• by Wayne Friedman , August 16, 2011

Results from a TV-radio station test indicate that jointly selling radio and TV advertising together in simultaneous campaigns can increase audience reach -- and deliver near prime-time viewership levels -- all with the help of a single-source measuring system.

Arbitron Inc. and Entravision Communications, a Spanish-language media company that owns TV and radio stations, said a test with Entravision's Denver, Colo. stations showed improved audience reach. It also includes out-of-home viewing, thanks to Arbitron's portable people meter (PPM) ratings service.

The test discovered -- as other studies have shown -- that usage patterns of television and radio complement each other. From 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., radio delivers 70% to 80% of the combined television/radio audience; television delivers 80% of the audience from 7 p.m. to midnight. Each platform delivers a distinct and separate consumer.

All this offers advertisers gains by using a single-source measuring system such as Arbitron's.

Jeff Liberman, president of the radio division of Entravision, stated: "This single-source, cross-platform PPM pilot project reaffirms what we've been proving to our advertisers for years -- utilizing both radio and television is an efficient and effective way to increase reach over a radio-only or television-only advertising schedule."