RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, NOVEMBER 2023, PART I

November 28, 2023

As you slowly recover from your self-induced food coma, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in close proximity with the alchemists of the algorithm from XTRENDS – bring you another scintillating edition of the radio ratings follies. This time we dissect the remains of the NOVEMBER survey, which ran from OCTOBER 12^TH through NOVEMBER 8^TH – so calling it by its given name is a bit of a misnomer. The noteworthy events of this time frame included the tricking of treats, the ridiculous exercise of falling back and a mid-term election. Other than that, it was business as usual, at least for radio. Here’s what happened…

NEW YORK: Win, Place & Show

The top three 6+ stations all hailed from the same cluster this month. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM) was in its customary post position with the added bonus of landing its best Frosty-free share in over a year (7.8-8.5). For the ninth straight survey, iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) was in second place. The station rebounded from a down book (5.9-6.4). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) stepped up to #3 (5.2-5.4), while AUDACY Classic Hits WCBS stayed behind to solo at #4 (5.2-5.2). MEDIACO Urban AC WBLS slipped to #5 (5.4-5.0) and was mere paces ahead of AUDACY News WINS, which stepped up to #6 with its first up book since JULY (4.3-4.8). WLTW was the cume leader as usual (3,578,000-3,695,800) – a 3.3% increase. The market was off by 0.6%.

The same trio of stations topped the 25-54 leaderboard as last month. WLTW remained #1 with its best outing since MAY. The station was also dangerously close to double digits. WHTZ was #2 for the fourth book in a row with a slight increase, while WAXQ repeated at #3 with a slight decrease. AUDACY Hot AC WNEW (NEW 102.7) advanced three spaces to #4 with its highest mark since JUNE. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKTU stayed at #4 with a small share loss. Its former partner in that space – WCBS – slipped to #6 with its lowest score since JANUARY.

WLTW extended its 18-34 winning streak to six and its double-digit run to four. The station’s last five books in this demo were bigger than what it scored when Santa was calling the shots. WHTZ was back at #2 with its best book since JULY, while iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER 105.1) landed its largest share in over a year to move up two slots to #3. WKTU dipped to #4 with its lowest total since APRIL, while MEDIACO Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) leapt five places to #5 with its best performance since DECEMBER. Three stations were asked to leave the top five. WAXQ stepped down to #6 with a slight increase. WCBS dropped from a tie at #5 into a tie at #9 with SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9). WNEW fell from #4 to #8.

For the thirteenth book in a row, WLTW was #1 18-49. The station also hit double digits for the fifth time during this run. WHTZ repeated at #2, while WNEW stepped up to #3. Both stations had slight increases. WKTU moved down to #4 and narrowly edged a flat WAXQ at #5.

LOS ANGELES: Love Potion #9

This marked the ninth straight survey that AUDACY Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101) was the leading 6+ station. However, the station had its smallest share since APRIL (6.2-5.8) and the top five stations were within a share of each other. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MYFM) was at #2 for the fourth book in a row and with its largest share in over a year (5.2-5.5). iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST repeated at #3 with its best outing since FEBRUARY (4.9-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFI-A stepped up to #4 with its highest score in over a year (4.5-5.1). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (102.7 KISS FM) inched up to #5 with its best book since MARCH (4.0-4.9). AUDACY Urban AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) receded to #6 (4.6-4.4). KRTH continued as the most populous station (2,264,700-2,246,700) – a 0.8% decrease. The market shrank by a mere 0.2%.

As recently as AUGUST, KIIS was ranked #9 with the 25-54 crowd. The station has been on a roll since then and this month landed at #1 with its best outing in over a year. It forged a tie with KBIG, which was on top for the third book in a row. KOST stepped up to #3 with its highest Frosty-free share in over a year, while KRTH slid to #4 with a small share loss. A flat TELEVISAUNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE 107.5) dipped to #5.

KTWV had its best 18-34 book since JULY as it leapt from #4 to #1. KBIG was back at #2 with its highest score in over a year, while KIIS repeated at #3 with a solid share increase. These three stations were separated by less than a half share. This also halted the six-book winning streak for KRTH, which slid to #4 with its lowest mark in exactly a year. KOST was up three spots to #5 as it rebounded from a down book. EMF Christian Contemporary KKLQ (K-LOVE) fell from #4 into a tie at #11 with AUDACY Alternative KROQ.

