RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, December 2024, Part II

December 26, 2024

Welcome back. As you recover from the chaos and cacophony of the holiday rush, you can be comforted by the fact that the tintinnabulation of the bells will no longer compete with your tinnitus. (Anyone who has worn headphones for a living will understand that one.)

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – being augmented and abetted by the numbers merchants from XTRENDS – are back with the delayed second edition of the DECEMBER roundup. Yes, as you would expect, this one has the foul taint of BURL IVES permeating the airwaves. The survey ran from NOVEMBER 7^TH through DECEMBER 4^TH. Besides the ring-dingling madness, the book featured a three-day weekend and the disruption known as THANKSGIVING.

Here we go…

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Do You Hear What They Hear?

If you’re talking about radio listeners, then the obvious answer is iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1). The station donned the season-appropriate apparel during the third week of the survey and extended its 6+ winning streak to four (7.7-11.2). Last year it landed a 12.0 share. HOPE MEDIA Contemporary Christian KSBJ put on their version of the holiday hits in the last week of the book. It remained at #2 (6.1-5.9). It had company as RADIO ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) flew in from #5 with its best showing since MARCH (5.5-5.9). URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) dipped to #4 (6.0-5.8), while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) moved up to #5 (5.0-5.3). RADIO ONE Country KKBQ (93Q COUNTRY) slid to #6 with its lowest mark since JULY (5.6-5.0). KODA added another 18.1% to its #1 cume total (1,672,600-1,975,500). The market dipped 0.8%.

KODA moved up to the #1 rank 25-54 and crashed through the double-digit barrier. KTBZ stepped down to #2 despite posting its best share since MAY. There was a threesome at #3. KKBQ remained in place with a small decrease while two stations moved up from outside the top five. TELEVISAUNIVISION Mexican Regional KLTN (QUÉ BUENA 102.9) rose from #7 with its best book in over a year, while AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101FM) arrived from #8 with its first up book since AUGUST. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) and KSBJ were previously located at #4. KQBT was down to #6, while KSBJ alit at #7. Both stations had small share losses.

That KODA was #1 18-34 was no surprise. However, it is worth noting that this was the station’s fourth straight win and second double-digit book in a row. KTBZ’s upswing was all abuzz as the station advanced from #7 to #2, nearly doubling its previous share. The three stations formerly known as #2 were no longer worthy of that title. KGLK dipped to #3, but with its highest score in over a year. KLOL was down to #4 with a slight increase, while URBAN ONE Rhythmic CHR KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) dropped to #6. KQBT repeated at #5 with its best outing since JUNE.

Four seems to be the right number as KODA and KTBZ were #1 and #2, respectively, with the 18-49 crowd for the fourth book in a row. KODA hit double figures while KTBZ garnered its best share since MAY. KLOL stood alone at #3 with its highest mark in over a year. KKBQ stepped down to #4 with a slight decrease. KGLK moved up two spaces to #5 with its fourth consecutive up book. KSBJ fell from #5 to #9 with its smallest share since JANUARY.

ATLANTA: And So This Is CHRISTMAS

There was a CHRISTMAS convert, and we’ll deal with them later. COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A was the 6+ leader for the sixth book in a row (10.3-9.1). COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) had its best showing in over a year (5.7-7.8) as it rose to #2. COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) ebbed to #3 (7.0-7.1), while URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) dipped to #4 but with its highest score since JUNE (6.0-6.7). The holiday hitmaker was SALEM Contemporary Christian WFSH (104.7 THE FISH). It made the switch early in the second week of the survey and that pushed the station up to #5 (4.8-6.5). Last year it was #3 with an 8.0 share. AUDACY Urban Contemporary WVEE (V-103) stepped down to #6 (5.5-5.5), though it did add a 0.3 share from its stream. COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) re-took the cume lead from WSRV with a 0.4% increase (728,500-731,300). The market fell 3.5%.

The top three 25-54 stations were all practitioners of the same format. WALR moved up from a tie at #3 to #1 with its best book in over a year. This ended the two-book reign of WVEE, which dipped to #2 with a small share loss. WAMJ stood alone at a somewhat distant #3 with its fourth consecutive up book. WSB-A drifted down to #4 with its lowest score since JULY. Meanwhile, iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WRDG (96.1 THE BEAT) had its best book since it switched frequencies as it was launched from #13 to #5. A flat URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WHTA (HOT 107.9) slipped to #6. WFSH was also flat as it moved from #11 to #9.

WVEE made it back-to-back 18-34 wins with its best outing in over a year. WFSH was back at #2 but with its highest mark since it was last dabbling in the holiday arts. WSB-A moved down to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. It was paired with WALR, which moved up a slot with its largest share since MAY. WHTA and WSRV were also formerly united at #4. Each station had a solid share increase as they landed at #5 and #6, respectively.

WALR moved up to #1 18-49 and was flirting with a double-digit share. WVEE dipped to #2 with a slight decrease, which ended its two-book winning string. WAMJ stepped up to #3 with its best book since JANUARY, while WRDG vaulted from #12 to #4. WSB-A slid three places to #5, while WHTA was down to #6, despite a small increase. WFSH was up in shares but down in the standings as it moved down a slot to #7.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Santa Delayed

The power of the Claus was no match for the power of the spoken word. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was in its customary #1 6+ position again (11.7-12.1), while HUBBARD News WTOP was back at #2 (8.9-9.0). These two have topped the chart in every book this year. iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH took the polar plunge in week #2. That moved the station up to #3 (5.9-7.3). Last year it was #2 with a 9.6 share. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR dipped to #4 (7.6-7.0), while WETA Classical WETA remained at #5 with its highest mark since FEBRUARY (4.4-5.0). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) was not far behind as it rose to #6 with its best book in over a year (3.6-4.6). WASH added another 8.1% to its leading cume total (756,600-818,200). The market was down 2.4%.

