The Media Audit research group has dubbed Portland, Oregon NPR affiliate KOPB-FM‘s www.opb.org/radio “the top radio station website in the country.” The outfit’s “FYI” newsletter cites a report (presumably its) that concludes that “more than 385,000 out of a total metro population of nearly 2 million have visited the public radio station’s website in the past 30 days.” That is almost 20 percent of 18+ adults in the Portland, Oregon metro region.
Second place: WGR-AM of Buffalo, New York (6.2% visits); third: KLAL-FM of Little Rock, Arkansas (5.5%); fourth WSRZ-FM of Sarasota, Florida (5.4%); fifth: KRMG AM/FM (4.7%). The study cites three big radio clusters to watch out for: Bonneville stations in Salt Lake City, Entercom signals in Buffalo, and Clear Channel stations in Columbus, Ohio. All three groups command at least ten percent of website traffic in their respective areas.
“The latest figures suggest that radio websites are growing in popularity and are becoming more important in defining the overall reach for a radio station or radio group,” Media Audit’s news blurb on the report concludes.
The question, of course, is why these sites are so successful in drawing in web traffic. What are listeners visiting for? How much does audience size correlate with web visiting? Does the fact that KOPB also runs a TV station give it an advantage? More data please.
Hat tip: RAIN newsletter.
