Numeris to swap radio diaries for streaming-based Local+ system this December

September 14, 2026 · broadcastdialogue.com

Numeris now estimates that live AM/FM streaming accounts for 20% of radio consumption, up from the 11% figure the ratings company reported previously. That jump underpins Radio Local+, the measurement system Numeris will roll out across 22 Canadian markets in December, replacing traditional online diaries with passive streaming data from broadcasters, Random Digit Dialing and Day-After-Recall surveys. The new approach removes the sample-size limits that diary-based measurement carried. In an op-ed for Broadcast Dialogue, David Bray, president of Bray & Partners Communications, writes that Numeris confirms Radio Local+ will produce results that differ significantly from the diary system it replaces.

Ad dollars at individual stations could shift sharply once Radio Local+ replaces diaries, since methodology changes create arbitrary winners and losers among broadcasters whose revenue ties directly to ratings. Streaming listeners skew younger than over-the-air and in-car audiences, so a system built primarily on streaming data risks overstating younger demographics and undercounting older listeners across the whole market. Bray argues that Numeris needs to show how its modelling protects accuracy before broadcasters and their agency partners start buying and selling against the new numbers in December.