March 27, 2025
Since today is baseball’s opening day, it is appropriate to say we are rounding third and headed for home as we wrap up the FEBRUARY survey. Another set of data points are on deck as we examine how this whole three-minute rule – NIELSEN’s version of the pitch clock – has affected radio listening. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with our double play partners from XTRENDS – will focus on share rank, as usual. However, we will also continue to look at how PUMM has been affected on a book-to-book and year-to-year basis. This is our version of inside baseball.
The FEBRUARY book ran from FEBRUARY 6TH through MARCH 5TH. There was a long government-sponsored weekend in there, the end of the football season and plenty of the winter doldrums. The play by play begins now ….
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March 26, 2025
Once again, we’re going boldly forward into the past. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. along with the math mavens from XTRENDS, better known as the “innies” to our “outies,” bring you the latest edition of radio’s version of microdata refinement. The FEBRUARY survey provides us with our second look at what the three-minute qualifier has produced. While we mainly focus on shares, we are looking at PUMM changes from both the previous survey and FEBRUARY 2024. So far, the results have been … interesting.
The following analysis covers the period from FEBRUARY 6TH through MARCH 5TH. It contained a three-day weekend and the usual spate of lousy seasonal weather. And we can assure you, no goats were harmed in the production of this blog.
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March 25, 2025
Back from the shadows again, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the black ops number generators from XTRENDS – are here to reveal another set of data points from the FEBRUARY survey. This is the second book in the new three-minute reality series. We will reveal how market PUMM has been affected from both the previous survey and this same time last year.
It’s a somewhat complicated plot line so you may want to turn on the subtitles, so you don’t miss any nuances in our dialog. The book ran from FEBRUARY 6TH through MARCH 5TH. It did have one three-day weekend and the requisite bad weather. Here’s how it unfolded ….
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March 24, 2025
When the JANUARY numbers were released, there were a myriad of hot takes about what the new three-minute qualifier wrought upon the radio world. The reality we witnessed – and wrote about – was a bit more nuanced. When comparing JANUARY to HOLIDAY, there were dramatic increases in AQH persons. The year-over-year metrics were quite a bit less dramatic. The one solid conclusion? Every market was different.
Now we move on to FEBRUARY. Will the AQH leap from the previous survey be as profound as last time? What about when compared to 2024? Read on ….
This book ran from FEBRUARY 6TH through MARCH 5TH and did feature one federally mandated holiday weekend. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – working hand in glove with the algorithmic alchemists from XTRENDS – are here to tell the story of FEBRUARY.
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March 20, 2025
You wake up with a start. Cold sweat on the back of your neck. Your heart is racing, and you expect the hotline to ring at any moment.
You just had “the dream.” Anyone who has ever been on the air at a radio station has had a version of “the dream.”
An old college radio friend of mine, who has not been on the air since then, says he still occasionally has “the dream.”
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