the weather. It does not get stranger than that.
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Between surveys The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with outstanding oracles from XTRENDS – often find ourselves with a bit of free time. This provides an opportunity for pondering. And the question that arose was: why is FEBRUARY the shortest month? Why was it at the end of the line when they were handing out days?
Without going too far into the weeds, it’s all the fault of KING NUMA POMPILIUS. When they created the Roman calendar, they needed to add two months but did not want the entire year to be an even number, so FEBRUARY got the short end of the stick, so to speak.
For our purposes, we are dealing with a survey that began on the first of the month and ended on the 28th – leaving that pesky leap day to fend for itself. There was a three-day weekend to contend and, hopefully, we saw the return of normal listening patterns.
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So let’s address the elephant in the room. No, we’re not going to correct those folks who continue to call it Daylight Savings time. This is much more important than that. As we embark on our monthly foray into the latest NIELSEN numbers, it is vitally important that the current survey is pronounced correctly.
This is the FEBRUARY book. Note the placement of the “r” in that word. At the risk of dredging up horrible memories from phonetics class, the correct pronunciation is FEB-ROO-ARY. It is not FEB-YOU-ARY or FEH-BOO-WARY. These things are important (especially if you’re on the air somewhere).
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a tight-knit grouping with the wunderkind from XTRENDS – are here for the month previously mentioned. It ran from FEBRUARY 1ST through FEBRUARY 28TH, thereby covering all but that pesky leap day. It featured yet another federally mandated weekend, a hallmark holiday and (hopefully) the complete return to the norm of radio listening patterns. Let’s do this…
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Voting for Black Americans doesn’t start at the polls on Election Day. There is a sense of responsibility and pride that goes into the process leading up to voting day. Politics in the Black community is one that comes with a lot of deep history that includes systemic barriers like gerrymandering that decreased the voting engagement in minority populations. Since the civil rights era, Black political activism and participation earned Black Americans some political and economic gains.
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Edison Research recently released some of their “Share of Ear” data about the difference between AM/FM radio listening in urban versus rural areas. In short, rural residents spend more time with radio than urban ones do.
The radio industry has been guilty of having a big market bias for decades. Read More…
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Do you have unsold inventory on the weekends? Do you add this inventory to current ad campaigns as “added value?” If so, it’s time to show the value of this audience and stop giving it away for free.
We can show you how …
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“Oh, the weather outside is frightful …” – yeah, we can bury that lyric until NOVEMBER or so. Our long national holiday nightmare is over as the annual quarter hour migration begins. Balance is returning to the force. The radio continuum is coming back into alignment.
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC – along with the oracles of the algorithms from XTRENDS – bring you our final installment of the JANUARY gestalt. This 28-day period began on the fourth of the month and concluded on the 31st. There was a three-day weekend clogging up the works, people were back at the school bus stops, and football was all the rage. Here’s what happened next:
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Followers of the JANUARY survey fall into two camps. The devotees of all things merry and bright are looking to see how the mighty have fallen. Those who rail against the scourge of the incessant jingling of bells (not to mention drumming of drums) are hoping to see the great quarter hour migration return to its original nesting grounds. (If you read this as if it was being narrated by DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, it makes a lot more sense.)
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC – along with math maestros from XTRENDS – are about to take you on a guided tour through another gang of five markets. This particular book ran from JANUARY 4th through JANUARY 31st and lacked any trace of the ghosts of CHRISTMAS past (looking at you, ELVIS). It did have a three-day weekend, saw the kids back on the bus, and featured plenty of football. Let us begin.
