We’ve been reviewing what we learned about personalities in our study for this year’s Country Radio Seminar as we prepare for a CRS 360 in the weeks ahead. At the big study presentation in Nashville, we showed that 3 out of 5 County radio listeners (1,185 of them in a nationwide sample of 1.500 Country…

Knowing my involvement in the radio business, friends recently asked for help with the audio system in their new car. How do they access FM radio stations? Does their car have AM at all? What are the HD stations they talked about at the dealership? There aren’t any buttons, how do presets work? They tried…

The radio business came to mind last week while watching the CBS 60 Minutes segment on Banana Ball last week. Depending on where you live and the media you consume, it’s completely possible you’re unaware of Banana Ball, yet the games sell out major league baseball stadiums and NFL football stadiums when the league tours…

The spring book is underway. Even if you’re among the lucky ones who were able to get a music test completed earlier this year and have your marketing plans underway, you may still have concerns about your morning show or other key talent taking the coaching notes you’ve been giving them steadily. Research can help.…

Last week we wrote about lower-cost options for contesting. Keeping in tune with Nielsen’s practices would draw stations in diary markets to fulfill contest prizes online – or, even better, in-app. As noted, some listeners may resist coming to a station location for a lower-value prize – but the instant gratification available with online fulfillment…

Years of NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Studies have shown the tremendous pull of $1000 and even $500 contest prizes. Well-orchestrated group contests give the appearance of constant $1000 giveaways across a swath of stations for a relatively modest expenditure. If your crosstown rival seems to be giving away $1000 an hour all week long, it may…

With apologies to Paul McCartney and the late John Lennon, in case you now have one of their songs now running through your head, all the listening you need for credit in a PPM quarter hour is now three minutes, instead of five. As we noted last week, the first month’s PPM data with the…

With the new three-minute listening thresholds in place, January 2025 PPM ratings were up 14% (against an expected 20% increase) compared to the January 2024 numbers according to Jon Miller, Nielsen VP Audience Insights. Miller explains the shortfall, citing there’s ongoing annual erosion to all linear media, radio included, of around 8%-9%. The Jon Miller…

We’re getting out first glimpses of the impact of Nielsen’s three-minute qualifier in PPM markets. Remembering that the real purpose of the ratings is to sell advertising, we can hope that the larger AQH numbers, the lift in adults 25-54, and the growth in afternoons and weekends will bring good news for sellers. There will…

Last week we wrote about presenting a research study at Country Radio Seminar 2025. We highlighted on-going listener interest in remote broadcasts and showed the large numbers who say they never see any local Country stations broadcasting live around their towns. Those data are based on a 1,500-person study of Country music fans ages 18-54…