Arbitron (now Nielson Radio) wants you to focus on “share” rather than Time Spent Listening (TSL). The system evolved that people listening were measured by quarter hours (AQH), which went to the days when people kept diaries. Now PPM measures minute by minute so now the data is matching advertiser’s fears about the actual audience size and advertising tune out.
http://www.talkers.com/2014/01/08/wednesday-january-8-2014/
In the last five years, a lot of baby boomers are retiring and working age people are unemployed, spending more time at home. Both of those you might think would cause older people to spend more time listening to radio. It isn’t happening.
Salem Radio just had a stock downgrade. Congress is about to hold hearings about phony weight loss products advertised on radio. Top executives have left Westwood One and Oaktree Capital. Geraldo and Huckabee have left radio. Fox Sports is losing talent. It’s all telling the same story.
So, when the foreigners ‘take over’ the air waves does this mean there will be almost no one listening to their message?
That depends on how full the FEMA camps are and how loud the speakers are
I hope so Nidster.
I find that I only listen when I am at work. If I ma at home I am outside doing something or over at my favorite local gunshop talking with friends.
well you never whether to believe the advertisers are on radio. That new security system that is wireless and easy to set up, that glenn beck allegedly installed in 30 minutes in his house with his son in law, has overtaken the autoglass guys and coming close to the number of credit protection ads that rudy Giuliani endorses.
I heard Rush talking about how good the wireless security system for your house is.
I don’t need some ol boy buying a cheap little ‘box’, on ‘e-pay’ that disables the security system, and rolling in my house like locust and cleaning me out.
I hear you can do that with the wireless entry on cars now, with something you buy on e-pay. Glad I have a old Jeep.
maybe its these crazy commercials ? i don’t know. I think its cumulost playing commercials over one another is annoying
probably its the 49% horde that is on the gov dole that has no attention span, they don’t give a cheit and just watch cable tripe.
parrott
The blurb that the FTC press release has is “right on”, which is not something I usually say about government agencies. They make the point that when radio stations accept advertisements from obviously fraudulent weight loss products, that the audience perception will spill over to the other advertisers and the credibility of the on-air people. My “line” is much further than the FTC’s given their limited mandate and the ability of radio to “push back”.
Those auto glass repair companies seem to be pushing people to file claims or have people break their windows to get a “free” replacement. The reality is the truck shows up fast and does the work without getting approval first from the insurance company – the damage didn’t justify a replacement and the claim is denied and the car owner’s “free” window suddenly costs a lot. The same thing with “get a free scooter from Medicare”.
If I were king of radio sales, my dictate would be “We don’t accept advertisements or PSAs that are designed to scare people or deceive an uninformed buyer”. No ads about how the IRS is about to break down your door for unpaid taxes, that your child might have autism at 6 months, someone is going to steal your identity unless you pay us, someone is going to steal your stuff unless you buy our alarm server, police are just waiting to give you a speeding ticket or you get “buzzed”you’ll wind up killing your girlfriend…. the nonstop flow of this type of stuff really dampens my interest in radio -a lot-. Tell me that Home Depot is having a sale on Rotary tillers, that the new 2014 Ford has new great safety features, that McDonald’s McRib is back…. and the PSA is that the Rotary club is having pancake supper this weekend – not children admonishing their stupid dad for not putting out their camp fire correctly.
Or could this mean that the listenership which is listening online and not being counted – is hurting the ratings? My smartphone can bluetooth to the car stereo, and I could be listening to a Honolulu station while driving here in Tampa. I rarely listen much to the local stations here while driving – or in the office, or in the house. What portion of the ratings drop could possibly be attributed to “online” listening – as opposed to “over-the-air”? Or will that ever be large enough to be a game-changer?
Oh, you’re very much on the path things are headed – the limiting factor is cars last 10 years (more or less) and it takes a decade to get full penetration of a new technology. Sirius/XM is there now – but the next generation is now a couple years old. With 4G now widely deployed, it will be “normal” for your car to be connected to the internet constantly with a mobile hotspot in the car. The entertainment center in a car will be looking more like your ipad or cell phone, with downloadable apps so it can morph into whatever 3rd parties want to create. iHeartRadio just signed up 3 more companies to include their streaming service – this is right from the Bob Pittman AOL strategy – give people money to incorporate your service in with their product. iHeartRadio includes AM/FM radio, but their long term goal is to transition people to make more sellable product to advertisers, even if that means losing over the air radio audience. People under 40 are listening to NPR if they listen at all. SiriusXM has 25 million paying customers.
The interview of the guy from who ran WCFL when Larry Lujack was there was unusually candid and pretty much represents what I disliked about radio. He described how as the station became a success, there was immediate pressure to start loading up the show clock with more and more advertisements – so he created things like “twin spins” and “countdowns” to “make it sound like there was more music than there actually was”. That’s a part of why I lost interest in TV – the need to deal with commercial load resulted in the scripts evolving to make that the primary objective – to build the story to climax at the point where it was time for a commercial break so you wouldn’t change the channel.
Unless people are actively doing something during a show that invites interaction with the audience, there is no reason for live radio at all. Put it in a podcast and let people listen or skip forward if they don’t like what you’re selling. Onboard traffic systems and weather apps solve the issue of for people who drive without needing to wait for “News and Weather on the 8s”
It’s the same with sports stations that run “score updates” every 20 minutes. With smartphones littering the land, who cannot get weather updates and scores at the touch of a button in an instant, now?
Do kids even have a need “top 40” radio anymore?
I guess that leaves the future over-the-air radio solely for barber shops that will listen to soccer games and bachata in spanish?
And long dead preachers begging for money
I don’t mind admitting more than my share of wasted purchases. I no longer fall for the ‘I wouldn’t advertise it if I didn’t use it’ load of crap that every radio host has spouted. My sleep number, anyone? Stop with the pate, croissants and focaccia and I’ll drop a few. I have weeks worth of the Hendrie show podcasts: I guess that Stern was very much ahead of the pack it terms of ‘screw terrestrial ratings’ my measure of success is the various forms of subscriptions. I wouldn’t (today) subscribe to a satellite radio for the same reason I don’t have cable: I am not paying for a product that I am only going to use 2% of and B) much of the product is evil. I will not knowing give money to evil. Excuse me I have to call Miss Cleo, I have some coupons coming due I need to reallocate and I can’t make a move without Miss Cleo. Fen-Fen.
You’ll be glad to know that Sleep Comfort is showing off a new $8000 bed at CES. It “watches” how you sleep and adjusts itself as it monitors your heart rate, how much you are fidgeting in your sleep, etc… the result is the bed will give you a sleep rating score that you post on Facebook in the quest for perfect sleep. I wonder if it will automatically dial 911 if your heart stops…. hmmmm
For $8K the bed should really ‘tuck’ me in nicely, right? But, what if the bed gets sick ‘n tired of my snoring and places the pillow over my face? You know, just to reduce the ‘noise’ a little bit.
Well, it does have that feature, kind of. If it detects you snoring, it lifts your head up 8 degrees. Hopefully it doesn’t snap your neck.
Maybe it will detect your dream and give you a lewinski.
Without a doubt. And report back to the NSA if your sperm count is too high or too low. We need to keep tabs on every man’s testicles. You never know if they contain Pre terrorists