Insights: Radio Can Do What Connected TV Cannot

As major media companies shift their focus to building their direct-to-consumer video offerings, linear TV audiences are in a free fall. 

According to a MoffettNathanson analysis of Nielsen TV ratings, television audiences are down dramatically. This week’s Westwood One blog outlines how advertisers can use network radio to amplify their media plans and accelerate reach.

• The state of television in 2021: According to MoffettNathanson, since 2011, non-live cable audiences are down -49%. Broadcast network non-live audiences are down -44%.
• Cord cutting is a key contributor to the erosion of TV audiences: MoffettNathanson reports pay TV penetration has dropped from 89% of U.S. homes in 2009 to 60% today.
• Connected TV cannot replace all linear TV losses: A 20% addition of CTV weight only results in an +8% reach lift: A Nielsen Media Impact analysis reveals a 20% addition of CTV media weight to a linear TV buy results only in an +8% increase in reach.
• Network radio is the media plan reach accelerator: According to the Nielsen Commspoint media planning tool, a three-million-dollar investment in network radio generates a weekly national reach of 50%, +47% greater than the same investment in digital and TV (34%). Adding network radio into any media generates an outsized lift in incremental reach.
• On average, network radio is generating a +38% lift in P&G’s TV reach across their brands.
• AM/FM radio’s superpower is driving significant incremental reach in younger demographics: Dozens of Nielsen incremental reach studies reveal the younger the demographic, the greater the reach generated by network radio.