Not surprisingly, news and news/talk radio stations saw a significant increase in listenership during the lead up to and the first week of the war in Iraq.
According to Arbitron, its Winter 2003 Survey found that news and news/talk listenership increased during week 12 over previous weeks. The war began during week 12. The largest increase was from week 11 to week 12.
Although increases could be seen in time spent listening and cume, the greatest increases were seen in the average quarter hour ratings. During week 12, the AQH rating increased to 2.3, up from 1.9 in week 11. The AQH rating for the entire Winter Survey was 2.0.
The average number of persons listening to news and news/talk stations each quarter hour during week 12 was 1,472,700 vs. 1,242,500 for the survey period.
TSL and cume for week 12 were 10 minutes and 18,704,700, respectively, compared to 9-1/2 minutes and 17,419,200 for the entire survey period.
News and News/Talk Get Boost From War
News and News/Talk Get Boost From War