For the fourth book in a row, KBIG was #1 18-49. The station also had its largest share in over a year. However, it was forced to share as KIIS moved up a spot from a tie at #2 with its third straight up book. KIIS’ former partner, KRTH, dipped to #3 with a small decrease. KTWV remained at #4 with a solid showing. KLVE dipped to #5 despite a small share gain. It was tied with KOST, which arrived from #8 with its highest score since JANUARY.

A brief interlude to remind you that The Ratings Experts have a variety of proprietary reports that will save you time and give you greater insight into how your station is performing. We can tell you the What and – quite often – the Why.

CHICAGO: An Early Christmas Gift

The home of the holiday hits is iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM). The station turned to the Frosty side about a week before the end of the survey. It also ended a three-book slide as it moved back up to #1 (6.6-7.3). HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE 97.1) halted a three-book surge as it stepped down to #2 (7.0-6.6). AUDACY News WBBM-A remained in third place (5.6-5.4), while iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) repeated at #4 (5.0-5.0). HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 THE MIX) landed its largest share in over a year (4.4-4.7) as it ascended to #5. TELEVISAUNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUÉ BUENA 105.1) dipped to #6 (4.5-4.6). WLIT still had the most cume (1,358,600-1,334,500) – a 1.8% decrease. The market fell by 1.3%.

The top five 25-54 stations were shuffled but unchanged from the last survey. WLIT moved up to #1 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year, while WOJO saw its moment in the sun come to an end as it dipped to #2, despite receiving its best book in over a year. WTMX repeated at #3 with a slight increase, while AUDACY Country WUSN (US99) stepped up to #4 with a small share gain. AUDACY Rhythmic AC WBMX (104.3 JAMS) slipped to #5 with a small share loss.

WOJO was the 18-34 standard bearer for the fifth book in a row. It also was in double digits for the second consecutive survey. WLIT repeated at #2 as it bounced back from a down book. It still trailed the leader by better than four shares. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) remained at #3 with a slight decrease. It was forced to share the moment with WDRV, which advanced from #5 with its best showing since JUNE. WUSN was up two slots to #5 as it regained some of last month’s huge share loss. CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS got its highest mark since APRIL as it zoomed from #16 to #7. AUDACY AAA WXRT fell from #4 to #10.

For the second book in a row, WOJO was #1 18-49. WLIT was back at #2 and narrowed the gap from two shares to about a half share. WBMX repeated at #3 despite a down book, while WUSN stepped up to #4 with a small increase. Three stations were co-mingling at #5. A flat WDRV remained in place, while WKSC moved up from #7 with a slight increase. WLS advanced from #8. WXRT dropped four places to #8.

SAN FRANCISCO: The Great Eight

BONNEVILLE AC KOIT was #1 6+ for the eighth straight survey, despite posting its lowest number since APRIL (7.9-7.4). KQED INC. N/T KQED had its best showing since DECEMBER (5.3-6.7) to step up to #2. AUDACY News KCBS-A dipped to #3 (6.6-6.5), while BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW) landed its largest share in over a year (5.2-6.2) to remain at #4. AUDACY Alternative KITS (LIVE 105) had its best book in its new format attire to move up to #5 (4.0-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) slipped to #6 (4.3-4.0) and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL (3.8-4.0). KOIT was still in cume command, despite a 2.4% decline (1,070,900-1,045,500). The market fell by 1.3%.

For over a year, the 25-54 battle has been a race for second place as KOIT has continued to dominate the arena. The station had its best Frosty-free share in over a year and led #2 KMVQ by about two shares. KMVQ was also up for the fourth book in a row. KQED was up three places to #3 with its highest mark since DECEMBER. KMEL got back some of last month’s huge share loss to remain at #4. It had a partner as KITS moved up from #8. SBS Regional Mexican KRZZ (93.3 LA RAZA) slid to #6, while KISQ fell four places to #7.

