August 7, 2024
As the chants of “USA, USA, USA” cascade in the background, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC – along with the Olympic-level mathletes from XTRENDS – are ready to bring you the thrills of victory and the agonies of defeat from the JULY survey. We have already witnessed the procession to the podium of our first 10 markets. It is now time to see who the medal winners are in this round of the competition.
This survey ran from JUNE 20TH through JULY 17TH. It featured the end of mandatory school attendance, the beginning of the vacation season and, of course, a federal holiday that had the potential to mess with two weeks of your data. It really stinks when reality intrudes on our nicely ordered radio universe. Speaking of reality, let’s get on with the show.
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August 6, 2024
Welcome back to the continuing saga of “How The Ratings Turn.” The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a committed relationship with the algorithmic artists from XTRENDS – bring you the latest installment of the JULY survey. This one ran from JUNE 20TH through JULY 17TH. The most notable occurrence during that span was the INDEPENDENCE DAY holiday. That one happened on day one of week two and had the potential to wreak havoc with meter keepers. And, as we say with Part I, this is the time of year when cume levels tend to drop. After all, whether we want to believe it or not, panelists have actual lives. They are not consumed by the daily comings and goings of radio like we are. They should be, of course, but it is not our place to judge.
Now, on with the countdown…
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August 5, 2024
Welcome to JULY! Yeah, we know, in the real world we are actually in AUGUST. But in the NIELSEN multiverse, we are constantly going boldly forward into the past. The subject of our latest four-part series on the ratings fates and fortunes of countless radio stations began its journey on JUNE 20TH and reached the end of the road on JULY 17TH. So it’s really JULY“ish”.
The July book was buried deeply in the dog days of summer when meter keepers nationwide were abandoning their posts for some much-deserved rest and relaxation. This can have a dramatic effect on weekend numbers as you could have a heavy household absent for half the available weekends. Something worth keeping an eye on. However, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with our partners in forensic science from XTRENDS – are here to look at the big picture. Here’s how it played out:
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August 1, 2024
Artificial Intelligence has been trending lately, especially in the radio world. But the reality is that we’ve been dealing with AI for years. Stop me if you’ve never experienced the following:
You call your bank, a store, your doctor and you are greeted by a metallic sounding “Hello!” followed by various prerecorded ‘blah, blah, blah.’ You spend the next eight minutes screaming “Operator” into your phone before Skynet says “Okay, you want a representative. I just need a few more bits of information…” That’s when you succumb and realize you have lost.
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July 25, 2024
I’m so sorry because I’m sure you now have “Here Comes the Sun” playing on repeat in your head. However, this is about the importance of radio on the weekends. Lately there has been a lot of buzz in the trade press about radio’s readiness on the weekend. This was obviously prompted by a couple of momentous events that happened on consecutive weekends. I’m not here to pontificate about what you should or should not do on the weekend at your stations. If you are a programmer, you already know all about this situation. Read More…
