Research Director

What Research Director does

Research Director, Inc. (operating under the established common-law brand "The Ratings Experts℠") is a privately held, niche US radio consulting firm founded in 1991 by former Arbitron Radio Product Manager Marc Greenspan and headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. The firm specializes in converting raw Nielsen Audio (PPM and diary) ratings data into actionable programming and sales intelligence for commercial and public radio stations, with documented engagements across dozens of major US markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Boston. Named enterprise clients include Urban One, Audacy Denver, ESPN New York / Good Karma, and Renda Media, with public testimonials describing multi-year, ongoing partnerships.

The company's core product offering is organized into two service suites — the Programming & Ratings Toolbox (Instant Answer, Ratings Booster, Hot Zip Report, Exact Age Report, Format Tracker, Snapshot, and Custom Programming Reports) and Sales Solutions (Nielsen Sales Package, Radio Buyer's Guide, Balance Buy, Qualitative Sales Package, Prospector, Client Specific Presentations on Demand, and Sales Team Training) — delivered through a proprietary client portal, C-SPOTS, and supported by a 200+ year combined-experience consulting team. In 2024 the firm extended into a new vertical with the launch of TV Sales Solutions. There is no self-serve product, no marketplace listing, and no public pricing; all engagements are quote-based subscriptions managed through dedicated Client Services Consultants and Programming Research Consultants.

The business is funded entirely by management with no external institutional investors, no parent company, and no subsidiaries. Distribution is exclusively direct and consultative, supplemented by content marketing through the Hot Topics blog, a free research presentations archive, the Nielsen Bulletin Board, podcast appearances, and social media. Documented client outcomes include a 60% increase in a single-station advertising buy at a top-40 market client, a $118,000 HVAC-sector deal closed at a top-20 market client, and a $40,000 casino contract win at a top-20 market client.

Name

Research Director

Legal name

Research Director, Inc.

Website

https://researchdirectorinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Research Director, Inc. is a privately held radio consulting firm that converts Nielsen Audio ratings data into proprietary programming and sales analytics for commercial and public radio stations across major US markets. It serves station groups including Urban One, Audacy, and ESPN New York via direct, subscription-based engagements delivered through consultant relationships and its C-SPOTS client portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Radio Ratings Consulting & Media Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAIAEAK

Radio Audience Measurement & Analytics (Ratings, Attribution)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Radio & Audio Broadcasting (Terrestrial, Satellite, Digital Radio)

SECONDARYBPAHALAA

Market Research & Consumer Insights

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Research, Analytics & Expert Services

SECONDARYMPAAALAL

Competitive & Market Intelligence (Competitive Tracking, TAM/SAM/SOM)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Market Research & Consumer Insights

Keywords

• Radio ratings consulting
• Nielsen Audio analysis
• Radio programming research
• Radio sales solutions
• Broadcast media consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Annapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Programming & Ratings Consulting: Strategic consulting services for radio station programming departments, including proprietary ratings analysis reports, webinars, and one-on-one consultations to help programmers understand ratings changes and exploit growth opportunities.
2. Sales Solutions & Customized Research Materials: Customized sales research packages, presentations, and materials sold to radio station sales teams to help them close advertising business, differentiate from competitors, and demonstrate audience value.
3. Radio Buyer's Guide: Market-specific Radio Buyer's Guide products sold or provided to clients and agencies planning radio advertising buys.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Research Director, Inc. provides ratings analysis consulting and customized sales research materials to US commercial and public radio stations. The company leverages Nielsen Audio (PPM and diary) data through proprietary analysis tools (Instant Answer, Ratings Booster, Hot Zip Report, Exact Age Report, Format Tracker, Snapshot) to deliver two flagship service suites: the Programming & Ratings Toolbox for programming strategy and the Sales Solutions suite for revenue growth, plus the exclusive Radio Buyer's Guide for ad agencies and media buyers.

Product overview

Research Director operates as a radio ratings consultancy offering two primary service suites — the Programming & Ratings Toolbox and Sales Solutions — supported by its proprietary client portal C-SPOTS and the Radio Buyer's Guide. The Programming & Ratings Toolbox provides data analysis tools (Instant Answer, Ratings Booster, Hot Zip Report, Exact Age Report, Format Tracker, Snapshot) and strategic consulting to help programmers improve ratings. Sales Solutions delivers customized quantitative and qualitative sales materials (Nielsen Sales Package, Qualitative Sales Package, Client Specific Presentations on Demand) and training to help stations grow revenue. Precision Marketing combines the Hot Zip Report and Exact Age Report for hyper-targeted audience campaigns. The C-SPOTS portal provides clients with on-demand access to all customized materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Client in a top 40 market increased a station advertising buy by 60%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• XTrendscoreTechnology or IntegrationXTrends is described as 'radio's favorite tool for reviewing ratings' and is referenced extensively in the company's Radio Ratings Roundup blog series. Research Director, Inc. uses XTrends data in conjunction with their own proprietary analysis to produce monthly ratings commentary for major PPM markets. The partnership provides XTrends market data while RDI provides analytical context and commentary. This is an ongoing, integrated content partnership appearing in monthly blog posts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Edison Research: Broad incumbent — much larger audio research firm best known for the Infinite Dial study and election polling. Overlaps with RDI on radio audience research but operates at significantly greater scale and breadth, including consumer technology adoption research.
• Nielsen (Nielsen Audio): Broad incumbent — the underlying data provider whose PPM and diary ratings RDI analyzes and repackages. While not a direct consulting competitor, Nielsen's evolving methodology and pricing directly shapes RDI's product value and competitive positioning.

Others

• Inside Radio: Adjacent — long-running radio industry trade publication and data provider covering radio ratings, advertising, and station transactions. Not a direct competitor but a complementary information source frequently referenced alongside RDI's research products.

Direct peers

• Coleman Insights: Direct peer — long-established radio research and strategic consulting firm serving commercial broadcasters with custom research, audience studies, and programming strategy. Operates in the same niche as RDI, competing for the same Nielsen-driven programming and sales engagements.
• Harker Research: Direct peer — radio industry research firm specializing in perceptual studies, ratings analysis, and audience research for radio stations. Competes with RDI for programming research assignments at commercial broadcasters.
• Jacobs Media: Direct peer — radio consulting firm focused on strategy, research, and digital transformation for broadcasters, including audience research, content strategy, and tech stack consulting. Overlapping client base with RDI and competes in adjacent consulting categories.
• Paragon Media Strategies: Direct peer — radio research and marketing firm that provides audience research, perceptual studies, and strategic consulting to radio broadcasters. Comparable offering profile and customer base to RDI.
• NuVoodoo Media Services: Direct peer — media research company providing audience research, ratings analysis, and strategic consulting for radio broadcasters, with comparable methodology (Nielsen-based analysis) and customer overlap with RDI.
• Strategic Solutions Research: Direct peer — radio-specific research consultancy providing qualitative and quantitative research, ratings analysis, and sales support to commercial radio stations, competing head-to-head with RDI for programming and sales consulting engagements.

Emerging players

• BIA Advisory Services: Emerging player — provides local market advertising forecasts, station valuations, and media research for radio and TV broadcasters. Comparable client base but a different primary focus (financial/advisory) than RDI's programming and sales analytics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ResearchDirectorInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/researchdirectorinc
• Instagraminstagram.com/researchdirectorinc
• Xx.com/ResearchDirectr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Research Director