Local businesses have been marketing their goods and services on Wilmington, Delaware radio since July 1922. That's when WHAV became the area's first radio station. 

The station broadcast from the home of the owner, Willard Wilson, until 1930. That's when he moved studios to Downtown Wilmington and changed the call letters to WEDL

Who could have guessed that 101 years later, advertising on Wilmington radio would still be the best advertising option for all types of retailers and business owners.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Wilmington radio reaches 487,506 adult consumers. This reach is significantly higher than all other advertising options including local TV, cable, social media, streaming video, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, according to Nielsen, is the audience metric most responsible for driving the success of an advertising campaign. Only the message itself carries more sway.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Wilmington, Deleware, radio reaches 487,506 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 Wilmington area, there are 299,401 18-49-year-olds, the majority of whom are millennials, a generation that now accounts for nearly one-third of all retail spending.

Wilmington, Delaware, radio reaches more local consumers each week than any other advertising medium.

According to Nielsen, 282,794 adults tune in to their favorite AM/FM stations every week.  This is significantly more consumers than are reached by Wilmington TV, cable, streaming video, streaming audio, social media, or newspapers.

AM/FM radio's dominance among local consumers is driven, in large part, by the 322,117 Wilmington area adults who take to the road in their car or truck every week, according to Neilsen.

The combined weekly reach of Wilmington, Delaware's broadcast television stations has slipped to 66.2% of all adults, according to Nielsen. These include area television stations like WDPN, WPPX, KYW, WCAU, and WHYY  

The combined Wilmington TV audience now falls behind cable programming at 80.4% and just ahead of streaming platforms at 64.4%. To put this virtual dead heat into perspective, none of the three video media is a match for Wilmington radio which reaches more than 83% 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.

Local business owners have been advertising on Wilmington, Deleware radio since WDEL first signed-on in 1922.  But, back then, there were only two options for reaching a mass audience: newspapers and radio.

Today, though, advertisers have an over-abundance of marketing options both over-the-air and online. But every week, according to Nielsen, 501,249 adults listen to a Wilmington radio station, giving the 101-year-old medium, by far, the biggest reach amongst local consumers.

A new report released last week by Nielsen underscores AM/FM radio's durable reach among all media.

.png

Despite an abundance of media options, Wilmington, Delaware radio reaches the most consumers every week. 

According to Nielsen, every week 501,249 adults tune in to their favorite Wilmington stations. This is more than watch local TV stations, cable, or streaming video. It is more than browse social media. It is more than listen to streaming audio services or podcasts. It is more than read local newspapers.

Not all listening to Wilmington radio happens on car radios, table-top radios, or boom boxes. Instead, local consumers also use their smartphones, computers, and tablets as a way to connect to their favorite local stations.

Neilsen finds that 24.9% of all consumers who listen to a Wilmington radio station over the air will, at some point during the month, also connect to a local station via the internet. As a matter of fact, during a typical hour, Nielsen data suggests that 11.3% of a station's total audience is listening on a device other than a traditional receiver.

Every week, 550,788 Wilmington, Delaware area consumers watch something on TV.

Not too many years ago, when a Wilmington consumer sat down to watch TV, the program options were limited to what was on Philadelphia stations like WDPN, WPPX, KYW, WCAU, WHYY, 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 Wilmington 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, Wilmington 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.

There are about 300,000 registered passenger vehicles in the Wilmington, Delaware area. Some are cars. Some are trucks. Some are Hondas. Some are Fords. Some are Teslas. Some have four doors. Some have two. Some go fast. Some go slow. Some guzzle gas. Some sip. Some are red. Some are blue.

The one thing that almost every car and truck in the Wilmington area have in common, though, is the AM/FM radio smack-dab in the middle of the dashboard.

The first car radio went on sale in 1930. It was an invention of the Galvin Manufacturing Company. The company named the radio 'Motorola,' and its cost was $130, around $2000 in today's dollars. By 1935, more than three million car radios had been installed.

Today, AM/FM radio is part of every car and truck on Wilmington area roads. In addition to the radio, many of these vehicles also provide drivers with other audio options, including a CD player, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, podcasts, and easy access to personal MP3 collections.

It is fair, then, for small business owners who depend on Wilmington radio to advertise their goods and services to ask: with all the audio options on today's dashboards, is anyone listening to local AM/FM radio in the car anymore?

Right now, at least one of the 19,142 small businesses located in the Wilmington, Delaware area is thinking about using the phrase 'March Madness' as part of upcoming advertising and marketing plans. Why not? It's a great use of alliteration. It's a familiar term. And, it's that time of year.

A furniture store in New Castle might think it would be clever to use 'March Madness' in its commercials on Wilmington radio to promote a big spring sale. A non-profit in Edgemoor feels it would be a good way to describe its charity fun run on social media and online advertising. A sports bar in Boothwyn believes it would be a no-brainer to use the term in streaming video and audio ads to bring in scores of basketball fans.

It is, indeed,  tempting for a Wilmington small business owner to use this term for advertising or marketing purposes. But,  to avoid a costly legal battle, the use of this trademarked phrase should be a non-starter. Here's why.

Every week, 397,000 Wilmington, Delaware area adults watch video programs delivered via the internet. This content goes by several interchangeable names, including OTT (Over-The-Top Television), CTV (Connected TV), and Streaming Video. For this article, we will refer to this type of content as Streaming TV.

Unlike traditional TV, cable, and satellite where the viewer needs to be in a fixed location, Tri-state consumers can access streaming TV anywhere using an internet-connected device. These include SmartTVs, Firesticks, Roku, smartphones, computers, laptops, tablets, and gaming consoles.

In all, according to Nielsen, 95.0% of Wilmington households have one or more devices capable of connecting to streaming TV. Although this medium is still new, streaming TV now rivals legacy media in its ability to reach local consumers.

Every week, Wilmington consumers are spending more-and-more time engaged with streaming TV.