Posts in "Hot Topics"
October 17, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
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.
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October 10, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
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.
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October 4, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
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:
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October 2, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
The SEPTEMBER hits just keep on coming. We do not have an exact count, but it feels like there are more songs written about this month than any other. According to AI, this is because the month can cause a mix of emotions, including nostalgia and reflection. Or because it rhymes with “remember.” It’s a coin toss for us.
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in cahoots with the math mavens from XTRENDS – are set to dive even further into this most recent survey. In case you’re keeping score at home, this book ran from AUGUST 15TH through SEPTEMBER 11TH. School was back in session, tailgating was back, and there was a tribute to labor. Here’s how that affected the numbers in our next group of markets.
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October 1, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Don’t think the irony escapes us that you are reading our second pass at the SEPTEMBER survey on the first day of OCTOBER. As we do every 28 days, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in conjunction with the crackerjack conjurors of the algorithm from XTRENDS – are going boldly forward into the past. These are the numbers you will base future decisions upon. The fates and fortunes of hundreds of our radio brethren lie in the balance. Fortunately, we can only stretch the hyperbole so far.
The aforementioned survey period ran from AUGUST 15TH through SEPTEMBER 11TH. School was back in session; we had a federally-mandated three-day weekend, and everyone was ready for some football. Let’s do this.
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September 30, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
Do you remember the survey we call SEPTEMBER? Well, since this is the first round of releases, we’re talking about an extremely short memory as this is happening in real time (or IRL). The title card is a bit misleading as the survey began on AUGUST 15TH and concluded on SEPTEMBER 11TH. So it’s more like AUGTEMBER or SEPTEMUST.
Any way you slice it, the book covered the end of vacation season that bled into the back-to-school daze. It also featured a federally-mandated three-day weekend and the return of NIL, uh, NCAA football.
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – huddling up with the data-crunching maestros from XTRENDS – are here to dive into the numbers and present them in a somewhat cogent style. Enjoy.
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September 26, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
We usually keep this blog focused on things like ratings and data and numbers. However, this time I want to opine about a radio “axiom” that seems to still be in vogue.
We’ve all heard the line: Your radio station should showcase the format in every quarter-hour.
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September 19, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
If you’re a Nielsen subscriber in a PPM market, you are just a few clicks away from a wealth of data. PD Advantage and Tapscan can help you parse the numbers beyond who’s #1 in your target demo. The Custom Programming Reports (CPRs) will show you who your top panelists are and when they went live. (Remember: quarter hour counts in CPRs are not weighted.)
These are all valuable tools you should master so you not only know how your stations are performing, but why they are, or are not, succeeding.
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September 6, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – running cheek by jowl with the numbers nerds from XTRENDS – are back to give you the greatest variety of radio ratings. We bring them to you non-stop with limited commercial interruption. Five big markets in a row! Twenty incredible demos! The kind of ratings everyone at the office can agree on! Nobody plays more ratings than we do.
Now that you’re properly hyped, we’ll tell you this is our final foray into AUGUST. The survey began on JULY 18TH and exited on AUGUST 14TH. There were no holidays, vacations were a thing, and, in many places, it was as hot as hell. Here we go…
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September 5, 2024
Filed Under: Hot Topics
It is hard to believe, but this is the beginning of our twelfth year writing this here missive. It is even harder to accept that it has now been a year since we exited ALL ACCESS and started publishing this as part of our Hot Topics blog. The radio industry still seems a bit hollow without our daily dose of ALL ACCESS.
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a close order formation with the data dragoons from XTRENDS – are thrilled to bring you another action-splattered edition of how the ratings turned. Another group of five markets go under the microscope as we continue to parse the results of the AUGUST survey. The markers for this book are JULY 18TH and AUGUST 14TH. There were no holidays but plenty of PTO.
Here is how it unfolded…
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