Last week, our leader, Jason Barrett, shared the summer ratings book for 17 different markets across the country. Those numbers are always fun and interesting to look at, but there are hosts in several smaller markets that don’t have the luxury of numbers to back up their performance. Though some may see it as a major obstacle, many hosts, such as myself and others you have read about on this website, are currently at stations that don’t subscribe to ratings.
The reasons for stations across the country electing not to subscribe to ratings can range anywhere from a lack of budget to not believing in the system. Hard evidence can prove very useful for station managers and the sales staff, but sometimes the cost outweighs the actual reward.
At my current employer, The Sports Talk Network in Norman, OK, management uses online numbers to help calculate traffic throughout the various hours of the day. That’s one way of overcoming the obstacle of not subscribing to Nielsen. The other, is figuring out a sales strategy to overcome not being able to share your number with a potential client. Sometimes, a client can demand to see the numbers before they even consider buying your product, but as Perry Spencer, a member of the sales staff at The Sports Talk Network, says, relationships can fix everything.
TM: From the sales side, have you ever experienced any obstacles not having ratings?
PS: Yes and no. Sales, a lot of what it’s going to be, is about the relationships you make. I think the key thing is, when you don’t have ratings, it’s all about how you form your relationships with your potential clients. That’s how you go around it and make due when you don’t have ratings. You have to establish good relationships and if you can do that, you can usually overcome not having ratings.
TM: So, do you think selling off relationships, versus selling off ratings, creates more longevity with the client?
PS: Absolutely. We have a great retention rate at our station because of that. That’s how we sell, especially considering the community we’re in. Relationships go a long ways and if you have them, you’re always going to be able to talk to your clients and present them with the best info you have and what would work best for them. You can’t beat having good relationships in this business.
TM: Say you’ve already established those good relationships, and for whatever reason, the station decided to subscribe to ratings, and they’re good. How much would that help?
PS: Ratings are always going to help any radio station. You can see that in the sales. But if you have both of those, then maybe as a sales person, you don’t have to be as good. Having all those things together, just makes it that much of an easier buy for the potential client. But again, having good relationships with the ratings is always going to be the easiest way to sell in this business.
Nick Cattles is a host that’s experienced both sides. He’s been in a situation where the station has had no ratings, but he’s now in a spot where his current employer subscribes to Nielsen. The host of the Nick Cattles Show from 3-6 p.m. on ESPN Radio 94.1 in Virginia Beach, Cattles offered up how a host can overcome the obstacles of having no ratings.
TM: Up to the point you finally got them, what was the decision before to not subscribe to ratings?
NC: Well, it was a management decision. I think they had been thinking about it for a while, and it just came down to a business decision. They had to decide whether it was justifiable to pay what Nielsen had been asking for, and what they had been paying up until that point. I think once the contracts started to come to an end, the decision was made and I know that I was pulled into the office and told that it was going to be happening.
The idea of it, was strictly financial, and there was a lack of belief in the system, in terms of how the information was collected. It was around that time, people started to feel like the Nielsen ratings were being doctored. There was a system (Voltair), which if you paid for it, could help your station boost the volume to pick up more listeners. There was a lot of engineer talk at that time about how significant Nielsen was to begin with and how much it was costing. There was also the conversation on whether or not you could survive in radio without the ratings. I was on the outside looking in, but that’s what I gathered. There wasn’t a strong belief in the system and the price was steep.
TM: How did you track listenership without ratings? Was it just a feel? Online numbers? How could you tell if people were actually listening?
NC: It’s funny, I went through that a little bit, and then I left and went back. Right before I left to go back to Boston, there wasn’t a lot of information. I think certain people in the building might have had their ways to figure it out, but as a show, you weren’t told much of anything. It was really difficult. As a host, we want tangible results. You just want proof that what you’re doing is the right thing. That was the major challenge, figuring out on a daily basis if what you’re doing is right or not.
In those instances, you have to trust your instincts, education in the business and your ability to be on top of everything and not miss anything. You better trust some of the old school stuff you were taught, like teasing segments, how to string together segments, going hour-to-hour, all those things that I learned as a producer and then as a host.
I think the only thing that was actually tangible was when we’d go to station events or a bar on a Sunday to have a remote, and people would come up to me during the appearance. There was nothing you could look at and say, this is where we are and this is where we were a year ago. There was just no information at our fingertips. At times, it definitely felt like you were blindfolded and throwing a dart. But you had to inevitably say to yourself that you trusted yourself and the show.
Part of what I would do, is lean on other people. I would send segments to people and they would listen and get back to me talk about them. I leaned on some people that had a long history of providing good radio and I kind of just asked, “hey, here’s what we did on our show, what do you think?” I did that all the time, but it meant so much more when we weren’t getting ratings to try and guide myself where I wanted to go. It’s difficult without those numbers to know that what you’re putting out is well-received by the audience.
At Double T 97.3 in Lubbock, Texas, program director Jamie Lent monitors the numbers, but admits it isn’t the end-all for the station. What’s interesting, as you’ll read below, is that Lent is constantly monitoring what music stations are doing, as well.
“We don’t live and die with ratings, but we do pay attention to them,” said Lent. “We don’t just focus on our competition right now in the Sports Talk radio category, but also pay attention to the music formats as well to see what our core audience listens to most. So, we basically pay attention and compare ourselves to other music stations in the market to see how we stack up to them ratings wise.”
As you see, there are many ways to get around the obstacle of not having ratings. The key, is being able to think outside the box. No, it may not be an ideal situation, but if everyone at the station from the hosts, sales staff and management can come up with a successful plan and execute it, success in the market without ratings is a very achievable goal.
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
