SPARK NEWS: WGBH TOPS WBUR IN APRIL BOSTON PPM

Boston’s NPR News battle between WBUR and WGBH has turned a new corner. For the first time in recent memory, WGBH surged ahead of WBUR in April PPM data. WBUR says it was because of transmitter issues.

Here is the March and April comparison for two key metrics:

NIELSEN AUDIO PPM MARCH & APRIL 2015 COMPARISON

	MARCH AQH LISTENERS	APRIL AQH LISTENERS	MARCH WEEKLY LISTENERS	APRIL WEEKLY LISTENERS
WBUR	12,500	7,500	401,100	318,300
WGBH	9,400	9,700	296,500	338,900

These data are provided for use by Nielsen Audio/Arbitron subscribers ONLY, in accordance with RRC's limited license with Arbitron Inc. Format distinction is solely the responsibility of Ken Mills Agency, LLC.

Scroll down to see the complete Nielsen Audio PPM data. For background, see my column from May 5, 2015 at WBUR VS. WGBH: AN AMAZING NONCOM RADIO BATTLE

WHERE DID WBUR’S LISTENERS GO?

As you can see in the March – April comparison, WBUR lost 5,000 AQH listeners and over 80,000 weekly cumulative listeners. If true, this means WBUR lost almost a quarter of its weekly listeners from March to April.

Such dramatic changes are unusual in noncommercial audience measurement. This is more than a wobble.

According to the PPM data, WGBH may have gained SOME listening from WBUR. WGBH was up over 40,000 weekly cumulative listeners but gained only 300 more AQH listeners. Where did the rest of WBUR’s listeners go? Has the Rapture started in Boston?

PUZZLING EVIDENCE & POSSIBLE CAUSES

• Transmitter Issues?

That is what WBUR thinks. Their press folks told me via e-mail:

It appears the ratings glitch was the result of a short-term technical issue. The temporary dip coincides exactly with the date WBUR installed its new transmitter, and the ratings have since returned to normal.

The press folks shared some Nielsen Audio information that is only available to subscribing stations via RRC that shows more recent trends. Indeed, it appears that WBUR took a big dump in April and then bounced back.

The thing I found the most interesting in the chart was how volatile listening is to both stations week to week. And, WGBH does have some mojo going on.

• Programming changes?

Maybe. Friends in Boston say nothing on the ground changed between March and April. Everyone agrees that WGBH is sounding good these days but that doesn’t explain WBUR’s vanishing listeners.

• Voltair?

Voltair is a black-box device that makes the digital watermark embedded in a broadcast signal more robust so Nielsen’s system can more easily identify it. We reported about Voltair in May [LINK]. This could be a reason but the jury is still out about Voltair’s actual impact.

• Changes in Nielsen’s sample or methodology?

Always possible, but I don’t feel qualified to comment on Nielsen’s measurement techniques.

REACTIONS FROM WBUR & WGBH

I reached out to contacts at both stations. My contacts provided these confidential thoughts.

• Earlier Monday from WBUR:

… it was obviously a quirk and not based on science. Clearly there was a problem which Nielson is investigating. Since then the weekly ratings have gone back to normal. Not sure what there is to write about other than we're all working with a rating system that is clearly not [fool] proof. There was just too much of a dramatic change on all days and day parts including weekends and that just isn't something that can actually happen in such a manner.

• From WGBH:

I can tell you that [WBUR] sounds good as always, but WGBH is sounding way better than it ever has, especially middays and mornings, when it distinguishes itself with excellent on-air talent. Also, promotion is focused on those two day parts. [Confidential] has the station fine-tuned. AND 89.7 got a new antenna this spring. These may all have played a part, but truthfully, 89.7 as a news/talk station has been a work in progress for several years now.

MARCH & APRIL PPM DATA FOR WBUR & WGBH

Courtesy: Radio Research Consortium [LINK]

MARCH 2015