Last fall, when Radioinsight debuted its new, expanded ratings section, I took a “Fresh Listen” to the four PPM share champions, as well as cume leader WLTW (Lite FM) New York, as shown in ratings guru Chris Huff’s just-launched Ratings Top 50. The top four share leaders profiled were heritage stations that you would expect listeners to turn to during COVID-19: Classic Rock KSHE St. Louis and WHJY Providence, R.I.; Adult R&B WVKL Norfolk, Va., and AC WRCH (Lite 100.5) Hartford, Conn.
All four of those stations were still in the top 10 when Huff did his latest calculations. WVKL is the No. 2-ranked station, and No. 1 music, trailing only N/T WLW Cincinnati. Listening levels have rebounded somewhat, radio usage has continued to evolve, and some of the unlikely winners of summer 2020 are at more typical levels. But the stations in the stratosphere are at a level beyond flukiness.
Rather than return to the stations profiled the first time, I decided to take fresh listens to No. 3 WGRR Cincinnati (Classic Hits); No. 5 WQMG Greensboro, N.C. (Adult R&B); No. 9 KBPA (Bob FM) Austin, Texas (Adult Hits); and No. 10 WNCX Cleveland (Classic Rock). All four are long-running franchises as well. Bob-FM is the most recent, launched in the mid-’00s. WGRR goes back to 1990. WNCX to 1987. WQMG went Adult R&B in the mid-’90s; as a Mainstream R&B station, it dates back to the ‘70s.
I originally saw the list when Huff tweeted it a few nights ago. It’s worth noting that of Huff’s 20 share leaders, only the Adult R&B outlets and, to some extent, WRCH play any significant amount of current music. Hubbard’s Adult Top 40 WRMF West Palm Beach, Fla., and KSTP-FM (KS95) Minneapolis are the only stations in the Hot AC/CHR ecosystem that make the list.
Last year, the stations profiled all had a significant personality/community component, and I was willing to make the connection between that and the pandemic. This year, among the stations profiled, Austin’s Bob FM would seem like an exception, but even that station has a small element of traditional DJ patter in between the sweepers that usually give an Adult Hits station its personality.
WGRR Cincinnati (10.9-11.7 6-plus)
Cumulus’s WGRR was, for years, one of Classic Hits’ oldest-skewing radio stations, still doing well with some ‘60s hits and early ‘70s pop that other stations had moved on from. The difference is slighter now. The station began playing some ‘90s a year ago. Recently. It added another wave of ‘90s titles, including the one heard in the hour I monitored. PD/p.m. driver Keith Mitchell was still teasing the upcoming Beatles Wednesday when I listened. The station is also wrapping up a Payroll Payout promotion.
Here’s WGRR just before 4 p.m., Sept. 14:
- Dire Straits, “Sultans of Swing”
- Clash, “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
- Earth, Wind & Fire, “September”
- Bruce Springsteen, “Born in the U.S.A.”
- When in Rome, “The Promise”
- Billy Joel, “My Life”
- Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”
- Culture Club, “Karma Chameleon”
- Bon Jovi, “I’ll Be There for You”
- Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”
- Pat Benatar, “Love Is a Battlefield”
- Cars, “My Best Friend’s Girl”
- John Mellencamp, “Jack and Diane”
WQMG Greensboro, N.C. (11.9-11.3)
“We’ve got to talk today,” said middayer Afrika during her opening break. There was “so much to unpack,” especially about the Fat Joe/Ja Rule Verzuz battle. Like Audacy’s co-owned WVKL, WQMG remains relatively current and relatively contemporary as other Adult R&B stations whittle down currents to just a handful. (So does another highly rated Adult R&B, KJMS Memphis.)
Here’s WQMG just before 10 a.m., Sept. 15, in the middle of two commercial-free hours:
- Such, “All I Want”
- Toni Braxton, “I Love Me Some Him”
- SZA f/Travis Scott, “Love Galore”
- Mary J. Blige, “Everything”
- Kevin Ross, “Looking for Love”
- Beyoncé, “Ego”
- H.E.R., “Damage”
- Kenny Lattimore, “Love Me Back”
- Donald Lawrence & Tri-City Singers, “Deliver Me”
- Lil Duval f/Snoop Dogg, “Smile B*tch”
- Stevie Wonder, “Living for the City” (with a throwback stager)
- Earth, Wind & Fire f/Lucky Daye, “You Want My Love” (current single which interpolates their 1976 “Can’t Hide Love”)
- Refugee Camp All-Stars f/Lauryn Hill, “The Sweetest Thing”
- Ne-Yo & Jeremih, “U 2 Luv”
- Drake, “Hotline Bling”
- Col Loud/Rico Barrino, “Serious”
KBPA (Bob FM 103.5) Austin (11.9-10.4)
When Adult Hits was new, it differed from the then-Oldies format by leaning more Pop/Rock. That distinction has lessened over time, and it’s interesting now that Waterloo Media’s Bob FM is actually slightly more varied/less rock than WGRR. Or as one stager noted, “Bob Rocks! … He also discos, hair bands, and croons.”
Here’s Bob FM on Sept. 14, just before 4 p.m.:
- Steve Miller Band, “Abracadabra”
- Abba, “Dancing Queen”
- Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, “What I Am”
- Fatboy Slim, “Praise You”
- Steve Perry, “Oh Sherrie”
- Commodores, “Brick House”
- Cars, “Shake It Up”
- Marky Mark & Funky Bunch, “Good Vibrations”
- Dan Hartman, “I Can Dream About You”
- Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold”
- Scandal f/Patty Smyth, “The Warrior”
- Player, “Baby Come Back”
- Del Amitri, “Roll to Me”
- 38 Special, “Caught Up in You”
WNCX Cleveland (10.7-10.2)
It’s been a good few years for Audacy’s longtime Classic Rocker WNCX. That station found success tightening and modernizing in the late ‘10s, but is still capable of surprises, such as the Jethro Tull deep cut that ended the hour I heard. It was also the first time this year I’d heard the words “Trans-Siberian Orchestra”; p.m. driver Paula Balish was giving away tickets. (Also, check out morning host Slats’ all-Canadian channel on Audacy.com.)
Here’s WNCX before 4 p.m. on Sept. 14:
- Aerosmith. “Dream On”
- Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train”
- Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Fire”
- Fleetwood Mac, “Landslide”
- Genesis, “Abacab”
- Lynyrd Skynyrd, “What’s Your Name”
- Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
- Cheap Trick, “Surrender (Live)”
- Nirvana, “The Man Who Sold the World”
- Bad Company, “Shooting Star”
- Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Run Through the Jungle”
- Jethro Tull, “Farm on the Freeway” (beginning of the 5 p.m. all-request hour)
