Norway is the first to measure radio listening in cars based on passive measurement

Norway, January 14, 2020– After 4 years of development and testing, Nielsen has now launched the world’s first passive measurement of radio listening in a car, as part of the official audio measurement in Norway.

The method is based on a combination of proprietary algorithms and the accelerometer that is built into each of Nielsen’s measuring chips for audio, PPM (Portable People Meter). Members of Nielsen’s listening panel carry the measuring chip with them throughout the day, and in this way it can be identified what proportion of the radio listening takes place in a car.

With this innovation, Nielsen’s radio customers in Norway are the first in the world with detailed and precise insight into listening in a car. This type of insight is relevant for further development, both from an editorial and a commercial radio perspective. Broadcasters are given the opportunity to quantify more reliably who and how many people listen to radio in the car, and what kind of content is chosen on the ride. Commercially, driving is considered a particularly valuable time to reach out to people with advertising messages, close to the time of purchase.

The first 2 weeks of 2020 show that 17% of the total listening takes place by car. The figures partly indicate large differences between the age groups, where people aged 30-49 have the largest share of listening in a car with 27%. A larger proportion of men than women’s radio listening takes place in a car, with 21% for men and 14% for women, respectively.

“We are proud to be the first in the world to report car listening on a daily level. This gives us as broadcasters important and new insight into how radio as a medium follows the listener throughout the day. From a commercial point of view, I am also happy to confirm that a significant proportion of radio listening takes place in cars, which is interesting information for our advertisers who often want to meet the listener on the way to the store, says Åse Marit Linberg, senior analyst, P4- the group, on behalf of the steering group for audio measurement in Norway ”.

“It is very fun that we can now offer this extra dimension to the measurement we deliver to the Norwegian market. The Norwegian audio broadcasters are at the very top when it comes to cooperation and facilitation for joint development for the industry, and this global launch is a result of just this “, comments Nielsen’s commercial director, Ragnhild Herlofsen.

Nielsen will continue to invest in and improve this product over the next few years.