Reach

Reach is a frequently used media term that has multiple layers of meaning.

• Reach is used to refer to the percentage of a universe (e.g. TV households) or demographic (e.g. males 18-49) that is exposed, or can be exposed, at least once to an advertising schedule in one or more media vehicles over a specific period of time. Reach can be calculated for an individual medium (e.g. TV) or for a campaign that involves multiple media.
• Reach can also describe the audience of specific content, such as a television network or website, as a percentage of a universe, such as TV Households, or individuals with internet access.
• Reach can describe the percentage of a particular demographic reached---for example, women 18-34 who watch Amercian Idol, or adults 25-54 who visit weather.com.)

When Reach is stated, the universe or demographic should be specified as well. For example, 'Reach of the XYZ Show against males 18-34 is 22%, or CDE website delivers a 14% Reach against adults 18-49'

The terms are used in different contexts but Rating and Reach both represent the percentage of a specific audience or universe actually reached but Reach is typically expressed as a percentage and Rating is expressed as a number.  

In online media, the term Coverage is frequently used instead of Reach to reflect a difference in how universe is defined and how online media is measured. However, Coverage and Reach are both a measure of the percentage of a universe or demographic, except that Coverage is typically used for online media, and Reach is used for 'traditional' media.

How to Calculate Reach:

Divide the number of people or audience reached (i.e who actually viewed/heard or have the potential to view/hear a particular ad, or who actually viewed/heard a particular show) by the total number of the audience or universe.

For example, a popular website reaches 71,273,000 individuals who have access to the internet. Let's say that the total number (universe) of individuals who have access to the internet is 220,000,000. 71,273,000 divided by 220,000,000 = 32.4% The reach of that website against individuals who have access to the internet is 32.4%.

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