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RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, March 2024, Part II
April 16, 2024
In our previous installment, we established the versatility of the word “march.” A quick search revealed the many supposedly famous people who were gifted the surname MARCH. Veteran radio folk will remember LITTLE PEGGY MARCH (of “I Will Follow Him” fame). There’s the two-time Stanley Cup winner for the CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS, “MUSH” MARCH. And believe it or not, there are two famous women named APRIL MARCH. One is a contemporary singer-songwriter. The other was an exotic dancer billed as the First Lady of Burlesque.
And now you know.
However, our purpose here is to explore more recent history. Specifically, the MARCH survey, which ran from FEBRUARY 29TH through MARCH 27TH. We had an equinox and a time change, and many people decided they liked corned beef and cabbage. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the numbers diviners from XTRENDS – invite you to find out what really happened out there….
HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Rising To The Top
It would seem appropriate that during the month of holy celebrations, HOPE MEDIA Contemporary Christian KSBJ would ascend to the top 6+ spot, though the station did have its first down book since NOVEMBER (7.7-7.3). Thus ended the four-book winning streak for iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1), which dipped to #2 (8.2-7.0). Then came the rest of the trailing field. RADIO ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) was back at #3 (5.6-5.9), while URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) repeated at #4 (5.2-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) had its best book in over a year (5.1-5.5) as it moved up to #5. RADIO ONE Country KKBQ (THE NEW 93Q) slipped three places to #7 (5.2-4.8). KODA remained the cume leader with a 1.1% increase (1,652,500-1,671,200). This nearly matched the market’s 1.3% rise.
Last month KSBJ and KODA were tied at #1 25-54. That partnership did not endure as KTBZ took control of the demo – thanks, once again, to its best outing in over a year. KSBJ dipped to #2 as it halted a strong four-book surge, while KODA ended up at #3 with its smallest share in over a year. The next two stations crashed the top five gala with their best books in over a year. ESTRELLA Mexican Regional KTJM (LA RAZA 98.5 & 101.7) was up three places to #4, while CUMULUS Pop CHR KRBE vaulted from #9 to #5. Untieing a tie at #5, ESTRELLA Spanish Adult Hits KQQK (EL NORTE 107.9) stepped down to #6 while its partner, KKBQ, slipped to #7, ending a three-book surge and pairing with its archrival AUDACY Country KILT (100.3 THE BULL). AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) slid five slots to #9 with its lowest score in over a year.
Back in NOVEMBER, KILT was ranked at #15 18-34. The station has been slowly progressing up the chart and this time landed at #1 with its highest mark in over a year. AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101 FM) and KTBZ had been tied at #5. Both stations had strong increases as they moved up to #2 and #3, respectively. KODA had its lowest number in over a year as it went from first to fourth. It was paired with KSBJ, which rose from #7 with its best book in over a year. URBAN ONE Rhythmic CHR KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) had its smallest share since APRIL as it fell from #2 to #7. It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT). KKBQ fell from #4 into a tie at #13 with KMJQ.
KTBZ and KODA swapped spots atop the 18-49 leaderboard with KTBZ moving up to #1 and KODA dipping to #2. KTBZ had its highest share in over a year while KODA posted its lowest. KODA was also tied with KTJM, which moved up from #4. KILT stepped up to #4 with a small increase, while KQQK slipped to #5 with a small decrease.
ATLANTA: Cox Rocks
The 6+ competition was relatively calm this month with one cluster winning gold, silver and bronze. COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) felt barely a ripple as it repeated at #1 (7.8-7.8). Moving up to a very close #2 was COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A, which bounced back a bit from a down book (7.3-7.7). COX MEDIA AC WSB (B98.5) also regained some of last month’s lost share as it stepped up to #3 (6.6-6.9). The station did pick up an additional 0.3 share from its stream. URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) slid to #4 (7.4-6.3), while URBAN ONE Contemporary Inspirational WPZE (MYPRAISE 102.5) experienced its first down book since OCTOBER (5.4-5.0) as it repeated at #5. Despite a 6.0% decrease (802,300-753,900), WSB was the cume controller for the fourth book in a row. The market was up a modest 0.3%.
