We probably jumped the gun a little bit a few weeks ago when we anointed the KABZ-FM, 103.7, morning crew kings of the hill in the latest Arbitron Inc. of New York ratings.
Sure, in average quarter-hour numbers with adults 25-54, The Buzz beat out Bob Robbins and KSSN-FM, 95.7, by about 100 listeners (6,400 to 6,300). That number is derived by taking the total audience that listens during the course of the week and factoring it in with the amount of time listeners spend with that particular program.
We’re told, however, that the “cume” is a more accurate way of reporting the total audience tuned into a particular program or even station.
KSSN has a much bigger audience in the cume adults 25-54 demographic, and The Buzz is down in sixth.
Yet The Buzz does lead the market with men in most time slots, as it has for a long time. Tommy Smith has cleaned up over Robbins in the male demos for years, so that wasn’t exactly breaking news, either.
But because The Buzz listener listens for longer periods of time, according to Arbitron, when the average quarter-hour number is calculated, they come out slightly ahead, though it slightly misses the point of who may be “the most listened to.”
At any rate, we say there are way too many categories and calculations to really get an accurate and specific read, and many in the radio business agree the numbers can be twisted to best fit a station’s interests. For now, we’ll stick with the most comprehensive list that Arbitron will allow us to print, which is the average quarter-hour share for Monday through Friday, 6 A.M. to midnight.
Click here for a look at the Arbitron ratings.
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