If you follow along with our column, you know that we do a Radio Ratings Roundup every PPM survey for the top 20 markets. The recently released December survey gave us our first look at the impact the all-Christmas formats had on these markets.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, it was a huge success. There were a few exceptions, but Santa dominated. Not just with the 6+ data, but in A25-54, A18-34, and A18-49, as well. Again, not a surprise.
There are a few data points that are worth your attention:
First, the holiday format does not bring significant new cume to the radio. What it does is redistribute the existing cume to the chosen station. We have seen this for years, but we never see market cume rise by more than a percentage point or two. This could be a seasonal thing as more people are travelling. Or it could be that non-radio users are not drawn to the medium because of this event.
Second, while PUMM was generally up year over year (thank you, three-minute qualifier), it was often down from the November book. The holiday push is a boon for that station, but it does not seem to raise the PUMM floor for the market.
Third, when is the best time to begin playing Burl Ives? Studies have shown that most people feel they want to get in the mood around Thanksgiving. In December we had stations that changed format in November, at the beginning of the December survey, in week three of the book, and even the day before Thanksgiving. All were successful. Most even exceeded their 2024 shares. But what does that really look like? I am guessing a lot of the early adoption is driven by sales commitments. Long live revenue!
Remember, a monthly AQH share is based on the average of the 28 daily shares. Christmas could be a slow build, or it could be a home run out of the gate. The best way to know this is to look at the daily shares these stations are garnering.
For example, could the first two or three weeks of the new format merely mirror what the station usually delivers? Could it be lower or higher? And is it possible (likely) that the numbers rise dramatically as we approach and pass Thanksgiving? Every market is different, so it behooves you to look under the hood and see what each day of the survey looked like.
(Shameless plug: this is a service we offer to all of our clients. If you are not the holiday hitmaker, at what point did the new format begin to erode your shares? Is there a defense strategy there?)
Finally, a nod to our diary market brethren. The fall book ended on December 10th. That means THE most crucial weeks for holiday music are not measured! I lived this nightmare when I flipped WASH in Washington, DC in 2001. While we had a good initial first book with the change, we never saw the explosive numbers you see today. Just check out how WASH does with the benefit of the Holiday book. The difference is dramatic.
I understand that the reason both PPM and diary fall books end on the same date has to do with Nationwide Ratings. This is unfortunate for Christmas stations in diary world. Could there be a workaround? For two-book-a-year markets, the answer is likely no. How difficult/expensive would it be to add a Holiday book to CDM markets? Would radio approve? That probably depends on the cost. At the very least, it is worth the discussion.
