According to Nielsen, 367,447 adults tune in to their favorite Augusta, Georgia, radio stations every week. This is significantly more consumers than are reached by all other advertising-supported media, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and local newspapers.

Augusta radio's unchallenged reach is why many CSRA business owners depend on the medium to capture the largest possible share of the $11.4 billion dollars consumers are expected to spend at retail this year.

Other local small business owners, however, may be surprised to learn that by most marketing metrics, radio remains the best way to advertise in Augusta.

Here are four more facts about AM/FM radio that may surprise many local marketers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Augusta, Georgia, radio reaches 367,447 adults. This is more consumers than use any other medium, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, though, is only one component used to calculate ratings.  The other metric that contributes to the rating formula is the time spent using each medium. So, although for the past 10 years, AM/FM radio's reach has been significantly higher than the reach of local TV, consumers spent considerably more time watching TV. As a result of the math, TV has enjoyed higher ratings than radio.

For the first time, however, AM/FM radio ratings have exceeded local TV ratings by three percent among the key advertising demographic of 18-49-year-olds, according to Nielsen's Total Audience Data for the third quarter of 2023.

In the Augusta area, there are 221,250 18-49-year-olds, the majority of whom are millennials, a generation that now accounts for nearly one-third of all retail spending.

The combined weekly reach of the CSRA's broadcast television stations has slipped to 66.2% of all adults, according to Nielsen. These stations include WJBF, WRDW, WCES, WAGT, and WFXG.  

The combined Augusta, Georgia TV audience now falls behind cable programming at 76.6% and streaming platforms at 66.3%. To put this virtual dead heat into perspective, none of the three video media is a match for Augusta radio which reaches more than 84.4% of local adults every week.

But although the reach of broadcast TV, cable, and streaming are neck-and-neck, the share of time consumers spend with each of these media is dramatically different.

During the past seven days. according to Nielsen, only 67.1% of local consumers tuned in to Augusta, Georgia television stations like WJBF, WRDW, WCES, WAGT, and WFXG.  TV's diminishing reach among adults 18 and older has been eclipsed by the audience size for social media, cable, and Augusta radio. Furthermore, streaming video services such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and Disney+ are quickly reaching parity with over-the-air options.

The erosion of local TV station audiences is stunning when comparing prime-time ratings from the past.  In 1980, the highest-ranked TV show was Cheers with a 21.3 rating. The 30th-ranked show was The Wonder Years with a 14.2 rating.

Twenty years later, Survivor was the number one show with a 17.4 rating and Family Law was the 30th ranked show with an 8.8 rating.

Finally, in 2019, Sunday Night Football was the number one ranked show with a 10.9 rating. Survivor tied with Dancing With The Stars in 30th place with a 5.5 rating.

It is stunning to think that the number one TV show in 2019 had a 24% lower rating than the 30th-ranked show in 1980.

Every week, 425,000 Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) consumers watch something on TV.

Not too many years ago, when an Augusta, Georgia area consumer sat down to watch TV, the program options were limited to what was on WJBF, WRDW, WCES, WAGT, WFXG, or, maybe, what was on a handful of cable channels.  That was then. This is now.

Today, according to Nielsen, each time a TV is turned on in an Augusta living room, the viewer has more than 817,000 options not only from broadcast stations and cable systems, but also from streaming video platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, YouTube, Amazon, Tubi, Crackle, and FreeVee.

Of course, Augusta consumers don't even need to sit down in front of their big-screen LCD, anymore. Most of the 817,000 available programs can also be viewed on their computers, tablets, gaming devices, and smartphones. But as far as viewers are concerned, though, it's all just television.

It wasn't too long ago when advertising on Augusta, Georgia television stations was considered the gold standard for marketing by local business owners. But over the past few years, the number of viewers reached by WJBF, WRDW, WCES, WAGT, and WFXG has plummeted. In all only 67% of adult consumers now tune-in to at least one of these channels during the week, according to Nielsen.

