September PPM ratings

[TheBigA]

Referring to longer exposure, such as AC being on in a workplace or family common area/vehicle. Very little of AC listening in that demo is voluntary

There is no way to measure whether its voluntary or not. Advertisers don't care. Very few people I know choose to listen to commercials voluntarily.

 

[davideduardo]

Referring to longer exposure, such as AC being on in a workplace or family common area/vehicle. Very little of AC listening in that demo is voluntary

Actually, it is voluntary.

First, there is little workplace listening where one person hears the radio of another in a different demographic. Usually, workplace listening is done by a group of like-minded people who all have a station they like, such as a group in an auto repair shop listening to a Classic Rock station.

Otherwise, "office" listening, if any, is some kind of paid service or a company audio program like that at Walmart or CVS stores.

The reason why AC, Classic Hits and Classic Rock show in 18-34 is that the listeners to traditional stations in the CHR / Urban and Churban genres have gone, in significant percentages, to streaming. So the remaining 18-34 listening is often to stations that have more limited appeal in those demos but which have always had one side of their core bell curve among younger demos.

 

[Jeffrey]

Actually, it is voluntary.

First, there is little workplace listening where one person hears the radio of another in a different demographic. Usually, workplace listening is done by a group of like-minded people who all have a station they like, such as a group in an auto repair shop listening to a Classic Rock station.

Otherwise, "office" listening, if any, is some kind of paid service or a company audio program like that at Walmart or CVS stores.

The reason why AC, Classic Hits and Classic Rock show in 18-34 is that the listeners to traditional stations in the CHR / Urban and Churban genres have gone, in significant percentages, to streaming. So the remaining 18-34 listening is often to stations that have more limited appeal in those demos but which have always had one side of their core bell curve among younger demos.

I can't remember the last time I walked into an office or business of any kind and heard them playing an actual fm terrestrial radio station.

 

[davideduardo]

I can't remember the last time I walked into an office or business of any kind and heard them playing an actual fm terrestrial radio station.

Exactly.

 

[Radiopaw]

Exactly.

Eh… it’s not that rare here in the bay and we tend to cling to tech faster than most markets. I notice it randomly because of ads or radio stations putting in branding during songs. A burger place played KRBQ. A bank played KIOI. A hair stylist played KIOI. A car dealership played KLLC. A comic shop played KITS. Etc.

Surprisingly very common here; and I don’t go looking for that. I would say my interest in radio is fading as my generation (Gen Z) is less and less targeted for operators. I still am very interested in the business and its history but actually listening in 2024…? Eh… only for the morning shows it feels like.

 

[radiofan2023]

Eh… it’s not that rare here in the bay and we tend to cling to tech faster than most markets. I notice it randomly because of ads or radio stations putting in branding during songs. A burger place played KRBQ. A bank played KIOI. A hair stylist played KIOI. A car dealership played KLLC. A comic shop played KITS. Etc.

Surprisingly very common here; and I don’t go looking for that. I would say my interest in radio is fading as my generation (Gen Z) is less and less targeted for operators. I still am very interested in the business and its history but actually listening in 2024…? Eh… only for the morning shows it feels like.

What area of the Bay are you in? When I lived in the South Bay & Peninsula I don’t remember a lot of places I went playing music, and if they did it was generally Sirius. I think Safeway and maybe Draeger’s had their own music system.

 

[Radiopaw]

What area of the Bay are you in? When I lived in the South Bay & Peninsula I don’t remember a lot of places I went playing music, and if they did it was generally Sirius. I think Safeway and maybe Draeger’s had their own music system.

Pacifica, CA. Pretty common in San Mateo and Redwood City, too. I hear stores with their own system more sure, all of which are large chains. Pretty much only regional chains, mom and pop stores or local chains played their own. Not even Lunardi’s with 10 stores does radio. On the flip side, the Redwood City Supercuts does!

 

[radiofan2023]

Pacifica, CA. Pretty common in San Mateo and Redwood City, too. I hear stores with their own system more sure, all of which are large chains. Pretty much only regional chains, mom and pop stores or local chains played their own. Not even Lunardi’s with 10 stores does radio. On the flip side, the Redwood City Supercuts does!

