Clock Structure
Optimize For Nielsen: Pros And Cons Of A Commercial-Free Strategy
Many radio stations build a strategy around being “the most music”, but that claim doesn’t hold up when listeners compare…
Stop Calling It Commercial Free!
There are plenty of good commercial-free strategies that enhance station brands and extend TSL (time spent listening). Removing spots for…
Optimize For Nielsen: The Psychology of Stop Set Placement
Programmers spend most of their time sweating the details of what happens between the commercials. They obsess over personality content,…
Optimize For Nielsen: Alternatives to Long Stop Sets In Diary Markets
Programming strategies are constantly evolving as audience patterns and rating measurements shift. For example, there’s growing evidence that previously accepted…
Optimize For Nielsen: The Best Times For Commercial-Free Programming
In the race to become the dominant at-work listening station, many programmers have embraced a popular tactic: Commercial-Free hours during…
Optimize For Nielsen: Use The PUMM Curve For Smarter Stop Set Scheduling
It’s often said, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Yet when scheduling commercial inventory—stop sets—many programmers still make decisions…
Optimize For Nielsen: Stop Sets In Drive Times
Few things are more consistent than the routines of commuters in the morning and afternoon drive. People leave for work…
Optimize For Nielsen: Commercial Placement: The Hourglass And Bowtie Are Broken
Radio programmers have followed the same commercial placement strategy for decades: Clear as much time as possible during individual quarter-hours…
It’s Time To Rethink Your Clocks
At any hour of any day, tune in to any station in any market. What is on the radio? Sameness.…