QUESTION: In your summary, you said, “No daypart can cross 6A, 7P, or Midnight.” Why?

I’LL BEGIN MY ANSWER WITH A QUESTION: When you ask Nielsen to calculate the Reach & Frequency of ads scheduled 6A to Midnight – (Remember: Frequency is REPETITION; the number of times an individual in your NET REACH will hear your ad each week) – how does the Nielsen computer know when those ads are going to air?

ANSWER: It will assume one ad per hour between 6AM and Midnight, but there is NO CHANCE those ads will air during hours when the radio audience is really large. The Nielsen Computer is assuming equal distribution of your ads 6A-Midnight, but the radio station has a different computer that actually schedules the ads. And that computer assigns “Priority Codes” according to the parameters of your agreement. The people who pay the highest price to secure the largest audiences get the highest Priority Code. But those people will likely run out of money before they achieve enough Frequency. On the other end of the Priority Code spectrum is the 6A to Midnight schedule, meaning those ads be scheduled only AFTER the higher priority codes have secured all the best air times. Never agree to a radio daypart than spans 6A, 7P, or Midnight.

In reality, your 6AM to Midnight schedule is going to air mostly 7PM to Midnight… which means the Reach & Frequency projected by Nielsen is now wildly inaccurate.