RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, November 2024, Part II

November 26, 2024

The holiday fever that sweeps the nation every year can likely be traced to the retail moguls who want you to buy inflatable Snoopys as early as possible. That’s why you see Target or Costco set fill their shelves with all the CHRISTMAS-related baubles you must have. One would think this translates into mass hysteria and an early run on those items. They must have data that proves this. Right?

In the radio world, the rush to flip to the Frosty format often happens earlier and earlier. However, as we discovered in part one of this series, only one of the five markets we examined featured a NOVEMBER switch. Spoiler alert – none of the next five markets featured an early convert. Sanity prevailed.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a committed relationship with the XTRENDS elves at the ratings workshop – bring you the NOVEMBER survey. It ran from OCTOBER 10^TH through NOVEMBER 6^TH. There was a three-day federal holiday weekend and an election you may have heard about. Here’s what happened:

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Sunny Side Up

For the third book in a row, iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) was #1 6+ (7.4-7.7). Of course, moving forward, they will greatly benefit from the infusion of performance-enhancing music. HOPE MEDIA Contemporary Christian KSBJ remained in second place as it squashed a five-book slide (6.0-6.1). URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) was up two places to #3 with its most magical showing since MAY (4.9-6.0). RADIO ONE Country KKBQ (93Q COUNTRY) repeated at #4 with its highest score since JANUARY (5.3-5.6). RADIO ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) stepped up to #5 with a strong showing (4.2-5.5), while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) returned most of last month’s solid increase (5.7-5.0) as it slid to #6. KODA retained the cume crown despite a 1.0% decrease (1,689,500-1,672,600). The market added 1.7%.

Despite a down book, KTBZ moved up to #1 25-54 for the first time since APRIL. This ended the three-book winning streak for KODA, which dipped to #2. The stations were less than a half-share apart. KKBQ repeated at #3 with a slight increase, while a flat KSBJ remained at #4. However, it had company as iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) moved up from #14 with its highest mark in over a year. Not far behind was KMJQ, which rose from #12 to #6 with a strong share increase. CUMULUS Pop CHR KRBE fell four places to #9 with its smallest share since JANUARY.

KODA was #1 18-34 for the third straight survey and made it into double-digit territory. It held better than a three and a half share lead over the three stations at #2. URBAN ONE Rhythmic CHR KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) returned most of last month’s huge increase but stepped up from #3. AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101 FM) was up from #4 with a slight decrease. KGLK advanced from #7 with its best book in over a year. As recently as AUGUST, the station was mired at #18. KQBT inched up to #5 with its best share since JUNE. Meanwhile, KKBQ jumped from #10 to #6 as it halted a steep three-book slide. KTBZ surrendered nearly half its previous share as it dropped from #2 to #7. KRBE fell seven places to #12 with its lowest score since FEBRUARY.

Despite a slight decrease, KODA was the 18-49 leader for the third book in a row. KTBZ held on at #2 but saw the gap between the two stations widen from the smallest of possible margins to over a share. KKBQ rebounded from a down book as it rose from #7 to #3. It was paired with KLOL, which moved up from #5 with a small share increase. KSBJ dipped to #5 with a slight decrease, while KBXX dropped three places to #6.

ATLANTA: The Talk Of The Town

Perhaps all the political buzz was fodder for COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A, which was #1 for the fifth straight survey (10.1-10.3). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) finished in second place for the fourth book in a row (7.7-7.0), while URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) advanced three spaces to #3 as it bounced back from a down book (5.5-6.0). COX MEDIA Urban Contemporary WALR (KISS 104.1) slipped to #4 with its smallest share since JUNE (6.3-5.7). AUDACY Urba AC WVEE (V-103) and COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) were previously seen together at #4. WVEE stepped down to #5 (5.6-5.5), while WSB-F ended up at #6 with its lowest score since DECEMBER (5.6-5.2). The station did pick up a 0.3 share from its stream. WSRV’s cume was down 3.6%, but the station was still in first place (771,800-743,900). The market grew by 1.0%.

Both WVEE and WSB-A were off slightly this survey but had enough left in their tanks to repeat at #1 and #2, respectively. WALR remained at #3 with a small decrease but was forced to share as WAMJ stepped up from #4 with its highest mark since JUNE. URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WHTA (HOT 107.9) and WSRV had been tied at #5. WHTA held steady with a small share loss, while WSRV dipped to #6 with its third down book in a row.

For the first time in exactly a year, WVEE was atop the 18-34 leaderboard. The station moved up from #3 with its best book since MAY. WSB-A was back at #2 and was tied with SALEM AC WFSH (104.7 THE FISH), which migrated up from #9. There was a threesome at #4. WSRV dipped from #3 with its lowest score since MAY, while WALR stepped up from #5 despite a small share loss. WHTA advanced from #6 with a small increase. Last month’s leader – WSB-F – fell to #7 with its smallest share since DECEMBER. It was paired with iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WRDG (96.1 THE BEAT), which vaulted from #20 by more than doubling its previous share.

The top three 18-49 stations all had down books but remained as we last saw them. WVEE was #1 with a two-share lead over #2 WSB-A. Close behind at #3 was WALR. WAMJ rose from #7 to #4 as it bounced back from a down book, while WHTA stepped down to #5. WFSH leapt from #10 to #6, while WSB-F fell from #5 to #8.

WASHINGTON, DC: Same Old News And Dance

The top five slots on the 6+ chart were the same as last month. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was in its customary position with its usual double-digit share (11.8-11.7). HUBBARD News WTOP was back at #2 but with its fourth down book in a row (9.1-8.9). HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was again the leading music station, coming in at #3 (8.5-7.6). With oncoming visions of sugar plums, iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH solidified its hold on the #4 position with its best outing since FEBRUARY (5.1-5.9). WETA Classical WETA remained at #5 (4.2-4.4). CUMULUS N/T WMAL was up four places to #6 (3.6-4.1). WASH added 4.0% to its already-market-leading cume total (727,200-756,600). The market was up by 1.4%.

