Whether the numbers are in any way comparable to real broadcast average quarter hour (AQH) ratings remains a matter of dispute, but Pandora Media is out with another set of purported AQH numbers for November. The online streaming audio service claims that listening increased by a double-digit percentage over September in each of the top 10 markets.
Pandora’s AQH numbers are computed by Edison Research, using Pandora’s listening data. The figures merge all advertising-supported Pandora streams across all music genres.
For November, Pandora claimed 13-25% AQH listening increases in each market with the biggest AQH gain of 25% occurring in the New York metro survey area.
Among adults 18-34 in the top 10 markets, Pandora claims that its weekly cumulative audience (cume) reached more than 19.9% in each metro survey area. Cume is the weekly measure of the total number of unique Pandora listeners in each market. For adults 18-49, the weekly cume for November for the first time had more than one million unique listeners in both the New York and Los Angeles metro survey areas.
Chief Revenue Officer John Trimble (pictured) said, “Accurately reflecting our audience listenership is critical to our clients, whether they are conducting a large national campaign or a highly targeted local one. Average quarter hour, or AQH, is the industry standard for buying radio advertising and providing buyers with an apples-to-apples metric is just one of the things we do to help advertisers determine the value of running campaigns on Pandora.”
Broadcasters would no doubt question whether Trimble has ever tasted an apple or can tell one from a kumquat.
November 2011 Pandora Radio Ratings
Monday-Sunday, 6.00 a.m. – midnight
*November 2011 is defined as October 13, 2011 to November 9, 2011.
New York
Adults 18 – 34 = 0.9 AQH rating; 19.9 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.6 AQH rating; 13.0 cume rating
Los Angeles
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.2 AQH rating; 25.1 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.8 AQH rating; 16.8 cume rating
Chicago
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.0 AQH rating; 21.7 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.6 AQH rating; 14.5 cume rating
San Francisco
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.2 AQH rating; 26.2 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.8 AQH rating; 17.4 cume rating
Dallas – Ft. Worth
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.0 AQH rating; 22.9 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.7 AQH rating; 15.9 cume rating
Houston
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.0 AQH rating; 23.0 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.7 AQH rating; 15.8 cume rating
Atlanta
Adults 18 – 34 = 0.9 AQH rating; 21.1 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.6 AQH rating; 14.7 cume rating
Philadelphia
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.0 AQH rating; 22.7 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.6 AQH rating; 14.9 cume rating
Washington, DC
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.2 AQH rating; 26.1 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.8 AQH rating; 17.2 cume rating
Boston
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.0 AQH rating; 23.3 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.7 AQH rating; 15.1 cume rating
Portland
Adults 18 – 34 = 1.2 AQH rating; 23.6 cume rating
Adults 18 – 49 = 0.8 AQH rating; 17.4 cume rating
