Friday, November 21, 2014

RETRO FRIDAY: HISTORY OF THE PRPD (VIDEO)


Marcia Alvar, former head of PRPD, debuted the video below at the 2011 Public Radio Programming Conference.  It tells the history of the Public Radio Program Directors association and why PRPD has been so important in the amazing growth of public radio.

Marcia knows what she is talking about.  She was one of the so-called “gang of four” that created PRPD. From the very beginning, PRPD taught programmers to “think audience.”  This was a somewhat controversial notion at the time. Many station schedules were checkerboards with all types of programs – some great, some awful. The result was guaranteed to cause listeners to tune out.

Count on Jody Evans, the new PRPD CEO & Executive Director, to keep the organization vital in 2015 and beyond.


Video courtesy of the PRPD Knowledge Base 
[http://prpd.org/knowledgebase.aspx]

Thursday, November 20, 2014

STATIONS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE: KILI-FM, Porcupine SD



KILI is located in the heart of the Great Sioux Nation and serves the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River, and Rosebud Indian Reservations near the Black Hills. Link: http://www.kiliradio.org/

I saw a story on the news last night involving the Keystone XL pipeline and opposition on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  They don’t want the pipeline to go through their land.  Many scenes in the story were in and around KILI.  I’ve been thinking of this valuable station all day today.


I feel a special kinship with KILI because I lived in the area in early 80s.  I owned and managed a commercial AOR station – KSQY “K-SKY” based in the notorious town of Deadwood. KSQY signed on in 1982 around the same time KILI did.  So I know the territory.

One of my most vibrant radio memories involves KILI.  In December 1982 I was driving with a friend across high plains when a sudden severe ground blizzard started up out of nowhere.  We were listening to KILI playing Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd.  Nice.

Then an announcer slowly potted down the music and said: 

We are having freaking freak blizzard here at KILI.  Power is out in the town and the water pumps quit.  We need someone to truck in some water so we can feed the babies.

Then he gently turned Pink Floyd back up.  Excellent public service.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

POWERFUL LISTENING METRICS IN EDISON RESEARCH STUDY


In June 2014 Edison Research debuted SHARE OF EAR a study that provides the first consistent measurement of all audio consumption, including AM/FM radio stations, online radio stations, podcasts and even listeners’ own music collections.

SHARE OF EAR is important because it shows how numerous audio platforms compete with each other for listener’s audio “shelf space.” Edison’s Share of Ear results are from a nationally representative sample of 2,096 Americans ages 13+ who completed a 24-hour audio listening diary during May 2014.

The study reveals that Americans spend an average of 4 hours and 5 minutes each day consuming audio. More than 52% of that time goes to broadcast radio on all its various platforms.  This chart from Edison shows the top-line results:


 
Edison Research is led by Larry Rosin.  I’ve been reading Rosin’s stuff since the 1980s when he was with Bolton Research.  I was at Transtar Radio Network back then -- Bill Moyes made Rosin’s newsletters required reading.  He is one of the most perceptive people in the room and I recommend his blog: edisonresearch.com/blog/

Larry Rosin was a featured presenter at 2014 Public Radio Programing Conference.  His sessions included The Connected Car and Classical Listeners and the Infinite Dial – fascinating new research showing changes in classical music listener media usage. Here is Rosin speaking at the PRPC:
 
Share of Ear is available on a subscription basis. Subscribers include broadcasters, online audio distributors, agencies, investors, academicians, and lots of folks in the music business.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

THE TOP 40 NONCOMMERCIAL STATIONS BY WEEKLY CUME RATING


FORMAT PERCENTAGES OF THE TOP 40 STATIONS

NPR News & Talk:                     53.7%
Contemporary Christian Music:  26.8%
Classical:                                12.2%
Triple A:                                  2.4%
Jazz:                                        2.4%
Regional Mexican Music:            2.4%

NIELSEN AUDIO PPM OCTOBER 2014
Survey Period: 9/11/14 – 10/8/14
Top-Line Estimates as of 11/5/14
Monday – Sunday 6am – Midnight, Persons 6+

DATA © NIELSON AUDIO
Provided by RRC, Inc. for use by subscribers only
© Radio Research Consortium, Inc. // www.RRConline.org // RRC@RRConline.org

Format designations are the sole responsibility of Ken Mills Agency, LLC. Contact us publicradio@hotmail.com.

Definition of “Weekly Cume Rating” – “Cume” means cumulative listening – a measure of the total number of different persons in the designated metro area exposed to an encoded station for at least five minutes in a quarter-hour during an average week in a survey period. “Rating” is the percentage of persons 6+ in the metro market.


STATION
NIELSEN AUDIO MARKET
METRO RANK
WEEKLY
CUME RATING
FORMAT
1
WPOZ
Orlando
33
19.4
Contemporary Christian Music
2
KTIS
Minneapolis/St. Paul
16
14.9
Contemporary Christian Music
3
KLJY
St. Louis
22
13.4
Contemporary Christian Music
4
KSBJ
Houston
6
13.3
Contemporary Christian Music
5
KOPB
Portland OR
23
12.7
NPR News
6
WUNC
Raleigh/Durham
42
11.9
NPR News
7
KLDV
Denver/Boulder
20
11.3
Contemporary Christian Music
8
KCFR
Denver/Boulder
20
11.2
NPR News
9
KNOW
Minneapolis/St. Paul
16
11.0
NPR News
10
KUT
Austin
35
10.9
NPR News
11
WAMU
Washington DC
7
10.8
NPR News
12
WPLN
Nashville
45
10.6
NPR News
13t
KPBS
San Diego
17
10.4
NPR News
13t
KQED
San Francisco
4
10.4
NPR News
15
WAYF
West Palm Beach
(Miami metro station)
48
10.2
Contemporary Christian Music
16
WBUR
Boston
10
9.8
NPR News
17
KCMP
Minneapolis-St. Paul
16
9.6
Triple A
18t
KJNW
Kansas City
34
8.8
Contemporary Christian Music
18t
KWMU
St. Louis
22
8.8
NPR News
20t
WCIE & WJIS
Tampa/St. Petersburg
18
8.6
Contemporary Christian Music
20t
WABE
Atlanta
9
8.6
NPR News
& Classical
20t
WNPR
Hartford/New Britain
52
8.6
NPR News
23t
KSGN
Riverside/
San Bernardino
26
8.5
Contemporary Christian Music
23t
WGTS
Washington DC
7
8.5
Contemporary Christian Music
25
KXJZ
Sacramento
27
8.2
NPR News
26t
KING
Seattle/Tacoma
13
8.0
Classical
26t
KUOW
Seattle/Tacoma
13
8.0
NPR News
28
WETA
Washington DC
7
7.9
Classical
29t
WJCT
Jacksonville
50
7.7
NPR News
29t
KCUR
Kansas City
34
7.7
NPR News
29t
KPLU
Seattle/Tacoma
13
7.7
NPR News & Jazz
32t
KQAC
Portland OR
23
7.6
Classical
32t
KSOS
Las Vegas
32
7.6
Contemporary Christian Music
32t
WOSU
Columbus OH
37
7.6
NPR News
35t
WVXU
Cincinnati
30
7.5
NPR News
35t
KNAI
Phoenix
14
7.5
Regional Mexican Music
37t
KBYU
Salt Lake City
29
7.3
Classical
37t
WHYY
Philadelphia
8
7.3
NPR News
39
WFYI
Indianapolis
40
7.1
NPR News
40
KSTX
San Antonio
28
7.0
NPR News