The consumption of video content isn't diminishing among CSRA consumers. What has changed, though, is how they are watching it.

In November, according to Nielsen, the share of time watching broadcast television has fallen behind other video options including cable programing and internet-delivered choices such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and hundreds of other streaming networks.

Every week, according to Nielsen, 444,000 adult consumers in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) watch something on television. But, of course, the definition of what it means to watch TV has changed since the time when the number of available viewing options could be counted on the fingers of a single hand.

Today, Augusta, Georgia area consumers have a gargantuan number of viewing choices. This includes programs from stations like WJBF, WRDW, WCES, WAGT, and WFXG. Or maybe cable and satellite systems like Xfinity, DISH, DirecTV, and WOW!. There's also content delivered over the internet from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.

No longer are Augusta consumers tied to the 21-inch Zenith in their living rooms. Instead, TV can be watched on giant LCDs, smartphones, and tablets from any room in the house, in the backseat of their cars, or practically anywhere else.

The best way to think about TV watching in the CSRA is in terms of three buckets:

1. Over-the-air...including all broadcast channels
2. Cable...including all premium and non-premium programming
3. Internet...including all streaming services. This is also known as OTT or CTV

Here's how many Augusta area adult viewers fall into each bucket. Remember, viewers are not limited to a single bucket.

Broadcast television came to Augusta, Georgia in 1953 when WJBF signed on for the first time. In those days, very few local households actually owned a set, a number that would grow to 50% by 1960.

At first, Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) consumers needed rabbit-ears or outdoor antennas to receive signals from a small handful of local stations, including  WRDW and WCES. The quality of reception varied day-to-day.

By the early 1960s, however, local cable systems began to bring higher-quality, reliable reception to households throughout the Augusta area. The number of programming options, though, remained limited to affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS.

In 1972, viewing options began to expand as local cable began offering Augusta area consumers the opportunity to purchase premium services, including HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax.  Five years later came an explosion of non-premium cable channels such as TBS and CNN.

In the early 1990s, Augusta viewers could not only receive their television programming over-the-air or by cable, but options expanded to include satellite delivery by DishTV and DirectTV.

The next TV innovation came in 2007 as CSRA consumers started turning to the internet to watch streaming channels like Netflix and Hulu.  These new services allowed viewers to watch TV on their phones, computers, and tablets as well as their living room LCD and Plasma screens.

Today, all of this video technology offers viewers the ultimate flexibility to choose how, when, and where to watch TV.  So, what are they watching?

Before we explain AVOD, it is important to understand SVOD.

Central Savannah River Area small business owners may not be familiar with SVOD, but chances are they let it into their homes and onto their phones.

SVOD is the abbreviation for Subscription Video On Demand. That is the collective name for streaming networks like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.  For a monthly fee, these services provide commercial-free access to TV shows, original content, and movies.

These SVOD networks are delivered to viewers' phones, tablets, computers, and smart-TVs via the internet and not over-the-air or cable systems.

SVOD makes up a significant part of what advertisers refer to as OTT (Over-The-Top-Television) and CTV (Connected-Television). OTT/CTV is video-programming content that viewers can only watch on smartphones, tablets, computers, smart-TVs, Amazon Firesticks, and Roku Sticks.  Nielsen reports that 91% of CSRA adults own at least one of these devices.

For many generations of marketers, advertising on Augusta television was considered the "gold standard". For a Central Savannah River Area  small business owner who craved massive reach, TV used to be the medium that could deliver.

Over the past few years, however, viewers have been abandoning local TV stations in vast numbers. This has propelled Augusta radio into being the most potent reach medium among local consumers.

Every week, 93.% of adult consumers tune-in to their favorite Augusta radio stations. This is significantly more than the 78% reached by local television.

For the past 39 years, Augusta radio has reached more than 90% of all consumers. But, look what has happened to TV's audience.