January 16, 2025
As the tragic fires in Los Angeles have brought into sharp focus, significant and devastating natural disasters are a way of life in the U.S. And, whether it’s hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, blizzards, or wildfires, radio is ALWAYS there.
Radio – and more importantly radio people – are always at the forefront in providing critical, timely, and, often, life-saving information. Radio is also instrumental in the aftermath of any natural disaster. From clean up to fundraising, the power of radio makes a difference.
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January 9, 2025
Welcome to the first day of the rest of your radio life. As of January 9th everything in the ratings universe for PPM markets has changed – forever.
The new Nielsen three-minute rule is not the ratings law of the land. This grand change opens up a brave new world of possibilities for our industry.
What will it all mean?
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January 2, 2025
As a dedicated reader of this here missive, you might spend time every month reading through our Radio Ratings Roundup (RRR). This is where we do a semi-deep dive into the ratings of the top-20 markets. Chances are greater that you likely skim the articles, looking for markets or stations you care about.
That’s fine. Really, it’s just fine.
That said, you may have missed something in December’s RRR.
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December 30, 2024
Welcome back to the extended play version of the RRR. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – with a significant contribution from the data diviners from XTRENDS – are here to wrap up the DECEMBER survey. While the first three rounds revealed the usual avalanche of audience augmentation for those stations who changed their formats, this final take is just chock full of surprises. One could say that several markets were delivered lumps of coal.
This survey ran from NOVEMBER 7TH through DECEMBER 4TH. Besides the holiday hijinks, there was the hallowed three-day weekend devoted to our Veterans along with the uniquely American bacchanalian feast of THANKSGIVING. Let’s all go for one more sleigh ride …
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December 27, 2024
Now that CHRISTMAS is officially in the rearview mirror, can we have a frank conversation about privacy? In an age where every company – and many governments – watch our every key stroke, why is it that we gleefully sing about some foreign agent who can “see you when you’re sleeping and know when you’re awake.” Isn’t that Fitbit’s job? And who is he to judge whether we’ve been naughty or nice? When you peel back the wrapping paper, it does seem a bit creepy, no?
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the parsers of data from XTRENDS – are back with round three of the DECEMBER survey. This one really boils down to how much MARIAH CAREY affected the ratings. The book ran from NOVEMBER 7TH through DECEMBER 4TH. There was a weekend where we honored those who served and a long weekend where we were served heaping platefuls of grub. Here’s how it went:
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