RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, April 2024, Part II

May 14, 2024

By this point in the NIELSEN calendar, things should have gotten back to whatever passes for normal. The chaos caused by the holiday hostilities are now but a distant memory. We’ve yet to approach the end of the school year and the beginning of vacation season. As a result, the APRIL survey – from a real-world perspective – was somewhat benign. There were no federally-mandated three-day weekends. Other than weather-related events and the EASTER holiday, it was a fairly uneventful month.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a symbiotic relationship with the wizards of XTRENDS – are here to breathe some life into a survey that began on MARCH 28^TH and concluded on APRIL 24^th. The story goes something like this…

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Sunny Also Rises

Last Month iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) saw its four-book 6+ winning streak come to a halt. The hiatus did not last long as the station was back on top of the chart (7.0-7.7). This forced HOPE MEDIA Christian Contemporary KSBJ to step down to #2 (7.3-7.0). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) was the talk of the town as it moved up to #3 with its best book in over a year (5.5-6.3). RADIO ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) dipped to #4 (5.9-5.4) when it was met headlong by AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT), which advanced from #8 (4.6-5.4). The station did pick up an additional 0.2 share from its stream. That dynamic duo just eclipsed URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1), which slipped to #6 (5.6-5.3). KODA added 9.3% to its already market-leading cume total (1,671,200-1,826,200). The market grew by 2.3%.

KTBZ kept the buzz going with the 25-54 crowd as it repeated at #1 with its best outing in over a year. The next two stations bounced back from down books but switched spaces. KODA was up to #2, while KSBJ dipped to #3. Two other stations moved up to forge a tie at #4. CUMULUS Pop CHR KRBE stepped up from #5 with its fourth up book in a row, while RADIO ONE Country KKBQ (THE NEW 93Q) rose from #7 as it regained all of last month’s lost share. ESTRELLA Mexican Regional KTJM (LA RAZA 98.5 & 101.7 FM) ended a very strong two-book surge as it fell from #4 to #10.

There was a bit of drama in the 18-34 ranks. KTBZ posted its largest share since SEPTEMBER as it rose from #3 to #1. KODA moved up two spots to #2 as it regained some of last month’s massive share loss. AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101 FM) dipped to #3 with a slight decrease, while KRBE vaulted from #11 to #4 with its best showing in over a year. KSBJ stepped down to #5 as it returned most of last month’s share increase. It was feeling the heat from a couple of stations at #6. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) moved up to #6 with a slight increase and was paired with KKHH, which arrived from #10. AUDACY Country KILT (100.3 THE BULL) ended its five-book surge as it fell from #1 to #8.

Not only was KTBZ #1 18-49 again, the station was flirting with double digits. KODA was back at #2 but was almost three shares off the lead. KRBE advanced three squares to #3 with its highest mark since MAY, while KKHH jumped from #7 to #4 as it rebounded from a down book. ESTRELLA Spanish Adult Hits KQQK (EL NORTE 107.9) repeated at #5. It was hearing footsteps from AUDACY Hot AC KHMX (MIX 96.5), which rocketed from #15 to #6 with its best outing since DECEMBER. KILT slipped three places to #7 and was paired with KLOL, which landed there from #14. KTJM dropped from #2 to a four-way logjam at #9 with KSBJ, KKBQ and KQBT.

ATLANTA: Rollin’ Down The River

COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) was flat for the second straight survey but #1 6+ for the third book in a row (7.8-7.8). COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A was back at #2 but with its smallest share since AUGUST (7.7-7.1). URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) ended a somewhat steep two-book slide to step up to #3 (6.3-6.9). COX MEDIA AC WSB (B98.5) dipped to #4 (6.9-6.3). The station did add a 0.3 share from its stream. COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1 FM) got back most of last month’s lost share to move up to #5 (4.5-5.0). URBAN ONE Contemporary Inspirational WPZE (MYPRAISE 102.5) slipped to #7 (5.0-4.4) and was tied with AUDACY Urban Contemporary AC WVEE (V-103), which slipped from #6 (4.5-4.4). After a four-book hiatus, WSRV was back on top of the cume chart, thanks to a 13.0% increase (744,100-840,600). The market rose by 3.7%.

Despite a slight decrease, WSRV was back at #1 25-54 for the first time since DECEMBER.  This ended the three-book winning streak for WSB, which slipped to #2 with a moderate share loss. CUMULUS Alternative WNNX (99X) stepped up to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. A flat WVEE dipped to #4. WAMJ was back at #5 as it, too, came back from a down book. URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WHTA (HOT 107.9) landed its largest share in over a year as it rose from #9 to #6.

WSB was #1 18-34 for the fourth straight survey, despite a slight share loss. It was better than a share clear of the two stations at #2, both of which had their best outings in over a year. AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) stepped up from #3, while JDJ COMMUNICATIONS Urban Contemporary WWSZ-A (STREETZ 94.5) advanced from #8. WSRV bounced back from a down book but still dipped to #4. Three stations were duking it out at #5. WSB-A dropped from #2 as it ended a three-book surge. WVEE slid from #3 despite a small increase, while WHTA stepped up from #6.

WSRV had a slight 18-49 share increase, which placed the station at #1 for the first time since NOVEMBER. WVEE inched up to #2 with its best performance since OCTOBER. It was partnered with WNNX, which rose from #4 as it bounced back from a down book. WSB slid from #1 to #4 as it returned all of last month’s solid share increase. WALR worked it from #9 to #5 with its highest score since AUGUST. CUMULUS Pop CHR WWWQ (Q99.7) dropped from #5 to #9.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.:  All The News That Fits

As is often the case, the top two 6+ stations are of the spoken word variety. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU continued its long string of #1 and double-digit books (11.0-11.3). HUBBARD News WTOP was back at #2 (7.9-7.8), while HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was still the leading music station at #3 (7.5-7.6). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH repeated at #4 as it ended a three-book slide (5.2-5.7). URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3/92.7) rebounded from a down book to move up to #5 (4.5-4.9). CUMULUS N/T WMAL dipped to #6 (4.8-4.6). WASH remained in cume control (778,500-774,300) – a 0.5% decline. The market was up 1.6%.

