Nielsen has updated its radio market rankings as the Spring ratings period gets underway, showcasing a shift within the top ten. Dallas-Ft. Worth has ascended to the fourth spot, pushing San Francisco down to fifth. Other PPM shakeups have been noted within.
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and Seattle-Tacoma swapped places, with Miami moving up to 11th and Seattle dropping to 12th. Similar swaps occurred between San Diego and Denver(18/19), Baltimore and Portland, OR (22/23), Austin and Sacramento (28/29), Las Vegas and Pittsburgh (31/32).
Raleigh-Durham had the largest movement in the top fifty, leapfrogging Cleveland and Columbus to become #35. Finally, Nashville and San Jose traded places, with Music City rising to market 40.
As the shifts come, Nielsen Audio is discontinuing its audience measurement services in three radio markets from this year’s spring book. The markets leaving Nielsen’s roster are Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville in North Carolina, Visalia-Tulare-Hanford in California, and Sunbury-Selinsgrove-Lewisburg in Pennsylvania, which are ranked 99th, 109th, and 215th, respectively.
While specific reasons for the discontinuation have not been provided, this action follows a similar reduction of seven radio markets by Nielsen in the spring of 2023.
Nielsen’s grotesque lack of QC, anemic sample sizes and true number compliant carriers is destroying an already suffering industry. Since the last RIF, the minuscule respect the company may have had, completely dissolved.