Country fans' Holiday travel plans + Radio's Loyalty

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R&R/Bullseye: This week’s R&R Country Callout America by Bullseye question asked 325 Country listeners if they’ll be traveling this holiday season, how andhow far they will be going. Of the overall sample, 32% said they planned to travel, with 25% driving, 6% flying and 1% seeking bus, train or other transportation.

As for distance, 8% were traveling 100 miles or less, 18% said they’d traverse 100-500 miles, and 6% would venture beyond 500 miles.

* Gretchen Wilson’s voice is featured in Target television commercials. Her DavidFoster-produced versions of “Joy to the World” are in two spots currently on the air.

* Darryl Worley will perform prior to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 15. The game pits 78 top high school players in an east vs. west gridiron contest.

* Trisha Yearwood is profiled in the Dec. 7 issue of Woman’s Day. She discusses her new album and tells her favorite Christmas story.

* Rascal Flatts will perform “Bless the Broken Road” on ABC’s The View on Monday.

BIRTHDAYS:

Wednesday, 12/1 - Kim Richey
Friday, 12/3 - Ferlin Husky
Saturday, 12/4 - Lila McCann
Sunday, 12/5 - Gary Allan, Tyler England, Jim Messina, Little Richard
Monday, 12/6 - Helen Cornelius

Radio Listener Loyalty Heralded By Analyst
Guzman & Co. analyst Jake Balzer notes in a report released Nov. 24 that despite the industry's financial struggles, he believes radio's overall audience stability when compared to its chief competitors' will help the industry grow next year. "Television audiences have become increasingly fragmented with the major broadcast networks now achieving less than 50% of viewership, while newspaper readership has also steadily declined, making each less attractive for advertisers," Balzer said. "As a result, we believe that radio will continue to gain share from newspapers locally." He also believes consolidated radio groups will benefit on a nationwide scale. "Large radio groups that have a national footprint will be able to make inroads with large national advertisers," Balzer said. As for new competition, Balzer believes that while satellite radio poses more of a "viable threat" than MP3s to radio listening, he is skeptical of the forecasts from some on Wall Street who believe the subscription-based services will grow at a pace similar to cable TV. "Listeners spend an average of 14 hours per week listening to the radio, versus 30 hours in front of a television," Balzer noted. "Based on this time difference, we believe that many will be unwilling to pay an additional monthly fee."