NIELSEN ISSUES AVISORY ABOUT ITS MARCH PPM RATINGS • CLASSICAL STATIONS IN TEXAS WERE HIT HARD BY COVID-19

Nielsen Audio added an interesting “Special Note" for its ad agency clients about the March PPM ratings.  In a story first reported by Inside Radio on April 17 [link], Nielsen informed time buyers that “future buying and planning decisions for periods that fall outside the COVID-19 crisis should not be made using COVID-19 impacted audience estimates.”

The reason for Nielsen’s advisory is that listening during the last two weeks of the March rating period – February. 27 - March 25 – “aren’t representative of normal listening patterns before and after the pandemic.”

According to Nielsen, weeks 1 and 2 of the survey period “did not have a significant impact from COVID-19.” But, in weeks 3 and 4, the impact of daily grim news, stay-at-home orders and the lack of leadership at the federal level, caused lifestyles and behaviors changed media consumption.

Nielsen said the data from the forth week of the March survey “fully reflected” volatile changes in radio listening and overall media usage.

Don’t blame the sample size for the situation. Nielsen says the number of in-tab respondents was “solid” during the March ratings period. Respondent participation for March was 84%, the same as February.

Dave Sullivan, Manager of PPM Client Service at the Radio Research Consortium (RRC), followed up with a guest column in Current on April 23 [link] that echoed the Inside Radio report.  Sullivan focused on the impact of Covid-19 on public radio listening.

RRC chart showing AQH listening

in March week-by-week

(Image courtesy of RRC)

In the column, Sullivan said “Listening behavior [is] transformed before our eyes.” Sullivan described the first two weeks of the March survey period was the “calm before the storm.”

Sullivan cited Nielsen’s advisory message as proof that the final two weeks of the survey “aren’t representative of normal listening patterns. Sullivan added “…many listeners changed their work patterns and spent less time in cars.”

According to Sullivan, many public radio news stations continued to increase their estimated AQH Persons listening; those that declined in AQH Persons continued to increase their AQH Share due to declining People Using Measured Media (PUMM) ratings in local markets.

Will the final week of the March book be the “new normal?” It is too soon to say. Data is now being collected for Nielsen’s April survey period – March 26 through April. The results for April will be released May 11-14.

MARCH PPM RATINGS FROM DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

Today we have results of the March ratings for the four Texas PPM markets: Dallas-Fort Worth (# 5), Houston-Galveston (#6), San Antonio (#25) and Austin (#32). We don’t have access to the week-by-week metrics.

Some observers have claimed that Classical music stations are less affected by the changes in radio listening than other music formats. This rationale is based on the notion that Classical music provides “shelter from the storm” of virus news. Classical music stations in the four Texas PPM markets indicate that these assumptions may not be true.

In Dallas, estimated weekly listeners to commercial Classical WRR, dropped by 28% in March compared to February. 

WRR’s AQH share also dropped.

Elsewhere in Dallas, NPR News/Talk KERA had major gains in AQH and estimated weekly listeners. 

KERA’s estimated weekly listeners were up 11% from the prior month. AQH share grew by 0.6.

The biggest gains in March were by AAA KKXT. 

Their estimated weekly listeners in March increased 16%.

Things turned out differently in Houston. 

NPR News/Talk KUHF was one of a handful of news stations that dropped in AQH share and weekly listeners in March compared to February.

The AQH share for commercial news powerhouse KTRH also lost in AQH share.

Classical music KUHF-HD2 lost 31% of its estimated weekly listeners in March compared to February. 

AQH share has typically been small for KUHF-HD2 went down to 0.1, close to not being listed in the Nielsen ratings.

The ratings were  not kind to Classical KPAC in March.

Their AQH share was down a full rating point and weekly listeners were down 39% compared to the prior month.

NPR News/Talk KSTX lost ground in both AQH share and estimated weekly listeners. 

Commercial news/talk WOAI     also lost AQH share.

Whenever we see the ratings for KSTX and KPAC, we think about two great stations that don’t subscribe to the Nielsen ratings: Jazz music KRTU and AAA-ish KSYM.

In Austin, NPR News/Talk KUT had perhaps its best numbers in history. Not only was their AQH share up almost a full rating point, KUT grew its estimated weekly listeners by 10% in March compared to February.

KUT’s sister station, AAA KUTX, also saw substantial increases in AQH share and weekly listeners.

Austin’s full-time Classical music station KMFA hasn’t subscribed to the Nielsen ratings for a couple of years.