Minding Your P1s

The Ratings Experts from Research Director, Inc. strongly believe that tracking your P1s is an essential part of your programming focus. Not to state the obvious, but one book does not make a trend. These are numbers and numbers can wobble.

So, what should you do?

Examine your P1 percentage. Nielsen has found that, in PPM-measured markets, P1 listeners represent 20% of a station’s cume and 63% of a station’s AQH audience. In diary-measured markets, the numbers are similar – P1 listeners represent 33% of a station’s cume and 70% of a station’s AQH audience. How is yours tracking?

How heavy are your P1s? Let’s say your percentage is right where it should be. You have the right amount of P1 cume but your AQH is weakening. Make sure you are tracking your P1 TSL (AWTE). As stated earlier, not all P1s are created equal. For example: Listener A listens to radio 20 hours a week and you get 15 of those. Listener B listens to radio 7 hours a week and you get 4. Which one is more important? (That’s kind of a rhetorical question).

Sometimes your numbers could be softening because your P1 base is made up of light listeners. Conversely, you could be hotter in July because your P1s are major radio users.

Ultimately, you won’t know unless you are tracking.

This is something we watch for our client stations. Research Director, Inc. has also created custom reports that analyze and trend your P1 foundation.

If you would like us to help you gain a deeper understanding of your P1 audience, please feel free to reach out for a free consultation.