WASH ended a three-book slide as it rose from #4 to #1 25-54. It had better than a share lead over the three stations hanging out at #2. WHUR remained in place with a slight decrease, while WAMU dipped from #1 with its smallest share since MARIAH CAREY was relevant. URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WKYS stepped up from #3, also with a slight decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) repeated at #5 but with its highest score in over a year. No other station was within a share and a half of cracking the top five.

The 18-34 battle continued to be for second place as WAMU was #1 for the fourth straight survey. The next closest station was WKYS, which moved up to #2 with its best book since NOVEMBER, yet still trailed the leader by more than two shares. Three stations moved up the ranks to settle in at #3. WASH was at #5 and had a slight increase, while ATLANTIC GATEWAY Christian Contemporary WGTS rose from a tie at #6 as it rebounded from a down book. AUDACY Rhythmic CHR WPGC advanced from #8 with its highest mark since AUGUST. WMMJ slid from #2 to #6 and was tied with WHUR. Also joining that mix was iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5), which fell from #3 with its smallest share since NOVEMBER.

After taking the last couple of books off, WASH was back at #1 18-49 with a huge share increase. This pushed WKYS – which was off slightly – down to #2. The two stations were about a half share distant. WAMU was back at #3 with a slight increase, while WWDC repeated at #4 with its fourth up book in a row. WPGC regained most of last month’s huge share loss as it jumped from #9 to #5. WHUR had a slight decrease as it dipped to #6.

PHILADELPHIA: Objects Appear Closer

The 6+ race was being hotly contested as three stations were within a half share of first place. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS moved up to #1 for the first time since NOVEMBER (7.5-8.3). BEASLEY Album-Oriented Rock WMMR moved back up to #2 as it regained all of last month’s lost share (7.3-8.0). This ended the three-book winning streak for BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK, which slipped to #3 (8.5-7.9). AUDACY Sports WIP was up to #4 with its highest score since JANUARY (5.5-6.7). The station also picked up an additional 2.8 share from its stream. AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) and AUDACY News KYW-A had been tied at #4. WBEB slipped to #5 (5.8-5.9), while KYW-A dropped to #6 (5.8-5.5). However, KYW-A did squeeze out an additional 0.3 share from its stream. WBEB remained the cume commander (981,100-995,400) – a 1.5% increase. The market was up 0.8%.

WMMR was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey and back in double figures. WDAS repeated at #2 with its best book in over a year but still trailed the leader by more than four shares. WIP leapt from #7 to #3 with a large share increase. WMGK remained at #4 with a modest share loss. It was paired with WBEB, which stepped up from #5 with a slight decrease. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) fell from #3 to #10.

The 18-34 contest was much closer than the previous demo. WMMR made it back-to-back wins with its highest mark in over a year. WBEB was back at #2 with a solid share increase. The stations were separated by a half-share. Two stations moved up to forge a tie at #3. BEASLEY Country WXTU was up from #5 with its best showing since DECEMBER, while WDAS advanced from #7 with its best book since MAY. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) slipped to #5 with a slight decrease. WMGK moved down to #6 with its third straight down book. WBEN fell four places to #9 as it halted a strong three-book surge.

WMMR was #1 18-49 for the fourth straight survey and managed to crack the double-digit code in the process. WDAS stepped up to #2 with its best showing in exactly a year. A flat WBEB dipped to #3, while WUSL repeated at #4 with a small decrease. WIP advanced from #8 to #5, while WBEN fell from #5 to #10.

Shameless plug #2: See Shameless plug #1

BOSTON: Sports Tawk

While the RED SOX may be off to a mediocre start, there was plenty to talk about when it came to BOSTON teams. This could be part of the reason why BEASLEY Sports WBZ (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) was #1 6+ for the fourth book in a row (9.7-10.1). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR was back at #2, though it ended a three-book surge (6.5-6.1). BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR repeated at #3 but with its smallest share since DECEMBER (6.4-5.8). AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) remained at #4, ending a three-book surge (5.9-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX had its best book in over a year (4.6-5.6) to step up to #5. AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) slipped to #6 with its lowest score since MAY (5.7-5.0). The station was still the cume leader with a 5.7% increase (756,500-799,900). The market was up 3.3%.

Though the station had a down book, WBZ was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey. AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) stepped up to #2 with its highest mark in over a year. It was still about a share and a half off the lead. WWBX leveled up to #3 with a slight decrease, while WROR inched up to #4. It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108), which dropped from #2 as it halted a strong four-book surge.

There were some rather large shares dotting the top of the 18-34 leaderboard again. WBGB moved up to #1 with its third double-digit book in a row. WWBX dipped to #2 with its fourth straight survey in double figures. WBZ was back at #3 with a solid share increase but he could not quite match the two leaders in the double-digit department. WXKS stepped up to #4 though it returned all of last month’s solid increase – plus a little extra. WROR slipped to #5 with a noticeable loss of share.

WBZ was #1 18-49 for the fourth book in a row and hit double digits again. Though WWBX ended a three-book surge, it remained in second place, also for the fourth straight survey. WROR remained at #3 with a large share loss and was partnered with WBGB, which arrived from a tie at #5 with a slight increase. WMJX stood alone at #5 with a slight decrease, while WXKS dropped to #6 with its smallest share in over a year.

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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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