RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, AUGUST 2023, PART II

September 6, 2023

Welcome back to part two of our Radio Ratings Product. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in conjunction with the math mavens from XTRENDS – are here to bring you the ups and downs and ins and outs of another set of PPM markets.

As you are likely aware, this column has been featured on ALL ACCESS for the better part of 11 years. It is the same format but now on a new frequency. We now publish it via our Hot Topics blog. If you haven’t signed up for it yet, please do so. The link is at the end of this article.

This survey ran from JULY 20^th through AUGUST 16^th and did not feature any prolonged holiday celebrations. However, it was smack-dab in the middle of vacation season so some of your listeners may have been distracted. Let’s see how it turned out.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Back On Top

Last month iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) saw its long string of #1 6+ books come to an end. Turns out it was merely a flesh wound as the station was back in the top spot (6.9-7.5). Despite posting its fifth up book in a row, (7.0-7.2), RADIO ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) dipped to #2. URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) stepped up to #3, thanks to its best book in exactly a year (5.4-6.3). AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) was down for the third book in a row (5.6-5.4) as it slipped to #4. KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ slid to #5 (5.4-5.1). KODA retained the cume crown with a 1.6% increase (1,575,200-1,600,700). The market grew by 0.6%.

For well over a year, KODA has been #1 25-54 and the station extended that streak with a slight increase. KKHH was spot on as it stepped up to #2 and was a little more than a half-share behind the leader. KGLK was up two places to #3 with its best outing since DECEMBER, while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) had its smallest share in over a year as it faded to #4. TELEVISAUNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUÉ BUENA 102.9) held steady at #5 but was forced to welcome three newcomers to the party. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) was up from #7 with a slight increase, while KSBJ came in from #8 with a small share gain. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) advanced from #10 with its highest mark in over a year.

The 18-34 race was hotly contested as the top four stations were within a share of one another. KODA ended a three-book slide and moved up to #1 for the first time since MAY. KKHH was up two slots from #4 with its best showing since FEBRUARY. KTBZ saw its two-book run at #1 come to an end as it dropped to #3. KBXX dipped to #4 as it ended a strong six-book surge. KQBT moved up to #5 with its highest score since OCTOBER, which forced AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101) down to #6.

KODA continued its mastery over the 18-49 segment, though with its lowest total in over a year. KTBZ was back at #2 and was about a half share off the pace. KKHH repeated at #3, while KBXX remained at #4. Both stations had slight increases. KQBT worked it from #9 to #5 with a strong share gain, while RADIO ONE Country KKBQ (THE NEW 93Q) fell five places to #9 with its lowest score since FEBRUARY.

ATLANTA: A River Runs Through It

COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) continued to run roughshod over the 6+ competition. The station won for the eighth straight survey (9.6-9.2) and held a commanding lead over URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5), which did land its largest share since MAY (6.8-7.2). WSRV also added an additional share from its stream. COX MEDIA Talk WSB-A stood alone at #3 (6.5-6.6), while its former partner in that space – COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) – dipped to #4 with its smallest share since JANUARY (6.5-5.8). COX MEDIA AC WSB (B98.5) was sitting at #5 for the fifth book in a row (5.3-5.4). Despite a 12.6% decrease, WSRV still had the most cume (946,700-827,500). The market was up by 0.6%.

WSRV was also the dominant force in the 25-54 space as the station was #1 for the third straight survey. WAMJ moved up to #2 as it rebounded from a down book but found itself better than two shares behind the leader. AUDACY Urban AC WVEE (V-103) dipped to #3 with a slight increase. WSB was back at #4 but was forced to share the moment with WALR, which moved up a slot. Both stations had down books.

