Radio’s Performance Remains Strong Even During Commercial Breaks

On average, radio delivers 93% of its lead-in audience during commercial breaks, according to [download page] a December 2011 study conducted by Arbitron, Media Monitors, and Coleman Insights. Data from “What Happens When the Spots Come On: 2011″ indicates that when comparing the average minute audience during commercial breaks to the audience for the minute before the commercials began, the audience delivery during breaks of 1 to 3 minutes in duration are nearly the same as the lead-in audience (100%, 99%, and 96%, respectively). Radio also show strong performance during longer breaks: the audience levels during 4-minute breaks was 92% of the lead-in audience, 87% of the lead-in audience during 5-minute breaks, and 85% of the lead-in audience during breaks of 6 or more minutes. On a 24-hour basis, the average radio station was found to air 2.6 commercial breaks and an average of nearly 9 minutes advertising per hour, with the average spot break being roughly 3.5 minutes in duration. Results Defy Expectations There appears to be a considerable gap in the perception of the size of radio’s audience during commercial breaks and the study’s results: advertisers and advertising agency respondents to the survey believed the audience during commercial breaks to be 68% of the size of the audience before commercials begin, while radio broadcasters provided a higher estimate, believing the audience during spot breaks to be 78% of the size of the audience before the start of the break. Elderly More Likely to Stay Tuned Among teens and 18-24-year-olds, radio delivers 90% of its lead-in audience during commercial breaks, while among people age 65+, that proportion rises to 98%. The results show only a marginal difference between male and female audience delivery (93% and 92%, respectively). Stations with spoken word formats delivered virtually the same audience during commercial breaks compared with the lead-in (99%), while stations with music formats fared slightly worse, at 88% of their lead-in audience. Although the high audience level for spoken word stations during commercial breaks was relatively consistent by demographic, the audience level for music stations during commercial breaks was somewhat lower among a younger demographic: whereas music stations delivered 85% of the lead-in audience among 18-34-year-olds, they delivered 93% among persons aged 65 and older.