Pandora claims big growth in local markets

Having begun in recent months to issue “Average Quarter Hour” (AQH) ratings, based on custom research by Edison Research, Pandora Media is now claiming huge audience gains in local markets over the course of 2011. Pandora also claims it has attained AQH ratings of 1.0 or more, Adults 18-34, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other top markets.

According to the latest pitch from the Internet streaming service, the full year listenership results revealed AQH and cumulative audience (cume) increases in each of the top local radio markets in the country based on listener data from January 6, 2011 through January 4, 2012.

During that period, Pandora experienced 50-100% growth in AQH ratings in all of the top radio markets for adults ages 18-34 and 18-49, with the largest AQH gains of 100% in the New York, Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Boston metro survey areas (MSA).  As defined by Pandora and Edison, an AQH rating of 1.0 means an average of one percent of a target population listened to Pandora for at least five minutes within a quarter hour window between 6.00 a.m. and midnight.

Pandora posted 44 -75% cume increases in each local market, with the Atlanta and Dallas-Ft. Worth areas posting the largest cume gains. Cume is defined as the weekly measure of the total number of unique Pandora listeners in each market.

During the holiday season in December 2011, the ratings released by Pandora state that among adults ages 18-34, Pandora now has an AQH rating of 1.0 in all of the top local radio markets and the weekly cume reached more than 22% in each of the top local radio metro survey areas.

“Our 2011 listenership results demonstrate our local radio market penetration and enable advertisers to fully understand the scope and scale of Pandora’s audience,” said Pandora Chief Revenue Officer John Trimble.

Here are the market-by-market numbers released by Pandora:

* 2011 full year is defined as January 6, 2011 to January 4, 2012.