Audience Research

Understanding Audience Estimates	A "seesaw" analogy makes understanding audience estimates simple. v Learn more below
Standard Research Terms	Regular user definitions of common research terms. v Learn more below Formal research definitions from Arbitron. Download Arbitron Radio Market Report Reference Guide
Persons Using Radio (PUR) Chart	Sample PUR chart from Spring 2004. v See below
Listening and giving	Audience Research Analysis' Ten Indisputable Things About Listening and Giving Download Listening and Giving PDF

Understanding Audience Estimates

Using a "seesaw" analogy can help illustrate the relationship between Cume, Time Spent Listening (TSL), and Average Quarter Hour (AQH) audience (see definitions below). The net effect of changes in Cume and TSL (the seats of the seesaw) are summarized in the AQH—the seesaw's fulcrum. Cume and TSL have a dynamic relationship: when one goes up, the other logically, but not always, goes down. Any changes are reflected in the AQH. This makes AQH the best single audience estimate when using Arbitron data, and why it should be a key measure to use for planning purposes (although most people want to use Cume because that's the biggest number).

As Cume rises, TSL frequently goes down (Figure 1). Why? Because the new/additional Cume is most likely comprised of Fringe listeners.

Figure 1

When there's a decline in Cume, we can usually expect an increase in TSL (Figure 2). This happens because the Fringe listeners cease listening. A greater proportion of those still listening are Core listeners, who generally spend more time listening.

Figure 2

Sometimes both Cume and TSL increase (or decrease) in the same quarter—the best (or worse) of both worlds (Figure 3). This is where the hydraulic lift really comes into play—if Cume and TSL both go up, the AQH will automatically be lifted. For the most part, when Cume increases, TSL follows sometime later. More often, an increase in Cume or TSL—while the other holds fairly steady (or only changes slightly)—gives rise to the AQH.

Figure 3

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Standard Research Terms

Persons Using Radio: The total number of people using the radio, not just a specific station, for a specified time.

Cume: The total number of unique persons that tune into a radio station or program during a week-long period.

Cume Rating: Cume expressed as a percentage of the total population.

Average Quarter Hour (AQH): The average number of persons listening to a radio station or program at any given moment.

AQH Share: The AQH expressed as a percentage of those listening to the radio. It's the percent of those listening to the radio that are tuned to a particular station or program.

Time Spent Listening (TSL): The amount of time a listener spends with a particular station or program during a particular time period within a week, (can be expressed in quarter hours, hours/day or hours/week).

Core Audience (or P1): Listeners who spend more time with your station than with any other station.

Fringe Audience: Listeners who spend more time with a competitor than with your station.

Loyalty: Among those who are listening to the radio at a particular time, the percent of your station's listeners tuned to your station.

Core Loyalty: Loyalty among the core audience. That is, the percent of your core listeners listening to the radio that are tuned to your station at a particular time.

Fringe Loyalty: Loyalty among the fringe audience. That is, the percent of your fringe listeners listening to the radio that are tuned to your station at a particular time.

Affinity: The demographic similarity between a program's audience and the station's audience.

Power: A is a ratio that compares the loyalty to a program to the station's overall loyalty. It indicates how similar a program's listeners are to the station's listeners overall.

Metro Survey Area (MSA): Includes a city (or cities) whose population is specified as that of the central city together with the county (or counties) in which it is located. The Metro also includes contiguous or additional counties when the economic and social relationships between the central and additional counties meet specific criteria.

Total Survey Area (TSA): A geographical area that generally encompasses the Metro Survey Area and may include additional counties located outside the Metro which meet certain listening criteria to Metro-licensed stations.

Designated Market Area (DMA): The DMA is composed of sampling units (counties) and is defined and updated annually by Nielsen. Media Research based on historical television viewing patterns. A county or split county is assigned exclusively to one DMA.

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Persons Using Radio (PUR) Chart

Source: Arbitron Nationwide Data, Persons 12+, Spring 2004

Persons using radio (PUR) is simply the number of people that are using the radio across a specific time period.

The above chart shows persons using the radio Monday through Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6 a.m. to midnight.

• More weekday listeners are tuned to the radio in the morning than any other time of day.
• Saturday listening grows more slowly, peaking in the middle part of the day.
• Sunday has fewer listeners than Saturday, though the shape of the curve is somewhat similar.
• Evening is the least listened to part of the day.

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