RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, July 2024, Part II

August 6, 2024

Welcome back to the continuing saga of “How The Ratings Turn.” The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a committed relationship with the algorithmic artists from XTRENDS – bring you the latest installment of the JULY survey. This one ran from JUNE 20^TH through JULY 17^TH. The most notable occurrence during that span was the INDEPENDENCE DAY holiday. That one happened on day one of week two and had the potential to wreak havoc with meter keepers. And, as we say with Part I, this is the time of year when cume levels tend to drop. After all, whether we want to believe it or not, panelists have actual lives. They are not consumed by the daily comings and goings of radio like we are. They should be, of course, but it is not our place to judge.

Now, on with the countdown…

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Three-Peat

Do we have to pay PAT RILEY for that headline? For the third book in a row, HOPE MEDIA Contemporary Christian KSBJ was the leading 6+ station (8.6-7.6). URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) rebounded from a down book (5.4-5.9) as it moved up to #2. iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) dipped to #3 with its lowest score in over a year (5.8-5.7). It was met in that space by RADIO ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5), which rose from #5 with its best showing since MARCH (5.0-5.7). AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) stood alone at #5 (5.0-5.3). The station was granted an additional 0.2 share from its stream. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) dropped four places to #8 with its smallest share since we were simply having a most wonderful time of the year (5.2-4.5). Despite a 4.9% drop, KODA still had the most listeners (1,648,000-1,566,500). The market was off a scant 0.2%.

Though KSBJ was #1 25-54 for the third book, the station did lose some share. The net result was that the top five stations in this demo were within a share of one another. KODA repeated at #2, again with its lowest score in over a year. KTBZ remained at #3 with its third down book in a row. It was partnered with KKHH, which moved up from #4 with its best book since FEBRUARY. RADIO ONE Country KKBQ (THE NEW 93Q) vaulted from #13 to #5 as it halted a two-book slide. AUDACY Hot AC KHMX (MIX 96.5) returned most of last month’s huge share increase as it fell from #4 to #12.

The 18-34 arena was drama central. KTBZ was #1 for the fourth book in a row but could not extend its double-digit streak to three. Meanwhile, CUMULUS Pop CHR KRBE had its best book in over a year as it zoomed from #7 to claim its share of the lead. Three stations were hanging out at #3. AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101 FM) slipped from #2 with a small decrease, while KKHH stepped up from #4 as it regained all of last month’s share loss. KKBQ advanced from #16 as it more than doubled its previous share. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) slid from #3 to #6 and was tied with URBAN ONE Rhythmic CHR KBXX (97.9 THE BOX). KSBJ fell from #4 to #16.

KTBZ was the 18-49 winner for the fifth straight survey, though the station landed its lowest number of the streak. It held a one-share advantage over the threesome at #2. KSBJ remained in place with a down book, while KKHH moved up from #4 with a slight increase. The third member of this trio was KKBQ, which rocketed up from #14 with its best performance since JANUARY. KRBE advanced five spaces to #5 as it bounced back from a down book, while KODA dropped three slots and found itself in a tie at #6 with KBXX. ESTRELLA Spanish Adult Hits KQQK (EL NORTE 107.9) fell from #4 to #11.

ATLANTA: The Talk Of The Town

COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A had its best 6+ book in over a year (7.2-9.1), which placed the station at #1 for the first time since JANUARY. COX MEDIA AC WSB (B98.5) was up two places to #2 (6.7-6.9). It also gained an additional 0.4 share from its digital presence. COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) ebbed to #3 with its smallest share in over a year (8.2-6.7). This also snapped the station’s five-book winning streak. URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) slipped to #4, also with its lowest score in over a year (7.5-6.2). COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) held steady at #5 (5.7-5.9). WSB remained in cume control with a 1.6% increase (780,800-793,100). The market slipped by 0.2%.

