Country, News-Talk, Top 40 Top Nielsen's Top Formats In 2015

New Report

NIELSEN begins another year of their "State of The Media: Audio Today" report series, and one theme continues to dominate the headlines for the radio industry; the consistently large reach of radio in the U.S. "We find that radio leads all other platforms when it comes to weekly reach (93%) among adult consumers -- and with new insights available to compare radio to other platforms on a regular basis, it’s clear that radio is an integral part of media consumption for millions of Americans," writes NIELSEN, noting that 265 million Americans 6+ listen to radio each week.

"Today the words 'radio' and 'audio' mean many different things to many different people," adds NIELSEN. "Music, commentary, podcasting, digital listening, in-car entertainment and on and on. What’s certain is that the radio consumer is a highly qualified audience, delivered in real-time across hundreds of markets every single day. Most radio listeners are in the workforce and are reached when they’re away from home and ready to buy."

Some of the reports highlights:

• Radio is the leading reach platform
• More than 90% of radio listeners tune to a network-affiliated station every week
• Radio peaks during the workday
• Radio reaches qualified consumers close to the point of purchase

NIELSEN notes, "In this year’s report we examine a host of new and different angles of the AMERICAN radio audience, including network radio’s national footprint, and the lifestyles and habits of radio’s heaviest contributors. And for the first time we’re leveraging insights from NIELSEN ENTERTAINMENT to highlight which songs were the most played, purchased and streamed. Building strong radio brands requires more insights than ever before, and at NIELSEN our goal is to continue arming broadcasters and content creators with the right tools and knowledge to engage audiences and cut through today’s crowded media world."

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Still Listening On The Weekend

Radio’s ability to reach consumers in large numbers isn’t confined to the MONDAY-FRIDAY work week. Across several of the major buying demographics that advertisers covet, radio’s reach on the weekends often rivals the reach we see during the week. For example, the radio reaches nearly three-fourths (72%) of Millennials (18-34) nationwide on the weekend, second only to the afternoon/early evening, also known as the “PM Drive,” at 75% penetration.

For persons 25-54, the weekend reach is 76%, second only to PM drive at 80%, while for persons 55+, the weekend percentage is 72%, second only to midday (10a-3p), whichi s 75%.

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