Ratings: Nine more markets and out

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Clark-SmidtHere’s one more report on November Nielsen Audio market results from Connector Clark Smidt. The fun starts in Providence and winds up not too far from there in Hartford, with stops in between which by the luck of the draw never stray further west than Nashville.


Nielsen November Audio Ratings: Providence to Hartford via eastern points south
By Broadcast Connector Clark Smidt

It’s beginning to look a lot like…..the end of the year with the holiday “adjustments”, the coming of Good Spirits and foretelling of Misguided Spoilers. Let’s Check the last group of November PPMs and work on new ways to to promote the importance of audio delivery…or whatever we call radio and the related digital delivery.

First, allow me to suggest, all concerned could benefit from a comparative top line number from every licensed broadcast station. Reporting becomes exceedingly difficult in markets above Market #56 Buffalo, for example with just one company’s 3 stations listed and some 31 others below the DNS (did not subscribe) line. Maybe that could change in 2015, and certainly add more advertising interest in radio, the markets, the stations, targeted demo value, survey credibility and even new Nielsen customers who’d pay to sell on the results. Once upon a time, we were able to see entire Arbitron books but never tried to sell off them. Non-subscribers are still restricted, regardless of needing much deeper sales info beyond one scanty 6+ or 12+ Mon/Sun 6a-Mid number.

In fact, back in the day, security was so tight, I got a book stickered because the competition heard me innocently say on-air (PM drive WCOZ, Boston, Winter ’76) “Hey, tell a friend that today you listened to Boston’s Best Rock on WCOZ. And, do me a favor, write it down in your diary.” At least the special label on the front cover said “Important Station Activity – WCOZ.” Although Blair Radio wasn’t thrilled it did promote new call letters rather than saying “a young, enthusiastic PD screwed up on air.”

Back to now, the spotlight shines on September/October/November 6+ PPM markets, Providence (42) to Hartford (52) with a holiday lights tour of the eastern time zone. Of course, Nielsen subscriber-only results.

 42. PROVIDENCE, RI. 6+ Population: 1,381,000. Cumulus Media keeps the #1 + #1 share – cume combination with a nice jump by CHR WPRO-FM 9.0-8.6-9.8 Sept/Oct/Nov share and a 507k weekly cume. iHeart Media moves into 2nd with ClassicHits WWBB 7.9-8.2-7.9, Cumulus also has 3rd and 5th: A/C WWLI goes 7.6-8.1-8.7 and Talk WPRO/WEAN/F gains 5.2-5.8-6.0. Hall Communications Country WCTK drops from 2nd to 4th, 8.9-8.5-7.6. Music: iHeart Rock WHJY slips 6.6-5.7-5.6, iHeart HotA/C WSNE drops 6.2-6.1-4.7, Cumulus RymCHR WWKX 3.7-3.5-3.4, Davidson Media Tropical WKKB steady 2.4-2.3-2.3, Bryant University Classical .4 vs. Boston Classical WCRB .1. News/Talk: Cumulus WPRO/WEAN up again 5.2-5.8-6.0, WGBH Educational 1.2-1.4-1.7, iHeart WHJJ .7, Rhode Island Public WELH/WRNI .6, Cumulus WPRV .5. Sports: Entercom WVEI/F 3.7-3.7-3.9. Providence Stats: 28 Stations, 57% Subscribe. Ethnic Composition: Spanish 10% AfroAm 5%. Largest October/November Share Swings: + 1.2 CHR WPRO/F, – 1.4 HotA/C WSNE. Market Cluster Total Shares: Cumulus 25.9-26.5-27.4, iHeart 21.3-20.6-18.9

43. RALEIGH-DURHAM, NC. 1,377,700. Curtis Media Country WQDR grows their #1 share 9.4-10.6-11.4 and moves up a notch to #3 cume. 2nd place Capitol Broadcasting A/C WRAL 7.2-6.8-6.9 keeps the #1 cume 487-504-496k. iHeart CHR WDGE jumps to #3 share 6.5-5.7-6.6 and 4th is a tie between University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill N/T WUNC 6.6-6.7-6.5 and Radio One UrbanA/C WFXC/WFXK 5.5-6.1-6.5. Music: Radio One Urban WQOK 6.6-6.2-5.8 ties its own Radio One Gospel WNNL 5.8-6.0-5.8. Curtis follows with AdultHits WBBB 6.5-5.7-5.6 and CHR WRDU 3.5-4.5-4.5 to tie iHeart ClassicRock WRDU 5.0-5.4-4.5. iHeart Country WNCB falls 4.8-4.3-3.5, Educational Information Classical 4 stations quadcast WCPE steady at 2.3, Curtis RegMex WYMY 1.9, Radio Training Christian WRTP 1.1, Shaw University Jazz .4. News/Talk/Sports: Capitol Broadcasting Sports pair WCMC/F 2.7-3.2-3.0 and WDNC .4. iHeart Talk WTKK 2.5, Curtis N/T WPTF 1.8, Curtis Talk WPTK .3 and North Carolina Central U. News WNCU .2. Raleigh-Durham Stats: 39 stations, 59% subscribe, AfroAm 23%, Spanish 10%, Swings: + .9 CHR WDCG, -.4 Urban WQOK. Cluster Shares: Curtis 24.3-25.1-25.7, iHeart 21.1-19.5-19.3, Radio One 17.9-18.3-18.1, Capitol 10.4-10.4-10.4.

