Clark Smidt is back with a look at a few more big radio markets and the ratings battles therein. Today’s report starts off in Indianapolis and works its way to Hartford with no foul-weather precautions required.
PPM Holiday Summary. Nielsen Audio PPM Markets #40 Indianapolis to #52 Hartford
by Clark Smidt, Broadcast Connections
The Holiday results continue to be a PPM market winner profiled as: Usually the first-in, one station per market, mostly A/C with a few winners from Classic Hits. This update completes the 13th survey period of the year and review of November (October 9-November 4), December (November 6 – December 3) and Holiday (December 4 – 31) survey 6+ total persons. Going through 47 PPM Markets, only 3 failed to gain holiday share. Chicago and St. Louis had the most spirit, winning stations came from Greater Media Boston, Bonneville St. Louis, iHeart in Portland, OR and Renda in Jacksonville. Riverside, CA. gets the Grinch trophy for Holiday share loss. Once again, these are subscriber only 6+ total shares and just 4 of these 10 markets have more than ½ of the stations listed. There are obvious trends and again, the fact that more audience listens up for attractive formats:
40. INDIANAPOLIS, IN. 6+ population 1,429,100. Ethnic composition: Black 16%, Spanish 6%. Percentage of licensed stations as Nielsen subscribers: 47%. Emmis Communications Soft A/C WYXB jumps +6.3, adding to their leading share (7.4-8.2-13.7) and winning market cume of 600,900, representing 42% of the market’s total population, to a 2nd place tie between + 1.3 iHeartMedia Classic Rock WFBQ (6.9-6.8-6.3) and – 0.6 Cumulus Country WFMS (6.9-6.8-6.3). Other gains are limited to #13, + 0.9 Cumulus Media CHR WRWM (1.9-1.7-2.8) and 11th + 0.3 Radio One CHR WNOW-F (3.7-4.3-4.0). All other slides are less than a one share: – 0.9 Cumulus Classic Hits WJJK (6.3-6.7-5.4) is 8th, – 0.8 Emmis Country WLHK (7.0-6.5-6.2) 4th, – 0.7 Emmis Sports WIBC-HD2 (1.7-1.3-1.0), and 7th place – 0.6 Emmis Talk WIBC (6.2-6.7-5.6). Some 8 others have smaller dips. Top 10 share totals: November 57.7, Holiday 64.5. Total listener shares gain + 10.5%.
42. PROVIDENCE, RI. 1,381,000. Spanish 10%, Black 5%. Subscribers 57%. Big jump for + 7.5 Cumulus A/C WWLI (7.7-7.6-15.2) with a 153,000 cume lead ahead of 2nd share – 0.4 Cumulus CHR WPRO-F (9.8-10.1-9.4). Just one gain: #10 share + 0.4 Davidson Media Tropical WKKB (2.3-2.7-2.7) while just about everyone else posts a loss: – 1.2 Cumulus Talk WPRO/WEAN-F (6.0-4.9-4.8), – 1.0 Hall Communications Country WCTK is 4th (7.6-8.0-8.6), – 0.8 Entercom Sports WVEI-F (3.9-4.0-3.1), – 0.6 for #3 share iHeart Classic Hits WWBB (7.9-7.9-7.3), – 0.5 Cumulus Rhythmic CHR WWKX (3.4-3.5-2.9), and – 0.2 iHeart Hot A/C WSNE (4.7-4.9-4.5). Top 10 shares: November 59.1, Holiday 62.0. Listening shares: + 4.7%.
43. RALEIGH, NC. 1,377,700. Black 22.5%, Spanish 10%. Subscribers 59%. Tally + 7.1 for Capitol Broadcasting Co. A/C WRAL (6.9-7.3-14.0) with their 604,300 cume is 158,300 and 11.5% of the total population ahead of 3rd share, – 0.3 iHeart CHR WDCG (6.6-7.1-6.9)..4-8.2). Largest drop is 2nd place – 3.2 Curtis Media Country WQDR-F (11.4-9.4-8.2). Other dips not as severe: – 0.8 iHeart Classic Rock WRDU (5.4-4.2-3.7), – 0.8 Radio Training Christian WRTP (1.1-0.9-0.3), – 0.6 Educational Informational Classical WCPE/WBUX/WURI/WZPE (2.3-2.5-1.7), – 0.5 Capitol Broadcasting Sports WCMC-F (3.0-3.4-2.5), – 0.4 Curtis News/Talk WPTF (1.8-1.4-1.4) and several at – 0.3: 5th place Univ. No. Cal. Chapel Hill News/Talk WUNC (6.5-6.3-6.2), Curtis CHR WPLW (4.5-4.6-4.2) and iHeart Talk WTKK (2.5-2.5-2.2). The 2nd largest market gain is + 0.4 iHeart Modern Rock WDCG-HD2 (2.2-2.0-2.6) then 4th place, + 0.3 Radio One Urban A/C WFXC/WFXK (6.5-6.4-6.8). Top 10: November 64.1, Holiday 66.7, Listeners + 4%.
