https://www.billboard.com/biz/artic...ing-radio-for-digital-only-listening-on-their
Here is the study and the sample was obtained in a 5 year period.
Here is the study and the sample was obtained in a 5 year period.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
More Younger Consumers Abandoning Radio for Digital-Only Listening On Their Devices:
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
The part of this that Pandora doesn't understand is the reason people are using their service is to escape commercials. So adding more commercials to Pandora is simply giving people a reason to go somewhere else. Their new owner, Sirius, is forced by contract to offer their music services commercial free. No such requirement on Pandora. There was a time when there were fewer commercials on FM than AM. Then it became popular and was filled with advertising. The same thing is starting to happen to Pandora.
Interesting admission for someone who is hanging out on a radio message board.
I am actually the reverse. I listen to SiriusXM a lot in the car, but a lot of terrestrial radio at home.
Including a lot of AM radio. Guess I'm really a fossil.
If we had a real rock station I would listen more. Sadly that one station turned into church rock.Interesting admission for someone who is hanging out on a radio message board.
I am actually the reverse. I listen to SiriusXM a lot in the car, but a lot of terrestrial radio at home.
Including a lot of AM radio. Guess I'm really a fossil.
I also listen a lot at home, but we are unusual for sure. By far most people only listen in the car. With my setup, including outside antennas, I can cleanly get over 60 FM channels (counting HD secondary channels). So I live in a market that has a lot available. But I always change channels when a commercial comes on. Sorry advertisers. Ain't nobody got time for that.....ha ha.
Last edited:
FM_Listener - you go to great lengths to listen to radio. In fact, you should get an award for all the effort. The million dollar question that we all struggle with is how to keep listeners through commercial breaks. IF you had to listen through say five commercials in a row, etc., what would they need to "sound like" to keep you from changing channels? There has to be a magic formula...maybe.
Good question. I'm weird, radio has always been a hobby for me. Plus I just like music a lot, and different genres of music. So I'm lucky that way.
As far as commercials go I've never liked them. I also record all the shows I watch with TiVO and skip all commercials (except cool car commercials). Truth be told, on the radio, I do sometimes forget to change the channel right away because I'm usually working from home on the computer, listening to FM. Then I will realize and think why am I listening to that?
I can't even think of a radio commercial that has interested me, except maybe a concert advertisement. But I must not be typical because they must work fairly well. I'm sure at some point I must have checked into something besides a concert after hearing it on the radio, but I can't think of it.
I don't know if I have any ideas about what might hold my attention longer, maybe if they're musical, or tricky in a way that makes you wonder what it's about (and you find out at the end). Or funny. If it's just bla, bla, we're awesome and you should buy our stuff or service it's a real turn off.
Sometimes I think I'm kind of cheating the system by changing channels, but then I realize I doubt I would make a purchase anyway. When I'm looking for something it's Internet research time.
The solution is more live ad reads. If the listener is entertained they will keep listening.
Reading this conversation, I was reminded of an article by a consultant that I saw yesterday that mentioned the subject of commercials on the radio:
https://www.allaccess.com/consultant-tips/archive/29828/gen-z-more-powerful-than
In the middle, there's her "oh wow" moment, that we often talk about programming in terms of music, hosts, and imaging, but never include commercials in our conversation. But to the listener, the commercial is PART OF the programming. It's not just a stopset or "now these words from our sponsor." It's all part of the whole. I don't know a lot of programmers who think that way, because commercials have always been a part of the radio equation, at least in terms of commercial radio.
But now with all the subscription models on the market, all the commercial free choices, perhaps it's time to view commercials as part of programming. I think people in radio know they have to address the commercial issue in some way. They just don't know how.
That is a very valid and interesting point.
I was listening in the last few days to WTOP in DC. It's a marvelous news station, but OMG the commercials! Many are high pressure direct response ads, and are quite annoying.
While WTOP provides a service that can't be duplicated via Spotify or streams, it would drive me to listen more to NPR were it not for the condensed, headline style of WTOP that does give a news update rather quickly.
I remember running stations where we would reject commercials that were not appropriate for the format... it seems nobody cares today.
Now back to Mike trying to sell me a pillow...
I don't think "nobody cares." A lot of people care, but most are powerless to do anything about it.
I also remember when radio (and especially television) stations would reject commercials with poor technical quality. No more. Many stations will air anything and everything that comes along.
"The solution is more live ad reads. If the listener is entertained they will keep listening."
Amen. There's nothing worse that the 20th time you hear a poorly written and/or produced spot, it's instant change time
Amen. There's nothing worse that the 20th time you hear a poorly written and/or produced spot, it's instant change time
Last edited:
Interesting radio ad chicken-and-egg discussion.. It used to be that what could be considered top talent on a station, would generally do certain spots live, to a certain extent ad-libbing about the product or service. Stern still has some sponsors that pay top dollar for a live spot read. A Podcast I regularly listen to features several talent-read spots.
Seems to me the live or talent spot reads incorporated in shows, stopped when major talent to read the spots left the business.
Huh? Maybe in your market. Live reads are very popular, and yes, stations charge more for them.
So you're saying the My Pillow ads read by the talk show host are OK? Because it's being done.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/sh...s-over-My-Pillow-commercials&highlight=pillow
How would you feel about six spots in a row read by the talent with no production?
I only run into this problem at Christmas. The stations I listen to for Christmas music play music for a long time without commercials, but then once there is a commercial, that's it. Some of the commercials are interesting, but a person can only take so many. As soon as I realize there is a commercial break, I go somewhere else.
The rest of the year I listen to stations with frequent but brief commercial breaks. Many of the commercials are interesting or entertaining, but the breaks are short even if they are not.
The rest of the year I listen to stations with frequent but brief commercial breaks. Many of the commercials are interesting or entertaining, but the breaks are short even if they are not.
Not totally powerless. There is always another pre-set or the power button.
I never said anything about My Pillow ads. What I was trying to say; is that with the replacement of personalities in various dayparts in some markets, so went the volume of live, or personality-reads spots.
David mentioned WTOP. A lot of what they do is have one particular guy who's primary gig is to write and deliver editorials, does a lot of testimonial-spots. Sometimes the PM drive traffic guy does live reads for a pizza place.
Again, I wasn't giving an opinion about whether I liked live/talent-read spots or not. Only that the number of them is reduced since talent, especially for music stations, has become more generic.
The way most stations handle this is using the morning show voiced spot in other day parts. This is very common. Surprised you've never heard it. K-Rock did that with Howard Stern spots. If there's money to be made by host reads, there will be a way to do it. You don't turn down money. Even syndicated hosts such as Elvis Duran or Ryan Seacrest, read live spots for the local affiliates. If advertisers will pay for live reads, radio stations will hire more live talent. However, some agencies feel their produced spots are more effective than dry voicers.
- Status