Now that the Holiday season is several months behind us, Nielsen has had a chance to analyze listening trends of formats that are affected by the disruption of stations that flip to holiday music. Nielsen says traditionally, January marks the beginning of seasonal spikes for both the Sports and News/Talk formats, while the major music formats look to reset.
Nielsen says sports radio, lifted by higher-than-ever levels of interest in the NFL, matched last January’s 5.1% share among all listeners 6 and older. The annual rise in sports listening typically begins in the fall with the kick-off of college and professional football, the MLB postseason, and culminates in early February with the NFL playoffs.
But January’s headline is that News/Talk registered its highest marks for listener share in several years, no doubt driven by the ongoing drama of the presidential campaigns and primary season now in full swing. News/Talk jumped more than a full share-point from the holidays to January among all listeners (6+) (8.6% to 9.7%). And listener share among listeners 18-34 and 25-54, two key groups for marketers, increased by 14%. The listener share among persons 18-34 increased to 4.1% from 3.6%, while the share among listeners 25-54 jumped to 6.7% from 5.9%. In fact, January’s 4.1% share rating among Millennials is the format’s best showing since November 2012, the last U.S. presidential election.
When Nielsen took a look at music formats, Urban Contemporary scored its best January ever in PPM measurement. And after a record-breaking 2014, the format shows no signs of slowing down. With hip-hop gaining more mainstream popularity, Urban Contemporary continues to ride a wave of audience growth that stretches back several years. Consider that among listeners 25-54, the format has grown its share of audience by 45% since the beginning of 2013.
