Simmons Study Loses MRC Accreditation

9-19-14

In an unusual move, the Media Rating Council has withdrawn its accreditation for the Simmons National Consumer Study, including the Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study. The accreditation had been in place since 2005; the MRC says its audit found "declines in service performance metrics," and that Simmons is taking steps to address the concerns.

The MRC's the decision was based on an independent audit of the 2012 Simmons National Consumer study; the audit was reviewed by an audit committee representing media, agencies, and advertising, and Simmons was given the opportunity to respond to the results.

MRC Exec. Director/CEO George Ivie said, "We are pleased that Simmons remained committed to the MRC accreditation process and that they are undertaking actions to address the audit matters. Simmons announced their intention to work closely with MRC, and we look forward to a time when accreditation of the Simmons National Consumer Study can be reinstated."

The quarterly Simmons study covers major media usage, consumer attitudes and opinions, and demographic and lifestyle information.

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Another R.O.I Study From Clear Channel

5-7-14
Clear Channel has released another piece of data the company is hopeful will drive revenue from big advertisers -- this one in conjunction with a company called Marketing Evolution. The study measured the ROI on a new menu awareness marketing campaign for Romano's Macaroni Grill, which ran across national cable television networks and four Clear Channel radio markets ­-- Tampa, Cleveland, Denver, and Dallas ­-- from September 16, 2013, through October 13, 2013, targeting adults 25 ­to 54 years of age.

Clear Channel says the study showed that radio ads are extremely successful in "sonic branding" efforts and drove an actual increase in top-of-mind awareness for Macaroni Grill, and that TV and radio work well together when consumers are exposed to both.

President of National Sales, Marketing and Partnerships for Clear Channel Tim Castelli says, "This study is crucial in showing the power that radio has to connect with consumers. This research proves that audio advertising is very effective, especially when combined with TV ads, in having a significant influence on diners' decisions on where to eat."

Senior Vice President and Managing Partner for Universal McCann, Eric Solomon said, "The test with Clear Channel provided us with valuable learnings. As the study showed, adding radio to the mix can positively impact not only short-term retail traffic objectives, but branding and sales metrics as well. We definitely take these learnings to heart, and in the future, will surely include radio in our consideration set as we work to achieve all of our clients' goals."

Here are several conclusions Clear Channel believes can be taken from the study:
?      For Macaroni Grill, modeling demonstrates that more impact was achieved with a 77 percent TV and 23 percent radio campaign-spend mix.
?      Radio is effective in communicating the "Great Taste" message for Macaroni Grill.
?      The campaign significantly increased Top-of-Mind Awareness (+8 points) for Romano's Macaroni Grill in the radio test markets.
?      Combining radio with TV had a stronger impact on Top-of-Mind Awareness per exposure than just TV alone.
?      The Marketing Evolution model shows that the 60-second radio spots were as cost effective as the 15-second TV ads and conveys longer, more custom engaging messages that drive consumer action.
?      The campaign areas that included radio impacted all stages of the purchase funnel, from brand awareness and affinity, to actual sales.

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FCC Backs Away From News Study

2-14-13

AdWeek has the details of the story we told you about back on December 10. The Wheeler administration is backing away from a study after Republicans criticized the commission for, "encroaching into editorial decisions and content at TV stations." The Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs was said to be a way to figure out how to lower entry barriers for minorities in broadcasting. Some felt it was a way for the Commission to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. Earlier this week, even Commissioner Ajit Pai showed his opposition to the study, writing a piece in the Wall Street Journal that said, "The government has no place pressuring media organizations into covering certain stories."

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SCBA President Thom Callahan Slams Borrell Study

1-11-14

Southern California Broadcasters Association President Thom Callahan took issue with the recent Borrell Report (SEE OUR STORY HERE) in a post on Don Barrett's L.A. Radio website. Barrett's column pointed out that L.A. radio revenue was once $1 billion and in 2013 it's projected to be only $640 million. Borrell predicted that radio would be treading water over the next five years. Callahan told Barrett, ?It is easy to project the future when you don?t divulge how you arrive at your projections. I can only tell you what I hear from our member stations and that is optimism, based on ratings growth, improving revenue, and an exceptional new generation of salespeople that is giving the market new energy and results.?