As with the previous two demos, the 18-49 race was for second place. WSRV was the clear winner for the sixth book in a row. WALR was back at #2 with a small decrease but was less than two shares off the pace. iHEARTMEDIA Country WUBL (94.9 THE BULL) charged up the chart from #8 to #3 with its best outing since JANUARY. WSB and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER 96.1) had been tied at #6. WSB had a slight increase to move up to #4, while WWPW had a slight decrease as it advanced to #5. WAMJ slipped to #6 as it ended a two-book surge. It was tied with WVEE, iHEARTMEDIA Urban WRDG (105.3 THE BEAT) and AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME). CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7) returned most of last month’s huge increase as it fell from #5 into a tie at #10 with WSB-A and AUDACY Rhythmic AC WSTR (STAR 94).

WSRV ran away with the 18-49 demo for the fifth straight survey. A flat WVEE remained at #2 and was two shares in arrears. WSB was back at #3 with a slight increase, while WALR stepped up to #4 with a small decrease. WAMJ rose to #5 but with its lowest score in over a year. WWWQ fell from #4 to #10.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Five For Fighting

As is usually the case, the top five 6+ stations were the usual suspects. This time all five were exactly as we left them last month. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was back at #1 and in double digits (11.6-11.6) to continue a streak that has lasted for more than a year. HUBBARD News WTOP was #2 for the eighth straight survey with its highest share in over a year (9.1-9.3). The leading music station was iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH (7.1-6.9), which narrowly defeated #4 URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3/92.7), which had its first down book since FEBRUARY (6.8-6.7). HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR rounded out the top five (5.8-5.5). Buoyed by an 8.9% increase, WASH continued its reign as cume leader (825,900-899,500). The market rose by 0.1%.

There was quite a bit of movement in the 25-54 rankings. WASH repeated as the demo leader and crashed through the double-digit barrier. The last time the station accomplished this was when it was playing that performance-enhancing holiday music. WAMU repeated at #2 but with its lowest mark since SEPTEMBER. URBAN ONE Urban WKYS had its best outing since FEBRUARY as it soared from #9 to #3. WMMJ moved up to #4 with its highest mark since JANUARY. Two stations rose up to fight it out at #5. AUDACY Urban WPGC stepped up from #6 with a slight increase, while WTOP advanced from #8 with its third straight up book. Three stations were excused from the top five. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) had its smallest share since MARCH to slide three places to #7. The next two stations posted their lowest numbers in over a year. ATLANTIC GATEWAY Christian Contemporary WGTS fell from #3 to #8, while WHUR dropped four places to #9.

WAMU was #1 18-34 for the eighth straight survey and hit double digits for the seventh time during that span. WASH jumped from #5 to #2 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. The station was also dangerously close to hitting the double-digit mark. Two stations came from outside the top five to form an alliance at #3. WMMJ was up from #6 with its best book in over a year, while WKYS arrived from #7 with its highest score since FEBRUARY. WIHT slipped to #5 with its smallest share since MARCH. WPGC fell five slots to #7 as it returned most of last month’s large increase. WGTS dropped from #3 to #8.

Not only was WASH #1 18-49 for the second straight survey, the station also landed in double-digit territory. WAMU repeated at #2 with a slight decrease and trailed the leader by better than two shares. WKYS leapt from #7 to #3 with a solid increase, while WPGC remained at #4 with a similar decrease. AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) moved up to #5 with a small share loss. WIHT dipped into a tie at #6 with WHUR. WGTS fell from #3 to #9.

PHILADELPHIA: More Hot Rocks

I’m still wondering what a fazed cookie is…. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK crushed the 6+ competition for the fourth book in a row (9.8-9.5). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS repeated at #2 but with its lowest mark since MAY (8.1-7.4). BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR returned as the #3 station (6.3-6.4), while AUDACY Sports WIP leapt from #9 to #4 with its best outing since APRIL (4.6-5.5). The station was also granted an additional .6 share from its stream. BEASLEY Country WXTU also landed at #4 (5.5-5.5), while AUDACY Classic Hits WOGL (BIG 98.1) slipped to #6 (5.5-5.3). AUDACY News KYW-A had its lowest share in over a year (5.6-4.6) as it slid five places to #9. AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) flew back up to be cume leader with a 13.2% increase (924,800-1,047,100). The market grew by 1.8%.

