Radio less cluttered than TV
Empower MediaMarketing has conducted an analysis of radio advertising clutter in 15 markets, identifying the most and least cluttered locales and station formats, and supporting Clear Channel Communications' contention that its "Less is More" initiative has resulted in less commercial interruption of programming.
Empower's analysis of Nielsen Monitor Plus data from the nation's top 14 markets plus the agency's home market of Cincinnati revealed the following:
* 93 Clear Channel Communications stations averaged 7.99 minutes of commercial time per hour, 15% below the 15-market average of 9.42 minutes. Additionally, the same Clear Channel stations averaged 1.78 minutes of advertising per commercial pod, 18% below the 15-market average of 2.18.
* The most cluttered markets were Washington, DC (10.25 commercial minutes per hour) and Los Angeles (10.15). The least cluttered were Tampa-St. Petersburg (8.43), Atlanta (8.83) and Philadelphia (8.84).
* The most cluttered formats were news/talk (11.91 commercial minutes per hour) and sports (11.47), and the least cluttered were classical (6.81) and religious (7.78).
"What's interesting to us is that there is a perception of radio as being a very cluttered medium, yet the average number of commercial minutes per hour is less than that of television, which averages 12-14 minutes, and radio's environment is less cluttered than, say, magazines, whose pages typically are about 50% advertising," said Julie Pahutski, senior vice president, research, Empower MediaMarketing. "Our belief as an agency is that radio is generally undervalued, particularly by national advertisers."
The analysis is based on May 2006 Nielsen Monitor Plus data from the nation's top 14 markets, plus Empower's home market of Cincinnati.
Market, Avg. Minutes of Ads Per Hour
Atlanta 8.83
Boston 9.23
Chicago 9.60
Cincinnati 9.06
Dallas 9.69
Detroit 9.58
Houston 9.41
Los Angeles 10.15
New York, 9.50
Philadelphia, 8.84
Phoenix, 9.26
San Fran., 9.31
Seattle, 9.61
Tampa, 8.43
DC, 10.25
Average, 9.42
Format Data
Format , Avg. Minutes of Ads Per Hour
News/Talk 11.91
Urban 8.70
Hispanic 8.91
Country 9.72
Adult Contemporary 8.69
Sports 11.47
Rock 8.81
Classical 6.81
Smooth Jazz 8.88
Oldies 8.36
Contemporary Hits Radio 8.29
Religious 7.78
Average 9.42
Clear Channel Stations Versus 15-Market Average
Clear Channel (93 measured stations) average minutes of ads per hour: 7.99
15-market average minutes of ads per hour: 9.42
Clear Channel index vs. average: 85
Clear Channel average minutes of ads per commercial pod: 1.78
15-market average minutes of ads per commercial pod: 2.18
Clear Channel index vs. average: 82