Callahan also told Barrett radio is not in a 13-year decline as the Borrell Report indicates. ?The Borrell ?study? states that radio?s revenue decline began as early as 2006 and suggests it can?t all be blamed on the recession. Well, the fact is that 2007 was the radio industry?s greatest revenue year ever! All the trades should make a pledge that if they print negatives about radio, they should also report the positives as well. I think that is called being ?fair?.?

To be fair, most trades, including this one, always print positive stories about the radio industry and are often accused of carrying the water for the industry. One fact is clear, in the past few years radio has been, at best, flat, when other industries have seen tremendous revenue growth.

Read the full Barrett piece HERE. (You'll need to scroll down a few stories) 
Thom Callahan has written a blog about the Southern California economy HERE

(1/11/2014 10:59:47 AM)
I thought that Bob Struble's shyster technology was supposed to save the radio industry.

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SCBA President Thom Callahan Slams Borrell Study

1-11-14

Southern California Broadcasters Association President Thom Callahan took issue with the recent Borrell Report (SEE OUR STORY HERE) in a post on Don Barrett's L.A. Radio Website. Barrett's column pointed out that L.A. Radio revenue was once $1 Billion and in 2013 it's projected to be only $640 Million. Borrell predicted that radio would be treading water over the next five years. Callahan told Barrett, ?It is easy to project the future when you don?t divulge how you arrive at your projections. I can only tell you what I hear from our member stations and that is optimism, based on ratings growth, improving revenue, and an exceptional new generation of sales people that is giving the market new energy and results.?

Callahan also told Barrett radio is not in a 13-year decline as the Borrell report indicates. ?The Borrell ?study? states that Radio?s revenue decline began as early as 2006 and suggests it can?t all be blamed on the recession. Well, the fact is that 2007 was the Radio industry?s greatest revenue year EVER! All the trades should make a pledge that if they print negatives about Radio, they should also report the positives as well. I think that is called being ?FAIR.??

To be fair, most trades, including this one, always print positive stories about the radio industry and are often accused of carrying the water for the industry. One fact is clear, in the past few years radio has been, at best, flat, when other industries have seen tremendous revenue growth.

Read the full Barrett piece HERE. (You'll need to scroll down a few stories) 
Thom Callahan has written a blog about the Southern California economy HERE

(1/11/2014 10:59:47 AM)
I thought that Bob Struble's shyster technology was supposed to save the radio industry.

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Radio Holds Steady in Pew News Study.

10-8-13

The Pew Research Center released its annual study on how Americans take in their news. The report showed radio remains steady, but overall, news consumption is declining, especially among the younger generations. Even though we've seen explosive growth in smartphone devices and tablets, the Pew research says those gadgets are not increasing news consumption, specifically pointing out the continued decline of the newspaper. TV news viewership is also down. The Pew report concludes the younger generation just does not enjoy following the news.

For example, "In 2004 Gen Xers reported following the news about as often as they did in 2012 (63 minutes versus 66 minutes#. The eight-year trend for Millennials was equally flat #43 minutes versus 46 minutes). According to the report, Radio is the traditional news source that has held its own the best among the younger cohorts as they age. 38% of Xers say they got news from radio ?yesterday? and 27 percent of Millennials said the same. Both measures are little changed since the middle of the last decade. Read the full Pew longitudinal survey HERE

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MIW Releases Gender Analysis Study

6-13-13

According to the latest MIW Gender Analysis Study released by the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio Group, out of 11,253 stations, 1,936 or 17.7 percent had women holding the GM position in 2012. That number is up over a full percentage point from 2011 which was 16.6 percent and shows continued growth from 2004, eight years ago when the percentage was only 14.9 percent. The greatest challenge for women in radio management continues to be as programmers.

