Radio is Already Poised to Win Big with Advertisers
I recently read in a TV trade publication that, this year, ad spends for digital video is expected to surpass linear TV for the first time ever. With these digital video ads, consumers now expect brands to create innovative, personalized ads that truly connect with them. This made me think about how radio is already […]
The Power of Spanish-Language Radio: Connecting Cultures and Communities
When Harker Bos Group started doing radio research in the late 1980s, talking to a station’s listeners was invigorating. There was a tangible connection between listeners and their chosen stations. Listeners were part of the club – they participated in station events, went to concerts promoted by the station, called in, and revered the DJs. […]
PPM’s Convoluted Incentives
PPM’s Convoluted Incentives If a Nielsen PPM panelist wants the cash to keep coming, she or he has to do one thing: Keep the meter moving. The device that panelists carry has an accelerometer just like a Fitbit and other fitness tracking devices. In the same way a Fitbit can count your steps a PPM […]
Nielsen’s Fractured Fairytales
Time Spent per Occasion, TSPO for short. It’s a PPM metric that you have probably never heard about. You won’t find it in any of the Nielsen monthly market reports. It doesn’t appear in any Nielsen literature. To our knowledge the only time TSPO was shared with the radio community was in 2011 when Arbitron […]
State of Media 2024 – Country Radio
In our latest blog, we explore Country radio enthusiasts. In “The State of Media 2024” study by Harker Bos Group, we surveyed 500+ U.S. media consumers aged 18+, uncovering preferences from Cable/Satellite TV to Music Streaming Services. Our analysis reveals insights across age, gender, and lifestyle/work choices. Join us as we navigate differences between Office […]
State of Media 2024 – Top 40 Radio
In today’s blog, we dive into what makes Top 40 radio listeners tick. Harker Bos Group recently conducted an in-depth study, “The State of Media 2024,” surveying over 500 U.S.-based media consumers aged 18 and above. The participants showcased diverse preferences across various media, from Cable/Satellite TV to Music Streaming Services. We scrutinized age, gender, […]
Accuracy, Precision, and why Nielsen numbers deliver neither
It’s easy to confuse accuracy with precision. At first glance, they may seem to be similar or at least related. However, they are very different, particularly when it comes to radio ratings. Ratings can be accurate but not precise. Ratings can be precise and not accurate. And unfortunately for radio, Nielsen ratings are neither. To […]
Is Nielsen Picking Radio Format Winners & Losers?
Can a company measuring radio station listenership impact the success of music formats? It’s a question Harker Bos Group raised in 2007 when we learned that the largest 50 radio markets would no longer be measured via diary. Instead, with the new method, the Portable People Meter (PPM), stations would encode their programming with an […]
Maximizing Your Radio Station’s Reach: A Guide to Alexa Integration
Are you a radio station owner or manager looking to expand your reach and connect with a broader audience through smart speakers like Alexa? Look no further! In our radio research studies, we find that typically over half of smart speaker owners are actively listening to local radio via their devices. To tap into this […]
The Drip Drip Drip of Audience Churn
You may think that steady Nielsen numbers are a sign that the same listeners are tuning to you month after month, but that may not be true. We find that a radio station continually churns listeners, gaining new listeners at the same time it loses other listeners who have stopped listening. Even if your cume […]