New Study Pending on Impact of Spot Loads

Imagine: Listeners prefer commercial arrangements that get them back to content faster!
Apparently this is news to some in radio. It is, in any event, one of the findings of a study to be issued by Arbitron and Edison Media Research.
The companies said more radio listeners than TV viewers stay tuned during commercial breaks. Their study tracked listener behaviors and attitudes towards radio commercials and examines how radio stations should schedule commercial breaks.
They found that half of Americans say they never change radio stations when commercials come on while listening at home. Only 6 percent say they never change TV channels when commercials come on while watching at home.
The study is called “Spot Load 2005: Managing Commercial Inventories for Your Advertisers and Your Listeners.: It will be out May 4.
Findings include: Listeners prefer commercial arrangement that gets them back to content faster. “For example, 57% prefer three commercial breaks of four spots as opposed to 34% who prefer two commercial breaks of six spots.” Also: “Nearly one-quarter of all listeners and over one-third of persons age 12-24 are aware of stations with fewer commercial breaks and shorter commercial breaks.”