Moneyball: Is “Free” Really Radio’s Biggest Listening Motivator?
• Studies released by some pundits in the radio business extol that being “free” is why a plurality of listeners say they listen. Data from the latest NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study, our 24th, fielded last month and including responses from 3,188 people ages 14 to 64 nationwide, replicates that finding, but we think it’s important to dig deeper to find the real keys to listeners.
As shown below, when we gave respondents a massive panel of reasons they may listen to the radio and asked them to select their top three reasons, “free” does rise to the top of the ranking. “It’s free” was selected by 28% of our sample, substantially ahead of three reasons almost in a dead heat for second: “To know what’s going on locally,” “To get in a better mood,” and “Just a habit” — all selected by about a fifth of the sample (and “Keeps me company” just another point behind).
Nearly a fifth also cited that radio is the “Only thing to listen to in car/truck” — an advantage that will diminish as newer models proliferate. At the bottom of the ranking of the top fourteen items shown in the chart are “To win prizes” (8%) and “Commercials tell me about businesses in my area” (7%).
Breaking out the sample by gender and generation shows — not surprisingly — that men are more likely than women to cite “Sports” as reason they listen to radio. Gen Z (ages 14-27) are slightly more likely to say they listen radio out of “habit” compared to Millennials (ages 28-43) or older adults (shown here as “Gen X+,” encompassing Gen X and the youngest five years of Baby Boomers, ages 44-64). While these Gen X+ older adults are slightly more likely to cite radio being “free” compared to younger generations, they’re substantially more likely to cite “news,” “weather,” and “To know what’s going on locally.”
While these data are instructive, radio’s report card comes from a special subset of these respondents: those who will participate in one of the ratings methodologies. Using a set of questions we’ve been developing for over decade, NuVoodoo can isolate those respondents who profile as most likely to participate if invited to return a diary or carry a meter (along with the other members of their household).
As of this latest study, that group has narrowed to just over 15% of our sample. A year ago, it had been 22% — close to the 20% threshold at which it had sat for years. We call these ratings likelies, “RPS Yes,” but we pay closest attention to an even narrower subset: those among the ratings likelies who say they listen to broadcast radio at least an hour a day.” These “RPS Heavy” respondents are the ones who have the power to give your sales team the life blood of that next tenth of a ratings point which can make or break budgets.
Among the overall “RPS Yes” group, “free” drops a few points, along with it being “Just a habit” and being the “Only thing to listen to in car/truck.” Items like “To know what’s going on locally,” “To get in a better mood,” and “Feel connected to a station, DJ, or host” all rise several points. And, among the smaller subset of “RPS Heavy” respondents — those likely to participate in the ratings AND who listen at least an hour a day — what’s really important comes into stronger focus.
In the table above, note that “free” drops to 21% among the “RPS Heavy” breakout, while “To get in a better mood” becomes the largest item on the list. In the table below we’ve ranked the reasons by the RPS Heavy respondents and show them in comparison to the Total sample. In that table, “free” isn’t even among the top five reasons. For this important group, the top five reasons to listen to radio are, “To get in a better mood,” “Keeps me company,” “To know what’s going on locally,” “To keep up on news,” and “Feel connected to a station, DJ, or host.”
We added a column in the table above showing how the opinions of the important RPS Heavy group index compares to the total sample. “Free” and “Only thing to listen to in car/truck” under-index substantially, while “To win prizes” and “Commercials tell me about businesses in my area” over-index. The RPS Heavy group is about twice as likely to listen to radio to win prizes or learn about businesses compared to the overall sample. With indexes just a few notches lower are “Feel connected to a station, DJ, or host” and “To be informed in an emergency.”
“Free,” while a being a benefit, is less important to adults under 45 who have become comfortable with small monthly payments to get access to the media they want most. For radio to stay relevant, it can’t lean on being free. Radio must lean on its power as a mood enhancer and companion. Radio must showcase its unique local connections. To do battle with digital music providers like Spotify, music radio needs to differentiate with creative, relatable talent, and playlists curated by passionate pros. And, as a lure to get attention and impact listening, well-executed contests continue to punch above their weight.
Questions? Contact Leigh Jacobs at Leigh@nuvoodoo.com.
