If you had any doubt that Pandora wants to go after radio’s local ad dollar, check out the latest announcement from the Internet audio company.
It says its ratings from Edison Research demonstrate Pandora’s “strong local market position.” The announcement is but its latest effort to market itself as a medium with local strengths, going after a strong selling point of traditional radio. Pandora also has opened an office in Portland, Ore., “to focus on the local market radio opportunity.”
The company claims a “significant presence” with adult listeners in demographics 18–34 and 18–49 in the biggest U.S. markets. Edison numbers, it said, show Pandora with a 1.0 average quarter hour (AQH) rating in September for the 18–34 demographic in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and Portland, Ore.
“The report also revealed growth in the Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Portland markets among adults 18–34,” it stated.
Founder Tim Westergren stated in the announcement that his company has benefited from “a growing wave of local advertisers shifting their terrestrial broadcast budgets to Internet radio,” saying that “Everyone from local car dealers, hotels and real estate dealerships, to supermarkets and universities have discovered the power of Pandora personalized radio to connect with their local audience.”
Edison Research examines how many listeners to Pandora and how long each person listened; it converts that data into Average Quarter Hour metrics. “In order to qualify as a listener, a person had to listen for at least five minutes within a quarter hour period.” Not included in the numbers were Pandora One subscribers, who subscribe to an ad-free service.
Here are the market statistics published by Pandora and Edison Research:
September 2011 Pandora Radio Ratings
Monday-Sunday, 6: a.m.-midnight
New York
Adults 18–34 = 0.7 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.5 AQH rating
Los Angeles
Adults 18–34 = 1.0 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.7 AQH rating
Chicago
Adults 18–34 = 0.8 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.5 AQH rating
San Francisco
Adults 18–34 = 1.0 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.7 AQH rating
Dallas–Ft. Worth
Adults 18–34 = 0.9 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.6 AQH rating
Houston
Adults 18–34 = 0.9 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.6 AQH rating
Atlanta
Adults 18–34 = 0.8 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.6 AQH rating
Philadelphia
Adults 18–34 = 0.8 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.5 AQH rating
Washington, DC
Adults 18–34 = 1.0 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.7 AQH rating
Boston
Adults 18–34 = 0.8 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.6 AQH rating
Portland
Adults 18–34 = 1.0 AQH rating
Adults 18–49 = 0.7 AQH rating