44. NORFOLK-VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. 1,358,100. Exactly the same Top 5: Entercom repeats their win-win with #1 share UrbanA/C WVKL 11.1-13.3-13.4 on #1 cume 362-387-375k. iHeart Media Urban WOWI 8.2-9.0-8.7, Max Broadcast Group takes 3 & 4 with Country WGH/F 7.2-7.1-6.6 and ClassicHits WVBW 5.4-5.2-5.7. #5 share for Entercom ModA/C WPTE 4.8-5.1-5.2 followed by Entercom A/C WWDE/F 3.8-4.0-4.0 and Entercom RymA/C WNVZ 4.3-4.1-3.9. Max Broadcast CHR WVHT 3.6-3.8-3.5 vs. iHeart CHR WNOH 4.6-3.1-2.2. iHeart RymA/C WMOV/F off again 3.1-2.5-2.3, Max UrbanA/C WGH 2.7-2.0-1.9 vs. iHeart UrbanA/C WKSA 1.7-1.7-1.8, Hampton University Gospel WHOV 1.3 and Norfolk State U. Urban WNSB shows at .7. The only non-music station subscribing is Max Sports WVSP/F 2.5-3.2-3.4. Norfolk-Virginia Beach Stats: 36 stations, 39% subscribe, 32% AfroAm, 5% Spanish, Swings + .5 ClassicHits WVBW, -.9 CHR WNOH. Shares: Entercom 24.0-26.5-26.5, Max Broadcast 21.4-21.3-21.1, iHeart 17.6-16.3-15.0.

45. NASHVILLE, TN. 1,285,000. Midwest Communications keeps the #1 share & #1 cume prize but SoftA/C WJXA drops 11.0-10.0-8.8 and from 498k to 469k weekly listeners. Cumulus Sports WGFX holds 2nd 6.6-8.4-8.0, iHeart Media CHR WRVW 8.0-7.4-7.2 is #3, Midwest Classic Hits moves up 5.7-6.0-6.9 and iHeart ClassicRock WNRQ 5.7-6.0-6.5 is 5th. Music: iHeart Urban WQQK 6.7-6.6-6.3 vs. Cumulus UrbanA/C WQQK 4.8-5.3-5.3. A three-way Country shoot-out matches Cumulus Country WSM/F vs. other Cumulus Country WKDF 5.3-4.8-5.2, iHeart WKDF 4.7-4.8-4.0 and Ryman Hospitality WSM-AM 1.3. Cromwell Group ModRock WBUZ 2.8-2.4-2.8, WAY Media Christian WAYM 1.7-2.0-2.3 and Christian WAYQ .4. Nashville Public Classical WFCL .9 vs. Middle Tennessee State U Classical WMOT .1. Cumulus CHR WNFN 2.5-2.4-2.2, Cromwell Gospel WRPT-HD2, .7. News/Talk/Sports: Cumulus Talk WWTN 3.0-3.0-3.7, Nashville Public N/T WPLN/F 3.7-3.5-3.1 with N/T WPLN-A .2, iHeart N/T WLAC 2.0, Cromwell Sports WPRT 1.6 & other Cromwell Sports WQZQ .5. Nashville Stats: 53 stations, 43% subscribe, AfroAm 16%, Spanish 6%, Swings: +.9 AdultHits WCJK, – 1.2 SoftA/C WJXA. Shares: Cumulus 22.7-29.3-30.0, iHeart 27.1-26.6-26.0. MidWest 16.3-16.0-15.7.

