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Christmas ratings

J

jimbo

I noticed that the latest public ratings are coming out (AQH Share for Persons 6+, Mon-Sun 6AM-Mid, I know, virtually meaningless in reality) and they show large gains for the stations playing Christmas or holiday music. My perception is that these ratings are greatly inflated and almost always go back to "normal" in the next ratings period.

Please excuse my ignorance now, but if most radio professionals (agencies and sales) understand that these holiday books are aberrations from the rest of the year, are stations able to generate extra revenue based on the Christmas ratings?

thanks,
Jim
 
My assumption is that when you refer to 'inflated', you aren't questioning the accuracy of the measurement, rather simply noting that the ratings aren't typical and aren't likely to continue for months where Christmas music isn't played. Please let me know if my assumption is incorrect.

To your second question, yes, I do think the station in each market which has made itself into the 'Christmas Station' does realize additional revenue for that period. That period is likely sold as sort of a special event and likely brings in advertisers who might not otherwise advertise on radio a great deal for the rest of the year.
 
umfan said:
My assumption is that when you refer to 'inflated', you aren't questioning the accuracy of the measurement, rather simply noting that the ratings aren't typical and aren't likely to continue for months where Christmas music isn't played.
Click to expand...

Correct, I am not questioning the accuracy, I'm just curious about how this Christmas bump is used. Some of these 6+ Christmas numbers are quadruple normal. The ratings for Christmas station go back to normal in the next book or two.

So when it comes to sales the station is setting a rate card based on their history with Christmas ratings? "We're the Christmas station and your message will reach a large audience." Would that make selling the station more difficult the rest of the year to the regular advertisers. "Yeah, we had a 16 share but now it's a 6."

Just being a nosy Nate.
 
jimbo said:
Correct, I am not questioning the accuracy, I'm just curious about how this Christmas bump is used. Some of these 6+ Christmas numbers are quadruple normal. The ratings for Christmas station go back to normal in the next book or two.

So when it comes to sales the station is setting a rate card based on their history with Christmas ratings? "We're the Christmas station and your message will reach a large audience." Would that make selling the station more difficult the rest of the year to the regular advertisers. "Yeah, we had a 16 share but now it's a 6."

Just being a nosy Nate.
Click to expand...

Advertisers who buy based on numbers generally know that the Holiday book is an anomaly. Most agencies use multi-book averages for buys, and they usually exclude the Holiday book. However, the stations that do all-Christmas programming will use past performance to sell seasonal advertisers the next year.
 
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