Moneyball: Remaining Local & Connected in 2026

While Nielsen’s new 3-minute rules have lifted AQH, revenue remains challenging. It’s understandable to see programming personnel being trimmed back at many companies. It’s sad for the individuals involved and sad for the business as it works to compete with the onslaught of digital competition in the audio space.

Managers are left with fewer bodies to help stations lean into the experiences that streaming cannot replicate. Even with fewer beating hearts, radio needs to highlight its human, local, and interactive elements. Even with cuts, radio needs to maximize the “Live & Local” experience in key dayparts.

Spotify and its peers are algorithms. Radio has people who can be authentic and relatable. While PPM is merciless in making sure that talk breaks are efficient, NuVoodoo study data shows many listeners tune in for companionship and connection – things music algorithms can’t provide.

Listeners can get weather and traffic information on their phones, but many still rely on the radio as an additional source. Reviewing listener complaints about radio stations, we’ve yet to see one about hearing a timely weather forecast or well-organized traffic report. Including these service elements during key dayparts ensures that listeners will think of your station when the weather gets severe or there’s unusual traffic mayhem.

Client appearances are the only opportunities some stations get to meet listeners. In-person events, concerts, and remote broadcasts build a face-to-face connection and sense of community. Ensure that your staff and equipment look sharp and represent the station at its best – entertaining, community-involved, warm, caring. Remember that allowing passers-by to register for a drawing can get those people into your station database.

Use the resources you have to generate even more local content. Use the power of the station’s social media connections in the community to gather updates on hyper-local goings-on. Use your station’s social media presence to gather the community perspective on local events, trending regional topics, and pop culture. Celebrate heroes in your community whenever you can.

Make sure someone is trained, empowered, and given the task of responding to listener emails, social media comments, and texts to show that listener input is valued. If possible, follow up to make contact and get listener audio for the most interesting emails, comments, and texts – and put them on the air. By being human, local, and interactive, radio stations emphasize the strengths that differentiate them from the purely algorithmic and passive listening experience of Spotify and other streamers.

NuVoodoo’s offerings for programming research are widely known and used, and we’re now working with radio sellers to make sure stations get the revenue they deserve. We’re making the brand lift studies we’ve been doing quietly for a small list of clients available across the business. Stations using them are finding success in increased renewals, extensions, and additional sales by proving the effectiveness of campaigns for important clients. We showcased a recent brand lift study for an expanding local bank in a webinar. You’ll get all the details of their success in less than 15 minutes in the webinar video on our website.

We can scale brand lift studies to make them work for radio ad budgets. Studies can be run across a group or market cluster. We can cover several clients in a study when schedules align. We work to make costs commensurate with budgets. Reach out to me at leigh@nuvoodoo.com for more information.