Glossary of terms

Term	Definition
Adjacency	Commercial that runs immediately before or after a program or feature
Affidavit	Written proof-of-performance from a radio station that a commercial ran as ordered Audience Composition, The demographic or socioeconomic profile of a station’s audience in terms of composition usually including the percentages of the total audience that fall into each segment. These reports can express audience characteristics by age, gender working persons, language preference, country etc.
Audience Duplication	The amount of one station’s cume audience (see Cume Persons) that also listens to another station. Duplication can be expressed in terms of the actual number of exclusive listeners or as a percentage of the total cume.
Audience Turnover	The radio of a station’s cumulative audience (see Cume Persons) compared to the average quarter hour audience. Turnover equals cume persons divided by AQH persons. In theory, it is the number of times an audience is replaced by a new listener within a daypart.
Availabilities, or Avails	What is commercially available for sale to advertisers
Average Frequency	This refers to the average number of times a person is exposed to a Radio schedule.
Average Hours Tuned	The Average Hours Tuned to a station or to a radio by a listener.
Average Quarter Hour Audience (AQH)	The average number of people in a demographic group listening to a station or the radio during an average quarter hour in a given time period.
Average Quarter Hour Rating	This expresses the average quarter hour audience as a percentage of the population in the geographically defined area. It is often known of as a Rating Point.
Blinking/Bunching	Advertising activity over a short period. For example, one week on, one week off.
Bonus	Additional commercials given to an advertiser, usually at no charge, in return for a paid schedule.
Broadcast Coverage Area	The geographic area within which a signal from an originating station can be received.
Bursting	A pattern where heavy advertising has been concentrated over a short period. For example: one weeks advertising runs during a four-day period.
Circulation	The potential daily or weekly coverage for a station.
Commercial Clutter	Commercial clutter commonly refers to an excessive amount of nonprogram content during the time period, including the number of commercials, public service announcements and/or promotional announcements that run in a commercial break, stop set or specified time period.
Composition (Audience)	The percentage of the audience that are members of a target group.
Continuity	Pattern of uninterrupted advertising activity during a specified period.
Cost Per Rating Point (CPP)	CPP’s analyze a schedule based on the cost of one rating point. It is another method of comparing the cost efficiency of vehicles.
Cost Per Thousand (CPM)	The CPM analyzes a schedule based on the cost of delivering 1,000 impressions. One impression is one advertisement delivered to or heard by one person. Cost per thousand is generally calculated on Full Coverage.
Cume	The estimated number of different persons who tuned to a station or the radio for at least one quarter hour within a specified time period. Also called Reach. Each person is counted only once. The unduplicated number of people tuned one or more times to a station in a given time frame (i.e. Potential coverage or circulation of a station).
Cume Rating	The cume audience expressed as a percentage of the population in a geographically defined area. Also called Percent Reach.
Dayparts	The broadcast day is divided into dayparts or time blocks/periods. The definition of the dayparts will vary between stations.
Direct Response Advertising	Direct response refers to any advertising that has a built-in call to action to elicit a response within a defined period of time after exposure to the announcement. Phone calls, online orders, and visits to a location would be examples of a direct response advertising.
Effective Reach	The average number of people that will hear a commercial at least three times during a campaign.
Endorsement	Refers either to a situation where the station or personality "endorses" the advertiser's product or service, usually "live" on-air or the notification on the affidavit supplied by the station to the client that attests to the affidavit's accuracy as to how the spots were broadcast.
Flighting	The period during which an advertiser runs their advertising (less than 52 weeks) as opposed to continuous advertising. Periodic waves of advertising, separated by periods of total inactivity.
Format	There are different formats that radio stations run: Adult Contemporary (AC) - Includes soft rock, light rock, soft pop Hot Adult Contemporary - Includes modern, adult pop/contemporary hit radio (CHR) Classic/Mainstream Rock - Includes classic rock, AOR, mainstream rock Modern/Alternative Rock - Includes modern and alternative rock Mainstream Top 40/CHR - Includes dance, contemporary hit radio, current hits Urban - Includes reggae, R&B, hip hop News/Talk - Includes talk, business and news Sports and sports talk - Includes play-by-play sporting events and sports talk Country - Includes new country and old country Gold/Oldies, Includes classic hits, oldies Classical/Fine Arts - Includes concert music, arts and cultural topics Adult Standards - Includes big band, nostalgia Jazz - Includes NAC, smooth jazz, jazz, blues Religion - Includes gospel and inspirational music/talk Ethnic/Multi-cultural - Includes ethnic and multicultural, block programming Multi/Variety/Specialty - Includes a variety of programs appealing to different demo groups
Frequency of Measurement	The number of surveys varies by market. Please contact Radio Connects for exact dates of measurement in market for 2017 measurements.
