RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, April 2024, Part IV

May 16, 2024

Rounding third and heading for home, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC.  – along with the inside baseball nerds from XTRENDS – take another swing at the APRIL survey. We’re stepping up to the plate to bring you the in-depth ratings analysis you can only get from our crew of seasoned veterans. Hopefully, we will complete this game without a call to the bullpen or striking out.

This tape measure survey began on MARCH 28^TH and recorded its third out on APRIL 24^TH. It did not have any legal holidays, though it did include the EASTER weekend and signaled the official beginning for the boys of summer. We’re ready to play and here’s the first pitch…

TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG-CLEARWATER: As The Dove Flies

That COX MEDIA Soft AC WDUV (105.5 THE DOVE) continued to soar above the 6+ flock was no big surprise. However, it is worth noting that the station was in double figures for the third book in a row (10.1-10.8). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WXGL (107.3 THE EAGLE) also did a bit of high flying as it ascended to #2 with its best book in over a year (5.9-6.6). BEASLEY Country WQYK inched up to #3 with its third up book in a row (5.4-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA AC WMTX (MIX 100.7) posted its best Frosty-free share in over a year (4.6-5.5) as it advanced three spaces to #4. COX MEDIA N/T WHPT (102.5 THE BONE) repeated at #5 (5.1-5.1), while iHEARTMEDIA Country WFUS (US 103.5) dropped from #2 to #6 (6.4-4.7). WDUV continued to collect the most cume (627,200-662,000) – a 5.5% increase. The market rose by 4.4%.

The 25-54 deck was completely shuffled. When the hand was played, iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock WXTB ended up at #1 with its highest score in over a year. WDUV stepped up to #2 with its best Frosty-free share in exactly a year. It was joined by WMTX, which advanced from #7 with its best book in over a year. WHPT repeated at #4 with a slight increase, while WQYK stood alone at #5 with a small share loss. COX MEDIA Urban AC WTBV (101.5 THE VIBE) moved from the tie at #5 into an arrangement at #6 with WXGL. What of last month’s demo leader? After two consecutive books at #1, WFUS fell to #11. It was tied with RADIO TRAINING Contemporary Christian WCIE (THE JOY FM) and iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WFLZ.

WDUV was #1 18-34 for the fifth straight survey and hit double-digits for the fourth time during that streak. WXTB literally doubled its previous share as it rose from #7 to #2. WQYK was back at #3 with its highest score in over a year. COX MEDIA AC WWRM (MAGIC 94.9) dipped to #4 and was tied with WMTX, which advanced from #10 with its best Frosty-free share since SEPTEMBER. BEASLEY Rhythmic CHR WLLD (WiLD 94.1) slipped into a tie at #7 with WTBV. WFUS fell from a double-digit share at #1 to #9. It was partnered with WFLZ and the WWRM stream.

WDUV moved back to #1 18-49 and was within sight of double figures. WXTB stepped up to #2 with its best outing in over a year, while WQYK stood alone at #3 with a slight decrease. APRIL continued to be kind to WMTX as to leapt from #8 to #4 with its best Frosty-free number in over a year. WFUS dropped from #1 to #5 and was paired with WWRM, which remained in place but with a noticeable share loss.

SAN DIEGO: Sunny Day…

…sweeping the clouds away. There’s your earworm for the week. You’re welcome. The top four 6+ positions were unchanged from last month. AUDACY Classic Hits KXSN (SUNNY 98.1) made it back-to-back wins (7.6-7.3), while SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY N/T KPBS was back at #2 (7.1-6.6). LOCAL MEDIA Rhythmic AC XHRM (MAGIC 92.5) repeated at #3 (6.9-6.4), while AUDACY Country KSON remained at #4 (5.0-4.6). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMYI (STAR 94.1) joined the top five. It moved up from #7 (4.4-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA N/T KOGO-A dropped from a tie at #5 (4.8-4.3) into one at #8 with AUDACY AC KYXY (4.1-4.3). iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KHTS (CHANNEL 933) also vacated the #5 position. It resettled at #11 (4.8-3.8). KXSN remained in cume control with a 3.6% increase (517,400-536,000). The market was up 1.1%.