Women currently only program 11.3 percent of all stations which compares to 10.7 percent seven years ago. In the top 100 markets women have made some real improvement, programming 11.8 percent of all stations which compares to only 9.6 percent in 2011.
The disappointing news in the top 100 markets is it is showing some downward movement. In 2012, 16.8 percent of stations in these markets were managed by women, compared to 17.4 percent in 2011. Overall, the best management opportunities for women continue to be in sales management although there's been essentially only a minor change for the last eight years. In 2012, 31 percent of all stations had women SMs, up a half a percentage point from last year. And in the top 100 markets 30.3 percent of the stations had women SMs, down slightly from last year.

You can read the study HERE

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New Study Uncovers Good News For Radio.

10-22-2012
by Ed Ryan

TargetSpot has released a study called ?Attitudes Towards Digital Audio Advertising? that was conducted by Parks Associates. The information comes from an online survey of 1,000 Internet radio listeners conducted over 10 days in January. The survey participants listened to Internet radio anywhere from once a month to every day. And while the study touts the relevance of targeted ads over traditional radio ads, in reality, the difference is small and may provide good news for radio.

TargetSpot and Parks Associates conclude that "Internet Radio listeners are more tolerant of digital audio ads than broadcast AM/FM audience." However, when you dig deep into the results, you might come to the conclusion that radio ads, when compared to targeted over-the-air ads are not much different to the listener. The study says 26% of AM/FM listeners stopped listening to the radio because they did not find an ad personally relevant. It's unclear where TargetSpot came up with that statistic. This study used 1,000 Internet audio listeners and said nothing about AM/FM listeners. The study says compared to that 26% number, Internet radio listeners tuned out only 20% of the time when they did not find an ad personally relevant. If the 26% number for AM/FM listeners is accurate, that is not a large spread when Internet radio's big play is that ads are more relevant to the listener because they are targeted.

Of course, the big elephant in the room for radio, which has yet to be measured, is the overloaded stopsets played on most radio AM and FM stations across the country, which is more likely to be the reason listeners tune out. Not every radio ad needs to be targeted to a listener all the time. It's always going to be difficult for advertisers to know when consumers are in the market to purchase a vehicle, a refrigerator or a new mountain bike. That doesn't mean those categories of advertisers should never market themselves on radio because they are afraid of tune-out. A consumer can enter that market at any time and advertisers should be there when they do.

Advertisers should complain about being the 6th commercial in a pod of 12 when consumers start daydreaming, zoning out or hitting the scan button because it appears regularly scheduled programming will never return. That is an advantage Internet radio has for now, a limited number of interruptions, whether they are targeted or not.

Here are additional findings from the TargetSpot/Parks Associates study of 1,000 Internet Audio listeners:
65% are comfortable receiving ads based on their personal profiles
70% are comfortable receiving ads based on their Internet Radio usage and/or content preference. 
59% of Digital Audio listeners like to get coupons, special offers or discounts.
55% don?t mind ads as long as they have free access to their favorite stations.
37 % are willing to ?like? an ad in order to receive discounts or special promotions for the product/service. 
34% said they are more likely to remember an advertiser if the media player has the advertiser?s logo or design
30% said that branded stations improved their perception of the sponsoring advertiser.
27% said they were more inclined to buy products from the sponsoring brand.
27% of Digital Audio listeners do not mind getting ads on their mobile device for products/services they are interested in and the same percentage does not mind being targeted based on their physical location.

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Study: Radio Is Strongest 'Pre-Shopping' Medium

9-21-12

AMFM radio has the largest reach in the times immediately before peak shopping hours, says Arbitron, with radio outdelivering the Web, social networking, and mobile among adults 25-54 during the average day. The "Where Radio Fits: Radio's Strengths in the Media Landscape" study was commissioned by the RAB and NAB and presented at the Radio Show.

AM/FM reaches 31 percent of 25-54s during the hour before the peak shopping period of 1-2 p.m., nearly twice the reach of live TV (17 percent). Additionally, the study found that AM/FM delivers 86 percent of 25-54s' time spent with the three main audio platforms (radio, satellite radio, and Internet streaming).