Getting a head start on the holiday hoopla, WASH moved up to #1 25-54 with its best outing since APRIL. This ended the two-book winning streak for WAMU, which dipped to #2. WHUR repeated at #3 but with its best book since MAY, while WTOP rebounded from a down book to move from #8 to #4. Last month we had three stations huddled together, yearning to be free at #5. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) stood alone in that space with a slight decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) dipped to #6 with its lowest score since the tintinnabulation of the bells was competing with our tinnitus. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ ended up at #7. AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) had its least productive outing in over a year as it dropped from #3 to #8. It was tied with ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS.

When you’re hot, you’re hot. WIHT was both #1 and in double figures 18-34 for the second book in a row. WHUR and WMZQ had been tied at #4. Each station posted its best book in over a year to end up at #2 and #3, respectively. WASH vaulted from #8 to #4 with a rather large share increase. WGTS stepped up to #5 as it ended a three-book surge. WAMU slid three places to #6 with its smallest share in over a year, while WIAD fell from #2 to #7 as it gave back most of last month’s massive share gain. It was tied with WWDC.

For the first time since APRIL, WASH was #1 18-49. The station had a two-share lead over cluster sister WIHT, which rose to #2. It narrowly defeated WAMU, which went from first to third. WWDC inched up to #4, despite a down book. WHUR worked it from #9 to #5 with its highest mark since APRIL. WIAD dropped from #3 into a tie at #7 with WMZQ.

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PHILADELPHIA: A Close Call

Last month iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS saw its four-book 6+ winning streak come to an end. The station was back on top this time (8.2-8.4) but was hearing footsteps as BEASLEY Album Oriented Rock WMMR moved up to #2 with its best outing in over a year (7.9-8.3). AUDACY Sports WIP went from first to third as it returned all of last survey’s massive share increase, plus a bit more (9.8-7.5). The station did pick up a 1.2 share from its stream. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK held firm at #4 (6.7-7.0). AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) was up to #5 (4.3-4.9), while BEASLEY Country WXTU (92.5 XTU)was close behind at #6 (4.2-4.8). Both stations had their best books since JUNE. AUDACY News KYW-A slipped to #7 (4.8-4.4), though it did receive a 0.8 share from its stream. WBEB was once again the cume leader with a 4.2% increase (935,700-974,800). The market was off by 2.1%.

WMMR turned it up to 11 #1 25-54 books in a row and was in double figures for the sixth time during that span. WIP was back at #2 but saw its deficit grow from the smallest margin to three shares. WDAS repeated at #3 with its smallest share since JULY, while WMGK stepped up to #4 with its third straight up book. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99 FM) dipped to #5 as it halted a strong five-book surge. It also barely nipped the pair of stations at #6 – WBEB and WXTU.

WXTU had its best 18-34 book in over a year as it vaulted from #4 to #1. WMMR rose to #2 with a slight decrease and was almost two shares off the lead. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIOQ (Q102) landed its largest share in over a year to advance from #8 to #3. WDAS slid to #4 while two stations were hanging out at #5. WMGK remained in place but with its smallest share since MAY, while WBEB stepped up from #6 with its fourth straight up book. WUSL posted its lowest number in over a year as it fell from #1 to #8.

Last month WIP ended WMMR’s nine-book 18-49 winning streak. The roles were reversed this time as WMMR was back in the lead while WIP slipped to #2 and more than two shares off the lead. WDAS was back at #3 with a modest decrease, while WXTU inched up to #4 with its highest mark since DECEMBER. WBEB rose from #8 to #5, while WUSL slid from #4 to #8.

BOSTON: Hubba, Hubba

For the 10th time in the last 14 surveys and the second book in a row, BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) was #1 6+ (8.3-8.5). AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) regained a small portion of last month’s huge share loss to move from #4 to #2 (5.6-6.1). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX had its best showing in over a year (4.5-5.9) as it rose from #6 to #3. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR slid to #4 with its lowest mark since MAY (7.1-5.8). It was tied with AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7), which stepped down from #3 (6.3-5.8). WMJX did add a 0.5 share from its stream. Also coming in at #4 was iHEARTMEDIA N/T WBZ-A, which stepped up from #5 (5.5-5.8). Despite a 9.1% drop, WMJX still had the most cume (733,700-666,900). The market shrank by 1.5%.

WBZ-F was both #1 and in double figures 25-54 for the second straight survey. WWBX repeated as #2 with a modest increase, while WZLX was back at #3, again with its best book in over a year. A flat iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) stepped up to #4, while WROR dipped to #5.

WWBX continued to dominate the 18-34 space. The station was #1 for the 11th time in the last 14 surveys and hit double digits for the sixth book in a row. WXKS and WMJX remained tied at #2, but with down books, and were almost seven shares off the lead. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) was back at #4 as it gave back some of last month’s large increase. WBZ-F stood alone at #5, while its former partner WROR slipped to #6. Both stations had down books.

Last month WBZ-F broke WWBX’ four-book 18-49 winning streak. WWBX was back at #1 as it narrowly missed double digits. WBZ-F slipped to #2 and was a half share off the pace. A flat WXKS was up two places to #3, while WMJX dipped to #4 as it returned some of last month’s increase. WZLX was up to #5 with a small increase. WROR moved down to #6 and was tied with WJMN.

Bakers, you are halfway through the round ups. We are currently preparing round three of NOVEMBER, 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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