RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, September 2024, Part II

October 1, 2024

Don’t think the irony escapes us that you are reading our second pass at the SEPTEMBER survey on the first day of OCTOBER. As we do every 28 days, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in conjunction with the crackerjack conjurors of the algorithm from XTRENDS – are going boldly forward into the past. These are the numbers you will base future decisions upon. The fates and fortunes of hundreds of our radio brethren lie in the balance. Fortunately, we can only stretch the hyperbole so far.

The aforementioned survey period ran from AUGUST 15^TH through SEPTEMBER 11^TH. School was back in session; we had a federally-mandated three-day weekend, and everyone was ready for some football. Let’s do this.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Sunny Also Rises

The same five players populated the top of the 6+ leaderboard, but the stack was set on shuffle. iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) had its best book since APRIL to step up to #1 (6.8-7.6). That was also the last time the station topped the chart. This ended the four-book winning streak for HOPE MEDIA Contemporary Christian KSBJ, which dipped to #2 (7.0-6.9). RADIO ONE Country KKBQ (THE NEW 93Q) was up two places to #3 with its highest mark since JANUARY (5.2-5.4). URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) slipped to #4 (5.9-5.3), while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) ended up at #5 (5.4-4.9). KODA padded its cume lead with an 8.9% increase (1,536,700-1,674,200). The market gained 2.0%.

There was little change in the 25-54 top five from last month. KODA made it back-to-back wins with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. A flat KTBZ was back at #2, while an equally flat KSBJ repeated at #3. KKBQ repeated at #4 with a slight decrease, while AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101 FM) stood alone at #5 as it ended a strong three-book surge. Its former partner in that space – CUMULUS Pop CHR KRBE – moved down to #6 with a noticeable share loss.

The 18-34 arena was in chaos when compared to the previous two demos. KODA jumped from #3 to #1 with its highest share since FEBRUARY. This halted the five-book winning string for KTBZ, which dipped to #2. It was nearly two shares off the pace. AUDACY Country KILT (100.3 THE BULL) charged its way up from #7 to #3 with its third up book in a row. KLOL slipped to #4 with a rather large share loss. RADIO ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) more than doubled its previous number as it vaulted from #18 to #5. KRBE slid to #6 and was tied with URBAN ONE Rhythmic CHR KBXX (97.9 THE BOX). iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) fell three places to #8 and was tied with ESTRELLA Spanish Adult Hits KQQK (EL NORTE 107.9). TELEVISAUNIVISION Mexican Regional KLTN (QUÉ BUENA 102.9) dropped from a tie at #5 to #10.

KODA completed the demo slam as it went from #2 to #1 18-49 with its highest Frosty-free share in over a year. KTBZ dipped to #2 as its six-book streak ground to a halt. KSBJ stepped up to #3 with a slight increase, while KKBQ slipped to #4 with a small share loss. KILT advanced from #13 to #5 with its best outing since APRIL. KRBE slid to #6 and was paired with KLTN.

ATLANTA: Three By Nine

For the third book in a row, COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A was both #1 6+ and above the nine-share barrier (9.9-9.5). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) held steady at #2 (7.6-7.3), while COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1FM) stepped up to #3 with its highest mark since MAY (6.0-6.6). URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) moved up two slots to #4 as it sprang back from a down book (5.2-6.3). COX MEDIA AC WSB (B98.5) slid to #5 with its smallest share since GAYLA PEEVEY was showing up in MEDIABASE (6.9-6.2). However, the station did earn a 1.1 share from its stream. SALEM AC WFSH (104.7 THE FISH) moved downstream to #7 with its lowest score since MARCH (5.6-4.6). WSB remained the cume leader (826,900-794,800) – a 3.9% decrease. The market was off 3.2%.

