One of the radio industry’s most respected researchers, Dr. Ed Cohen writes a weekly business column, heavily focused on ratings research for Barrett Media. His career experiences include serving as VP of Ratings and Research at Cumulus Media, occupying the role of VP of Measurement Innovation at Nielsen Audio, and its predecessor Arbitron. While with Arbitron, Cohen spent five years as the company's President of Research Policy and Communication, and eight years as VP of Domestic Radio Research. Dr. Ed has also held the title of Vice President of Research for iHeartMedia/Clear Channel, and held research positions for the National Association of Broadcasters and Birch/Scarborough Research. He is adjunct faculty in the Department of Broadcast Communications at Western Kentucky University and welcomes your thoughts. Reach him by email at doctoredresearch@gmail.com.
If Nielsen loses some national TV clients or is forced to lower rates in the face of stiff competition from VideoAmp, comScore, or other companies, it may look for more revenue on the audio side.
Their view is that testing and practice have shown little difference in listening, but the gains in proportionality are positive. The unspoken part is that this change will help control sample costs as well.
"Happy to report I have landed on my feet. After the demise of CBS Radio and the purge of the entire staff, I have been hired to anchor newscasts at NPR."