The February Nielsen numbers, 12+, are out. February was before all hell broke loose. But coronavirus coverage was certainly in the news, which is probably reflected in both WBEN’s and WBFO’s strong numbers. I’m sure the Democratic presidential primary coverage is reflected in those numbers as well. Star 102.5 had a strong book — coming in at number 4 in the 12+ ranking — beating 97 Rock, Classic Hits 104.1 and other music stations. WGR’s numbers were down from football season, but still relatively strong with the Sabres still playing. The March book will be very interesting. Is Nielsen continuing to survey in the current environment? Maybe someone here who is actively involved in broadcasting can answer that. If so, I wonder if WBEN and WBFO will see their numbers skyrocket. Will the bottom fall out for WGR with all sports canceled? I know I haven’t tuned in WGR since this all began. And what about the industry in general? Will advertising drop significantly, hurting the bottom lines of the major ownership groups? More questions than answers. These are terrifying times!
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February Nielsen Numbers
- Thread starter Mark1981
- Start date
Hearing the guys on WGR talk about something other than the minutiae of sports may be a welcome alternative to the irresponsible misinformation and conspiracy theory rants on WBEN.
A good example was the closure yesterday of the 5 Gleason stations in Maine. While complicated by the death a year ago of the owner is a factor, the economy pulled the sw3itch.
https://ratings.****************/content/arb037
Persons 12+ no wagering, please.
Nielsen continues to place diaries, I am told by a reputable source. Given the current pandemic and response by many companies to have employees work from home, response rates will be very interesting. What constitutes at-home listening? What constitutes at-work listening? Given that car listening is radio's sweet spot in drive, and listeners aren't driving to work, how will AM-PM shares look for all stations. The industry is in uncharted water.
Conventional wisdom says WBFO and WBEN will get a bump: WBFO from discerning listeners who seek the facts; WBEN from listeners in their silo who want to hear the latest republican spin. But how many listeners will tire of hearing the news and talk shows and prefer to watch it on their terms. And how many work-at-home listeners and listeners who are home-schooling their kids will eschew radio and TV between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. because they have their hands full. How many listeners will say, "I don't have time to fill out this stupid diary" and blow it off, or fill it out half-interested? Nielsen has some serious challenges ahead.
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Buddy Shula
Guest
I have from a reliable source that the diaries are falling to certain places. The entire system is outdated and unreliable. We have nearly 70000 cume, highest in history, yet share is down. In fact, it is down for most stations. I am seeing more stations from 2 to 5 share than ever before. There are only a few that go much higher. That seems to be the case in Rochester as well. Most stations do not have huge share. It’s very weird. I have asked Neilson about this and nobody really has an answer. They say “ diaries did not go to your 70000 listeners” Local direct business is the way to go. They care about results only. That’s it. I am sick of the Neilson outdated roller coaster system. Who in their right mind would even take the time to fill out this bullshit?. We need to be a PPM market. I would feel better. None of the ratings stuff make sense. We had a 3.7 with the same amount of listeners just a few months ago. Like I said, most stations keep going down, except a few. To make things even worse, now this bullshit comes out every month! I still have not figured out how it is derived. No one can tell me. For the cost I pay, to not even get the answers I need from Neilson, it’s a total waste of money. I can’t wait to unsubscribe. All they care about is strong arming their clients and bullshitting them. Just my take.
Do one of you Programming guys want to explain in spite of WECK's historically high cume, his station's share is down? Keep in mind he's a Sales guy with little understanding, apparently, of the relationship between come and share. Help a Buddy out!
Reminds me of my conversation with my financial consultant. I asked him why I'm paying so much in taxes. He told me to ask a tax attorney.
Here's what I know about sales: When you have high cume, you sell the cume. When you have high AQH, you sell AQH. It doesn't matter. You sell your strength, whatever that is. I remember walking into a station that was at the bottom of the ratings in every category. We sold quality, not numbers. There's always a way to sell something. The challenge is finding that one way that works. I think Buddy knows that already.
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Buddy Shula
Guest
Dude, I am a programming guy too. I understand why share is down. Because TSL is down, along with other factors beyond our control. Cume is far more important than share. But if you care to look at share, take a look at WECK 50 plus (our demo) share. Also, let me remind you, we are in the thick of share with 50,000 watt stations. Go back to pumping gas at Mobil
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