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Edison Research Presents Study at CRS 2015
RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, February 26, 2015 |
While morning listening has always been a stronghold of Country radio and most other formats, a new study finds that broadcasters are in danger of starting mornings at a disadvantage. According to new information from Edison Research and the Country Radio Broadcasters, only 36% of those who describe themselves as frequent Country listeners have a radio in their bedroom, compared to 59% who have a television instead.
Edison Research released findings of the research study at Country Radio Seminar 2015 on Tursday at the Nashville Convention Center in downtown Nashville. Edison's Larry Rosin and Megan Lazovick presented the study on morning habits and media usage of more than 1,500 respondents.
"Our presentation has fascinating data about those first moments in a person's day -- everything from what they do while still laying in bed to what they do while sitting at work," saids Rosin. "Radio needs to make sure it stays competitive in those first moments of the day and adjust its strategy if necessary to do so."
Rosin said the technology used in respondents' bedrooms clearly indicated that radio has a "hardware problem." "How can you win the hardware battle? What could we do to get radios in people's bedrooms?"
The study tracked respondents' activities throughout the morning. Choosing from a list of over 60 items, the average respondent said he/she did one-third of the activities listed between the hours of 5-10am. Lazovick showed videos from in-home morning qualitative interviews and stressed how busy the lives of Country listeners are.
Regarding the impact of this year's research study by Edison, CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne said, "Without question, this year's Edison study will drive conversation and thought on morning radio listening. I find the takeaways that programmers look for are 'content and software issues'. The sneak peek I have had into the results seem to indicate that we have more of a 'hardware' issue to consider, as the landscape of listener habits have changed. It's revealing to think that people now check email and social media before brushing their teeth. The pattern of behavior 'getting off to work and school' definitely runs at a different pace today."
Rosin suggested morning programs should "provide hints and ideas for making mornings simpler and more efficient. One way is to stop providing information your listeners don't care about or use radio for any more, like traffic." He also suggested programmers might consider adjusting the morning clock. "People are in their cars, yet we do these staccato breaks. We are talking to people at the one place they have the most access to the station-changing button and we create radio that is designed for tuneouts. Then they get to work and go into at-work modality where they are less likely to tune out and we create 'no tuneout' clocks."
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