Arbitron also reports that radio reaches 59 percent of adults 25-54 during the average day, second only to television, which reaches almost 80 percent. The Internet reaches 49 percent of 25-54s, social networking 19 percent, and mobile 16 percent. Combined with live TV, radio adds another 14 percent to reach; combined with the Internet, it adds 60 percent.

"Radio's consistently large reach, together with its ability to deliver 'the last word' during the crucial pre-shopping hours, makes it highly valuable for advertisers who are looking to maximize ROI in a fragmented media environment," Arbitron SVP/Marketing Bill Rose said. "This study, along with the more granular data Arbitron is providing to agencies and modelers, should help reinforce radio's strength in the marketing mix."

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TVB Study Shows Digital Impact On Various Media Outlets

Radio's Reach Remains Strong
A new study from TVB shows radio is 3rd on a list of media choices, trailing TV and the Internet, but ranking ahead of newspapers, mobile phones, magazines and tablets. The annual Media Comparisons study, conducted by KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS, shows digital's impact on all media, with radio down from 60.6% reach in 2010 to 58.8% reach in 2012.
Radio's reach across various demos also ranked third, with adults 25-54 its strongest demo.
13-17      56.9%
18+          58.8%
18-34      59.7%
18-49      62.3%
25-49      64.4%
25-54      65.3%
35-64      63.2%
65+         44.1%
The survey also found that radio has less difference in use between men and women that the others studies.
See the full study here.
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New Edison Study Stresses Importance of Local

2-22-2012

Edison research co-founder and President Larry Rosin presented the study at CRS yesterday which included over 1,000 country fans between the ages of 18 and 54. A key finding from the research: "Local, live DJs are instrumental in the difference between radio and other music outlets like Pandora or Spotify. Both P1s and non-P1s are generally equally as enthusiastic about DJs and half of both groups say that DJs are a prime reason that AM/FM radio is better than internet radio."

Rosin told the CRS audience, ?country music remains a very healthy format and is actually becoming more popular, but one of the main points that I think this year?s survey drives home is that country radio could do a better job at understanding and identifying its non-P1 listeners. While it is understandable that P1 listeners should be a priority, the importance of the other 65 percent or so of your total audience cannot be underestimated. Our data also suggest that live, local DJs are one of the big advantages that radio has over internet and satellite outlets, and should be acknowledged as such.?

Edison Research also performed and included in-depth video interviews with fans as part of its presentation which you can view on the Edison website. The full CRS 2012 Country Radio research study is now available online at: http://www.edisonresearch.com/.

(2/23/2012 6:50:05 AM)
Whatever this study cost, you could have given me half and I could have told you the same thing. "More research in 60 seconds . . . "

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Kassof Study Concludes Too Little is Known About HD Radio

1-23-2012

The latest Kassof study included 670 people who were interviewed on the telephone in January. They were asked if they had heard of HD radio and what they knew about it. His conclusion, after all the publicity and industry backing is that too little is know about HD. "HD Radio has made important progress recently in terms of getting into the car?more auto makers are offering HD Radio as an option or even standard in some cases. Unfortunately, that progress hasn?t yet translated into the minds of 18-64 consumers."

When comparing this recent survey to a previous study in September ?08, Kassof says we "we find no progress". "Awareness has actually declined. In ?08, 67% had at least ?heard of? HD Radio; now, 54% do. And consumers? understanding (and misunderstanding) of HD is virtually identical to what we found three-plus years ago." Here is the bottom line according to Kassof: "The industry still faces a big challenge marketing HD Radio. Its best decision was to call it ?HD Radio,? because that enables consumers to at least infer that it delivers better quality. The industry needs to continue to focus on sound quality, plus MORE CHOICES and (to separate HD from satellite radio) FREE.   Period.

After a decade as a radio programmer and air talent, Kassof earned an MBA with specialization in research. Since then, he has conducted research and developed strategies for some of the biggest successes in North American radio, among them stations owned by groups including Beasley, Blackburn, CBC, Emmis, Greater Media, Mid-West Family, Midwest Communications, Newcap, Nextmedia, Pattison, Radio One, Standard Broadcasting and Wilks, as well as outstanding independent stations.

