Closing Out the Year Strong
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 …
Posts in "Hot Topics"
Radio Ratings Roundup, November 2023, Part IV
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…
Radio Ratings Roundup, November 2023, Part III
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?
Radio Ratings Roundup, November 2023, Part II
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…
RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, NOVEMBER 2023, PART I
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…
Heavy Radio Listeners
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.
Re-Introducing the Nielsen Bulletin Board
November 9, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
One of the largest line items in any radio station’s budget is labeled “Nielsen”. Whether you’re in a diary or a PPM market it is important to know what changes are occurring with the ratings process. Nielsen is very open about this and releases both proprietary (Client Only) and public information.
Radio Ratings Roundup, October 2023, Part IV
November 2, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Rounding third and heading for home, we have time for one last blast of OCTOBER ratings magic. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in close proximity with the math wizards from XTRENDS – once again reach into our bag of tricks in an attempt to read the NIELSEN tarot cards. This particular mishegoss began on SEPTEMBER 14TH and ground to a halt on OCTOBER 11TH. We had ROSH HASHANAH, YOM KIPPUR, the semi-official start of pumpkin spice season and that federal holiday almost no one takes off. Here’s what happened to our final group of five markets.
Radio Ratings Roundup, October 2023, Part III
November 1, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the numbers merchants from XTRENDS – would be remiss in our analytical duties if we did not address this whole OCTOBER thing. As you likely know, in the old ROMAN calendar, OCTOBER was the eighth month of the year as there were only ten months in a year. When they went to a 12-month calendar, they tried to rename the month after several emperors but failed. We can be 100% certain that not one of those choices was Rocktober! There is no such month and there never will be. So can we just – please – remove this from the lexicon?
This survey ran from SEPTEMBER 14th through OCTOBER 11TH. We had ROSH HASHANAH, YOM KIPPUR, autumn ascending and an often-ignored federal holiday. Here’s how it looked for our next gang of five markets.
Radio Ratings Roundup, October 2023, Part II
October 31, 2023
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Do you realize this is effectively the penultimate survey of 2023? Sure, there are still three books to go before we turn the corner but let’s be real. The last two of them are horribly tainted by the stench of BURL IVES and his ilk. Unless you are the purveyor of this swill, your listeners will be leaving you for the warm embrace of MARIAH CAREY and BRENDA LEE. There oughta be a law, ya know. So enjoy the OCTOBER numbers while you may. This survey ran from SEPTEMBER 14TH through OCTOBER 11TH. It was notable for ROSH HASHANAH, YOM KIPPUR, the autumnal equinox and a lightly observed federal holiday. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in an open relationship with the numbers crunchers from XTRENDS – are ready for the ratings roundup to begin.