Hot Topics
RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, May 2024, Part I
June 10, 2024
Like crabgrass in your lawn, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the data diviners from XTRENDS – are back to take another stab at the ratings. This is our first look at the MAY survey, which ran from APRIL 25TH through MAY 22ND. There were several notable celebrations during the month: Mom, CINCO DE MAYO, and that totally nerdy day devoted to the STAR WARS franchise. Oddly enough, it was the second survey in a row that did not contain a federally-mandated three-day weekend. Go figure.
Fasten your seat belt, and keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all times. We’re in for a bumpy ride.
NEW YORK: Flat Is Good
For the third book in a row, the top five on the 6+ leaderboard was unchanged. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM) continued to run away with the demo, matching its best Frosty-free number in over a year (8.9-8.9). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) came in as a distant #2 again (6.3-6.3) and saw its lead over #3 iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WHTZ (Z100) ebb a bit (5.3-5.6). AUDACY Classic Hits WCBS was back at #4 with its best outing since JANUARY (4.8-5.2), while AUDACY News WINS (1010 WINS)remained at #5 (4.7-4.3). The latter station did garner an additional 0.3 share from its stream. WLTW was still the cume giant (3,660,800-3,709,200) – a 1.3% increase, which nearly doubled the market’s 0.7% rise.
Back in JANUARY, WHTZ and WLTW were the 25-54 co-leaders. The stations have been trading the title ever since, and it was WHTZ’s turn at #1. The station had its best book in exactly a year. WLTW stepped down to #2 as it returned most of last month’s large increase. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC WKTU had its third straight down book but held on to third place. WAXQ landed its largest share in over a year to move up a slot to #4. WCBS rebounded rather nicely from a down book to advance from #9 to #5. SBS Spanish Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9) had its smallest share since DECEMBER as it dipped to #6.
WLTW kept its long active streak of #1 18-34 books alive and hit double figures for the fourth book in a row. WHTZ repeated at #2 with its highest mark in over a year yet trailed its cluster buddy by four shares. WAXQ was back at #3 as it halted a three-book skid. AUDACY Hot AC WNEW (NEW 102.7) landed its biggest number since OCTOBER as it rose from #7 to #4. WKTU slipped to #5 and narrowly edged WSKQ, which stepped down to #6.
Though WLTW was #1 18-49 for the fourth straight survey, it could not duplicate last month’s double-digit experience. WHTZ remained at #2 with its best outing since JUNE and cut the margin between it and the leader to under two shares. WAXQ stepped up to #3, again with its best book in over a year. WKTU inched up to #4 with a slight decrease and was tied with WSKQ. WCBS entered the chat. Though it remained at #6, the station was less than a half share outside the top five.
LOS ANGELES: The Flat Earth Society
Ratings stability was a good thing for AUDACY Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101) as the station was #1 6+ for the fourth straight survey (5.7-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST was back at #2 but with its fifth down book in a row (5.5-5.2). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MYFM) ended a two-book slide as it moved up to #3 (4.3-4.7). Nipping at its imaginary heels was iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KIIS (102.7 KISS FM), which repeated at #4 (4.5-4.6). TELEVISAUNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE 107.5) remained at #5 (4.3-4.4) and narrowly defeated AUDACY Rhythmic AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE), which rose to #6 (4.1-4.3). iHEARTMEDIA N/T KFI-A picked up its smallest share in over a year (4.6-4.0) as it fell four places to #7. It was tied with SBS Mexican Regional KLAX (LA RAZA 97.9) (3.7-4.0). KOST was still in cume control with a 2.7% increase (2,101,300-2,157,700). The market gained 1.4%.
For the first time since NOVEMBER, KIIS was #1 25-54. This brought KOST’s six-book winning streak to a close as it stepped down to #2. The stations were a half share apart. KBIG repeated at #3, while KLVE moved up to #4. Both stations had slight decreases. AUDACY Adult Hits KCBS (93.1 JACK FM) and KLAX moved up and into a tie at #5. KRTH landed its lowest number in over a year as it slid from #4 to #7.