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New Study Details Retention During Stopsets

12-7-2011

Be listening for the radio industry to start shouting the number 93 from the rooftops in the upcoming weeks and months. Here's why. A study released yesterday has concluded that an average of 93% of your listeners will still be with you from the time your stopsets begin until the time they end. In the age of DVR, iPods, Pandora and all the other technologies and products that put the consumer in charge of music content, radio has been trying to decipher where it fits in. There has always been this in-house battle between Program Directors who believe we need to keep the stopsets short, and sales (and GM's) who will try to squeeze every dollar they can into every stopset of every hour.

Coleman Insights President and Chief Operating Officer Warren Kurtzman says ?The incredible ability of radio stations to deliver audiences during commercial breaks suggests that programmers should not obsess over their stations? spot placement strategies. There is no doubt that running excessive commercial inventory can undermine a station?s brand and hurt its long-term performance, but we see very little evidence that commercials cause nearly as much audience tune-out in the short term as many radio industry professionals believe.?

The popularity of playlist curation has created a perception that consumers want less commercial clutter and talk and more music. Radio has responded by saying listenership is not down, that playlist creation cannot save you during a tornado and the new technology is simply giving consumers more ways to tune in, not tune out. A study released yesterday attempts to shed some light on whether or not consumers will sit through commercials and wait for the return of the content.

The study, done by Arbitron, Media Monitors and Coleman Insights, analyzed 18 million commercial breaks, 62 million minutes of commercials and 866 stations for a year of audience data from all 48 PPM markets. The key point of the study focuses on comparing the audience level for each minute of a commercial break to the audience for the minute before the commercials began. The study did not ask listeners if stopsets were too long, if radio stations should reduce the amount of clutter or if listeners were leaving radio for other music-only technology. It focused on the percentage of listeners who were still with a station from the start of a break to the end.

The study is called What Happens When the Spots Come On and the authors concluded "that radio maintains its audience delivery during commercial breaks, contrary to the common misperception among advertisers, agencies and even radio executives that audiences during commercial breaks are a fraction of the numbers that were listening to the station just before the commercials began."

In what may be the most helpful stat, the study says one to three-minute commercial breaks keep listeners engaged the longest. Listeners who were onboard before the stopset began will be with you when you come out of a break. While they may not be the exact same people, the study says nearly 100% stay if the break is one minute, two-minute breaks deliver 99 percent of the audience and three-minute breaks deliver 96 percent. You might conclude that shorter stopsets are better. The question is how many radio stations actually still running 1-3 minute stopsets and how concerned should you be if you play 6 or more minutes per break.

The longer the breaks, the more tune-out you get according to the study. For longer breaks of four to six minutes-plus, the study says 90 percent of the lead-in audience stays. Four-minute breaks delivered 92 percent of the lead-in audience; five-minute breaks delivered 87 percent. Breaks of six minutes or longer delivered an average minute audience that was 85 percent of the audience level before the commercials began. The study says commercial breaks in morning drive deliver 97 percent of their lead-in audience, on average.

Arbitron and Coleman also conducted a web poll about the perception of commercial loads and the results were included in the study. People identifying themselves as members of the advertiser/agency industry (362 responses) said that, on average, the size of the audience during a radio commercial break is only 68 percent of the size of the audience before the commercial began. On average, respondents identifying themselves as members of the radio industry (1,178 responses) believe radio holds only 78 percent of the audience during commercials.

(12/8/2011 7:48:00 PM)
Ed, it appears as if you've updated the story. When it was first posted, I believe you said that 93% of the listeners there at the beginning of the break were there at the end of the break. I was there when the study was presented in Baltimore yesterday and the presenters made it very clear that this was not what their study was claiming.

For the record, I'm an APD/MD for two stations in Virginia.

(12/8/2011 4:55:51 PM)
Dan:

Why don't you be a little more specific about what is wrong about the story I wrote. And, please do tell us all what you do and where you work as well.

