I’ve crunched the numbers of our last survey about our newest features. Overall the feedback on these new elements is positive with comments like “diggin’ it” and “I love your innovative spirit.” Here’s how the features break out.
The Commercial-free Wake-up and Wind-down Hours at 5:30:
Although a quarter of you who took the survey hadn’t checked out these hours a couple months ago, those who have listened really like it. 48% of you said you love it. 21% of you like it. 2% are not fans.
The Island of Sanity at 7pm extended to a half hour:
About three quarters of those surveyed like this change. A couple of listeners said it is their favorite, while one of the 3% who doesn’t care for it said “quiet music at 7pm while driving can lead to sleep.” Warning-it’s relaxing.
The Surprise at 5pm:
This is a fun experiment, yet a challenge to find interesting things that don’t cause most of you to turn off the radio! A quarter of you don’t know this drive-time feature yet, while over two-thirds of you are enjoying it. Keep your suggestions coming. There have been some real gems.
Summer Requests from 10am to 1pm weekdays:
This is where we let you program the workday music. A third of you love it. Another third of you like it, but about 12% aren’t as enamored with listener picks. Hoyt’s having fun with your selections. We hope you are too.
It started with digital wristwatches beeping the hour mark. Then it was the ring of cellphones. In an experiment Thursday night, National Symphony Orchestra conductor Emil de Cou tweeted bursts of info about the score to Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony No. 6 as it was performed (appropriate since there are three different bird calls in the score). Bravo to the NSO for this experiment that you can read about here.