Is there a way for radio…

[Loverofradio]

Sorry for asking so many questions out of the gate. Will there ever be a way for radio to get out of sample size measurements for ratings and be like streaming where every listener is accounted for? I feel like so many stations have lost money and ratings throughout the years, where maybe ratings/shares aren’t as accurate. I work in tv now, but was in radio before. Services like Youtube tv, sling, etc are (I believe) measuring all devices for ratings

 

[davideduardo]

Sorry for asking so many questions out of the gate. Will there ever be a way for radio to get out of sample size measurements for ratings and be like streaming where every listener is accounted for?

No, because there is no economically feasable way of measuring every radio. Since radios don't physically connect to a source with an identifiable handshake, there is no data other than getting each person to allow monitoring.

I feel like so many stations have lost money and ratings throughout the years, where maybe ratings/shares aren’t as accurate.

I can't think of how the slight margin of error of ratings has affected any station significantly. The results are accurate enough to set pricing and show advertisers what they are getting. Advertisers don't require 100% precision like elections do. If the results are 10% to 15% within "reality" that is good enough.

I work in TV now, but was in radio before. Services like Youtube TV, sling, etc are (I believe) measuring all devices for ratings

But they don's show with precision who is listening... just the device.

 

[Loverofradio]

No, because there is no economically feasable way of measuring every radio. Since radios don't physically connect to a source with an identifiable handshake, there is no data other than getting each person to allow monitoring.

I can't think of how the slight margin of error of ratings has affected any station significantly. The results are accurate enough to set pricing and show advertisers what they are getting. Advertisers don't require 100% precision like elections do. If the results are 10% to 15% within "reality" that is good enough.

But they don's show with precision who is listening... just the device.

Do you see in the future where terrestrial radio stations will try to monetize how many people are listening on their streams?

 

[TheBigA]

Do you see in the future where terrestrial radio stations will try to monetize how many people are listening on their streams?

That's a complicated question, because it depends on the content of the stream. If the stream is mainly music, then it's governed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which provides royalties to be paid to musicians, artists, labels, and songwriters. After those royalties are paid out, there's not much left. In fact in some cases, the streams operate at a loss.

On the other hand if the radio stations own the content on the stream, then there's a chance to monetize it.

 

[davideduardo]

Do you see in the future where terrestrial radio stations will try to monetize how many people are listening on their streams?

I echo BigA's response. This is all about costs.

 

[TheBigA]

At one time there was a view that radio stations would charge subscription fees for their online content. Rush Limbaugh had paid content on his site. The other way radio stations are monetizing online content is with podcasts of their spoken word content.