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Nielsen To Update PPM Headphone Adjustment Factor This Month

“The program hasn’t been as successful as the company had hoped, with a number of complaints that the meters weren’t adequately measuring the correct number of listeners.”

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Almost two years ago, Nielsen introduced something called the “Headphone Adjustment Factor” in an effort to better track listeners through headphones and earbuds in their PPM system.

The program hasn’t been as successful as the company had hoped, with a number of complaints that the meters weren’t adequately measuring the correct number of listeners. Nielsen has heard these complaints and has addressed the issue by adjusting upward quarter-hour estimates for encoded station streams to compensate for any listening experience that wasn’t captured by the meters. Nielsen will roll out this new update beginning with a PPM survey this month.

Nielsen’s latest adjustment comes during a time where more and more people are not just cutting the cord on their televisions, but also on their headphones. People are significantly listening to radio streams via wireless earbuds vs. traditional wired headphones.

Nielsen’s first adjustment was made in October of 2020 which was based on data from a survey of 5,000 former PPM panelists. The folks on the panel also submitted a one-day journal of their listening behavior which lead to the creation of “lift factors.” With the adjustment in October, stations noticed a 4% month-to-month in Average Hour Persons Using Measured Media (PUMM), the metric Nielsen uses to track listeners.

Another important statistic to note is the percentage of listeners to radio streams online. According to InsideRadio, the number of AM/FM radio listening 12+ that happens via online streaming currently stands at 11%, (according to Nielsen). It has since jumped up to 12% in January. In the all-important Persons 25-54 demo, the number is 12%, down from 13% in January.

“It was fairly consistent in 2021, ending the year around 11% (P12+) with seasonal expected changes,” Nielsen Audio VP of Audience Insights Jon Miller tells Inside Radio. “One factor in the January jump may have been holiday technology season and more opportunity to stream audio starting the year.”

In the short term, Nielsen will continue to rely on their headphone method but they will eventually scrape it in favor of  its new ‘Nielsen One cross-media’ measurement service.

“Our plans with Nielsen One for audio are to use big data as a supplement to our panel data,” Rose explained to clients during a recent webinar about the new wearable meters. “And when we get that big data, the chances are that will become the source of listening for digital. And the need for using the adjustment factor will go away. But for at least the near-term, the headphone factor will be the method in which we adjust the audience estimates to account for that.”

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Former 670 The Score Host Tommy Williams Has Died

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Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy Williams, who was heard for a decade on 670 The Score, died on Wednesday at the age of 66.

Williams began his broadcasting career in his hometown of Gary, Indiana in 1982 at WLTH before moving on to The Score. In 2003, Williams became the PA Announcer for the Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association where he had his signature call to get the attention of the fans, “People, People, People.”

A story in The Times of Northwest Indiana said, “The longtime RailCats public address announcer and Lakeshore Public Media sports journalist was known for broadcasting countless games, interviewing countless athletes and covering Region sports at all levels. The Gary native and co-host of “Prep Sports Report,” “Prep Football Report,” and “Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard” often signed off shows saying, “Gary, Indiana, you know I love you.”

“The cadence he had in his voice echoed across the Region in a way we may never see again. He was widely known and widely loved,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations at Lakeshore Public Media told the paper.

“He’d want to be remembered as the voice of Lakeshore sports,” his Regionally Speaking co-host and producer Dee Dotson told The Times. “Most people will remember him for covering prep sports all the way up to semi-pros. He’ll be remembered for treating each of his subjects like they were world champions. His depth of knowledge of sports at all levels is commendable. He was a walking encyclopedia of stats.” 

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Compass Media Networks Promotes Three Members to Oversee Play-by-Play Sports Platform

“It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

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Compass Media Networks has announced the promotions of three long-standing executives, Robert Blum, Tyler Brewer, and Chris Kleiber, who will collectively oversee the content creation, production, and distribution of the company’s play-by-play sports platform.

“For over 16 years, Compass Media Networks has set a standard of excellence for national play-by-play sports with Chris, Rob, and Tyler playing a vital part in our success,” said Peter Kosann, CEO/Founder of Compass Media Networks. “It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

Robet Blum has been appointed Vice President & General Manager of Sports and will also continue to serve as Vice President of Affiliate Sales for News-Talk and Sports. Tyler Brewer has been appointed Executive Producer – Sports Programming. And Chris Kleiber has been appointed Senior Producer – Sports Programming.

Compass Media Networks broadcasts annually over 100 play-by-play sporting events involving college men’s basketball and football (including the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Ten Championship Game), NFL 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday Doubleheaders, and complete coverage of the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders. The broadcasts are distributed across hundreds of terrestrial sports, news-talk and music stations as well as digital distribution platforms such as SiriusXM, Verizon Mobile, and the Varsity App.

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Charley Steiner Injured; Tim Neverett to Handle Dodgers Radio Play-by-Play

“This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

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Courtesy: Los Angeles Dodgers

As the Los Angeles Dodgers get set to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in their first home game on Thursday, team play-by-play voice Charley Steiner has revealed he will not be doing games at the beginning of the season due to a severe back injury.

Through the Dodgers, Steiner posted a statement which said, “Over the winter, I landed on the Injured List with three compound fractures in my back. (I don’t recommend it.) With the start of the baseball season upon us, the Dodgers are ready to go – but I’m not. This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes. I look forward to returning to the mic later this season. In the meantime, go Dodgers!”

TrueBlueLA.com reports Tim Neverett will handle play-by-play duties while Steiner recovers. Neverett called the first two regular season games with Rick Monday as the Dodgers started the season in South Korea. Neverett and Monday did not travel with the team, however, they called those games in a studio back home.

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