We’re in ratings season. The numbers are starting to trickle out in the major markets for the spring book. The winners and losers have been recorded, and depending on the situation, bonuses are either being handed out or alternative plans are being made.
No matter who you ask in this industry, they will tell you that Nielsen ratings are still the standard measurement of success. I’m not denying that is true, but I think it is fair to ask why.
The Nielsen numbers are not seen as flawless. They are not easy to explain. In 2023, we all agree they do not tell the full story of a station’s reach. Yet, our sellers cling to them and so does ownership.
It seems to me that the answer for why is pretty simple. We have always relied on ratings. Agencies and even local businesses understand the ratings. They may not know the ins and outs of how they are measured, but they can see that Station X’s numbers are better than Station Y’s and make their choices accordingly. If your station isn’t the one that gets chosen. It is easy for bosses to say you are not doing good enough.
Long before we needed other numbers like podcast downloads and social impressions to paint a full picture of the reach of our content, sellers went to market with plenty of excuses and justifications. The numbers, unless you were number one in target demos, always were presented alongside an explanation of why they were not higher.
“The sample size isn’t large enough.”
“This book prioritized a different audience.”
“For some reason, Nielsen won’t count dogs as listeners when their owners leave on sports talk to comfort them while the humans are at work.”
Never once have you seen a seller go to a client or prospect with numbers a point or two lower than the competition and say “What can I tell you? They just did better than us.”
Excuses get a bad rap. I think too often it is assumed that they cannot possibly be factual. This is why I am so confused by our insistence that Nielsen numbers still matter more than anything else.
Covid-19 has replaced 9/11 as the goto subject in the sentence that ends with “changed everything.” It may be more true in radio than in any other industry. The disruption to daily life changed where and how people use their favorite radio stations. Until Nielsen comes up with a formula and a number to reflect that, there is a very valid excuse to not treat Nielsen numbers as gospel.
Buyers will prioritize what they want. We have to do a better job of educating them about the value in the numbers that Nielsen isn’t looking at. We also have to do a better job at taking care of talent, producers and webmasters that are told to prioritize online content and figure out how to reward them for particular benchmarks similar to ratings bonuses.
If we’re in a new age of media consumption, then we need to be willing to look at old world measurement with a discerning eye. It isn’t that Nielsen ratings are now entirely invalid. They are still part of the story, but that is all they are.
Star Wars is still a good movie that is worth watching and talking about, but you cannot say you know the entire story if all you have seen is the movie that came out in 1977.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