Being flat was good enough for KXSN to dominate the 25-54 arena again. XHRM was back at #2 with a slight decrease and trailed the leader by more than two shares. A flat iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KIOZ was back at #3. Baseball was very, very good for AUDACY Sports KWFN (93.7 THE FAN). The station advanced from #9 to #4 with its most productive outing since OCTOBER. A flat KMYI moved up two places to #5 and was paired with LOCAL MEDIA Alternative XTRA (91X), which arrived from #8 with its best book in over a year. TELEVISAUNIVISION Mexican Regional KLNV (QUÉ BUENA 106.5) dropped four slots to #7 as it returned most of last month’s solid share gain. KHTS fell from #5 into a tie at #8 with KSON.

Two books ago KXSN was ranked #9 18-34. It went up to #2 last month and captured the flag this time with its highest share in over a year. This ended the two-book winning streak for XHRM, which dipped to #2 with a slight increase. XTRA stepped up to #3 with its highest mark in over a year. As recently as JANUARY it was languishing at #16. KIOZ slipped to #4 with a small decrease and was joined by KSON, which rose from #7 with its best showing since DECEMBER. KHTS slid from #4 to #6.

Last month KXSN and XHRM were declared co-leaders of the 18-49 experience. This time KXSN stood alone at the summit with its best book in over a year. XHRM stepped down to #2 as it ended a strong three-book surge. KIOZ inched up to #3, which bumped KLNV down to #4. XTRA was up two places to #5, again with its highest share in over a year. KHTS moved down two steps to #6 and was sharing the moment with LOCAL MEDIA Pop CHR XHTZ (Z90.3).

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DENVER-BOULDER: Yea, Here We Go

After slipping to #3 last month, BONNEVILLE Country KYGO bounced back and landed at #1 6+ (6.3-7.1). This forced its sister station BONNEVILLE AC KOSI (KOSI 101.1) down to #2 (7.1-6.4). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTCL (CHANNEL 93.3) moved up two slots to #3 with its fifth up book in a row (5.7-6.0). KSE VENTURES Classic Hits KXKL (KOOL 105.1) repeated at #4 (5.9-5.8), while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KRFX (103.5 THE FOX) slipped from #2 to #5 (6.5-5.7). KOSI increased its cume lead by adding 4.1% more listeners (524,100-545,700). The market grew by 1.5%.

Though it was flat for the second book in a row, KTCL was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey. KOSI repeated at #2 but fell further off the pace. The gap between the two stations went from a half-share to more than a share and a half. KXKL was back at #3 but with a down book. ENTRAVISION Mexican Regional KXPK (LA TRICOLOR 96.5) had its best outing in over a year as it rose three places to #4. KYGO dipped to #5 with a slight increase. KSE VENTURES Hot AC KIMN (MIX 100) had its smallest share since NOVEMBER as it dropped into a tie at #8 with KRFX.

KTCL was #1 18-34 for the fourth book in a row and narrowly missed hitting double-digits again. KOSI had its best Frosty-free book in exactly a year to repeat at #2. iHEARTMEDIA AAA KBCO fell from #3 to #8 last month. The station regained all that lost share – plus a lot more – as it sprang back to #3. Four stations were in a situation at #4. KYGO dropped from #2 with its lowest score since NOVEMBER. KXKL and KIMN both stepped up from a tie at #5 with identical small decreases, while KRFX advanced from #8 as it recovered from a couple of soft books. AUDACY Rhythmic CHR KQKS (KS 107.5) fell six slots to #8 with its lowest mark since NOVEMBER.

As with the previous demo, KTCL was #1 18-49 for the fourth straight survey and just missed hitting double digits again. KOSI was #2, also for the fourth book in a row. KXKL was back at #3 for, huh, the fourth straight time. KXPK was up two places to #4 with its best outing in over a year. KYGO dipped to #5 with a small increase, while KIMN stepped down to #6. Nipping at its heels was KBCO, which advanced from #14 to #7.

NASSAU-SUFFOLK (LONG ISLAND): Live And Local

The signals of the BIG APPLE certainly bleed into this market but the 6+ leaderboard was a testament to local programming. For the fourth book in a row, COX MEDIA Classic Rock WBAB was #1 6+ by a wide margin (7.1-7.8). AUDACY News WINS (1010 WINS) did move from #5 to #2 (4.9-5.2) but the two stations at #3 were homegrown. CONNOISSEUR AC WKJY (K-JOY 98.3) slipped from #2 with its lowest score since DECEMBER (5.2-4.5), while CONNOISSEUR Hot AC WALK (WALK FM) was up from #7 (4.3-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) inched up to #5 (4.7-4.3) iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WHTZ (Z100) had its smallest share in over a year (5.1-4.2) as it slid to #6. AUDACY Classic Hits WCBS dropped to #7 (5.0-3.9) and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC  WKTU (3.4-3.9). WBAB still had the most listeners (436,100-440,800) – a 1.1% increase. The market added 2.1% more cume.

