Arbitron Shows Listeners Turned To Radio During Sandy

11/19/2012

Radio listening increased in the New York radio market as Super Storm Sandy made landfall during the evening of Monday, October 29. Compared to the week prior, the average number of people using radio* in any quarter hour from 7PM to Midnight on the storm night (10/29) increased 70 percent.

Percent increase
10/29 vs 10/22

In the coastal areas within the New York market, radio listening increased by even higher percentages.

Percent increase
10/29 vs. 10/22

When the lights went out, when TV and desktop PCs were no longer available, many New York area residents turned on their battery-powered radios. Many radio stations along the path of the storm, regardless of their regular format, revamped their programming to provide their listeners with weather updates, news, and emergency information. 

In the wake of the storm, radio remained an information lifeline to the residents of New York, particularly in the coastal areas of the market. Average radio listening on Tuesday, October 30 in New York was 1,525,500 persons in any given quarter hour between 6a.m. and Midnight, up 8 percent from 1,406,700 persons 6+ the week before.

The average audience in the NY coastal communities (Monmouth, Fairfield SN, Nassau-Suffolk, Staten Island, and Middlesex) totaled 670,200 on the Tuesday (6A-Mid) following landfall (10/30) which is 38 percent higher than the average of all Tuesdays year-to-date.

The Average in the NY coastal communities (Monmouth, Fairfield SN, Nassau-Suffolk, Staten Island, and Middlesex) totaled 651,200 on the Wednesday (6A-Mid) following landfall (10/31) which is 35 percent higher than the average of all Wednesdays year-to-date.

*radio encoded for Arbitron PPM measurement

Note: The Arbitron New York Radio Metro consists of the following counties:

Connecticut: Fairfield (Stamford-Norwalk Split)

New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union

New York: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester

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