For the third straight survey, WSB and WSRV held the top two spots in the 25-54 contest. WSB was up slightly to stay #1 while WSRV had its highest share since DECEMBER. AUDACY Urban AC WVEE (V-103) posted its best number since NOVEMBER as it moved up two places to #3. CUMULUS Alternative WNNX (99X) dipped to #4, while WAMJ stepped down to #5. Both stations had noticeable share losses.
Though WSB was flat, the station was #1 18-34 for the third straight survey. In a surprise move, WSB-A moved up to #2 with its best showing in over a year. As recently as the HOLIDAY book, it was sitting at #15. With its lowest score in over a year, WSRV slipped to #3, where it met up with two stations entering the top five chat. WVEE rose from #8 with a solid increase, while AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) arrived from #7 as it rebounded from a down book. URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WHTA (HOT 107.9) and WAMJ had been tied at #3. Both stations had identical share losses to remain cojoined but at #6 this month. COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) fell from #5 to #9. It was tied with CUMULUS Pop CHR WWWQ (Q99.7).
WSB got back most of last month’s huge share loss to move up to #1 18-49. WSRV stood alone at #2 as it regained all of last survey’s share decrease. WVEE had its best showing since OCTOBER to step up to #3, while WNNX ended a strong two-book surge to drop from #1 to #4. WWWQ posted its largest number since NOVEMBER to climb three slots to #5. WAMJ scored its smallest share in over a year to drop down to #7.
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WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Train Kept A Rollin’
It is not often that a station can lose two shares off its 6+ total and not only remain #1 but in double figures. That is exactly what AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU did this time (13.0-11.0). HUBBARD News WTOP was back at #2 (7.6-7.9), while HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR repeated at #3 (7.4-7.5). Despite posting its lowest number in over a year, iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH managed to retain its hold on fourth place (5.9-5.2). CUMULUS N/T WMAL had its best outing in over a year (4.5-4.8) to move up to the #5 position. For those keeping score at home, that meant the spoken word format garnered a combined 23.7 share … and that doesn’t account for the sports stations, which added another 3.9 share to the mix. URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3/92.7) slipped to #7 with its smallest share in over a year (5.2-4.5). WASH retained the cume crown, despite a 7.2% drop (838,900-778,500). The market shrank by 0.3%.
WAMU saw its four-book 25-54 surge grind to a halt, but the station had enough left over to repeat at #1. WHUR returned as the #2 station and trailed the leader by less than a half share. URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WKYS landed its largest share in over a year to advance from #5 to #3. WASH was down for the third straight survey as it slipped to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) stepped up to #5 with its highest mark in over a year, while WMMJ slid four slots to #8 with its lowest score since OCTOBER.
WAMU and WMMJ repeated as the top two 18-34 stations but were not able to duplicate their double-digit performances from last month. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) was up to #3, while WKYS leapt four places to #4. Both stations bounced back from a down book. WASH drifted down to #5 with its least productive outing since JUNE. ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS dropped down to #6 and was tied with WHUR. AUDACY Rhythmic CHR WPGC fell from #5 to #8.
A year ago, WKYS was the ninth ranked 18-49 station. The station rose to the top spot in this survey and has more than doubled its number from last MARCH. A flat WASH was back at #2 and it narrowly edged WAMU, which went from first to third. WWDC repeated at #4 with its third up book in a row, while a flat WHUR was up two spots to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ posted its biggest number in over a year as it zoomed from #11 to #6. WMMJ fell from #5 into a tie at #9 with WPGC.
