ABSTRACT
Radio stations are paid by advertisers to deliver commercial messages to listeners. In most instances the amount of money stations charge for this service is directly proportional to the number of listeners exposed to the messages. Audience measurement services, including Nielsen Audio and Eastlan, are independent businesses that gather data about listenership at both the national and individual market levels: estimates of how many persons are in each station’s audience and the duration of the listening period. Listening is measured by using both active and passive research methods. Stations use the research outcomes to establish advertising rates, whereas advertising agencies use the audience data to target the placement of their clients’ commercials on the stations that attract listeners with the desired demographic attributes.
