Nielsen starts cancelling small markets.

[davideduardo]

Announced today... a batch of smaller markets are no longer to be measured by Nielsen

(From Inside Radio) As part of a cost savings plan announced in early July, Nielsen now says it will cease measuring radio listening in nine smaller U.S. markets. Spring 2020 will be the final Market Report for Battle Creek, MI; Bend, OR; Billings, MT; Grand Junction, CO; New Bedford-Fall River, MA; Texarkana, TX-AR; Tri-Cities, WA (Richland-Kennewick-Pasco); Twin Falls-Sun Valley, ID; and Yakima, WA.

Full article at:

http://www.insideradio.com/free/nie...cle_4c88c17e-d024-11ea-8936-532b764a569d.html

I'm gonna' make a wild prediction: Nielsen will eventually drop any diary market that is not on continuous measurement. That would even mean some markets in the 50-100 market ranking, unless they increase to continuous measurement.

Those other markets cause a need for extra staff for just two 12-week periods out of the year, and it's harder and harder to deal with occasional workers due to what was in the pre-virus period very low unemployment... as well as increasingly limiting labor regulations. It is likely not profitable for Nielsen.

 

[davideduardo]

Announced today... a batch of smaller markets are no longer to be measured by Nielsen

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Nielsen further clarifies by saying that this is not part of the larger "optimization" plan. This is just due to lack of station support.

““Like most commercial businesses, Nielsen Audio continually reviews the economic viability of doing business in all markets,” Nielsen said in a statement offered to RBR+TVBR. “If the audio marketplace in select markets cannot financially support measurement, we discontinue producing our syndicated market report in those markets. That is just business as usual, [and] the typical expansion and contraction of our rated audio market list, which is the case with these nine markets.”

 

[TheBigA]

““Like most commercial businesses,

That sentence makes it clear why we need a non-profit doing this work.

 

[davideduardo]

That sentence makes it clear why we need a non-profit doing this work.

I think the Canadians have the right idea. Owned by broadcasters, not investment bankers and mutual funds.

 

[TheBigA]

I think the Canadians have the right idea. Owned by broadcasters, not investment bankers and mutual funds.

I'm not in favor if that either. As it is, some think Nielsen is biased towards broadcasters.

I think it needs to be owned by an indie non-profit, based at a college.

 

[davideduardo]

I'm not in favor if that either. As it is, some think Nielsen is biased towards broadcasters.

I think it needs to be owned by an indie non-profit, based at a college.

The problem there is that we are talking about an organization that needs sales offices, well over a thousand staff members, good relations with ad agencies and more. Way too big for a college-based enterprise, and subjecting it to things like tenure and the like would be hard to overcome.

 

[TheBigA]

Way too big for a college-based enterprise, and subjecting it to things like tenure and the like would be hard to overcome.

It would be based there, not owned by the college. Two different things. Employees would not be college employees.

Similar to public radio stations, based on college campus, but staffers are employees of the station, not the school.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

I'm gonna' make a wild prediction: Nielsen will eventually drop any diary market that is not on continuous measurement. That would even mean some markets in the 50-100 market ranking, unless they increase to continuous measurement.

I don't think that's unreasonable. The lag time on 2-books-per-year markets makes the infrequent ratings less useful to broadcasters, too.

For example, Boise (market #97) ratings, measured March to May, were posted today. 101.9 The Bull lept from a 1 share to a 9 share since the previous book (Fall '19). It looks like The Bull got a new PD about a year ago, but it took quite a while for the programming changes to become something the station could sell on.

 

[boombox4]

How would this affect the stations in these markets?

 

[davideduardo]

How would this affect the stations in these markets?

If they need ratings, they can go to Eastlan and make a deal.