Cumulus Media is positioning itself as the first major broadcaster to adopt Xperi’s AutoStage Radio Audience Measurement Service, a move that delivers near–real-time, in‑car listening data to advertisers and stations. The deployment follows Cumulus’ recent agreement with Eastlan to supply ratings currency in markets such as Atlanta, where its use of Nielsen Audio data halted after a legal dispute.
At the center of the shift is Cumulus’ role as the inaugural commercial licensee of the AutoStage Broadcaster Portal Premium. Xperi describes the platform as a next‑generation audience intelligence system capable of producing “near–census-level insights” into in‑car radio consumption — the dominant environment for radio listening. Advertisers gain access to next‑day audience samples, observed listening behavior, and market‑level trends designed to sharpen media planning and align campaigns with actual listening patterns.
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Cumulus Media President of Operations Bob Walker says the company is embracing AutoStage as part of a broader effort to expand audience insight. He highlights the platform’s heat‑mapping capabilities, which visualize aggregated listening concentrations relative to advertiser locations — a feature he believes will help advertisers optimize campaigns and maximize impact.
Cumulus plans to roll out Broadcaster Portal Premium across all 393 of its stations in 84 markets, marking one of the largest deployments of Xperi’s audience‑measurement technology to date.