Audience accumulation for a medium over a specified time period. Individuals or households count only once in this measurement, no matter how many times they may have been exposed to the medium. Sometimes called the cume or reach, cumulative audience for the advertiser represents the unduplicated audience (the number of people who will be reached at least once) for a schedule over a specific time period. Therefore, the higher the cume, the larger the audience. See also cumulative audience rating.

Dictionary of Marketing Terms. Copyright © 2000 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.