It was a different story as the carpetbaggers dominated the 25-54 arena. WHTZ was #1 for the fourth book in a row but with its smallest share since the stores were full of eggnog. WKTU stood alone at #2 with its highest score in over a year. WBAB dipped to #3 with a slight increase. Two stations moved up to start a relationship at #4. WALK inched up from #5 with a small share loss, while WINS advanced from #7 with a slight decrease. WCBS dropped from a tie at #5 into one at #6 with WAXQ. SBS Spanish Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9) dropped from #4 to #10.

WBAB had its best 18-34 book since OCTOBER, which allowed the station to move from #3 to #1. WHTZ repeated at #2 though it lost a large chunk of share (that’s a very technical term). It was paired with COX MEDIA Pop CHR WBLI, which moved up from #4 with a small increase. WSKQ went from first to fourth as it gave back all of last month’s massive share increase – plus a bit more. Also coming at #4 was the station formerly known as WBZO. Back in MARCH, it became CONNOISSEUR Country WWWF (103.1 THE WOLF). In its first outing in its new fur, the station bounded from #15 to #4. WKJY dipped to #6 and was tied with WINS.

WKTU landed its seventh straight up book as it moved up to #1 18-49. This ended the three-book winning streak for WHTZ, which dipped to #2. The stations were separated by a very slim margin. Three stations were aligned at #3. WBAB remained in place with a small decrease, while WINS stepped up from #4 with a slight decrease. WALK strolled in from #6 with a slight increase. WSKQ fell from #2 to #8.

CHARLOTTE-GASTONIA-ROCK HILL: We Have Both Country & Western

For the second book in a row, the country format controlled the 6+ chart. BEASLEY Country WSOC (COUNTRY 103.7) was #1 for the third straight survey and landed its largest share in over a year (7.6-7.9). iHEARTMEDIA Country WKKT (96.9 THE KAT) was back at #2 with its fourth up book in a row (6.2-6.4). iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits WLKO (102.9 THE LAKE) repeated at #3 with its best Frosty-free share since OCTOBER (5.6-5.9). BEASLEY Urban AC WBAV (V101.9) stepped up to #4 (5.3-5.4), while URBAN ONE Urban Oldies WOSF (105.3 RnB) dipped to #5 (5.5-5.2). Despite a 6.6% decrease, WLKO was still the cume leader (410,000-383,000). The market gained 4.3%.

BEASLEY Urban WPEG (POWER 98) reversed a two-book slide to move back to #1 25-54. This left WOSF to stand alone at #2. The stations were tied last month and were now separated by a very slim margin. URBAN ONE Sports WFNZ (SPORTSRADIO 92.7FM) was last month’s leader. It slid into third as it ended a three-book surge. WSOC repeated at #4 with its third down book in a row, while WKKT inched up to #5 with a slight decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WEND (106.5 THE END) dipped to #6 with its lowest mark since AUGUST.

It was quite an 18-34 performance for WKKT. The station stepped up to #1 and smashed through the double-digit barrier. WFNZ dipped to #2 with a small decrease. Last month WFNZ led WKKT by about a share and a half. This time WKKT’s lead was close to three shares. WPEG remained at #3 with a modest share loss, while WSOC moved up two places to #4 as it bounced back from a down book. WEND slipped to #5 with its lowest score since NOVEMBER. It was tied with WBAV, which held steady with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER. Forging a three-way tie at #5 was BEASLEY Pop CHR WNKS (KISS 95.1), which advanced from #9 with its best book since NOVEMBER.

WKKT made it two 18-49 wins in a row as it posted its largest number in over a year. It was a share clear of the two stations at #2. WOSF moved up a slot with a slight increase, while WPEG advanced from #7. There was a foursome at #4. WEND slid from #2 with its lowest total in over a year, while WSOC dipped from #3 with its third down book in a row. WNKS moved up from #9 with its best outing since OCTOBER, while WBAV arrived from #10 as it halted a six-book slide. WFNZ dropped from #3 to #8.

It looks like the pitch clock has expired for the APRIL survey.  Thank you for playing along. We’ll be back in 28 days to see what marvels MAY may bring…

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-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

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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.

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