some ratings movement

Has nobody noticed that there's been some movement in the ratings? I think this is the first book I've ever seen KUOW at the top. KQMV down to third, KRWM has popped up recently.

No, no one's noticed because they're "beauty contest" numbers.

Page "iamarussianpirate" for the numbers that matter.

Looks like the Wolf is doing better, and KVRQ is doing OK in at least one demographic, at least according to AllAccess.

bobdavcav said:

Has nobody noticed that there's been some movement in the ratings? I think this is the first book I've ever seen KUOW at the top. KQMV down to third, KRWM has popped up recently.

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Who cares about 6+ anyway? They don't mean anything and billing is not based off of them. Remember, radio is a business (a very rough and tough business), and all businesses are about making money.

KXA said:

Who cares about 6+ anyway? They don't mean anything and billing is not based off of them. Remember, radio is a business (a very rough and tough business), and all businesses are about making money.

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Then again, when you have a non-commercial station at the top of any list, regardless of the criteria, it's interesting. To me, it says "radio is a business" only matters to the people in radio. The listeners don't care. If the only thing that matters is making money, it's possible that the listeners may prefer a station where there's a slightly different goal. Not to say non-commercial broadcasters don't care about money. But it's not their only motivation.

TheBigA said:

Then again, when you have a non-commercial station at the top of any list, regardless of the criteria, it's interesting. To me, it says "radio is a business" only matters to the people in radio. The listeners don't care. If the only thing that matters is making money, it's possible that the listeners may prefer a station where there's a slightly different goal. Not to say non-commercial broadcasters don't care about money. But it's not their only motivation.

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Take a listen to KUOW right now and tell me how often they're running promos and mentions asking for money. It's about 982x per hour.

You were right when you say listeners don't care.

However, you're wrong when you say they may prefer a station where there's a slightly different goal. That's inside thinking. Listeners don't know, don't care, don't notice. Some might, but the vast majority just care about the content. If you aren't entertaining them, they're gone. They're not sitting there contemplating the differences between non-commercial and commercial radio.

iamarussianpirate said:

Take a listen to KUOW right now and tell me how often they're running promos and mentions asking for money. It's about 982x per hour.

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I'm not saying the stations don't care about money. There is no vow of poverty in non-commercial radio.

But by the same token, all the money that they raise goes to what's on the air. That can make a difference, if the programming is of interest to a lot of people. In some markets, like Seattle, Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington DC, that translates to big ratings. It's worth noting that in some markets, the public stations are also competitive with all-news stations, not just the news/talk stations.

Let me add that the pitches for money, as well as the funding announcements, sound different from typical commercial production. No screaming announcer, and no silly jingles. That presentation is less annoying than what they might hear on commercial stations.