The fourth and final day of Nielsen Audio’s PPM releases bring Austin, Raleigh/Durham, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Providence, Norfolk, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Greensboro, Memphis, and Hartford.
All the numbers can be found at RadioInsight.com/Ratings.
The market rank changes that took effect with the November ratings see Austin rise from #33 to #32, Raleigh/Durham swaps spots with San Jose to move up from #38 to #37, Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point moves up to market #47, West Palm Beach drops to #48 and Hartford slips to #53.
While Christmas Music leads to immediate gains in most markets, two saw the opposite effects this month.
Emmis AC “B105.7” WYXB Indianapolis dropped slightly from 7.7 to 7.5 with Christmas music airing, while Cumulus Media’s “107.9 The Mix” WNTR surged up 2.8 to 4.4 with its regular AC format. WNTR notably played Christmas music from April 10 to May 14 and watched its ratings slide 2.8 – 2.0 – 0.7 during that time.
In Milwaukee, iHeartMedia’s Classic Hits “95.7 Big-FM” WRIT dropped 8.7 to 7.0 following its flip to Christmas, while Milwaukee Radio Alliance AC “B93.3” WLDB also went to the holiday mix and held steady at a 4.8.
iHeartMedia AC “Kool 105.5” WOLL West Palm Beach dropped 6.8 to 5.9 with Christmas music, while Entercom AC “Lite 100.5” WRCH Hartford retained its market lead but fell 11.5 to 10.8 with holiday music.
Waterloo Media Variety Hits “103.5 Bob-FM” KBPA Austin has trended up 8.1 – 10.4 – 11.8 for what ratings expert Chris Huff notes is the largest share for the frequency since 1986 when it was AC “Key 103” KEYI. Public News/Talk 90.5 KUT-FM slides to second down 9.6 to 9.3, while Entercom AC “Majic 95.5” KKMJ rises 5.6 to 6.0 with Christmas music.
After its flip back to Hot AC halfway through the month, Waterloo Media’s “93.3 Austin” rebounded up 0.7 to 1.0.
Public News/Talk 91.5 WUNC-FM Raleigh tied its station record (Huff says from January 2014) with a rise from 8.3 to 9.4 to lead the market for the first time. Radio One Adult R&B “Foxy 107.1/104.3” WFXC/WFXK slides 9.5 to 9.0. Curtis Media Variety Hits “96.1 BBB” WBBB jumps to third 6.1 to 7.0 for its highest share since January 2015. iHeartMedia Conservative Talk “Talk 106.1” WTKK drops 8.5 to 6.7.
With its flip to Christmas music (for quite possibly the last time following today’s flip to Classic Rock), Curtis Media Hot AC “Star 92.9” WPLW rises 0.5 to 1.2, while Entercom’s 99.5 WMAG from the adjacent Greensboro market jumps 0.5 to 2.5.
Emmis News/Talk 93.1 WIBC leads Indianapolis with a 10.9 to 10.0 drop. Cumulus’ Classic Hits 104.5 WJJK rises 9.0 to 9.5. WYXB places third with its 7.5, while iHeartMedia Classic Rock “Q95” WFBQ falls 6.9 to 5.9.
iHeartMedia Conservative Talk 1130 WISN continues to lead Milwaukee despite a 12.7 to 10.7 drop. WRIT’s 7.0 places it second just ahead of Good Karma Brands’ News/Talk 620/103.3 WTMJ’s 7.1 to 6.8 slide.
Midwest Communications’ combo of Variety Hits “96.3 Jack-FM” WCJK (8.3 to 9.2) and AC “Mix 92.9” WJXA (7.2 – 7.5) lead Nashville. iHeartMedia Classic Rock “105.9 The Rock” WNRQ places third with a 5.7 – 6.3 – 6.9 uptrend.
Cumulus AC “Lite Rock 105.1” WWLI Providence surges up 7.2 to 9.8 with Christmas music. iHeartMedia Rock 94.1 WHJY drops 12.1 to 9.4, while Hall’s “Cat Country 98.1” WCTK holds steady at 8.8.
Entercom Adult R&B 95.7 WVKL continues to dominate Norfolk with a 12.0 to 12.5 gain. iHeartMedia Hip Hop “103 Jamz” WOWI slips 6.3 – 5.9 – 5.4 for second. Entercom AC “101.3 2WD” WWDE trends up 3.8 – 4.4 – 5.3.
iHeartMedia Rhythmic AC “Movin 107.7” WMOV-FM uses Christmas music to jump up 1.8 to 3.7, while Max Media AC “92.9 The Wave” WVBW trends downward 5.0 – 4.2 – 3.7. After months of setting record lows, Entercom CHR “Z104” WNVZ rebounds 2.0 to 2.6.
Renda AC 96.1 WEJZ (9.8 – 10.0) and Cox Media Group News/Talk 104.5 WOKV-FM (11.7 – 10.0) tie atop the Jacksonville market. Cox Classic Hits “96.9 The Eagle” WJGL places third 9.1 to 8.9.
Entercom AC 99.5 WMAG Greensboro uses a Christmas music boost to take the lead 7.1 to 10.5 ahead of last week’s rebranding as “Mix 99.5“. Dick Broadcasting Classic Rock “Rock 92” WKRR falls to second but ties its station record 10.2 share from last month. Entercom Adult R&B 97.1 WQMG places third down 9.6 to 9.1.
Hubbard Hot AC 97.9 WRMF West Palm Beach holds onto its market supremacy with a 9.3 to 9.8 gain. Sister Classic Hits “Sunny 107.9” WEAT holds steady at 6.3, while iHeartMedia AC “Kool 105.5” WOLL drops 6.8 to 5.9 with Christmas music.
Public News/Talk 91.3 WLRN Miami rises to fifth in West Palm Beach with a 3.9 to 4.8 gain. WLRN is also heard on a translator at 101.9 in West Palm Beach itself.
Cumulus Adult R&B 103.5 WRBO leads Memphis with a 9.6 to 10.7 gain. iHeartMedia’s competing “V101” KJMS trends up 7.4 – 9.1 – 9.5, while their co-owned Hip Hop “K97” WHRK drops 8.2 to 7.7.
Trending downward is Entercom Country “94.1 The Wolf” WLFP 2.5 to 1.7.
Entercom dominated Hartford with the top four stations in the market. WRCH led at 10.8 and was followed by News/Talk 1080 WTIC (8.8 to 8.1), Hip Hop “Hot 93.7” WZMX (7.8 to 7.4), and Hot AC 96.5 WTIC-FM (6.2 to 6.6).
Placing fifth in Hartford is Public News/Talk 90.5 WNPR with a surge up 4.8 – 5.1 – 6.4 for what Huff notes is a station record.