Glossary

Official broadcast area of radio station, used as a basis for audience measurement. A station’s signal can often be heard well beyond this boundary, but the further away it gets, the smaller the audience becomes. Hence, a smaller TSA gives the station a better percentage reach.

The number of different people within the target audience who will hear at least one advertisement from a campaign. Expressed in thousands or as a percentage.

The total number of exposures to a schedule of advertisements. Not a measure of the number of different people exposed to a commercial.

The average number of times the audience reached by an advertising schedule is exposed to a commercial. For a successful campaign, a rule of thumb is to achieve at least 4 OTH in the first week. Naturally, the more times an ad is heard, the better the result.

The total amount of listening by all listeners to a station (or group of stations) at some point during a week, expressed in thousands or as a percentage of the population in the TSA (Total Survey Area).

An independent research body who monitor the performance of all radio stations in the UK, whether BBC or commercial. Results for most stations are issued on a quarterly basis.

Are the correlation between Impacts and Population, it is not used so much now but was originally used when people bought on an impact basis. To find out the Ratings you divide the impacts by the population then multiply by 100.

Cost efficiency is another way of determining how much wastage a station generates (or not as the case may be). The figure is similar to a cost per thousand but it assumes all stations are based on 2.00 so is used as a comparative tool rather than a buying tool. The closer the figure to the base of 2.00 the better.

Radio that serves the whole of the UK, national stations include Absolute Radio, Capital Radio, Classic FM and Talk Sport.

There are 17 regions in the UK covering a multitude of counties, stations that cover many counties are known as regional stations. An example is The Breeze which covers South Hampshire, Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Warminster, Andover and Newbury and Kiss which covers East Anglia

There are currently 305 commercial stations (not to mention the BBC stations). Local radio stations are stations that broadcast programmes for a perticular area of the country. This includes town-sized stations (once known as incremental stations).

Digital Audio Broadcasting, is the future of radio broadcasting in the UK. DAB offers a selection of stations not available on FM. You'll need a DAB radio in order to listen to these stations and these are available in kitchen style radios, Hi-Fi systems, in-car radios and battery powered portable devices.

There are several internet only radio stations broadcasting solely on the internet. You'll also be able to pick up all of the major stations internet feeds via the web or the Radio Player. Internet connections are being built into most new radios being sold today and the majority of smart phones are also able to pick up internet streams from radio stations. Coverage is global.

Some stations broadcast on satellite, this means you can listen to them on SKY, Virgin and terrestrial TV.