Is listening to Internet radio primarily an at-work activity? The latest Net radio ratings from MeasureCast for the week of Independence Day, July 1 to 8, seem to add weight to that argument.
Internet radio listening dropped nine percent last week, when many people were off, at least part of the week. Every holiday since MeasureCast has tracked Net radio last year has followed this trend to drop during non-work hours or holidays.
The MeasureCast Internet Radio Index fell from 177 the last week of June to 162 week of the Fourth of July. The weekly index tracks the total number of hours that online broadcasters stream and is a representation of the trend in total time spent listening across a range of stations that MeasureCast rates. Since January, the total number of hours streamed by online broadcasters has increased 62 percent, according MeasureCast.
While only five of the MeasureCast Top 25 stations saw an increase in TTSL, 14 stations increased their estimated audience size, or CUME. This means more people tuned in to those stations, but didn’t listen as long as they would during a non-holiday week.
MEDIAmazing.com, the listener-formatted service, once again led the top-25 list, followed by Virgin Radio at No. 2, Cablemusic.com at No. 3 and Radio Margaritaville at No. 4. The No. 5 slot last week went to alternative rocker 3WK Undergroundradio. Nine of the top-10 in the latest report are Internet only Webcasters. WFXZ(FM) in Wilmington, N.C ., a classic rocker, was the only terrestrial broadcaster in the top-10 bunch.