The top four 25-54 stations were unchanged from last month. WASH was #1 and WAMU was #2. Both stations had small share increases. WHUR repeated at #3 but with its highest mark since APRIL. WTOP remained at #4 as it accepted its best book in over a year. WWDC stepped up to #5 as it halted a steep four-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) dipped to #6 with a slight decrease.

WASH rose from #4 to #1 18-34 and hit double figures. This ended the two-book #1 slash double-digit streak for WIHT, which was pushed down to #2. Three stations were huddled around the Yule log at #3. WHUR moved down a slot as it ended a robust three-book surge. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ remained in place with a slight decrease, while ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS rose from #5 with its best showing since JUNE.

’Twas the book before CHRISTMAS and WASH was already leading the 18-49 reindeer race. Sprinkle in some pixie dust, and the station remained on top with its third up book in a row. WAMU stepped up to #2 with a small increase, while WIHT moved down to #3. WWDC repeated at #4 as it bounced back from a down book. WHUR held steady at #5 with its fourth up book in a row. It had company as WTOP advanced from #9 to forge the tie with its highest share in over a year.

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PHILADELPHIA: Santa Stunned

While the big guy may have captured the hearts and ears of the populace, he was unable to win the 6+ race. BEASLEY Album Oriented Rock WMMR was granted that honor as it stepped up to #1 (8.3-8.3). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS moved down to #2 with its lowest mark since MAY (8.4-8.1). AUDACY AC WBEB (B101) went full merry at the beginning of week #2. That allowed the station to move up two places to #3 (4.9-7.8). Last year it recorded a 9.5 share and was #1. AUDACY Sports WIP (SPORTSRADIO 94WIP) slipped to #4 (7.5-7.3) but bagged an additional 1.7 share from the web. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK dipped to #5 (7.0-7.0). WBEB was still in cume control with a 9.2% increase (974,800-1,064,600). The market was off 0.4%.

WMMR remained in double figures as it was the 25-54 leader for the 12th straight survey. It held a two-share advantage over WBEB, which leapt from #6 to #2. WDAS repeated at #3 as it halted a two-book slide. WIP was down to #4 with a small share loss, while WMGK dipped to #5, despite landing its fourth up book in a row. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99 ) dropped from #5 to #8 with its smallest share in over a year. It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIOQ (Q102).

WBEB untangled itself from a tie at #5 to move up to the top of the 18-34 leaderboard. This pushed last month’s leader – BEASLEY Country WXTU (92.5 XTU) – down to #2. WMMR dipped to #3 with a small increase. It was tied with its older cluster brother WMGK, which advanced from the tie at #5. WDAS slipped to #5 as it regained about half of last survey’s share loss. WIOQ returned most of last month’s huge increase as it slid from #3 into a tie at #6 with WUSL.

For the second book in a row – and eleventh time in the last 12 surveys – WMMR was #1 18-49. It was about a share ahead of Santa’s sleigh as WBEB vaulted from #5 to #2. WDAS repeated at #3 as it rebounded from a down book. WIP slipped to #4 with a slight decrease, while a flat WXTU stepped down to #5.

BOSTON: Step Into CHRISTMAS

Sleigh bells rang and they were listening. AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) became both holly and jolly during the third week of the book. It had been one of three stations at #4 but was allowed to move up to #1 (5.8-8.3). It also got a 0.9 share boost from the interwebs. Last year it was also #1, but with a 9.3 share. BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) dipped to #2 with its smallest share since AUGUST (8.5-8.2). iHEARTMEDIA N/T WBZ-A rose from that #4 tie to #3 with its third straight up book (5.8-6.0). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR stood alone at #4 (5.8-5.9), while AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) dropped three places to #5 with its least productive outing since FEBRUARY (6.1-5.4). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX returned most of last month’s big increase as it fell from #3 to #7 (5.9-4.8). WMJX increased its #1 cume total by 13.8% (666,900-759,100). The market shed 1.1%.

WBZ-F was both #1 and in double figures 25=-54 for the third straight survey. WWBX was back at #2 with a small increase, while WZLX repeated at #3 with a modest share loss. Rudolph led WMJX from #9 to #4 with the station’s highest share since JUNE. It just nipped iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108), which dipped to #5 with a slight increase. WROR also received a slight share bump as it stepped down to #6.

WMJX moved up to #1 and garnered a double-digit share. This ended the seven-book tear for WWBX, which stepped down to #2. However, the station extended its double-digit streak to seven. WBZ-F was up two places to #3 with its best showing since APRIL. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) repeated at #4 but with its lowest total since AUGUST. It was joined in that space by WROR, which moved up from #6 as it regained some of last month’s huge share loss. WXKS dropped from #2 to #6 with its smallest share in over a year. It was hanging out with BEASLEY Country WKLB (COUNTRY 102.5) and AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103).

Last month WWBX knocked WBZ-F off the top 18-49 spot. This time WBZ-F was back at #1 and in double figures, while WWBX slipped to #3 as it surrendered most of last month’s big share increase. In between was WMJX, which moved up from #4. WROR moved up to #4 as it bounced back from a down book. WXKS slipped to #5, again with its smallest share in over a year. WZLX dropped three places to #8 ending a strong three-book surge.

More holiday hijinks to come!  We are currently preparing round three of DECEMBER, which will feature SEATTLE, MIAMI, PHOENIX, DETROIT and MINNEAPOLIS.

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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

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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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