SPARK NEWS: IN SEARCH OF THE MISSING CUME • EMF BAGS A “BIG ONE” IN BOSTON

Evidence continues to mount about the number people who are listening to radio less or not at all.

In Nielsen Audio’s January 2020 PPM ratings the number of estimated listeners to noncom stations in New York dropped 16% between January 2017 and January 2020. Estimated weekly listeners in DC were down 9.5%. In Boston weekly listeners were down 15.2%.

Why is this happening?

One online media newsletter, The Research Director [link], says there may be glitches in Nielsen's PPM system.

PUMM CHART WEEKDAYS

Courtesy of RRC

The Research Director keeps tabs on Persons Using Measured Media (PUMM) by using PPM data that is not available to Spark News.

PUMM takes into account the estimated number weekly listeners and their Time Spent Listening (TSL).

The goal is to quantify how many people are listening to an audio source at any given moment.

PUMM CHART SATURDAY

Courtesy of RRC

PUMM used to be called Persons Using Radio (PUR).

The Research Director says, according to Nielsen's numbers, PUMMs continuing to fall.

They theorize that the losses are due of three factors:

• Audio alternatives to radio are more attractive and suited to listener lifestyles.

• People now are more likely to listen to radio via streaming audio to hear radio. But, there is an issue with Nielsen’s arbitrary way of showing streaming audio data in ratings reports.

PUMM CHART SUNDAY

Courtesy of RRC

Some stations subscribe to Nielsen’s total line reporting (TLR). Over-the-air listening is combined with listening to streams. The total appears in Nielsen’s PPM ratings reports reported in one “total line.”

But, many stations don’t subscribe to TLR. For these stations, streaming audio is shown in a separate line. So the system is not consistent.

Another problem is that some stations don’t encode Nielsen’s watermark on their audio streams. Audio enhancers like Voltair can also scramble the data.

• Nielsen’s PPM system has had difficultly measuring listening via headphones and earbuds. We have written reported frequently about this issue.

Charlie Sislen, a partner at The Research Director, summarized the report’s conclusions this way:

“We cannot say, or even predict, how much listening is being lost to each of these three factors. However, clearly PUMMs and listening levels are not a true reflection of all listening to radio. What may appear to be truth, may not be.”

LEGENDARY ROCK STATION WAAF IN BOSTON SOLD TO “K-LOVE” FOR $10.7 MILLION IN CASH

WAAF, a staple of rock radio in two rated markets, is being sold by Entercom Communications to the Educational Media Foundation for $10.7 million.

There are rumors on the street that the deal came together quickly. Entercom was in a cash flow crisis and EMF has plenty of money. Maybe that’s why we refer to them as God’s Favorite Money Changers.

Even though FCC approval won’t happen until early summer, EMF is ready to have WAAF become K-Love. EMF has made arrangement to end the rock format this coming Saturday (2/22).