It was quite the 25-54 book for WALR. The station landed its largest share in over a year as it rose from #4 to #1. WSRV dipped to #2 with a slight decrease and was nearly a share off of the lead. WSB-A was back at #3 its fourth straight up book. A flat AUDACY Urban Contemporary WVEE (V-103) slipped to #4, while URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WHTA (HOT 107.9) inched up to #5 with its best performance in over a year. WSB dropped to #7 with a small share loss, though it did have an impressive stream share (which we cannot reveal).

We do not often see a news/talk station at the top of the 18-34 heap. Perhaps because GEORGIA is a swing state? Whatever the reason, WSB-A stepped up to #1 with its largest share in over a year. WSB dipped to #2 with a slight increase. WAMJ rose from #8 to #3 with its highest mark since JANUARY. WALR advanced to #4 as it ended a three-book slide, while WSRV stepped down to #5 as it returned all of last month’s modest increase. WVEE slipped into a tie at #6 with WHTA. WFSH surrendered more than half its previous share as it fell from #3 into a five-way tie at #11.

WALR scored its best 18-49 book in over a year as it jumped from #3 to #1. WVEE repeated at #2 with a slight increase. The stations were separated by about a share and a half. WSRV and WHTA were previously seen at #4. Both stations had the same share increase as they rose in tandem to #3. WSB fell from #1 to #5 with just a small share loss.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Info Wars

No, not the one you might be thinking of. As has been the case all year, the top two 6+ stations deal in both news and talk. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU made it back-to-back wins as the station extended its long double-digit streak (10.5-12.1). HUBBARD News WTOP was back at #2 (9.8-9.2). while HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR landed its largest share in over a year (6.4-7.9) as it repeated at #3. iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH remained at #4 (4.8-4.5). It was joined in that space by WETA Classical WETA, which moved up from a tie at #7 with its best book since JANUARY (3.9-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ moved from the tie at #7 to #6 (3.9-4.3). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) landed its smallest share since FEBRUARY (4.4-3.7) as it dropped from #5 into a tie at #9 with AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE). WASH maintained its cume reign despite a 1.5% decline (733,800-723,000). The market was down 1.0%.

WAMU posted its best 25-54 share since FEBRUARY as it moved up to #1. WASH inched up to #2 with a slight decrease. The stations were nearly two and a half shares apart. WMZQ landed its largest number in over a year as it moved up to #3. WWDC fell from first to fourth as its three-book winning streak was ended. URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WKYS dipped to #5 with a slight increase.

Speaking of WKYS, the station had its best 18-34 outing in over a year as it stepped up to #1. It held a half-share advantage over the two stations at #2. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) remained in place with a slight decrease, while WAMU arrived from #4 with its first up book since APRIL. ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS was up two places to #4 with a solid increase. Three stations were loitering about at #5. WMZQ moved up from #9 with its best book in over a year, while WHUR advanced from #12 with a strong share increase. AUDACY Rhythmic CHR WPGC dropped from #1 as it gave up a rather large chunk of share. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) fell from #4 into a tie at #9 with WASH.

For the first time since FEBRUARY, WAMU was #1 18-49. It arrived there from its previous posting at #3. This ended the three-book winning streak for WWDC, which dipped to #2 with its lowest score since FEBRUARY. WASH stepped down to #3 with a small share loss, while WKYS moved up to #4 with a slight increase. WMZQ turned it up from #11 to #5, while WPGC fell from #3 to #8. It was partnered with WGTS.

SHAMELESS PLUG: How much time do you spend every month downloading reports and analyzing? What if we could save you all that time and present your results within minutes of your data release? It could be a game changer for you.

PHILADELPHIA: May The Fourth Be With You

For the fourth consecutive survey, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS was #1 6+ (9.0-8.9). AUDACY Sports WIP moved up to #2 with its best outing since NOVEMBER (7.0-8.0). The station also gathered an additional 2.0 share from its online presence. BEASLEY Album Oriented Rock WMMR dipped to #3 (8.1-7.8), while its cluster bruh BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was back at #4 (6.7-6.6). AUDACY News KYW-A repeated at #5 (4.8-4.9), though it gained a 1.1 share from its stream. AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) remained at #6 (4.7-4.8). It also maintained its cume lead with a 6.6% increase (900,100-959,500). The market was up 2.8%.