PHILADELPHIA: Three-peating
Is that actually a word? For the third straight survey, BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was #1 6+ (9.1-8.5). It was also the eighth time in the last 14 books that the station accomplished that feat. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS ended a three-book slide as it stepped up to #2 (6.8-7.5). This pushed BEASLEY Album Oriented Rock WMMR down to #3 (8.0-7.3). AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) remained at #4 as it returned most of last month’s share increase (6.3-5.8). It was hanging with cluster buddy AUDACY News KYW-A, which moved up one spot (6.0-5.8). KYW-A was granted an additional 0.2 share from its stream. Just outside the top five at #6 was AUDACY Sports WIP (5.7-5.5). However, the station did pick up a 3.2 share from its online presence. WBEB still had the most listeners (963,700-981,100) – a 1.8% increase. The market expanded by 2.9%.
Though WMMR was unable to duplicate last month’s double-digit 25-54 share, the station was #1 for the third book in a row. WDAS rose from #6 to #2 with its best outing since DECEMBER, yet it was still about three shares off the pace. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) dipped to #3 and finished just in front of WMGK, which repeated at #4. WBEB slipped to #5 with its lowest mark since SEPTEMBER, while iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) stepped down to #6 with a small share loss.
WMMR regained most of last month’s large share loss as it advanced from #3 to #1 18-34. WBEB was also up two places – to #2 – with a significant increase. All this upward movement stopped the two-book winning streak for WUSL, which descended to #3 with its lowest total since NOVEMBER. WMGK was also down two spots to #4 with a noticeable share loss. BEASLEY Country WXTU repeated at #5 as it ended a two-book surge. It was partnered with WBEN, which rose from #6 thanks to a small increase.
For the third straight survey, WMMR was the runaway 18-49 leader. WBEB moved up to #2 despite a down book and was about two and a half shares off the pace. WDAS landed its largest share since OCTOBER as it vaulted from #8 to #3. WUSL slipped to #4 with its third down book in a row. WBEN dipped to #5, while WMGK ended a four-book surge as it moved down to #6.
BOSTON: A Good Sport
For the third book in a row, BEASLEY Sports WBZ (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) was the dominant 6+ player (9.1-9.7). The race was for second place and the next four stations were all within a share of that position. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR roared up to #2 with its highest mark since AUGUST (6.0-6.5). BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR remained at #3 (6.1-6.4), while AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) shot up to #4 (4.9-5.9). Back when Grandma was roadkill, the station was #13 with a 2.8 share. AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7 FM) slid three places to #5 (6.4-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX had its smallest share since OCTOBER as it dipped to #6 (5.2-4.6). It was paired with iHEARTMEDIA N/T WBZ-A (4.9-4.6). WMJX kept the cume crown with a 5.7% increase (715,900-756,500). The market fell by 0.2%.
For the third book in a row – and 13th time in the last 14 surveys – WBZ was #1 25-54. The next two stations had their best outings in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) was up three places to #2, while AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) dipped to #3. WWBX posted its largest share since JUNE as it moved up to #4. WROR and WMJX had been tied at #2. WROR was flat as it slipped to #5, while WMJX dropped to #6 with a small decrease.
Two stations continued to crush the 18-34 competition. WWBX was both #1 and in double digits for the third book in a row. Meanwhile, WBGB made it back-to-back double-digit outings as it repeated at #2. This duo came close to garnering a quarter of the available share in this demo. WBZ stood alone at #3 as it got back a small portion of last month’s huge share loss. WROR stepped down to #4 with a slight decrease. WXKS bounced back from a down book to hold steady at #5. Its former partner in that space was iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5). It drifted off to #7 as it ended a robust two-book surge.
WBZ was #1 18-49 for the third book in a row and returned to double-digit territory. WWBX repeated at #2 and narrowly missed hitting double figures. WROR repeated at #3 with a slight decrease, while WXKS inched up to #4 as it rebounded from a down book. WMJX slipped to #5 and was partnered with a flat WBGB, which moved up from #6.
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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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