Broadcast Disclosures and 

Communication Effectiveness: Required 

Reading Comprehension Rate

Keith B. Murray, PhD

Professor, Graduate School

Bryant College
Role of reading comprehension in disclosure

Opportunity for a message recipient to 

process a disclosure is a necessary (but not 

sufficient) requirement for effective 

disclosure. 

Likelihood to process and comprehend is a 

function of reading comprehension rate

demanded.
Why RCR is important to understand

Reading comprehension rate is especially 

noteworthy in a broadcast context. 

In TV broadcast, message exposure, 

processing and comprehension is “paced”

by the medium. 
Calculation of reading comprehension rates

RCR in a broadcast setting is a function of two variables, the

1. Length of the disclosure (measured in number of words)

and 

2. Amount of time (as a proportion of a minute) the 

disclosure is presented. 

It is expressed in terms of words-per-minute. 
Reading comprehension rate(s) in U.S.

In the U.S. population, RCR is a variable factor. 

Upper limits to reported reading comprehension 

rates are in the range of 300 WPM.

Lower limit thresholds are in the range of 100 WPM. 

A good working estimate of average comprehension 

rate is approximately 150 WPM. 
Brinks Home Security

Commercial Video here.
Brinks Home Security

Audio: For over 135 years Brinks has been protecting people 

and their valuables around the world without the loss of one 

single dollar.

Disclosure 1 (3%, 5 sec., 84 WPM) Refers to Brinks 

Incorporated armored car customers.

Disclosure 2 (2%, 2 sec., 1860 WPM) Brink’s Home Security, 

Inc. does not warrant against loss to covered premises. Three 

year monitoring contract required. $23.95 monthly monitoring 

fee. (In California a two year monitoring contract is required.

Total monitoring price $574.80) 1997 Brinks Home Security, Inc.,

1828 Valwood Parkway, Carrolton, TX 75005 Florida License 

#000000 plus 14 more “words”.
Implications of high RCR disclosures

Failure of affirmative disclosure to occur within 

reasonable RCR limits results in theoretical but 

not actual disclosure.

Thus, in a broadcast context this sets up the 

opportunity to communicate unrealistic (i.e., 

misleading and (or) deceptive) principal selling 

messages in a manner that is technically 

“corrected” by disclosure(s) but not practically 

so. 
ERA Reality 

Commercial video here. 
ERA Sellers Security Plan commercial

Segment 1

VO: (Broker identified as ERA Broker Terri Berkowicz, Chicago, IL): 

Selling a house is no vacation, but that's just what the walkers got 

when they sold their house with our ERA office. ERA Sellers 

Security Plan 

Disclosure 1

Conditions apply, including a program participation fee, house must 

meet specific qualifications, and purchase price will be determined 

solely by ERA.

Message size: Upper case lettering, 4% of vertical screen. 

Duration: 1.9 seconds

RCR demanded: [21 words/2 seconds]*60 = 630 WPM
ERA Sellers Security Plan commercial 

Segment 2

VO: (ERA Sellers Security Plan) guaranteed that if we didn't sell 

their house ERA would buy it. ERA even agreed to take the risk of 

selling the house at a loss. 

Disclosure 2

Additionally, a second home must be purchased through a broker 

designated by ERA. Profit is exclusive of holding and selling 

expenses. Call your participating ERA broker for details.

Disclosure specs:

Message size: Upper case lettering, 4% of vertical screen

Disclosure duration: 2.85 seconds

RCR demanded: [28 words/[2.85 seconds]*60 = 590 WPM
ERA Sellers Security Plan commercial 

Segment 3

VO: When we sold it for more, the Walkers got the profit. The ERA

Sellers Security Plan. Just the kind of help you'd expect from a 

friend. They used the extra money to take a vacation. They even 

sent me a postcard!

Disclosure 3

Each office independently owned and operated.

Message size: Upper case lettering, 4% of vertical screen

Disclosure duration: 2 seconds

RCR demanded: [6 words/2 seconds]*60 = 180 WPM
Universal Studios

Commercial video here.
Universal Studios

No Line, No Wait commercial

Disclosure:

Universal Studios

No Line. No Wait.

Ride access

1-8777-Orlando

Anticipated maximum wait 15 minutes. Restrictions apply.

Message RCR demanded: 18 words = 540 WPM
Appendix: How to calculate required reading 

comprehension rates for a broadcast disclosure

RCR in a broadcast setting is a function of two variables, the

1. Length of the disclosure (measured in number of words) 

[A], and

2. Amount of time (as a proportion of a minute) the 

disclosure is presented [B], where B equals the length of 

the disclosure time (in seconds) divided by 60. 

Thus, reading comprehension rate (RCR) is expressed in the 

following formula:

RCR = A ÷ B

It is expressed in terms of words-per-minute.