Say hello to your new 25-54 leader. AUDACY Urban Contemporary WVEE (V-103) landed its largest share since OCTOBER as it rose from #4 to #1. WSB stepped up to #2 as it halted a three-book slide, while WALR advanced three places to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. WSRV went from first to fourth as its three-book winning streak ground to a halt. WAMJ fell from #2 to #5, ending a strong three-book surge. It was paired with URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WHTA (HOT 107.9), which arrived from #7 as it got back most of last month’s share loss. CUMULUS Alternative WNNX (99X) landed its lowest number since we were still goodbying as it fell from #5 to #8.

For the seventh straight survey, WSB was #1 18-34. The station bounced back from a down book and held about a two-share lead over WVEE, which stepped up to #2 with a small increase. Two stations that do not traffic in music crashed the top five. AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) shot up to #3 from #13, while WSB-A advanced from #8 to also claim its share of the #3 prize. WALR dropped from a first place tie into a three-way arrangement at #5. The other two stations in that triad were aquatically themed: WSRV and SALEM AC WFSH (104.7 THE FISH). They had been tied at #4. Also previously seen at #4 was CUMULUS Pop CHR WWWQ (Q99.7). It fell to #11 as it returned all of last month’s huge increase, plus a little extra. It was tied with DICKEY Sports WCNN-A (680 THE FAN) and URBAN ONE Contemporary Inspirational WPZE (MYPRAISE 102.5).

For the first time in over a year, WVEE captured the top spot with the 18-49 crowd. It had less than a half-share lead over WSB, which repeated at #2 but with its highest mark since MARCH. WALR rebounded from a down book to move up to #3. WSRV had its smallest share in over a year as it fell from #1 to #4. This also ended the station’s three-book winning streak. WHTA moved up to #5, while WNNX slid three spots to #6.

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WASHINGTON, DC: Top Of The (Non) Pops

There was a seismic shift atop the 6+ leaderboard. For the first time in well over a year, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was not #1. Though the station kept its long-running double-digit streak alive (11.3-10.4), the station dipped to #2. Your new market leader was HUBBARD News WTOP, which was up for the third straight survey (9.5-10.7). HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR posted its smallest share since NOVEMBER (7.6-6.7) but remained a solid #3, sporting a huge lead over the rest of the field. iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH ended a somewhat steep two-book slide (4.4-4.8) as it moved up to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) advanced three spaces to #5 with its highest mark in over a year (4.2-4.5). URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3/92.7) landed its lowest number in over a year (4.7-4.4) as it dipped to #6. AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) surrendered most of last month solid share gain (5.1-4.2) as it backed up from #4 to #7. WASH reclaimed the cume crown with a 9.2% increase (687,200-750,700). The market fell by 2.4%.

WWDC made it back-to-back 25-54 wins with its highest score in over a year. WAMU was back at #2 with a small increase and was nearly a share off the lead. WASH repeated at #3 with a slight increase, while WTOP leapt from #7 to #4 with its best book in over a year. WIAD held steady at #5 with a small decrease, while WHUR dropped from #4 to #9 with its lowest total since SEPTEMBER.

It was moving month for the 18-34 players. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) landed its largest share in over a year and was flirting with double figures as it rose from #3 to #1. AUDACY Rhythmic CHR WPGC also had its best book in over a year as it advanced from #8 to #2. This ended the six-book winning streak for WAMU, which drifted down to #3 with its least productive outing in over a year. WASH jumped from #9 to #4 as it avenged last month’s down book. AUDACY Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) and WIAD had been sitting at #4. A flat WBIG stepped down to #5, while WIAD dipped to #6 with a small share loss. It was now tied with URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WKYS. Last month ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS leapt from #8 to #2. That was a brief fling as the station dropped to #9 this time. It was tied with WHUR, iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ, and WETA Classical WETA.

WWDC had its best 18-49 book in over a year as it repeated at #1. WASH inched up to #2 with a solid increase and was less than a share off the lead. WAMU dipped to #3 with a small decrease and was joined there by WIHT, which arrived from #5 with its third up book in a row. WPGC took two steps upward to #5 as it regained some of last month’s share loss. WIAD slipped to #6 with a slight decrease.