46. GREENSBORO-WINSTON-SALEM, NC. 1,219,700. Big market for Entercom, looking hot with last week’s Lincoln Financial purchase, holds win, place & show, plus sharing a 5th. UrbanA/C WQMG has the #1 share on 8th market cume 11.1-11.5-11.0, AdultHits WSMW is 2nd 8.5-8.5-9.3 with #1 cume 434-425k and Entercom RymCHR WJMH is 3rd 8.2-7.9-8.4. 4th share iHeart Country WTQR 6.8-7.7-6.8 edges #5 Entercom Country WPAW dropping 9.0-7.4-6.5 and now tied with iHeart A/C WMAG up 5.4-5.6-6.5. Music: Dick Broadcasting ClassicRock WKRR 6.4-6.1-6.0 slips ahead of Dick CHR WKZL 5.8-6.4-5.9 vs. iHeart CHR WMKS 5.1-4.7-4.6. iHeart ModRock WVBZ 2.3-2.4-2.2, Curtis RegMex WYMY gains 1.3-1.4-1.7, Baker Family Southern Gospel WXRI & WTJY total .6, Curtis Oldies WPCM .4 and Winston-Salem State U. Jazz WSNC .1 News/Talk/Sports: iHeart Talk WPTI 2.4-2.6-2.5, Wake Forest University N/T WFDD 1.9, UNC Chapel Hill N/T WUNC 1.6 and Curtis Talk WSJS .8. Greensboro-High Point Stats: 44 stations, 50% subscribe, AfroAm 22%, Spanish 8%. Swings: + .8 AdultHits WSMW, – .9 for both Country WTQR and Country WPAW. Shares: Entercom 36.9-35.3-35.2, iHeart 21.0-23.0-22.6, Dick 12.2-12.5-11.9.

48. WEST PALM BEACH-BOCA RATON, FL. 1,163,200. Digity expands #1 share & #1 cume HotA/C WRMF, 7.4-8.8-10.7 and 437-462k. iHeart ClassicHits WOLL is 2nd, 8.9-8.0-7.6 and then Digity runs the table for 3rd, 4th and 5th as Country WIRK goes 4.5-5.7-5.3, A/C WEAT holds 4.7-5.1-5.1 and UrbanA/C WMBX levels at 3.9-4.7-4.6. Music: iHeart CHR WLDI 4.0-4.4-3.8, WAY Media WAYF Christian 3.9-3.2-3.5, iHeart ClassicRock WKGR drops again 5.3-3.9-3.2, iHeart SpanishHits WRLX 2.4-2.3-2.5, American Public Media Classical WPBI 1.2-1.2-1.5, Moody Bible Religious WRMB .8. News/Talk/Sports: iHeart Talk WZZR 2.0-2.3-2.4, Dade County School Board N/T WLRN/WKWM 1.6, iHeart N/T WJNO 1.2, American Public Media News WPBI-HD2 1.0 and iHeart Talk WBZT.1 West Palm-Boca Stats: 35 Stations, 49% Subscribe, Spanish 19%, AfroAm 17%, Swings (same stations as last month) + 1.9 HotA/C WRMF, – .7 ClassicRock WKGR. Shares: Digity 20.5-24.3-25.7, iHeart 24.0-22.2-20.8.

49. JACKSONVILLE, FL. 1,156,700. Renda Broadcasting slips into a tie for #1 share with #1 cume on SoftA/C WEJZ 9.8-8.6-7.5 and minor cume fluctuation 423-418k. Cox CHR WAPE/F up again to share #1honors 6.5-7.2-7.5. Cox captures 3rd and ties itself for 4th: CHR WAPE/F 6.5-7.2-7.1 and ClassicHits WJGL 6.0-6.1-6.4 ties N/T WOKV/F 5.1-6.1-6.4. Music: iHeart Urban WJBT steady 5.8-5.9-5.6 vs. Cox Urban WJGL-HD2 3.5-3.3-2.9. Renda Country WGNE/F is 6.1-4.9-5.5 with Renda other Country WMUV 1.8. Cox ModRock WXXJ 5.6-4.9-5.2, iHeart CHR WKSL 4.4-4.7-4.5, iHeart UrbanA/C WSOL 4.7-4.4-4.3 vs. Cox UrbanA/C WHJX 3.4-3.5-3.3. iHeart AdultHits WWJK off 4.5-4.3-3.6 and iHeart Rock WKSL-HD2, .6. News/Talk/Sports: WJCT, Inc. N/T WJCT/F 2.9-2.8-2.7 and iHeart Sports WFXJ .7. Jacksonville Stats: 40 stations, 43% subs, 21% AfroAm, 7% Spanish, Swings: + 1.8 Country WQIK/F, – 1.1 SoftA/C WEJZ. Shares: Cox 30.1-31.1-31.3, iHeart 25.3-26.2-26.9, Renda 17.4-15.1-14.8.