Oh ok. I never went to Lunardi’s or Supercuts, but I went to a bunch of other places in downtown San Mateo and Redwood City. I went to the Great Clips in Foster City a few times, and they had classic rock on, but I don’t remember if it was a radio station or not.

 

[dcowboy7]

I can't remember the last time I walked into an office or business of any kind and heard them playing an actual fm terrestrial radio station.

Ive been in 2 philly pretzels recently & both were playing Z100....but i didnt hear mr.leonard.

 

[RadioFixerCLE]

Actually, it is voluntary.

First, there is little workplace listening where one person hears the radio of another in a different demographic. Usually, workplace listening is done by a group of like-minded people who all have a station they like, such as a group in an auto repair shop listening to a Classic Rock station.

IF someone has a little desktop radio at their office job, it's typically turned on quite low so as not to be much of a disturbance or distraction.

 

[davideduardo]

IF someone has a little desktop radio at their office job, it's typically turned on quite low so as not to be much of a disturbance or distraction.

The vast majority of "at work" occasions today are not in conventional offices. They are at workplaces like stockrooms, loading docks or driving a delivery or plumber's truck. At work, most people who listen... and are allowed to do that... use their smartphone with earbuds and a streaming source, not a radio station.

 

[RMarino]

At work, most people who listen... and are allowed to do that... use their smartphone with earbuds and a streaming source, not a radio station.

If someone is listening with earbuds, how does the PPM measure that listening? I’ve always wondered that.

 

[TheBigA]

If someone is listening with earbuds, how does the PPM measure that listening? I’ve always wondered that.

Nielsen has an adapter. But it's very likely that the listening is unmeasured.'

Pierre Bouvard published a study on it a few years ago and that was his conclusion.

 

[Huff]

Nielsen has an adapter. But it's very likely that the listening is unmeasured.'

Nielsen cannot measure listening on headphones/ear buds that don't use the adapter, so four years ago they enacted a "headphone listening adjustment," that basically studied how many people in a broad sample were using headphones and how much listening was escaping measurement, and then increasing listening estimates in those demos to match the estimated percentage of lost listening.

Nielsen Will Roll Out PPM Headphone Listening Adjustments In October.

After years of complaints that Nielsen’s Portable People Meters don’t adequately measure radio listening occurring on headphones, the ratings provider announced Tuesday that it will adjust upward its audience estimates

www.insideradio.com

 

[RoddyFreeman]

I actually would prefer to hear ads for the market in which the station is located, if for nothing else than to get an idea of the socio-political-economic makeup of that market.

I too wish that were the case. The reason that doesn't happen is because advertisers want their commercials heard in the markets they buy. If iHeart sells a certain number of impressions to an advertiser that wants to reach Cincinnati, their commercials will be heard on whatever stations people in Cincinnati are listening to, whether local or out-of-town.

 

[Larry]

Ironically most Lyft/Uber drivers I’ve had rides with are listening to FM radio and not some streaming service.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Nielsen cannot measure listening on headphones/ear buds that don't use the adapter, so four years ago they enacted a "headphone listening adjustment," that basically studied how many people in a broad sample were using headphones and how much listening was escaping measurement, and then increasing listening estimates in those demos to match the estimated percentage of lost listening.

Where is the eyeroll "like" reaction when you need it?

 

[davideduardo]

Where is the eyeroll "like" reaction when you need it?

That procedure is actually statistically sound as long as the base numbers and percentages are updated with a certain regularity.

 

[nowradioguy]

That procedure is actually statistically sound as long as the base numbers and percentages are updated with a certain regularity.

David, help us out here, please.

Who's to say that people listening with earphone/buds are actually listening to a radio station? Could they not be listening to Spotify, or a podcast, or their own music mix?

 

[wadio]

I thought the original reason for inserted ads on streaming was that AFTRA rates were like triple for streaming in addition to OTA, so local ads were blocked. Then that evolved into localized
targeted ads.

I too prefer hearing ads that are native to the stations I listen to, but if adds targeted to my locality help support the streaming, I'm all for it.