Posts in "Hot Topics"
December 28, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in conversation with math magicians from XTRENDS – have been in a heated debate recently. Look, we’re all fine with the radio airwaves being fouled by the incessant drumming and ringing. The masses love it. What we cannot cotton to is the thought that My Favorite Things is a CHRISTMAS song. Sure, it talks about sleigh bells, snowflakes and packages tied up with strings, but it is from The Sound of Music. This is a movie about a lot of “things” – CHRISTMAS not being one of them. So if the powers that choose the songs will indulge us – please purge this from your playlist. With that settled, let us proceed with the DECEMBER survey. It ran from NOVEMBER 9TH through DECEMBER 6TH and it featured a lot of our favorite things – ratings.
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December 27, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Now that the dulcet tones of BURL IVES have faded into the ether, it is time for The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the XTRENDS elves in the data-crunching workshop – to rehash the seminal ghosts of CHRISTMAS past. We bring you the DECEMBER survey. A time when the airwaves were riddled with jingling bells, drumming children and, apparently, the telling of scary ghost stories from prior holidays. This book began on NOVEMBER 9TH and skidded to a halt on DECEMBER 6TH. It featured a long holiday weekend plus folks gobbling up as much turkey as possible. Here’s how it ended up: Read More…
December 21, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
As we roll through the holidays, we can get distracted by all the hoopla and the hype. I am mindful of the fact that we all need the hope that this season brings. We need to focus on ourselves and take the time to recharge.
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December 14, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
There is no question that political dollars will be the make-or-break category for many broadcasters for the end of this year and into next year. The flow of presidential candidate spending is in full force.
We have been assisting its clients in maximizing political revenue, it has become obvious that the role of geography is a game changer.
Geographic appeal is a dominant advantage for most radio stations. Few stations’ listenership is evenly spread across the entire metro. Due to signal and format appeal, most stations’ listenership is centered in a small portion of the metro. So how do you take advantage of your station’s geographic appeal?
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December 7, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Do you need one more big piece of business to finish 2023 strong? To hit your goal? Most radio sellers are now scrambling to close last-minute business. We can help …
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December 1, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Welcome back to the final RRR of NOVEMBER. Let’s face it – this is also the final survey of 2023. Sure, there are still two more books to go but unless you’re unleashing GENE AUTRY or BURL IVES on the masses, you’ll likely take the results with a healthy pinch of flaky salt. Still, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the math mavens from XTRENDS – will continue to soldier on. We are focused on the time period of OCTOBER 12TH through NOVEMBER 8TH. It featured millions of children on a collective sugar high, engagement of the flux capacitor to reverse time and the casting of ballots. Let us begin…
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November 30, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
So I asked Google’s Generative AI to come up with NOVEMBER sayings. This was the best one: “This NOVEMBER, there seems to be nothing to say.” Not exactly a deep thought. That said, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. along with our cohorts from XTRENDS have plenty to say about the NOVEMBER survey. This one began on OCTOBER 12TH and was completed on NOVEMBER 8TH. We had ALL HALLOWS’ EVE, the end of Daylight Saving Time (it’s not plural), and Election Day. Plus, it got cold. Let’s dive in, shall we?
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November 29, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., with incredible backroom support from the numbers crunchers from XTRENDS, return refreshed and anew, ready to tackle another slate of radio ratings results. Doesn’t it seem that once you’ve parsed a book and reacted to its results, you’re smacked in the face by a new set of numbers? This one is called NOVEMBER, though it actually began on OCTOBER 12TH and ended on NOVEMBER 8TH. It featured a lot of people dressing like TAYLOR SWIFT, the absurd turning back the hands of time, and an election day. We will now reveal the details…
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November 28, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
As you slowly recover from your self-induced food coma, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in close proximity with the alchemists of the algorithm from XTRENDS – bring you another scintillating edition of the radio ratings follies. This time we dissect the remains of the NOVEMBER survey, which ran from OCTOBER 12TH through NOVEMBER 8TH – so calling it by its given name is a bit of a misnomer. The noteworthy events of this time frame included the tricking of treats, the ridiculous exercise of falling back and a mid-term election. Other than that, it was business as usual, at least for radio. Here’s what happened…
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November 16, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
You likely read Warren Kurtzman’s recent post on the Tuesday’s With Coleman blog (if not, the link is below). The gist of the article was that any radio station’s marketing to heavy meter keepers is a fool’s errand.
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