Every week, according to Nielsen, Las Vegas radio reaches 1,475,493 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 Las Vegas area, there are 986,507 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 Las Vegas's broadcast television stations has slipped to 66.0% of all adults, according to Nielsen. These stations include KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX.  

The combined Las Vegas TV audience now falls behind streaming platforms at 70.4% and cable programming at 66.8%. To put this virtual dead heat into perspective, none of the three video media is a match for Las Vegas radio which reaches more than 81.2% 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 64.7% of local consumers tuned in to Las Vegas television stations like KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX.  TV's diminishing reach among adults 18 and older has been eclipsed by the audience size for social media, cable, and Las Vegas 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, 1.7 million Las Vegas consumers watch something on TV.

Not too many years ago, when a Las Vegas consumer sat down to watch TV, the program options were limited to what was on KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, KLVX, 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 a Las Vegas 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, Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas 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 KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX has plummeted. In all, only 71% 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 Nevada 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.

Based on projections from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Las Vegas consumers are on track to spend $31.7-billion with retailers by the end of this year. This would be 13.5% higher than was spent in 2020.

To earn a significant share of these retail dollars, Las Vegas area business owners are expected to spend $775-million to advertise by year's end, according to Borrell Associates. This company tracks advertising expenditures in local markets across the U.S.

To ensure they are spending their advertising and marketing dollars wisely, many Las Vegas business owners research how to best target prospective customers by using local media. An exceptional resource for local business owners to investigate the media habits of localconsumers is on the advice section of AdvertiseInLasVegas.com.  

Here are the top five most-read articles on the site in 2021:

This year marks 79 years since KENO became the first radio station in Las Vegas.  From that time, local, small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services.

So, it is a fair question for a 21st-century business owner to ask: Is Las Vegas radio still relevant in the life of local consumers?

"You wouldn’t know it from all the media coverage focused on streaming video and streaming music," said media expert Doug Schoen in Forbes Magazine, "but recent Nielsen data shows radio actually has the most reach among American media consumers." 

Last week, for instance, significantly more local consumers tuned-in to a Las Vegas radio station than watched local TV, read a local newspaper, or logged-on to a streaming audio site like Pandora and Spotify.

Forty-percent of contractors nationwide report that they have turned down jobs this year because they don't have enough skilled blue-collar workers.

The labor crunch isn't confined to construction. Overall, 79% of Nevada employers say they are having difficulty filling salaried and hourly craft positions. This includes truck drivers, plumbers, HVAC technicians, electrical workers, machinists, metal workers, landscapers, janitors, and health care workers.

In Clark County, for instance, there are not enough auto mechanics to fill more than 800 open jobs. These types of shortages are stunting many Las Vegas small business owners prospects for growth.

Local business owners can benefit from a study by The North Carolina Works Commission. The NCWC found that the recruitment efforts of many employers in that state are failing because they depend on hiring strategies from a time when qualified candidates were plentiful.

These failing strategies include posting on job boards like Monster and Indeed; publishing employment ads in local newspapers; and pleading on social media pages. Some small business owners still depend on hanging help-wanted signs.

What many business owners in the Valley have discovered is that the best way to recruit blue-collar workers is by advertising on Las Vegas radio stations.

 

Advertising on Las Vegas radio stations is the best way for local small business owners to reach the lucrative, local mother market.  Here's why.

Las Vegas consumers will spend $39 billion over the next 12 months. Forbes magazine reports that it is moms who control 85% of all household purchases. Locally,  there are more than 371,000 mothers with children under the age of 17 at home.

Las Vegas small business owners need to pay special attention to these mothers and their wallets. For example, compared to the general population, over the next 12 months, local moms live in households that are

• 48% more likely to take a family vacation
• 25% more likely to purchase a car or truck
• 80% more likely to buy furniture
• 86% more likely to purchase a major appliance
• 17% more likely to buy a mattress
• 147% more likely to buy a new house/condo
• 165% more likely to purchase a boat
• 25%% more likely to buy carpeting/floor coverings
• 58% more likely to move
• 39% more likely to look for a new job

There are two reasons why advertising on Las Vegas radio stations is more effective than advertising on TV.

The first reason is reach.  In a study conducted by Nielsen, the number of consumers who are exposed to a commercial contributes profoundly to the number of sales it will create.  This is discussed in depth in the free eBook, "Seven Steps For Advertising Successfully In Las Vegas."

Among all media available to local business owners, Las Vegas radio offers the biggest reach.

The second reason why radio advertising is so powerful has been revealed in a new study Mindshare, an advertising agency that buys media for some of the most successful companies in the world including General Mills, Nestlé, Domino's, IBM, Rolex, and John Deere.

According to AdWeek, the Mindshare study used brain activity detected from electroencephalograms (EEGS) and galvanic skin response technology (which measures changes in sweat gland activity) to get a deeper sense of how advertising resonates with people.The Mindshare study indicates that when a brand tells a story using audio media, it elicits a 21% higher emotional intensity than the same story told using visual media.