Analysis: Nielsen’s Move To Three-Minute Qualifier Boosts AQH 16%.

There's more positive news resulting from Nielsen's move from a five- to a three-minute qualifier.

According to Radio Research Consortium's analysis of weekday 6am-7pm listening among persons 6+ in 45 PPM markets during Q1 2025 – Nielsen's first full quarter reflecting the change – total average quarter-hour persons are up 16% vs. full year 2024, and up 13% vs. January-March 2024. Time spent listening shows similar lifts, up 17% vs. FY 2024 and 13% year-over-year.

“The initial results are encouraging,” RRC's report says, with the reminder that “per Nielsen, under the previous methodology, only 55% of listening occasions were credited. With this change in place, an additional 28% of listening occasions are now credited, demonstrating a fuller scope of measurement.”

RRC's analysis also shows gains for total weekly and daily cume and TSL. The weekly breakdown has TSL up 14% vs. the 13-survey average for 2024 and up 12% year-over-year, with daily TSL up 14% both ways.

Public radio stations in the PPM metros also have a good story to tell, with weekly cume up 16% year-over-year and 14% vs. FY 2024, and TSL up 7% from Q1 2024 and 11% vs. 2024-in-total. “Non-comm news stations are benefiting from this increase, yet it’s happening in parallel with an extraordinary news cycle that shows no signs of letting up,” RRC's report says.

While these are all good signs for Nielsen's change so far, the report does note that “the winter survey is heavily influenced by Christmas music programming, the holiday season, and of course, the news cycle, from politics and extreme weather events to the Super Bowl. The next quarter will be key to understanding if these are ongoing trends or a one-off quirk of circumstance.”