KIIS did have a down 18-34 book, but that did not deter the station as it finished in first place for the third straight survey. KLVE moved up to #2 with a small decrease. It was sharing the moment with KCBS, which jackknifed from #12 with its highest score since JANUARY. KBIG remained at #4 as it ended a three-book slide, while KRTH repeated at #5 with its third up book in a row. KOST dropped from #2 to #6 with its least productive outing since OCTOBER.
After landing its best 18-49 share since NOVEMBER, KIIS was able to extend its streak of #1 books to three. A flat KBIG was back at #2, while KLAX advanced three spaces to #3 with its best showing in over a year. A flat KLVE inched up to #4, while KOST dipped from #3 to #5. KRTH also fell two slots – to #6 – with its fourth consecutive down book.
Shameless plug: Data can be divine, and we can save you time every month. Don’t slave over a hot computer; let The Ratings Experts do it for you.
CHICAGO: Lake Shore Drive
HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (97.1 THE DRIVE) put it into, uh, overdrive as it repeated at #1 6+ with its highest-octane book in over a year (6.2-7.1). iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM) was back at #2 (5.9-6.3) and was forced to share the moment with iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103), which moved up a spot, also with its best book in over a year (5.4-6.3). AUDACY News WBBM-A remained at #4 (5.2-5.2) and gained a 0.1 share from its stream. AUDACY Country WUSN (US99) was up for the fifth book in a row (4.1-5.1) to advance from #8 to #5. TELEVISAUNIVISION Mexican Regional WOJO (QUÉ BUENA 105.1) slipped to #7 with its smallest share since BRENDA LEE topped the charts (5.2-4.2). WLIT was still the cume leader (1,429,300-1,385,500) – a 3.1% decrease. The market was up 0.3%. Fun fact: WDRV and CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS were also in the million cume club.
WOJO was #1 25-54 for the fifth straight survey but with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER. As a result, the top five stations were within a share of one another. WLIT repeated at #2 with a slight decrease but saw the gap between it and #1 shrink from about two shares to under a half share. WUSN remained at #3 with its best performance since JULY, while WVAZ took two steps upwards to #4 with its highest mark in over a year. AUDACY AAA WXRT slipped to #5 with a slight decrease. WLS had its first down book since DECEMBER as it dropped three places to #8.
A bit of palace intrigue infiltrated the 18-34 race. WOJO was #1 for the fifth book in a row but with its smallest share since JUNE. Meanwhile, WDRV had its best showing in over a year to repeat at #2. As a result, the gap between the two stations shrank from nearly two shares to the smallest possible margin. WUSN stepped up to #3 with its highest score since DECEMBER, which pushed iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) to #4. WVAZ inched up to #5 with a slight increase. WLS fell from #5 to #12.
Despite a down book, WOJO was #1 18-49 for the fifth straight survey. It still held a sizeable advantage over WLIT, which remained at #2 with a slight decrease. There was a threesome at #3. WDRV stepped up a spot with a slight share gain, while WVAZ rose from #5 as it bounced back from a down book. WUSN advanced from #9 with its biggest share in over a year. SBS Mexican Regional WLEY (LA LEY 107.9) fell from #3 into a tie at #9 with WKSC.
SAN FRANCISCO: Fit To Be Untied
Last month BONNEVILLE AC KOIT and KQED INC N/T KQED were tied atop the 6+ chart. KOIT scored its lowest share in over a year (7.1-6.8) but remained in first place, while KQED landed its smallest number since OCTOBER as it stepped down to #2 (7.1-5.9). AUDACY News KCBS-A remained at #3, albeit with its third down book in a row (6.2-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA Soft AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) wafted up to #4 with its best performance since JULY (4.5-5.1). BONNEVILLE Pop CHR KMVQ (99.7 NOW) dipped to #5 (4.6-4.6). KOIT still had the most listeners (1,125,600-1,207,300) – a 7.3% increase. The market was up 0.6%.
KOIT kept its #1 25-54 streak alive though it landed its lowest share since AUGUST. KMVQ remained at #2 but with its third straight down book. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR KMEL repeated at #3 with a small share gain. It had company as AUDACY Hot AC KLLC (ALICE @ 97.3) turned it up from #11 with its highest score in over a year. KISQ was back at #5 with a solid increase. KQED dropped five places to #8, while TELEVISAUNIVISION Mexican Regional KSOL (QUÉ BUENA 98.9/99.1) fell from #5 into a tie at #10 with iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3).