Thanks
Ed

(12/8/2011 3:01:42 PM)
The only listeners not tuning away from stop sets are those who are uable to do so at the time the set is running. And those who are unable are just getting annoyed if the stop set is long AND the spots annoying (as so many are....more tolerance for clever, well-produced spots, but those are more and more few and far between..).
Any programmer who thinks the length and "quality" of the stop sets don't matter would do so at their peril.
(12/8/2011 1:02:54 PM)
I don't listen to radio stations with long stopsets. I'm not there at the end because I'm not there at the beginning.
(12/8/2011 12:43:52 PM)
Read the report instead of this article, which misstates many of the study's conclusions. You can get it from arbitron.com, colemaninsights.com or mediamonitors.com.

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Warren Kurtzman Gives More Detail on Study

Coleman Insights working in conjunction with Arbitron and Media Monitors released a study entitled "What Happens When the Spots Come On?" The study was released to try to help radio stations explain to advertisers how listening levels are affected by commercial stopsets. It was not intended to address the question of how many spots is too many spots. That study is coming next year. Warren Kurtzman is President and Chief Operating Officer for Coleman Insights. Earlier today we spoke to Kurtzman to get more detail about the study. Here is the audio from that interview.

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Study Shows Importance of Emotion in Ads.

Katz Marketing Solutions commissioned the study from Ipsos OTX MediaCT. It's an on-going evaluation of radio campaigns and the first results conclude radio has a positive impact on consumer?s at all stages of the purchase funnel. The study compared results from people who had listened to at least one of the stations included in the campaign with a control group of people in the same markets who had not listened to those stations. Numerous brand metrics were included as well as questions that focused on the ads themselves.  

Stronger campaigns used ads with greater emotional power. This finding throws a challenge to creatives developing radio spots to generate ideas and content for ads that go beyond information and connect with the consumer. President of Katz Marketing Solutions Bob McCurdy says ?We?re determined to provide advertisers with empirical proof of performance illustrating how radio positively impacts the five key branding metrics. These studies have confirmed what we?ve always have known to be true, that radio works and that its ability to positively impact marketing campaigns is far greater than its cost.?

Here are some of the findings from the study
- Radio can impact brands all along the purchase funnel
- Radio can be used to improve a brand at stages all the way from creating awareness to enhancing the likelihood that the consumer will recommend the brand to a friend.  It is a versatile tool that can be used to meet a variety of objectives
- Radio works across a variety of categories
- Campaigns for movies, financial services, retail, consumer durables and fast food have been evaluated so far.  All of them showed stronger results among radio station listeners than the control group of non-listeners.  And as noted above, improvement was seen on multiple brand measures for all the campaigns.
- Radio ads need to work at an emotional level as well as a rational one 

Ipsos is a global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps  interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

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Study: Radio Still King Of In-Car Media

September 15, 2011: Despite increasing competition, radio is still the leading choice for information and entertainment in the car, according to "The Road Ahead," a new study from Arbitron, Edison Research, and Scarborough Research. The study, introduced at the Radio Show in Chicago, looked at consumers' use of 16 different in-car media and entertainment choices, and found that 85 percent of all drivers or passengers reported using AM/FM radio in the car, well ahead of CD players, in second place with 68 percent. AM/FM reaches nearly 90 percent of adults ages 25-54 in the car.

Arbitron SVP/Marketing Bill Rose said, "AM/FM radio has remained strong in a much more complex in-car media landscape and continues to be the first choice of consumers for in-car entertainment and information."

AM/FM also dominates in-car time, with 64 percent, while CD players take 21 percent of in-car listening time. All other devices combined add up to 15 percent.

Digital options like satellite radio and iPods connected to a car stereo "remain rather small," but are "growing and very well loved by those who use them." One in four people 18 and up have used and iPod or other MP3 player to listen to audio in the car, but 55 percent of 18-24s have done so. Six percent of people 18 and up have listened to Pandora via a cellphone in the car, compared to 20 percent of 18-24s.

Telematics services, which allow data sharing between a vehicle and information and entertainment networks, is attracting a "high level of interest," says the study. "More than 60 percent say they are interested in accident response features, stolen-vehicle recovery systems, parked-vehicle tampering alerts, and remote unlocking capability."