Not only did WMMR capture the 15-54 flag for the eighth straight survey, the station posted its largest share since NOVEMBER. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) repeated at #2 with its best outing in over a year yet still trailed WMMR by close to three shares. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99) stepped down to #3 with a small share loss, while WXTU moved up two places to #4 as it regained a bit of last month’s huge decrease. AUDACY Hot AC WTDY (THE NEW 96.5) landed its largest share in over a year to move up three slots to #5. Two stations exited the top five. WBEB slipped to #6, while WDAS landed at #7 with its least productive outing since NOVEMBER.

Last month WBEN rose to #1 18-34 and narrowly eclipsed WBEB. This month, the stations were #1 and #2, respectively, but the gap widened to better than two shares. WBEN was up slightly while WBEB took a large share hit. WXTU advanced three squares to #3 as it ended a two-book slide. WUSL dipped to #4 where it was met by WMMR, which had its best book since FEBRUARY. WDAS slid to #6 as it returned most of last month’s large increase.

WBEN repeated at #1 18-49 with its biggest book in over a year as it widened its lead over a flat WMMR at #2. WXTU bounced back from a down book to move up three places to #3, while WUSL slipped to #4. WDAS stepped down to #5, while WBEB dipped to #6.

BOSTON: Three-Peat

For the third month in a row, BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR was the 6+ leader. The station also landed its largest share since NOVEMBER (6.2-6.5). AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) had its best Frosty-free outing since SEPTEMBER as it stepped up to #2 (5.4-6.3). BOSTON UNIVERSITY Public Radio WBUR dipped to #3 (6.1-5.6). It was tied with BEASLEY Sports WBZ (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB), which ended a somewhat steep three-book slide (4.9-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) slid to #5 (5.4-5.2). It met headlong with iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX, which rose from #8 with its highest mark since JANUARY (4.3-5.2). AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) ended its three-book surge as it dropped four places to #9 (4.9-4.0). Thanks to a 2.3% increase, WMJX was back atop the cume leaderboard (741,800-759,000). The market grew by 0.7%.

Last month WBZ and WXKS were the 25-54 co-leaders. WBZ remained on top for the eighth book in a row while a flat WXKS dipped to #2. WROR had its best performance in over a year as it moved up three slots to #3. WWBX stepped down to #4 and had a narrow lead over three stations at #5. WBUR slipped down a peg to #5, while WMJX moved up from #7 with a slight decrease. BEASLEY Classic Rock WBOS advanced from #9 with its highest score in over a year. AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) fell from #4 to #11.

In the previous survey, WXKS and WWBX were tied at #1 18-34. WXKS continued in that spot – for the fourth book in a row – and also landed a double-digit share. WWBX drifted down to #3 and was tied with WBZ, which moved up from #5. In between was WBGB, which stepped up to #2 with a small share loss. In the end, WXKS led the pack by better than three shares. Last month BEASLEY Country WKLB dropped from #5 to #11. This time the station got back a good portion of that lost share as it returned to the #5 position. WMJX slid from #4 to #8.

WXKS had its best book since JANUARY as it won the 18-49 demo for the third straight survey. WBZ stood alone at #2 with a small increase, while its former partner in that space – WWBX – stepped down to #3 as it ended a strong three-book surge. Three stations were huddled together at #4. WMJX remained in place but with a noticeable share loss. WROR inched up from #5 with a slight increase, while WZLX advanced from #9 as it rebounded from a down book. WBGB slid from #5 to #8.

-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

This concludes part two of our Radio Ratings Roundup. To ensure prompt delivery of future editions, subscribe to our blog here. Also, please share this in your industry circle.

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

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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 email info@ResearchDirectorInc.com or sallan@ResearchDirectorInc.com.

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