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Seattle-Tacoma Radio Ratings: August 2015

P

pjc1961

The August 2015 survey period covers Thu. 7/16/15 - Wed. 8/12/15 -
publicly released data for subscribing stations age 6+ overall:

Seattle-Tacoma, WA: http://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb039

Next report will be for the September 2015 survey period covering Thu. 8/13/15 - Wed. 9/9/15.
The data release date will be Wed. 9/30/2015 (delayed one day due to Yom Kippur on 9/22-23/2015).
 
I wonder how many stations on that list had a $15,000 expense in the last 6 months?

Oh my! Is that a Voltair in your air chain!

"Voltair Tidal change effect." Consultants and program directors, feel free to use that cutting edge term.

On air host - "Hello Joe, your on the air." Joe - "Can you take the cotton out of your mouth?" Or should the punch line be "Why does it sound like you have cotton in your mouth?"
Hope I made someone chuckle.
 
Really bad KLCK ratings...again. They added older music and still can't seem to go anywhere. KOMO-AM is not that good either, as is KUBE 93. KZOK is #1.
 
I know these numbers don't tell the whole story. That said, KZOK is on top. It's overall the best programmed commercial station in town (IMHO), so glad to see them doing well. KJR-FM is apparently doing something right. Movin' in a slide? Speaking of slides, KFNQ's share has dropped by half!! KCMS also taking a hit... K-LOVE impact?
 
My guess is that KJR and KZOK picked up the former listeners of KMCQ.
 
KWPZ....Active Rock?

Is KWPZ finally switching to religious music? I had to check. But no, they're still playing the same stuff they always have...
 

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I see three maybe four station that went up without the use of a Voltair in their audio chain. I would bet money that the top ten stations on that list are playing the PPM game. Some stations started playing the game early in the year some are just catching up.

I'm tying out another new programming term. "PPM gamming adjustment." The stations that started to use a Voltair early in the game are purely adjusting the format and maybe Voltair drive a little. Stations just figuring out the PPM game are still adjusting Voltair drive while doing some format tweaks, others are just seeing if that $15,000 investment is working before format adjustment.

Are the move in number is this snapshot purely format/music driven or is PPM gamming creeping into the picture? I vote PPM gamming having an effect and it's had an effect since January of this year. In the first quarter of the year it was who was using a Voltair. Last quarter of the year will be who is not using a Voltair. Of all the station on the list I bet only ten or less do not have a Voltair in the mix. I would say we are in the middle of the PPM gamming adjustment period.

Stations are now targeting two listeners, one being human the other the PPM detector worn by the listener. Most people on this board are recognizing only one type of adjustment that a station can make to improve ratings. There are now two ways.
 
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xmtrland said:
Stations are now targeting two listeners, one being human the other the PPM detector worn by the listener. Most people on this board are recognizing only one type of adjustment that a station can make to improve ratings. There are now two ways.
Click to expand...

The Nielsen data shows that, while the Voltair increases the frequency of tag insertion in some types of program content, it does not have any material impact on quarter hour credits.

In any event, Nielsen is pre-empting the Voltair with a new version of the PPM encoder to be rolled out starting in a few months.

Of course, there will be the Voltair 2.0, likely to be announced at the NAB radio conference in a coupla' weeks.

And then there is the secretive but very definitely "in progress" MRC evaluation of whether the use of the Voltair constitutes ratings distortion. The MRC will likely also give Nielsen recommendations on updating the PPM encoder, I believe.

And then there is the now-overdue final decision from Numeris in Canada about the temporary ban on Voltair use in that country.
 
fordranger797 said:
hope the efforts are paying off in the morning demo.
Click to expand...

Mornings is not a "demo". It is a "daypart".

A "demo" (short for "demographic") is a segment of the radio universe based on characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnicity. An extension of demos is stratification by income, education, area of residence, language preference (Hispanics only) and such.

"18 to 49" is a demo, as is "Hispanic English Dominant Females 25-44".

(I am not criticizing you... you have indicated you are anxious to learn so I hope this helps and is taken in the intended spirit)
 
I know Steve is fascinated with the whole Voltair concept (commission Steve?), but have any stations that have tested it on the air, shown any significant increase or improvement in recording by Nielsen PPM devices? In other words, time to separate the Telos Omnia sales hype from reality.
 
DavidEduardo said:


Mornings is not a "demo". It is a "daypart".

A "demo" (short for "demographic") is a segment of the radio universe based on characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnicity. An extension of demos is stratification by income, education, area of residence, language preference (Hispanics only) and such.

"18 to 49" is a demo, as is "Hispanic English Dominant Females 25-44".

(I am not criticizing you... you have indicated you are anxious to learn so I hope this helps and is taken in the intended spirit)
Click to expand...

Yes, that is what I meant. Thanks for clearing that up; it's much appreciated!
 
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I wouldn't worry about KQMV, they're usually highest in the spring and summer. I wonder if Nielson got something screwed up with KWPZ? That's just weird. I'd love to see Active Rock on 106.5 just for a laugh if nothing else. What I find the most interesting about this book is that KCIS has gone in the last 4 books 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5. Also, did anyone notice that KVTI showed up at the bottom? I don't think I've ever seen them there before.
 
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bobdavcav said:
I wouldn't worry about KQMV, they're usually highest in the spring and summer.
Click to expand...

That comment makes no sense; do you know what season it is?

Losing about 16% of your 6+ audience during what is supposed to be the "highest" time should be of concern.

But hey, let's talk more about the KWPZ typo.
 
From casual observation I would say the Voltair puts the PPM meter in a better listening position. Almost like it was strapped to the listeners head next to their ears. Humans don't listen from the hip, the PPM meter does and a Voltair makes it more likely the PPM meter will hear an encoded watermark. And it might be a small increase in the stations target numbers.

Just like when PPM was introduced it took a while understand or re digest the numbers. There is something out there now causing ripples. The sales of the Voltair are interesting in how it has "sold itself." Stations are either buying it because they think it will give them that edge (it works). The other stations are buying it to protect that edge at any price (a defensive move) and in the long run $15,000 is worth it to protect heritage billing.

Do I have a stake in this. Yes I do. I want each of the stations I help to make as much money as possible. It some how makes them easier to deal with.

So to sum it up. IMHO the Voltair puts the PPM meter in a better position to hear and log the watermark.
There are two camps that view the Voltair which have driven sales. Those that think it works and use it as an edge. Those that would not buy it initially but are to protect that edge or heritage billing. For every five sold because the client thinks they work there are five sold to hedge the bet that it may do something.
 
AQH said:
That comment makes no sense; do you know what season it is?

Losing about 16% of your 6+ audience during what is supposed to be the "highest" time should be of concern.

But hey, let's talk more about the KWPZ typo.
Click to expand...

Ok 16% does seem a little steep, but remember Summer unofficially ends in a few days, and they've usually peaked by now anyway. This year, for whatever reason, they peaked very early.
 
xmtrland said:
And it might be a small increase in the stations target numbers.
Click to expand...

That says it all. It might be a small increase in theory, but apparently there is no empirical evidence to back up claims yet. Given the contentious relationship with Telos Omnia and Nielsen about Voltaire, I'm still on the fence as to whether the claims pan out to be nothing more than an attempt to sell more audio processing.

So far from everything I've seen, any successes are primarily anecdotal. It seems to me if Nielsen can improve the performance and accuracy through upgraded firmware, without stations sacrificing audio quality in an increasing competitive landscape, why bother boosting the encoded information to the point where it's audible to listeners?

Bob Orban has an interesting take on Voltaire: http://www.radioworld.com/article/bob-orban-talks-about-voltair/276919
 
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