There's also interest in in-car media applications, such as pause, rewind, and replay for radio in the car and built-in wireless Internet.

"We are at the dawn of another wave of in-car media and entertainment options," Edison Research President Larry Rosin said. "In 2003 we looked at the in-car environment just as iPods, GPS, and satellite radio were starting, and these devices have now become more widely used. Today telematics and other in-car media options are bringing new capabilities that have captured substantial interest among consumers."

For the study, 1,505 people 18 and up were interviewed in July 2011. The interviewees were previous Scarborough Research respondents, chosen at random from a national sample.

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NAB Releases Digital Radio Study

NAB FASTROAD has released the final report on field testing of digital single frequency network technology for FM in-band/on-channel (IBOC) digital radio. This work has been undertaken by iBiquity Digital Corporation, developers of the HD Radio? IBOC system used by U.S. broadcasters to transition to digital radio, and is being co-funded by iBiquity and NAB FASTROAD.

The technical report just released describes field testing of a single frequency network using Greater Media's Boston area station WKLB-FM and experimental booster station WKLB-FM1. Both digital-only and digital-plus-analog booster configurations were tested. Also included in the report are the results from experimental broadcast stations WD2XAB and WD2XAB-1, located near Baltimore, MD which were first reported on in November 2010. Here are the conclusions drawn from the testing:

The Baltimore tests showed that:
-Single-frequency networks using digital-only boosters selectively expand HD Radio signal coverage;
-Digital time delays between main and booster signals need to be adjusted to account for propagation delays in the overlap regions to minimize inter-symbol interference.

Boston tests showed that:
-Digital coverage is enhanced within the station?s protected contour when using a SFN with a digital-only booster;
- Two overlapping, properly aligned and synchronized, digital signals do not degrade HD Radio performance;
- A Delphi automotive receiver with attributes of a well-designed, modern, FM receiver experienced little interference to the main station?s host analog signal near an all-digital booster station;
- An older Chrysler automotive receiver and a typical analog clock radio had difficulty receiving the main station?s host analog signal near an all-digital booster station.

See the full text of the final report HERE  or http://www.nabfastroad.org/.

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Study of Female Listeners Positive for Radio

7/22/011

Even when prompted by questioners to go negative on radio, the majority of females involved in Alan Burns' study would not take the bait. Burns released details of his second annual national study of women yesterday. 2,000 females between 15 and 54 were interviewed and his conclusion was attitudes toward radio look healthy. ?The news is mostly good. Women?s attitudes toward radio are very positive, and there are no signs that music streaming services like Pandora are eroding radio usage. On the other hand, there?s less love for radio among younger listeners, and while wireless broadband in cars isn?t going to kill radio, it will lower usage somewhat. It will also generate more fragmentation, since broadband will bring more non-local stations into cars.?

The study found that just over 2% of women nationally already have internet access in the car they drive or ride in most often; those women were questioned those women about the choices they make between radio and non-radio sources while on the road. ?Based on the behavior of women who already have internet in their cars, here?s what we think will happen as in-car internet becomes widespread? said Burns (pictured right). ?Daily usage of radio in the car will dip slightly, about 11%, but TSL to radio among those daily users will not dive.?

The study found that 69% of women who have in-car internet still listen to radio all or most of the time they?re in the car.  ?It?s important to note why these women choose radio over non-radio streams in their cars? Burns continued, ?and the big reasons are that radio provides energy, excitement, and local information. Radio needs to maximize those strengths because streaming services are working on ways to negate them.?

Burns says there is significant resistance to paying for internet music streams. According to the study data, less than 3% of women who currently use Pandora pay for unlimited streaming, and only 6.6% of current weekly streamers to any service say they would ?definitely? or ?probably? be willing to pay around ten dollars per month to be able to listen to unlimited streams.

Here are some additional highlights from the study and comments from Burns:
?Early Adopters? are disproportionately heavy radio listeners.  Burns says ?sales should be selling this?early adopters are very valuable consumers.?

