Nielsen is changing the definition of a quarter-hour of radio listening, lowering the threshold for stations in PPM markets from a minimum of five minutes of listening to three. The rating company has been testing and comparing how the changes affect rating reports but has not announced the date it will be reflected in your reports. Broadcasters in some countries will wonder what took so long and why they chose three minutes instead of two. Or one. In Canada, BBM awards a station a full quarter-hour for just two minutes of listening. Meanwhile, broadcasters in the United States are celebrating the magic trick: 3 minutes become 15.
Nielsen revealed their initial research in a webinar, showing that, on average, the changes are expected to increase a station’s AQH by 26% in the 6+ population. That sounds great. Radio AQH has been plummeting for years, but soon, sales teams can tell buyers and agencies, “Check it out. Radio is so back!”
The logic behind the move revolves around changing listener habits and declining attention spans in a world with many more choices. Since most listening happens in the car (where it’s easier to switch stations), many tune-in occasions aren’t being measured because the listener switches more often. But what are we doing? AQH is how stations justify ad rates. Smart buyers will recognize the sleight of hand and recognize that they are paying for increased “listening,” but their ad has up to 33% less chance of being heard.
But let’s put that aside and consider the programming implications.
The Programming Impact
The old (current) rules leveraged listening by 300%, and five minutes of listening magically delivered 15 minutes of listening credit (a quarter-hour). If you can capture as little as 10 minutes of listening across a quarter hour, from, say, 10 to 20, you get a half-hour of credit. The new rules increase that leverage to 500%. Six minutes of listening at the right times gather 30 minutes of credit. A Wall Street hedge fund manager would celebrate this kind of return.
Programming teams are discussing how to manipulate clocks, stop set placement, commercial-free sweeps, and more. Most have concluded high-cume, low-TSL stations (CHR, Hot AC, Country, etc.) will have a rating windfall. In contrast, niche formats with relatively smaller cume and a higher percentage of fans (Talk, Sports, Christian, At-Work stations) will benefit, but not nearly as much.
But let’s dig deeper. There are a few high-leverage concepts to put in place to prepare for the day 3 minutes become 15.
Appointments Are Even More Important
Stations have focused on growing TSL by promoting listening occasions for locked-in features, contests, and games, but this strategy is even more valuable now. It may not sound like much, but earning three minutes of listening is far easier than five. It’s time to sharpen your teasing, promotion, and appointment-setting skills. How many occasions can you create? More than you think, if you’re creative.
On-Demand Audio
Nielsen awards rating credit for encoded on-demand listening if the audio is heard less than 24 hours after it originally aired. Yes, this is another way to increase AQH artificially, but that’s another topic. However, programmers often impose talk limitations of less than five minutes on morning shows on music stations, even for their most popular features. Because of that, on-demand listening (website, social media, app, Alexa, etc.) helps the brand but delivers no rating benefit. Yet, most of those features will now qualify for credit.
This should change how you manage digital audio:
Publish it online as soon after airing as possible.
Tease it on digital channels with a video of the show promoting the story and driving traffic to listen on-demand.
Promote it aggressively on-air, via email, and online. How about a daily email blast, social media campaign, and promo schedule to drive on-demand listening to the most recent episode of Love Trap? That’s high-leverage advertising, especially if a two-segment feature aired in separate quarter-hours.
Delete past episodes or put them behind a paywall. You get no rating credit for yesterday’s feature, so make today’s more visible and important. This practice also increases traffic (they return more often to get more) and doesn’t fully satisfy the appetite for the feature. When I can binge on unlimited episodes, it makes tuning in for the new episode less important.
The Headphone Bonus
While we’re at it, let’s not forget the existing rating “bonus” for recorded listening on digital platforms. Since Nielsen meters can’t measure listening through headphones (the encoded audio isn’t registered on the device), they award up to 75% bonus credit for digital and on-demand listening that is measured.
Now consider the rating explosion. If you can get a rating respondent to listen to a two-segment feature online, six minutes (two three-minute segments) could receive even more credit. It’s more valuable to capture on-demand, streaming, and online listening than convincing a listener to tune in live.
Conclusion
By the way, Nielsen has not committed to changing the criteria for markets measured by Diaries yet. That should not have as much impact, as self-reported listening is not nearly as precise as listening recorded by meters.
Will the magic trick work? Maybe. It should increase quarter-hours and make stations feel better, but whether that provides relief for ailing ad revenues is another topic.
But one thing is certain: Programmers will find more strategies to exploit these changes. When 3 minutes become 15, these three seem like a great place to start.
For more tips on how to capitalize on ratings, download my eBook: The Ratings Game.
Tracy Johnson is a talent coach and programming consultant. He’s the President/CEO of Tracy Johnson Media Group. His book Morning Radio has been described as The Bible of Personality Radio and has been used by personalities worldwide.