How dominant is KOIT with the 18-34 folk? The station has been #1 for over a year, less one month, and hit double digits for the ninth time in the last 14 surveys. KITS moved up to #2 with its best book in over a year, yet KOIT had more than double KITS’ share. A flat KMEL dipped to #3, while KMVQ stepped down to #4 despite a solid share increase. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WiLD 94.9) was up three slots to #5 with a small increase. It was paired with AUDACY Hot AC KLLC (ALICE @ 97.3), which advanced from #10. KISQ dropped from #4 to #10 and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KOSF (103.7FM 80’S+).

Though KOIT was unable to duplicate last month’s double-digit 18-49 share, the station was still the runaway winner. KMVQ was back at #2 with its highest mark in over a year and managed to shave the lead to under two shares. KITS repeated at #3 with its third up book in a row. KMEL dipped to #4 with a small increase and was tied with KQED, which advanced from #8 with its best book in over a year. KRZZ slipped to #6 with a slight increase.

DALLAS-FT. WORTH: How ‘Bout Dem Cowboys

You have no idea how much it pains me to write those words. But the team that JERRY bought had a profound effect on the ratings of two different stations. Moving up to #1 6+ was CUMULUS Sports KTCK (1310 & 96.7 THE TICKET) with its best showing since MAY (4.7-5.6). We’ll get to the team’s flagship station in a second. Repeating at #2 was AUDACY Classic Hits KSPF (98.7 THE SPOT) (5.1-5.3). Last month’s leader was TELEVISAUNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUÉ BUENA 94.1). It slipped to #3 as it returned all of last survey’s share increase (5.2-4.7). CUMULUS Country KSCS stepped up to #4 (4.4-4.3). The COWBOYS’ flagship is AUDACY Sports KRLD (105.3 THE FAN). It advanced from #10 to #5 with its best offensive performance in over a year (3.6-4.1). The station also added an additional 0.5 share from its stream. CUMULUS Talk WBAP-A fell from #4 to #11 (4.5-3.5). It was tied with AUDACY Adult Hits KJKK (100.3 JACK FM), which dipped from #10 (3.6-3.5) and iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR 102.1), which was up from #12 (3.4-3.5). KSPF lost 11.5% of its cume but was still the market leader (1,097,500-971,700). The market rose by 0.2%.

The top four 25-54 stations were as we last saw them. KLNO was #1 for the fifth book in a row though it did end a two-book surge. KTCK was back at #2 with a slight increase, while KSCS repeated at #3 with a slight decrease. A flat iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) held steady at #4, while KRLD stepped up to #5 with its sixth straight up book. KSPF fell from #5 into a tie at #8 with CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF).

As with the previous demo, KLNO was #1 18-34 for the fifth straight survey. KHKS bounced back from a down book to repeat at #2 and shave the lead down to a half share. KSCS had its best book in over a year to remain at #3. However, it had company as AUDACY Alternative KVIL (ALT 103.7) moved up from #7 as it got back some of last month’s massive share loss. KPLX was still at #5 with a slight decrease. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) dropped from #3 into a tie at #10 with URBAN ONE Urban AC KZMJ (MAJIC 94.5).

This was the sixth straight 18-49 win for KLNO. It held about a two-share lead over #2 KSCS. Both stations had down books. Last month KVIL fell from #2 to #9. This time the station rebounded and wound up at #3. KSPF dipped to #4 with a small decrease, while KHKS was back at #5 with a small increase. AUDACY Regional Mexican KMVK (LA GRANDE 107.5) slipped to #6 where it had company in the likes of KRLD and KJKK.

Like sands of time through the hourglass, these are the ratings of our lives. Thank you for paying attention. Make sure you don’t miss our next adventure by subscribing to our blog here. Feel free to share.

As always, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. stand ready to help you grow your ratings and revenue. Stay tuned for round two featuring HOUSTON, ATLANTA, WASHINGTON D.C., PHILADELPHIA and BOSTON.

-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

About XTrends: XTrends’ exclusive XNotes feature is the only way to track what’s happening on-air and see its impact on your ratings.  Learn more here.

About Research Director, Inc.: Research Director, Inc. is based in Annapolis, Maryland. We help radio stations’ programming and sales departments maximize the value of their research. For more information, visit www.ResearchDirectorInc.com, call 410-295-6619, or e-mail info@ResearchDirectorInc.com or sallan@ResearchDirectorInc.com.

• Tweet