The frequency of visits to radio station web sites overall is growing very slowly if at all; the number of women who have visited a radio station site in the past week stands at 27%, which is up only 1 point from last year.

Only 38% of women who have ?liked? a radio station on Facebook rate the station?s posts as interesting.

The  #1 change women would like to see in radio station?s online streams is having the ability to skip songs.  Not repeating the same commercials/PSAs over and over was also rated desirable, by 6 of 10 women.

The most-used music  streaming service is You Tube, followed by Pandora.  Awareness and usage of radio digital ventures like HD Radio and I Heart Radio lagged the leaders significantly.
2% of women have ever used I Heart Radio, and 1.4% have ever listened to HD Radio.

Comprehension of HD Radio is low. Less than half the women who have heard of HD Radio could accurately answer questions like ?do you have to buy a special radio to hear HD Radio?? and ?do you have to pay a monthly fee to listen to HD Radio??

While time stress is still a major problem for women, money worries have overtaken it. 70% of the women surveyed chose ?more money? over ?more time?, ?a better relationship with my significant other?, and ?sex more often.? 

(7/22/2011 11:26:10 AM)
How much trouble would it be to give results breakdowns (for any survey) by FM vs. AM?
(7/22/2011 8:56:20 AM)
It's anecdotal, I know...but almost every complaint about a radio station I've ever taken...has been from a man.

Most women seem very satisfied with what radio stations do. It's the guys who continually gripe about the short playlists, gripe about not playing some new act, gripe sometimes just to be griping. It would be interesting for someone to look into the radio battle of the sexes more often.

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NAB Study Says Broadcasting Adds $1.17 Trillion in Annual GDP

June 22, 2011

A new analysis by Woods & Poole Economics, with support from BIA/Kelsey, has found $1.17 trillion of the annual U.S. Gross Domestic Product originates in the local commercial broadcast radio and television industry, with 2.52 million jobs attributable to the industry every year. The NAB-commissioned study, which breaks down local broadcasters' economic impact on all 50 states and the District of Columbia, shows TV and radio broadcasting contributes to seven percent of the nation's GDP.

"As this study indicates, local broadcasting is a remarkable engine for commerce and economic growth, creating high-paying jobs and helping business drive sales through advertising of goods and services," said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. "Decision-makers now debating spectrum policies need to be cognizant of the millions of people and thousands of businesses reliant on the unparalleled impact of local TV and radio for economic survival."

The paper calculated the local broadcast industry employs over 300,000 people directly and in support industries, creating $59.32 billion in GDP annually. Television accounts for almost 187,000 of these jobs, as well as over $30 billion in GDP, while radio employs 118,000 people and contributes a little over $18 billion to the GDP. The study also examined the ripple effects direct employment by local broadcasting has on the economy through the consumption of goods and services by industry employees. Looking at these cascading effects, the analysis concluded local commercial broadcasting generates almost $135 billion in additional GDP and more than 833,000 jobs nationwide.

"TV and radio broadcasting not only provides communities with local news, sports, weather and emergency information, but remains a valuable source of employment that fuels local economies," said Smith. "With the country struggling to recover from the downturn, broadcast innovation that includes mobile DTV and multicasting should be given an opportunity to succeed and put more Americans back to work."

The economic analysis also studied the additional economic activity generated by local commercial broadcasting through its service as a forum for advertising goods and services. The study estimates advertising on local broadcast television and radio stations stimulates more than $986 billion in economic activity and supports 1.38 million jobs.

"The primary role of broadcast television and radio is reducing the cost of product information through advertising. In this way, broadcast television and radio stations have their most significant impact on economic growth," says the report. "Reaching all United States households, local broadcast television and radio stations provide consumers with highly valued marketplace information and businesses with immediate economic and competitive intelligence."

The study focused only on local commercial broadcast radio and television stations including locally owned and operated commercial stations, affiliate stations and independent stations. Noncommercial radio and TV stations and the operations of over-the-air broadcast networks were not part of the analysis, except for networks' owned-and-operated local television stations.

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