Full Coverage Area	Full coverage refers to a station’s total audience, tabulated from all diaries that reported tuning to the station regardless of the sampling cell from which the diary originated. Full coverage audiences may not be expressed as a percentage because a geographic area is not defined. Percent reach and rating cannot be computed for a station’s full cover- age audience.
Gross Impressions	The total number of exposures to a media schedule or the total number of times a commercial is heard.
Gross Rating Points (GRPs)	Gross Rating Points are the total rating points delivered by a schedule. Calculation - GRPs are calculated by multiplying the AQH rating point by the number of spots, and then summing the resulting values.
Index	A comparison between the market composition and the target composition. It is a measure of concentration or likelihood. It tells us whether a specific group is more or less likely to meet a given criteria.
Lead Time	The minimum amount of time necessary for the station to be informed in advance of schedule placement, or changes that are requested by the client in a buy already scheduled to run. Can also refer to the amount of time between the announcement of a possible campaign and the actual dates it is scheduled to run.
Live Read	A specific commercial type where the announcement is read "live" on-air by a station personality.
Numeris	Numeris is a not-for-profit organization which provides broadcast measurement and consumer behavior data to radio and television broadcasters, advertisers and agencies. In addition to a meter panel that employs Portable People Meter (PPM) technology to track individual radio listening and TV viewing habits on a daily basis, Numeris conducts diary surveys for 100+ radio and television markets.
Percent Reach	This is the reach audience expressed as a percentage of the population of a geographically defined area(s). Also called Cume Rating.
Pulsing	A pattern that employs an uneven distribution of advertising weight over time, using regular, non-regular or no spacing between schedules. For example: four weeks at 30 spots per week followed by 20 spots a week for 2 weeks.
Reach	Reach is the estimated number of different people who listened to a station or to Radio for at least one-quarter hour within a specified time block. A person who listened for only 15 minutes during the time period Monday to Friday 6:00am to 10:00am, and a person who listened all four hours each day are counted the same in a reach estimate. Each person is counted only once. It is an unduplicated or cumulative audience. Also referred to as CUME. Reach is calculated directly by the computer from the diaries.
Remote	on location broadcast.
RTS (Return to Sample)	RTS Canada is the largest syndicated consumer study, offering unprecedented detail into the media and consumer preferences of Canadians. The study, released every six months, provides a wealth of information including demographics, media habits, shopping habits, psychographics, and leisure activities. In addition to national data, RTS allows provincial/regional breakdowns and is available for 11 individual markets including Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, London, Halifax, Kitchener, Hamilton, Montreal, and Quebec City. This database allows sales reps to become consultants to their existing and potential clients by providing valuable information, not only on Radio, but on other media as well.
Share of Hours	The percentage of the total hours of Radio tuning done in a geographically defined area, to a specific station at a given time.
Sliding	A schedule in which the pattern of advertising changes over the course of a campaign, in terms of advertising weight and spacing intervals. Generally, refers to a campaign pattern of heavy weight at the start. As the campaign progresses the weight is reduced, with the hiatus between schedules increased.
Sponsorship	The purchase of more than one commercial within a program, usually at a premium rate. Can refer to the purchase of all or part of a Radio program by one advertiser.
Target Demo	The age and characteristic make-up of the group deemed to be targeted for reach by the media campaign. The age group and make-up of the audience that you wish to receive your product or service message.
Total Hours Tuned	Total Hours Tuned is the sum of all hours of tuning done by the persons reached by the station or the Radio.
Turnover	Turnover is the number of times the audience changes during a time period. It explains the relationship between AQH and cume. A low turnover factor indicates a better frequency builder and a high turnover factor indicates faster cume growth.