November 26, 2024
The holiday fever that sweeps the nation every year can likely be traced to the retail moguls who want you to buy inflatable Snoopys as early as possible. That’s why you see Target or Costco set fill their shelves with all the CHRISTMAS-related baubles you must have. One would think this translates into mass hysteria and an early run on those items. They must have data that proves this. Right?
In the radio world, the rush to flip to the Frosty format often happens earlier and earlier. However, as we discovered in part one of this series, only one of the five markets we examined featured a NOVEMBER switch. Spoiler alert – none of the next five markets featured an early convert. Sanity prevailed.
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a committed relationship with the XTRENDS elves at the ratings workshop – bring you the NOVEMBER survey. It ran from OCTOBER 10TH through NOVEMBER 6TH. There was a three-day federal holiday weekend and an election you may have heard about. Here’s what happened:
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November 25, 2024
Welcome to the final survey of 2024. “Wait,” you say, “there are two more books scheduled in this calendar year.” This is true, young padawan, but those surveys will be permanently scarred by the presence of BURL IVES and his evil minions. For the most part, this book is free from all things holly and jolly, though there may be a few outliers. The book ran from OCTOBER 10TH through NOVEMBER 6TH. It featured a federally-endorsed three-day weekend and the day of elections.
As always, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with our numbers-crunching cohorts from XTRENDS – are here to serve the public interest and shine the light on the ratings results.
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November 21, 2024
Now that we know that Nielsen will implement the new three-minute guidelines with the January 2025 survey, we can start thinking about the consequences. We already know AQH will rise at both the station and market level. We also know this will be primarily driven by increased AWTE (TSL for the veterans).
As you are likely discussing the possibilities within your station/cluster, here are a few things to watch out for.
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November 14, 2024
As you read this, at least one station in your market has made the flip to All Frosty, All the Time. One could argue that making the switch during the November survey is a bit too early. We have seen mixed results for stations that decide that ten weeks of holiday tuneage is just what the market ordered.
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November 7, 2024
Ron Harrell writes a weekly column for Barrett Media. It is insightful, observational, and well worth your time. Recently he opined about getting your music right and eliminating bad songs. Of course, he is right. Getting the music right is a fundamental tenet of any well-programmed radio station. I’m going to pivot on this and say that picking the right music for your format is the easiest task any programmer faces. Read More…