KOIT ran its 18-34 winning streak to 11 but saw its nine-book double-digit run come to a close. KMEL was back at #2 with its best outing since Rudolph was going down in history. AUDACY Alternative KITS (LIVE 105) was up two places to #3 with its highest mark since DECEMBER. KMVQ dipped to #4 with a slight decrease, while CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (107.7 THE BONE) stepped down to #5 as it returned a good portion of last month’s huge increase.
It was another dominating 18-49 performance for KOIT, even as the station was granted its smallest share since AUGUST. KMVQ returned as the #2 station with its third down book in a row. It trailed the leader by more than two shares. A flat KMEL repeated at #3, while KISQ was up two spots to #4 as it bounced back from a down book. KITS dipped to #5 with a slight increase. KSOL fell from #4 into a tie at #8 with KSAN.
DALLAS-FT. WORTH: Punching Their Ticket
Back in FEBRUARY, CUMULUS Sports KTCK (1310 & 96.7 THE TICKET) notched its second consecutive #1 6+ book. The station then spent two books in the second division at #10. It was back to #1 this month with a strong share increase (3.7-5.3). This ended the three-book winning streak for TELEVISAUNIVISION Mexican Regional KLNO (QUÉ BUENA 94.1), which did land its best book since OCTOBER (4.7-5.2). CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF) birthed its biggest litter in over a year (4.4-5.0) as it stepped up to #3. Last month iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) and AUDACY Classic Hits KSPF (98.7 THE SPOT) were tied at #6. The stations rose in tandem to #4 with the exact same share increase (4.0-4.6). AUDACY Adult Hits KJKK (100.3 JACK FM) had its first down book since the birds of the genus Cygnus were paddling about (4.5-4.0) as it slid to #6. It was paired with CUMULUS Country KSCS (NEW COUNTRY 96.3) (3.9-4.0). SERVICE Urban AC KRNB (SMOOTH R&B 105.7) fell seven slots to #9 (4.6-3.8), while iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR 102.1) dropped from #5 to #10 (4.1-3.7). Thanks to an 8.9% increase, KSPF became the cume commander (998,900-1,087,700). The market gained 1.9%.
KTCK got a big 25-54 share boost as it leapt from #3 to #1. This halted KLNO’s three-book winning streak as the station dipped to #2. KPLX hunted down its best number in over a year to rise from #6 to #3. KSCS repeated at #4 with a slight share gain, while two stations headed in opposite directions met up at #5. KJKK slid from #2 with a large share loss, while KHKS moved up from #7 with a slight increase. KDGE dropped four places to #9 and was partnered with AUDACY Alternative KVIL (ALT 103.7).
A flat KLNO was #1 18-34 for the fourth straight survey. KHKS stepped up to #2 with a solid increase but was still a share off the pace. KSCS was up to #3 with a slight increase, while KPLX leapt from #8 to #4 as it regained all of last month’s lost share. KVIL dipped to #5 with its third down book in a row. Early on in this survey, the station formerly known for its talk switched formats. This looks like a good move as iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (97.1 THE EAGLE) soared from #24 to #7.
KLNO was flat 18-49, as well, but won the demo for the fifth book in a row. KSCS and KHKS were #4 and #5, respectively, last month. Both stations had good books as they advanced to a tie at #2. KTCK was ticketed for speeding as it zoomed from #14 to #4 – its first appearance in the top five since JUNE. KDGE dropped from #2 to #5 and was joined in that space by KPLX, which rose from #8. KVIL slipped to #7 where it was confronted by KSPF, AUDACY Mexican Regional KMVK (LA GRANDE 107.5) and HOPE MEDIA Contemporary Christian KAWA (WayFM).
So ends our initial task. Thanks you for taking the time to share the journey. And feel free to share this link with your radio brethren.
Round two is on deck and will focus on HOUSTON, ATLANTA, WASHINGTON D.C., PHILADELPHIA and BOSTON in that order.
About XTrends: RDI use XTrends to create these great market summaries. If you’d like to test-drive XTrends, you can reach us 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.
Comments