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Extraordinarily consistent" reach and TSL trends seen in new ratings analysis
From Inside Radio, September 22, 2011
Sexy may not be the way to describe a new report on radio listening. But in a world where new media options seemingly appear by the month, solid may arguably be a more sought after description. Fresh analysis of radio cume and time spent listening by Arbitron and Katz Media Group shows radio is holding its own. Among 17 PPM markets, radio’s 12+ reach rose slightly from 94.8% in 2009 to 94.9% in 2011. Weekly time spent listening wobbled somewhat — down 10 minutes from 12 hours and 4 minutes two years ago to 11 hours and 54 minutes today. "Radio usage is big and it’s consistent — nothing has detracted from it in the past three years," Katz EVP Mary Beth Garber says. Perhaps a bit sexier are the 12-24 and 18-34 demo breakouts. Among 12-24 year olds, reach actually ticked up nearly 1% to 94.5%. And while time spent listening tracked downward by 18 minutes during the past three years, Arbitron EVP Carol Hanley says TSL for 12-24 year olds remains impressive when compared to drop-offs seen in television. In fact Nielsen data shows adult (18-49) television viewing has dropped the past two seasons. "When you think about how a lot of people that perceive that young people have left radio in hordes and we’re lucky if we get 15 minutes a week of their time, the reality is that they’re still spending 8 hours and 56 minutes — and that’s only down slightly since 2009," Hanley says. "This group has more competition for media than ever before — it’s unbelievable the places that these kids get their entertainment today." It’s a similar story among 18-34 year olds where weekly cume increased fractionally to remain around 95% while weekly TSL actually went up — albeit by just two minutes — to 11 hours and 2 minutes per week.
Arbitron reports similar listening trends in diary markets. With two separate methodologies currently in use by Arbitron, rather than merge diary and PPM data, the number crunchers at Arbitron and Katz Media Group instead looked at how each performed. While the specific data points are different, the trends are pretty similar. Total 12+ reach in 235 diary markets measured remained 88% during the past three years, while total weekly time spent listening slipped by one minute to 15 hours and 30 minutes. However it’s worth noting that’s down from 21 hours and 30 minutes in 1998. Among 12-24s the weekly TSL fell by the same amount to 15 and- a-half hours while reach held steady at 89%. In the 18-34 demo, total reach went up from 90.8% to 91.1%. While it’s certainly a tiny difference, broadcasters would no doubt prefer growing to losing young adults’ interest. Like 12+ and 12-24s, the total TSL for 18-34s also dropped by one minute to 15 and a half hours each week. Katz Media Group EVP Mary Beth Garber says the goal of the analysis is to give stations a tool to help dispel misconceptions that radio has lost a large percentage of its audience. "The reality is whether you’re looking at the large markets or the rest of the country in the diary markets, it’s a very consistent medium. And it’s continuing to reach roughly the same amount of people," Arbitron EVP Carol Hanley says. So while flat lines may not be all that exciting, Hanley hopes it will help radio put a stop to negative headlines and help empower the industry to help take control of the message. While Arbitron has diary listening data dating back much further than three years, it didn’t include any pre-2009 TSL trends or break out listening by different ethnic groups in its new study.
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