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.
We’ve launched our newly enhanced ratings pages. With the assistance of Ratings Expert™ Chris Huff our ratings tables now feature the monthly ratings for the past six months, current CUME, station owner, format, and brand name. The ratings pages will also feature Huff’s exclusive HuffNotes spotlighting records, trends, and changes.
The run up to the 2020 presidential election brought significant gains to a few Conservative Talkers.
iHeartMedia’s 740 KTRH Houston trended up 5.6 – 6.5 – 7.4 to take the market lead for what Huff notes is the first time since 1975.
Cumulus Media’s 820 WBAP Dallas jumps 3.3 to 4.9 to move up to fifth in the market and what Huff states is their highest since November 2010.
iHeartMedia’s 710 WOR New York rose 2.8 to 3.6 with Huff noting it is the first time WOR was the top AM in the market since 1992. Red Apple Media’s 770 WABC was up only 1.5 to 1.7 with its highest share since April 2016.
“1150 The Patriot” KEIB Los Angeles rises from 0.9 to 1.3, which while not significant, Huff notes that the local Rush Limbaugh affiliate marked its biggest share on that frequency since 1984.
The other huge beneficiary of the election was Public News/Talk 88.5 KQED-FM San Francisco. While the station rose 8.4 to 9.0 in its home market to retain its market lead, KQED-FM has trended up 7.7 – 10.9 – 12.3 in the adjacent San Jose market. That jump gives the station what Huff notes is the highest share ever recorded by one station in the market since Arbitron started measuring it in 1970.
The other big trend is the continued struggles of some of the biggest Hip Hop stations.
Service Broadcasting’s “K104” KKDA-FM Dallas trends down 3.6 – 2.7 – 2.3 for the lowest share in the history of the format. Huff notes the last time 104.5 Dallas was this low was in 1975 as Beautiful Music KEZT. Radio One’s competing “97.9 The Beat” KBFB is also down 3.0 – 2.4 – 2.1.
iHeartMedia’s 107.5 WGCI Chicago trends down 2.5 – 2.0 – 1.7 for its lowest share since 1978. iHeart’s 106.1 KMEL San Francisco trends down 4.6 – 3.6 – 2.8 and “Power 99” WUSL Philadelphia falls 3.9 – 3.4 – 2.9.
Entercom Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM leads New York with a 6.2 – 6.1 drop. iHeartMedia AC “106.7 Lite-FM” WLTW is second down 5.9 – 5.7. MediaCo Adult R&B 107.5 WBLS places third 5.4 – 5.3.
Public News/Talk 93.9 WNYC-FM New York trends up 2.9 – 3.7 – 4.5.
Entercom Classic Hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH leads Los Angeles but has trended down 6.5 – 5.8 – 5.4. Entercom Rhythmic AC “94.7 The Wave” KTWV is second but down 5.6 to 5.1, while iHeartMedia AC 103.5 KOST places third up 4.2 – 4.9.
iHeartMedia Adult R&B “V103” WVAZ Chicago grows its market lead with an 8.4 to 8.9 gain for what Huff notes is the largest share in the history of that signal. Entercom News 780 WBBM/105.9 WCFS places second down 6.9 to 6.5, while Hubbard Hot AC “101.9 The Mix” WTMX is third 4.6 to 5.1.
Public News/Talk 91.5 WBEZ jumps to fifth in Chicago with a 3.8 to 4.7 gain. Trending downward are Entercom AAA 93.1 WXRT (4.7 – 3.9 – 3.3) and Sports “670 The Score” WSCR (3.2 to 2.1).
In its second monthly, iHeartMedia’s “Rock 95.5” WCHI-FM is down slightly 2.2 to 2.1.
With KQED-FM up 8.4 to 9.0, Entercom News 740 KCBS/106.9 KFRC San Francisco is second up 7.6 to 7.8. iHeartMedia Soft AC “98.1 The Breeze” KISQ is third with a 4.2 to 5.4 gain.
Another Sports outlet with a steep drop is Cumulus’ 680 KNBR/104.5 KNBR-FM which drops 4.9 to 3.4.
Salem Christian AC 94.9 KLTY Dallas continues to lead the market with a 6.3 to 6.4 gain. Cumulus’ “New Country 96.3” KSCS makes a huge jump to second with a 4.2 to 5.3 gain which Huff notes is its biggest share since Fall 2000. iHeartMedia CHR “106.1 Kiss-FM” KHKS falls to third but rises 5.0 to 5.2.
With 740 KTRH Houston rising to the top of the market with a 7.4 share, sister AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA drops to second with a 7.1 to 7.0 slide. KSBJ Educational Foundation Christian AC 89.3 KSBJ jumps to third with a 5.6 – 6.5 – 7.4 trend. Cox Media Group Classic Rock “107.5/106.9 The Eagle” KGLK/KHPT continues to trend downward with a 7.5 – 6.4 – 6.0 move.
Also moving downward is Radio One Adult R&B “Majic 102.1” KMJQ, which slides 4.7 to 4.5 for what Huff notes is its lowest share since August 2007.
Entercom Country “100.3 The Bull” KILT-FM rises 3.1 to 4.0, which pulls it ahead of Cox Media Group’s “93Q” KKBQ-FM as they move 3.7 to 3.6.
Cox News/Talk 750 WSB/95.5 WSBB Atlanta extends its lead in the market with a 11.0 to 11.5 gain. Co-owned Classic Rock “97.1 The River” WSRV holds onto second despite an 8.5 – 7.9 – 7.2 drop. Cox Adult R&B “Kiss 104.1” WALR holds on third down 6.9 to 6.7, while Radio One’s Adult R&B “Majic 107.5/97.5” WAMJ/WUMJ moves up to fourth 4.9 to 5.4.
iHeartMedia Adult R&B 105.3 WDAS-FM and Beasley Media Classic Rock 102.9 WMGK tie for the lead in Philadelphia. WDAS-FM drops 9.1 to 7.4, which WMGK is up 6.9 to 7.4. Beasley Rock 93.3 WMMR holds onto third at 6.7.
In its final monthly before adding its FM simulcast today Entercom News 1060 KYW places seventh with a 4.6 share.
Radio One’s “Hip Hop 103.9” WPHI-FM goes out with a 1.2 share. With most of its format elements moving to 100.3 WRNB, that station goes out with a jump from 2.0 to 3.0.
Trending upward in Philadelphia is iHeartMedia Soft AC “106.1 The Breeze” WISX with a 3.5 – 4.0 – 4.5 trend. Moving downward is Entercom Classic Hits 98.1 WOGL which moves 4.6 – 3.8 – 3.5.
A very noticeable drop in Riverside/San Bernardino where Anaheim Broadcasting Classic Hits 99.9 KOLA-FM has trended down 9.4 – 7.9 – 4.8. Entervision Spanish Hits “Jose 97.5” KLYY remains on top with an 8.1 to 6.5 drop.