I was going to add this comment to the New 96.1 thread. But I thought it deserves its own since this applies to other broadcasting groups as well. They’re all ruining the streaming experience because of repetitive ads. I’ll explain:
I downloaded the New 96.1 app this afternoon to check out the new branding. I must have logged into a station stop set. I was bombarded with nothing but ads for five minutes. It was a mix of ads that were stream-only and some running on both radio and the stream. It was a disaster. Radio ads were cut out by stream ads after a couple of seconds. I must have heard the same Spectrum Business stream-only ad three times in that five minute stretch. Then, the opposite — radio ads running on the stream were joined in progress after the stream-only ad finished. It was unlistenable! Townsquare has a reputation of being all about the digital realm. But this was a big fail on their part. Finally, the music came on. But there were two — maybe three — songs before another stop set. And there it was — the Spectrum Business ad again. I picked up the phone and deleted the app.
But Townsquare is not alone. I’ve had several email exchanges with tech support at Audacy over their streaming ad policy. Again, the same ads are played over and over. A few are in Spanish! Arghhh! I was listening to Hank Nevins on a Sunday morning this summer. The content was great. Hank knows how to relate to his listeners. But in the stop sets, the same Zoom Tan ad ran four times in 20 minutes. What made it especially annoying was that Zoom was promoting a “Christmas in July” special that included the most obnoxious Christmas jingle the ad agency could find. It was July. I didn‘t want to be reminded of the snow and cold headed our way.
Has anyone else noticed this? Are you as bothered as I am? I get it. Commercials provide the revenue that keep stations running. When listening on the radio, there is a variety of sponsors so that we’re not bombarded by the same ads. Some aggressive sponsors may have a heavy rotation. But that never bothered me until I started streaming commercial stations. Please know that I understand from a marketing perspective that an ad needs to run a specific number of times for the message to resonate. But three times in the same spot set? Maybe ten times an hour?
Is anyone in management listening to their streams? Is anyone paying attention? When I’m annoyed by repetitive ads, I simply turn off the stream. You’ve lost me as a listener. There are so many other alternatives out there. I frankly wonder how commercial music stations will survive when they run two, or in some cases, three five minute stop sets per hour. There are no more DJs like Dan Neaverth, Sandy Beach or Jack Armstrong who added so much to the music radio experience. For $10 a month for Apple Music, I have access to anything I want, commercial-free. Or I’ll log into Tom Schuh’s station, Cool 101, on Live 365, which limits commercials to something I can live with — two two-minute stop sets an hour. My commercial radio listening experience seems to be in-car only these days. When a stop set begins, I’m punching a button and going elsewhere.
I downloaded the New 96.1 app this afternoon to check out the new branding. I must have logged into a station stop set. I was bombarded with nothing but ads for five minutes. It was a mix of ads that were stream-only and some running on both radio and the stream. It was a disaster. Radio ads were cut out by stream ads after a couple of seconds. I must have heard the same Spectrum Business stream-only ad three times in that five minute stretch. Then, the opposite — radio ads running on the stream were joined in progress after the stream-only ad finished. It was unlistenable! Townsquare has a reputation of being all about the digital realm. But this was a big fail on their part. Finally, the music came on. But there were two — maybe three — songs before another stop set. And there it was — the Spectrum Business ad again. I picked up the phone and deleted the app.
But Townsquare is not alone. I’ve had several email exchanges with tech support at Audacy over their streaming ad policy. Again, the same ads are played over and over. A few are in Spanish! Arghhh! I was listening to Hank Nevins on a Sunday morning this summer. The content was great. Hank knows how to relate to his listeners. But in the stop sets, the same Zoom Tan ad ran four times in 20 minutes. What made it especially annoying was that Zoom was promoting a “Christmas in July” special that included the most obnoxious Christmas jingle the ad agency could find. It was July. I didn‘t want to be reminded of the snow and cold headed our way.
Has anyone else noticed this? Are you as bothered as I am? I get it. Commercials provide the revenue that keep stations running. When listening on the radio, there is a variety of sponsors so that we’re not bombarded by the same ads. Some aggressive sponsors may have a heavy rotation. But that never bothered me until I started streaming commercial stations. Please know that I understand from a marketing perspective that an ad needs to run a specific number of times for the message to resonate. But three times in the same spot set? Maybe ten times an hour?
Is anyone in management listening to their streams? Is anyone paying attention? When I’m annoyed by repetitive ads, I simply turn off the stream. You’ve lost me as a listener. There are so many other alternatives out there. I frankly wonder how commercial music stations will survive when they run two, or in some cases, three five minute stop sets per hour. There are no more DJs like Dan Neaverth, Sandy Beach or Jack Armstrong who added so much to the music radio experience. For $10 a month for Apple Music, I have access to anything I want, commercial-free. Or I’ll log into Tom Schuh’s station, Cool 101, on Live 365, which limits commercials to something I can live with — two two-minute stop sets an hour. My commercial radio listening experience seems to be in-car only these days. When a stop set begins, I’m punching a button and going elsewhere.
