Nielsen begins its monthly release of PPM ratings with today’s Day 1 update including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston/Galveston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Long Island, Riverside/San Bernardino, San Jose, and Middlesex/Somerset/Union.
All the numbers can be found at RadioInsight.com/Ratings.
The first weekend of June ratings period was scarred by the murder of George Floyd on May 25. The ensuing protests would drive growth at a couple Hip Hop and News stations.
Ratings expert Chris Huff notes that iHeartMedia Hip Hop 106.1 KMEL San Francisco registered its best month since December 2014 as it rose to third in the market with a 3.9 to 4.7 gain. Coverage of the protests along with continued coronavirus coverage brought Entercom News 1070 KNX Los Angeles to its highest share of the audience since Winter 1991 with a 2.9 to 3.9 rise.
The other big things to note was the rebound of AC and CHR after multiple down months during the pandemic as more people were out and about. Among the CHR’s trending up are “Z100” WHTZ New York (3.5 to 4.2), 102.7 KIIS-FM Los Angeles (3.3 to 3.7), “103.5 Kiss-FM” WKSC Chicago (2.7 to 3.3), and 104.1 KRBE Houston (3.2 to 3.7). AC growth starts with “Sunny 99.1” KODA Houston returning to the market lead with a 5.5 – 6.2 – 7.1 trendline. And other gainers including 103.5 KOST Los Angeles (4.2 to 5.1), “93.9 Lite-FM” WLIT Chicago (5.2 to 5.5), “B98.5” WSB-FM Atlanta (4.7 to 5.1) and “B101.1” WBEB Philadelphia (3.0 to 4.3).
Also in the positive column was the continue climbing of cumulative audience this month nearly across the board. While still nowhere near their pre-COVID-19 levels, most stations’ CUME have regained at least 80% of that audience.
Other notes:
- Spanish Broadcasting System Tropical “Mega 97.9” WSKQ New York holds onto a share of its market lead but with a potential asterisk. WSKQ dropped 8.7 to 6.6, however we’re told that encoding issues left WSKQ with almost no registered listening during Week 1.
- That allowed Entercom Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM’s 5.8 to 6.6 rise to take a share of #1 in New York.
- Three New York stations set PPM records this month according to Huff. iHeartMedia Classic Rock “Q104.3” WAXQ rose to fourth with a 4.9 to 5.7 rise (in addition to placing #1 overall in both the Long Island and Middlesex/Somerset/Union books), Univision Spanish CHR “X96.3” WXNY rises 3.2 to 4.5, and Fordham University AAA 90.7 WFUV is up 1.2 to 1.4 for a frequency record.
- Entercom Classic Hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH Los Angeles remains on top of the market with a 5.6 to 5.7 gain.
- iHeartMedia Alternative “Alt 98.7” KYSR rises 2.4 to 3.1, while Entercom’s 106.7 KROQ is up 1.4 to 1.7.
- Entercom News 780 WBBM/105.9 WCFS Chicago holds onto the market lead with a 7.0 to 6.9 slide with Hubbard Classic Rock “97.1 The Drive” WDRV holding steady at a 6.4 in second.
- Cumulus Alternative 101.1 WKQX is trending upward with a 2.0 – 2.5 – 2.8 movement.
- Both of the spoken word leaders in San Francisco remain on top. Entercom News 740 KCBS/106.9 KFRC regains the lead with a 8.5 to 8.9 gain, while Public News/Talk 88.5 KQED-FM drops 8.7 to 7.8.
- Salem Christian AC 94.9 KLTY Dallas retakes the top spot with a 6.0 to 6.1 gain, while iHeartMedia CHR “106.1 Kiss-FM” KHKS drops to second down 6.6 to 5.9.
- Cox Media Group dominates in Atlanta. News/Talk 750 WSB/95.5 WSBB Atlanta continues to lead despite its 11.1 to 10.4 drop. Cox’s Classic Rock “97.1 The River” WSRV is second (8.0 to 7.9), Adult R&B “Kiss 104.1” WALR third (8.4 to 7.0) and the previously mentioned WSB-FM rises to fifth. Only Entercom’s Hip-Hop/R&B “V103” 103.3 WVEE with its 6.6 fourth place showing breaks up the Cox dominance.
- iHeartMedia’s frequency shuffle in Atlanta is paying off. The move of Spanish CHR to “Z105.7” WBZY/96.7 WRDA helps it rise from a 0.5 to 1.5. Hip Hop “105.3 The Beat” WRDG doubles its share from 0.3 to 0.6 after moving from 96.7.
- iHeartMedia Adult R&B 105.3 WDAS-FM Philadelphia is pulling away from the pack. WDAS-FM rises 8.9 to 9.1, while Beasley Classic Rock 102.9 WMGK stays in second but falls 8.0 to 6.8. Beasley Rock 93.3 WMMR is third with a 7.3 to 6.5 slide.
- On the upswing are Entercom Classic Hits 98.1 WOGL as it trends 4.7 – 5.2 – 5.6 and Beasley Variety Hits “95.7 Ben-FM” WBEN-FM (2.4 – 3.1 – 4.1).
- After rebranding as “Alt 104.5” five days into the monthly, iHeartMedia Alternative 104.5 WRFF Philadelphia rises 3.5 to 4.0.
- Entercom Country “95.1 K-Frog” KFRG San Bernardino CA is the big winner of the month. Trending 4.5 – 6.4 – 7.0 brings KFRG to what Huff states is its highest share since the Winter 2003 book.