U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

SUMMER RADIO Continued from page Hi 52 minutes for the week. On the average, each of these homes allotted three-fourths of its listening lime to da) time hours. Even without the addition ol autoplus figures, radio listening is up. A. C. Nielsen figures show that in the past year the daily rale of inhome listening had ranged from one and one-half to two hours per home, with the fanuary-Februar) level up from I960 (one hour, 49 minutes, and one hour, 57 minutes, respectively, contrasted with one hour and 52 minutes for January of I960 and one hour, 49 minutes for February of last year). Moi ning ( Monday through Fi i day): Northeast, 53 minutes; Fast < enlral, 52 minutes; West < cnlral, 61; South, 50; Pa< ifi< . 13. Afternoon (Monday through Friday): North east, 81 minutes; Fast central, 38; West central, 17; South, .'55; Pacific, 28. Evening (averaged Eoi all seve n nights): Northeast, 19 minutes; Fast central, 20; West central, 23; South, 19; Pa< ific, 20. Radio's growth continues to be phenomenal. Even though the country long since has had near-satura tion of radio receivers as radio pur chase grows with population growth, the speed with which additional tadio stations have been added is even more marked. houn (6 p.m. to midnight) lot an average ol lorn and I In ee lom i h , hours pel home. 'Flic A. (.'.. .Nielsen analysis Eoi the week's cumulative andieme: Five weekdays: morning — 70.9% ol total V. S. radio homes or 35.1 million homes tune for six hours and 38 minutes; alternoon — 57.8% ol all ladio homes oi 28.6 million homes listen lor five hours, 28 minutes. Saturday: morning — 46.1% of all radio homes or 22.8 million homes tune for one hour, 44 minutes; afternoon— 34% of all radio homes for 16.8 million homes listen for two hours and eight minutes. Sunday: morning — 35.9% of radio Jan. '60 Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. '61 Feb Radio listening in the home keeps rising, Nielsen shows. In the past year, for example, the daily rate has changed from one and one-half to two years per home. The January-February level this year is slightly higher than a year ago, as shown above. The month-by-month per home tune-in for the other months of 1960: March, one hour, 59 minutes; April, 1:52; May, 1:55; June, 1:50; July, 1:41; August, 1:35; September, 1:48; October, 1:40; November, 1:49; December, 1:39. Nighttime listening follows pretty much the same pattern in all sections of the country, but daytime tune-in varies widely. The West central section, for example, has a considerably higher rate of listening than other sections of the country lor Monday-through-Friday daytime periods. Here are the sectional minutes spent with radio per home per day, by day parts: Between 1950 and early this year, the number of radio stations has grown from 2,781 to 3,955 within the continental limits of the U. S. The number of homes equipped with one or more radios in this same period of time rose from 41.4 million to 49.5 million, also within the continental limits. Accumulated audiences — and this is what advertisers buy — show that in a measured week more than seven in 10 (70.9%) radio homes have tuned in at some time during the morning hours for an average of more than six and one-half hours per home and that more than five in 10 (53.5%) of these radio homes have tuned in during the evening homes or 17.8 million homes foi one hour and 38 minutes; afternoon — 31.1% of radio homes or 15.4 million homes tune for one hour and 58 minutes. Seven nights: from 6 p.m. to midnight— 53.5% of radio homes or 26.5 million homes for four hours and 44 minutes; from midnight to 6 a.m. — 16.4% of all radio homes or 8.1 million homes listen four hours and 36 minutes. Entire week: 82.3% of all U. S. radio homes or 40.7 million homes listen to radio for an average of 16 hours and 52 minutes per home. Accumulated audience are what the preponderance of sponsors seek. ■ U. S. RADIO/June 1961 51