The start of a new year inevitably brings new resolutions and, for many, attempts to counter the effects from the holidays. It’s the same for many audio formats, which feel the impact of holiday programming on ratings from Thanksgiving until New Year’s. Radio programmers are now seeing those trends reverse in the results from the first post-holiday ratings book in Nielsen’s portable people meter (PPM) markets.
Predictably, some of the major music formats that saw audiences shrink as a result of Christmas music bounced back in January. Pop Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) and Country, reclaimed the top two spots, respectively, in the 18-34 and 25-54 demographics. At the same time, Adult Contemporary (AC) fell from its top spot during the all-Christmas peak.
Elsewhere, Hot AC opened 2014 with a record-breaking month, after closing out its best year ever in 2013. In the spoken word arena, the NFL playoffs and intense stretches of winter weather in many major markets jump-started the results for Sports, All News and News/Talk in January.
Below are some highlights from Nielsen’s January PPM data across 45 markets* using the full-week (Monday-Sunday 6 a.m.-midnight) daypart and audience shares for the 6+ demographic.
Format (6+ share) | % change Holiday 13 – January 14 |
---|---|
Country | 11% |
Pop CHR | 6% |
Rhythmic CHR | 4% |
Hot AC | 3% |
Mexican Regional | 3% |
Urban AC | -1% |
Classic Hits | -6% |
Soft AC | -36% |
AC | -39% |
Note: Nielsen Audio officially has 48 measured PPM markets, but three of them (Nassau-Suffolk, Middlesex-Somerset-Union and San Jose) are included in the larger New York and San Francisco metro areas. Therefore, the listening stats from those markets are included in our study even though we did not break them out separately. CHR—Contemporary Hits Radio. AC—Adult Contemporary. Source: Nielsen |
Persons 6+ | Adults 18-34 | Adults 25-54 |
---|---|---|
News/Talk (9.3%) | Pop CHR (9.0%) | |
Pop CHR (8.2%) | Country (7.5%) | |
Country (7.6%) | Rhythmic CHR (7.1%) | AC (7.1%) |
AC (7.4%) | Hot AC (6.7%) | Hot AC (6.6%) |
Hot AC (5.9%) | AC (6.2%) | News/Talk (6.5%) |
Note: Nielsen Audio officially has 48 measured PPM markets, but three of them (Nassau-Suffolk, Middlesex-Somerset-Union and San Jose) are included in the larger New York and San Francisco metro areas. Therefore, the listening stats from those markets are included in our study even though we did not break them out separately. CHR—Contemporary Hits Radio. AC—Adult Contemporary. Source: Nielsen |