WMMR continued to run roughshod over the 25-54 cell. The station was #1 for the ninth book in a row and hit double figures for the fifth time during that span. WDAS strengthened its grip on the #2 position with its highest mark in over a year but was still about two shares off the pace. WIP again had its best showing since NOVEMBER as it repeated at #3.  iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) landed its largest share since we were dashing about as it moved up to #4. WMGK leapt from #8 to #5 as it ended a three-book slide. It was paired with BEASLEY Country WXTU, which rose from #7 with a modest increase. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) dropped four places to #8.

Last month WMMR and WDAS were co-leaders in the 18-34 space. WMMR stood alone at the summit with its best book since APRIL. WDAS fell to #5 with its lowest total since MARCH. WUSL was up two slots to #2 as it regained a portion of last month’s huge share loss. WMGK repeated at #3 with a down book. It had company as WXTU moved up from a tie at #6 as it halted a steep two-book slide. WBEN fell from #5 to #8.

WMMR pulled off its ninth 18-49 win in a row and was dangerously close to hitting double digits. WDAS remained at #2 but cut the deficit between the two stations from better than two shares to about a share and a half. WIP moved up to #3 with a solid increase. WUSL dipped to #4, though it did bounce back nicely from a down book. WMGK stepped up to #5 with a slight increase. It was partnered with WXTU, which advanced from #8 as it regained a good portion of last survey’s share loss. WBEN dropped from #5 to #9.

BOSTON: Mix Master

Last month it was a bit of a surprise when AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) was crowned the 6+ champion. Well, things got more interesting as the station remained in first place with a rather large share increase (7.8-9.6). BEASLEY Sports WBZ (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) was back at #2 as it ended a three-book slide (7.5-8.6). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR repeated at #3 (6.4-6.1), while AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) held steady at #4 (5.7-5.2). The station added a 0.6 share from its stream. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX posted its best number since APRIL (4.3-4.9) as it rose from #8 to #5. iHEARTMEDIA N/T WBZ-A dipped to #6 (4.7-4.4). WMJX was still exposed to the most meters (695,600-722,400) – a 3.9% rise. The market grew 1.4%.

WWBX was #1 25-54 for the third straight survey and made it back-to-back double-digit performances. WBZ was up to #2 with its first up book since MAY but trailed the leader by about five shares. WZLX moved up from a tie at #5 to #3 with its highest grade in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) slid to #4 with its lowest total since the geese were swimming and the swans were laying, or something like that. WROR dipped to #5 with a modest share loss, while WMJX moved down from the tie at #5 to #6 with its smallest share since NOVEMBER.

WWBX continued to just destroy the 18-34 space. The station was #1 for the fifth book in a row and eighth time in the last nine surveys. The station has been in double figures in all but one of those nine months. But wait, there’s more. The station’s most recent share is almost as large as the next three stations – combined! WXKS was back at #2 with a slight increase but was feeling some heat from a couple of stations at #3. WMJX remained in place with its best Frosty-free share in over a year, while iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) rose from #6 as it bounced back from a down book. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9) dropped from a tie at #3 to #5 despite a small increase. WBZ slid from #5 to #7.

So WWBX was #1 18-49 and in double figures for the fourth book in a row. Its share was larger than the next two stations combined. WBZ remained the #2 station with a solid increase, while a flat WROR was up two places to #3. WMJX repeated at #4 but with its third down book in a row. WXKS slipped to #5 with its lowest score in over a year. It was tied with WZLX, which rose from #7 with its best showing since NOVEMBER.

That’s a wrap for roundup #2. As we speak, er, write, the next installment is in the oven. If you haven’t done so already, please subscribe to our blog right now. Feel free to share it with your network.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. stand resolute and ready to help you grow your ratings and your revenue. Stay tuned for part three featuring SEATTLE, MIAMI, PHOENIX, DETROIT and MINNEAPOLIS.

-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