PHILADELPHIA: Back To Back

For the second book in a row and third time in the last four surveys, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS was #1 6+ (9.0-8.2). The contest did tighten up as AUDACY Sports WIP moved up to #2 (7.5-7.7). The station also picked up a 2.1 share from its stream. BEASLEY Album Oriented Rock WMMR dipped to #3 (7.6-7.2), while BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was back at #4 (7.2-6.7). Both stations posted their lowest scores since the place was lousy with leaping lords. AUDACY News KYW-A moved up to #5 (5.0-5.0). It also got a stream bump as it picked up an additional 0.8 share. AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) landed its lowest number in over a year (5.5-4.6) as it drifted down to #7. The station was still the cume leader (1,034,300-895,700) – a 13.4% decline. The market was down 4.3%.

WMMR ran its 25-54 winning streak to seven and just missed extending its double-digit surge to four. WIP had its best outing since NOVEMBER as it stepped up to #2, while WDAS slipped to #3 with its smallest share since FEBRUARY. BEASLEY Country WXTU also had its best book since NOVEMBER as it stepped up to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) inched up to #5 with a small increase and narrowly edged BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM), which advanced from #11 to #6. WBEB again had its smallest share in over a year as it dropped from #3 to #7.

Last month we had a rare four-way tie at #1 18-34. This month only one station stood atop the leaderboard. That was WUSL, which had its best outing since JANUARY. WMGK stepped down to #2 as it ended a strong two-book surge. WDAS slipped to #3 as it halted a three-book surge. It was tied with WMMR, which moved up from #5 despite a small share loss. WXTU went from first to fifth as it gave back a good portion of last survey’s huge share increase.

This marked the seventh straight 18-49 win for WMMR. The station led the field by two shares but could not gain its fourth double-digit book in a row. WUSL moved up to #2 with its biggest share since JANUARY. WIP was up two slots to #3 with a slight increase, while WDAS dropped two places to #4. WXTU slipped from #3 to #5 with a small share loss.

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BOSTON: The Streak Continues

This was the seventh straight 6+ win for BEASLEY Sports WBZ (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB). However, the station did score its lowest share since AUGUST (9.9-7.7). The rest of the top five was as we last saw them. The #2 and #3 stations each posted their best numbers in over a year. AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) was in second place (6.9-7.0), while BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR was back in third place (6.3-6.8). AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) repeated at #4 (5.5-6.0), while BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR held steady at #5 (5.4-5.1). WMJX still had the most listeners (821,700-758,800) – a drop of 7.7%. The market fell by 3.2%.

Despite a slight decrease, WWBX moved up into the leadership position with the 25-54 crowd. It led iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) by nearly two shares. WXKS, in turn, was about a half-share ahead of the two stations occupying the #3 position. One of those was WBZ, which ended its six-book reign, thanks to its lowest score in over a year. WROR moved up from #5 with a small increase. WMJX dipped to #5 as it returned about half of last month’s huge share increase.

It is rare we see a ratings performance like the one currently being posted by WWBX. The station was #1 18-34 for the third book in a row and made it back-to-back double-digit performances. What’s even more stunning is that it almost equaled the combined share of the next three stations! WXKS was back at #2 with a large share loss, while WMJX moved up to #3 with its best Frosty-free share in exactly a year. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) repeated at #4 as it ended a strong two-book surge. WROR remained at #5 but it had company. It was joined by AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) and BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9). That duo was previously sighted at #7. WBZ fell five places to #8.

WWBX made it consecutive #1 and double-digit 18-49 books. It led the rest of the pack by almost five shares. WBZ remained at #2 but with its least productive outing in over a year. WMJX was back at #3 as it returned a good portion of last month’s large increase. WROR moved up a spot, while WXKS was down a slot. Both stations were tied at #4.

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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 MIAMI, SEATTLE, 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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