Nielsen Modernization Efforts Lift Radio Impressions, GRPs.

Radio advertisers in PPM markets received 15% more audience impressions among adults 25-54 in the first quarter of 2025 than in the quarter before, new data released by Nielsen shows.

“There are some minor differences [across demos and dayparts] but in general, everyone's about 15% higher in this first quarter than what we saw in the fourth quarter,” Nielsen VP, Research Jon Miller said during a RAB webinar Thursday (May 1). “By going to a three-minute qualifier, we've captured more audience. We're therefore capturing more impressions, will deliver more to advertisers, and we're finding that extra audience in the radio numbers.” Similar gains were seen in other buying demos.

That doesn’t mean more listening is taking place. Instead, more existing tune-ins are being captured by Nielsen, which began capturing missed radio listening occasions of 3-5 minutes as of the January 2025 survey. By comparison, most digital platforms use about 2 seconds as the threshold for measuring their advertising audiences. Q1 2025 marks the first batch of numbers that reflect a full quarter of data using the ratings giant’s new three-minute listening qualifier in its efforts to modernize audio measurement.

GRPs Jump Up 20%

To calculate the impact of the new qualifier for advertisers, Nielsen VP, Cross Platform Insights Tony Hereau pulled 300+ ad schedules that ran on commercial stations in every PPM market in Q4 and extrapolated their impact on adults 25-54 in Q1, when the three-minute qualifier was in place. The analysis showed a 20% across-the-board increase in Gross Rating Points. “A schedule that you ran in Q4 that gave you 100 GRPs now gets you 119, and a medium schedule that [delivered] 200 GRPs now gets you to 239,” Miller pointed out.

Reach, meanwhile, increased by 7%, and frequency jumped 8%. However, reach and frequency levels fluctuated due to differences in ad campaign weights. A light ad schedule (about 10 spots per week) achieved a 7% reach increase among Adults 25-54, while a heavy schedule (around 40 spots a week) produced a modest 3% gain because the campaign was already saturating the marketplace. Frequency rose 13% in a heavy campaign with the three-minute qualifier. “As you blast more messages out there, you will gain more frequency, but not necessarily more reach,” Miller explained during the fourth presentation in the RAB’s One Voice for Radio series.

While the listening metrics that matter to marketers are higher now, Nielsen Managing Director Rich Tunkel reminded the webinar audience there’s “no free lunch” for advertisers. “It's not like you can get a heavy schedule for medium schedule spotloads and prices. They still serve very different and distinct purposes,” he said. “Marketers need to be thinking strategically on how they execute for those outcomes they want to achieve, just like they always did.”

Your Mileage May Vary

Individual results vary market by market, the new data show. For example, among persons 6+, AQH captured by Nielsen in Phoenix was a whopping 28% higher in Q1 2025 than in Q4 2024. Las Vegas, Sacramento, San Francisco, Memphis, Riverside, and West Palm Beach all showed increases greater than 20%. However, St. Louis, Atlanta, Nashville, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Baltimore eked out only single-digit increases. Those smaller gains may be due to major listening events in Q4 that didn’t carry over to Q1, Miller suggested. “Maybe something happened in that local market that pushed Q4 up a little bit, and that's why, right now, in this moment in time, it doesn't necessarily look like a big increase in Q1. But this is going to change as the year goes on and listening levels rise.”

Likewise, the spread among formats is significant. Contemporary Christian and All News took off like a rocket, up 43% and 41%, respectively. Sports declined 3%, likely due to seasonality. Q4 is the biggest quarter for sports radio with Major League Baseball playoffs, and the start of NFL football and NBA hoops. The first quarter is quieter. “It really varies across the board, and that's why looking at your market and your station is really important,” Miller advised.

The first full quarter of listening data to reflect the new listening qualifier also shows PPM panelists tuning into a few more stations per week than previously reported by Nielsen. These are stations that didn’t show up before because their shorter duration listening wasn’t being counted. Capturing those brief listening occasions caused Average Daily Time Spent Listening per Occasion in the PPM markets to decline 12%, even as Daily Cume jumped 9%, Daily Time Spent rose 5%, and Daily Occasions inched up 1%.