Radio Ratings: Insights On April PPMs From Arbitron

• Country is Hot
• Top 40 Poised For Hot Summer

Tony Hereau

From Tony Hereau, Arbitron 

The April 2013 PPM monthlies are rolling this week. As Insights Manager for Arbitron, I’m lucky enough to get to play with the data on a multi-market level each month, providing insight into what the very latest trends are by format. Among other things this month, you’re going to see Country hit an all-time high for listening share and baseball’s return impact the ratings. We’ll also check Top 40’s pace against the same period from last year. 

Here’s a look at what we’re seeing across 45 PPM markets* in the April data, for all listeners 6+, adults 18-34, and adults 25-54 during the full week daypart: 

• Country Hits New Highs: We’ve been noting one high-water mark after another in recent years for the Country format. Whether setting a new all-time national listening share in the latest Radio Today 2013 study or quickly ascending into second place on the PPM ranker with younger listeners, there is no denying that Country is on a tear. Now it’s time to add another notch to the belt, because Country has hit new highs for listening share in our PPM markets this April. The numbers you’ll see below in the format rankings are the highest we’ve seen for Country since we began tracking all PPM markets several years back.

• Top 40 Looks Poised for Another Big Summer: Both mainstream Top 40 (aka Pop CHR) and its Rhythmic cousin are both tracking ahead of where they were at this time last year, just prior to shooting up the ranker in what some later dubbed “the summer of Top 40” (see our entry on the subject here). During the first four months of this year, Mainstream Top 40 in particular, is nearly a half-share-point ahead of its 2012 pace among adults 18-34 (12.1 vs. 12.4), and more than a half-share-point ahead of pace among adults 25-54 (8.0 vs. 8.6). 

• Baseball’s Return Drives Sports Up 11%: As in previous years, the annual return of Major League Baseball to the field and airwaves coincided with a spike in listening for Sports formats. Total share (6+) across the PPM markets was up 11% in April compared to March and 7% for both the 18-34 and 25-54 demos.

 April 2013 PPM Markets Top 5 Formats by AQH Share (Full Week Daypart)

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Click Here for Market-By-Market April PPMs