51. MEMPHIS, TN. 1,104,200. iHeart takes 1st, 2nd and a tie for 3rd. UrbanA/C KJMS holds #1 share 9.4-9.2-9.1 on #4 cume, Gospel WHAL/F moves up to 2nd 8.1-8.2-8.6, and Urban WHRK is 3rd 7.8-8.3-8.1 to tie Cumulus R&BOldies WRBO 8.1-7.4-8.1. Entercom A/C WRVR jumps into 5th, 4.3-4.7-6.3 and takes over #1 cume with 348k. Music: iHeart UrbanA/C WDIA recovers 5.4-5.0-6.1, Flinn Broadcasting RymCHR KXHT 4.5-5.2-5.6, Entercom HotA/C WMC/F 5.2-4.8-5.0. Country competition hears Cumulus WGKX plunging 7.7-7.4-4.6 but still comfortably ahead of Mighty Media Group WEBL/WOWW 1.4, Entercom WLFP 1.1 and Mighty Media ClassicCountry WUMY .5. Cumulus Rock WXMX holds 3.7-3.7-3.8, iHeart ClassicRock WEGR 2.5-2.8-2.8, Flinn ModRock .7 and Mighty Media ClassicHits .6. Flinn CHR WHBQ up 2.1-2.4-2.5 vs. iHeart CHR KWNW 1.9 and Shelby County School UrbanA/C WQOX .9. Mid-South Pacific Classical WKNO/WKNP 1.7. News/Talk: iHeart N/T WREC 2.3-2.3-2.5, Cumulus Talk WKIM .9. Sports: Entercom WMFS/F 3.1-3.3-3.1 and WMC .3, Flinn Sports WHBQ .6 and WPGF-L .2. Memphis Stats: 47 Stations, 53% Subs, AfroAm 45%, Spanish 5%, Swings are large: +1.6 A/C WRVR, -2.8 Country WGKX. Shares: iHeart 37.3-37.3-39.1, Cumulus 20.5-19.3-17.4, Entercom 16.2-15.7-15.8, Flinn 8.0-9.0-9.6.

52. HARTFORD, CT. 1,072,700. CBS takes #1, 2 & 5 share rankers and another change at the top. HotA/C WTIC/F 8.7-8.9-7.8 fun in the sun at number one is over quickly as iconic leader SoftA/C WRCH 9.0-8.6-8.4 retakes top share with a 3rd place cume. CBS WTIC/F consolation prize, #1 cume at a repeat 377k. iHeart Media Country WWYZ slips but stays in 3rd 8.1-8.2-7.3 and CHR WKSS holds 4th 7.5-6.8-6.9. 5th share CBS N/T WTIC/F 7.0-6.5-6.6; remembering the anniversary of the Sandy Hook elementary school tragedy, WTIC fed CBS radio coverage that Friday was riveting. Music: iHeart ClassicHits WHCN holds 5.1-5.6-5.6 vs. Connoisseur Media ClassicHits WDRC/FM 5.0-4.2-4.6. CBS RymCHR WZMX goes 5.3-5.8-5.2. News/Talk/Sports: Connecticut Educational Telecommunications N/T WNPR quadcast 3.0-3.0-3.2, Connoisseur Talk WDRC-AM quadcast .9-1.4-1.5, UMass News WFCR 1.3 and iHeart Sports WPOP .1, long ago Top 40s WDRC-WPOP battled for runner-up rights behind WTIC-A. Hartford Stats: 26 stations, 46% subscribe, Spanish 13%, AfroAm 11%, Swings + .4 ClassicHits WDRC/F, -1.1 HotA/C WTIC/F. Shares: CBS 30.0-29.8-28.0, iHeart 20.9-21.220.3, Connoisseur 5.9-5.6-6.1. Of Interest: Historically under-radioed, Hartford recently heard long-time rock WCCC sell to EMF Christian, leaving another format void in the market. Last week, start-up iRockRadio.com with participation by former WCCC staff, concert king Jim Koplik and Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Robinson, founder / owner of The Connecticut Schools of Broadcasting. Also, older oldies have Saturday Night Request show on FunTowerRadio.com. More finding if stations will profit without traditional on-air delivery.

Takeaways:
* Do big monthly swings happen because of station performance, PPM household change or both?
* Is income potential from Digital & Mobile, Compelling Content Reception or both?
* Local Radio delivers 6:1 ad value and connects regional media.
* AM via HD = Smartphone Emergency Service & Delivery.
* Fish for Boomers: They buy for all demos, themselves and grew up loving radio.

Media Connector Clark Smidt, uses teamwork and existing resources to deliver practical input for a better bottom line. www.broadcastideas.com. 978 470-2120. Andover, MA. A Safe, Happy & Healthy Holiday Season, Christmas & New Year’s to all!