Definition

AQH is an abbreviation for Average Quarter-Hour Persons (AQH Persons), defined by Arbitron

Arbitron

Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...

 as the average number of persons listening to a particular station for at least five minutes during a 15-minute period.

Share is the percentage of those listening to radio in an Arbitron "market" (typically a metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

) who are listening to a particular radio station.

Thus, AQH Share for a given station is mathematically expressed as [AQH Persons listening to station / AQH Persons listening to all market radio stations] * 100.

Usage

AQH Share is most often used in conjunction with TSL

Time spent listening

Time spent listening is one of the measurements surveyed by Arbitron in determining ratings for radio stations in the U.S.. The TSL is the amount of time the average listener surveyed spent listening to each radio station at one time, before changing the station or turning it off.The TSL is an...

 (Time Spent Listening) to measure listenership in a market. While AQH measures the average number of listeners to the station, TSL tracks the length of time listeners are tuned continuously to the station.

External links

• Glossary of Terms of the Radio Research Consortium
  Radio Research Consortium
  The Radio Research Consortium is a non-profit research company based in Olney, Maryland which provides listener data on radio audiences to non-commercial stations in the United States...