44. NORFOLK, VA. 1,358,100. Black 32%, Spanish 5%, Subscribers 59%. Top share: – 0.9 Entercom Urban A/C WVKL (13.4-12.9-12.5) but with a 143,000 cume trialing cluster mate and holiday big beneficiary + 5.2 Entercom A/C WWDE-F (4.0-6.2-9.2). Another big gainer is 8th share + 2.1 iHeart Rhythmic A/C WMOV-F (2.3-4.5-4.4), + 1.1 Entercom Rhythmic CHR WNVZ and + 0.5 for each of: #4 Max Broadcast Group Classic Hits WVBW (5.7-5.2-6.2), #9 Max Broadcast CHR WVHT (2.2-2.-2.7) and #10 iHeart CHR WNOH (2.2-2.3-2.7). Down are: – 1.9 Max Broadcast Country WGH-F (6.6-6.3-4.7) in 7th place, 3rd share – 1.0 iHeart Urban WOWI (8.7-8.3-7.7), – 1.0 Max Broadcast Sports WVSP-F (3.4-3.0-2.4), – 0.5 Max Broadcast Urban A/C WGH (1.9-1.4-1.4) and – 0.4 Entercom Modern A/C WPTE (5.2-4.6-4.8) in 6th place. Top 10 Totals: November 55.5, Holiday 61.2, Listening Share + 9.3%.
45. NASHVILLE, TN. 1,285,000. Black 16%, Spanish 6%. Nielsen Subs, 43%. Overall, no gain but a big holiday for + 5.6 Midwest Communications Soft A/C WJXA (8.8-9.9-14.1) leading by a 7.2 share and 193,000 cume margin that’s 15% of the total market population. #2 share is + 0.6 iHeart Urban WUBT (6.3-6.5-6.9) and #2 cume goes to 3rd place – 0.4 iHeart CHR WRVW (7.2-6.5-6.8). The only other gain over + 0.1 is 11th place + 0.5 Cromwell Group Modern Rock WBUZ (2.8-3.3-3.3). Everyone else drops including: – 1.6 iHeart Classic Rock WNRQ (6.5-6.0-4.9), – 1.1 Cumulus Sports WGFX (8.0-7.0-6.1), – 0.8 Cumulus Country WSM-F (5.6-5.3-4.8), – 0.7 Nashville Public News/Talk WPLN-F (3.1-3.2-2.4), – 0.6 Midwest Adult Hits WCJK (6.9-7.0-6.3) and – 0.6 Cumulus Country WKDF (5.2-5.3-4.6). Top 10: November 63.8, Holiday 63.4. Listening is down by just the proverbial hair: 0.1%.
46. GREENSBORO, NC. 1,219,700. Black 22%, Spanish 8%. Subs 50%. Big win for + 9.6 iHeart A/C WMAG (6.5-9.6-16.1) with a 6.2 share lead over #2, – 1.1 Entercom Urban A/C WQMG (11.0-10.4-9.9) and a 249,400 cume lead 20% of the market population) over 3rd place – 0.5 Entercom Adult Hits WSMV (9.3-9.1-8.8). Gains are sparse: + 0.3 Curtis Talk WSJS (0.8-1.1-1.1), + 0.2 Wake Forest U. News/Talk WFDD (1.9-2.2-2.1), + 0.1 Entercom Country WPAW (6.5-7.2-6.6). Losses are plentiful: – 1.6 Entercom Rhythmic CHR WJMH (8.4-6.9-6.8), – 1.3 iHeart Country WTQR (6.8-6.2-5.5), – 1.3 Dick Broadcasting Classic Rock WKRR (6.0-5.5-4.7), -1.3 Dick CHR WKZL (5.9-5.6-4.6), – 0.9 iHeart CHR WMKS (4.6-4.3-3.7). Small Top 10 share gain: November 67.5, Holiday 68.9. + 2%.
48. WEST PALM BEACH, FL. 1,163,200. Spanish 19%, Black 17%. Subs 49%. The Holiday giveth and taketh awayeth from Digity: – 2.4 Hot A/C WRMF (10.7-10.8- 8.3) with a small lead over + 3.1 Digity A/C WRMF (5.1-5.0-8.2). Gainers include: + 1.3 WAY Media Christian WAYF (3.5-4.1-4.8), + 0.8 iHeart Classic Rock WKGR (3.2-3.4-4.0), + 0.6 Digity Country WIRK (5.3-5.8-5.9) and + 0.6 Digity Urban A/C WMBX (4.6-5.5-5.2). Losses limited to: – 0.7 iHeart Classic Hits WOLL (7.6-6.8-6.9), – 0.6 iHeart Spanish Hits WRLX (2.5-2.0-1.9), – 0.4 iHeart News/Talk WJNO (1.2-1.0-0.8) and – 0.3 iHeart Talk WZZR (2.4-2.3-2.1). Top 10: November 44.1, Holiday 51.0. Listening shares + 13.5%.
49. JACKSONVILLE, FL. 1,156,700. Black 21%, Spanish 7%. Subs 43%. + 10.4 Renda Soft A/C WEJZ (7.5-9.1-17.9) a huge 11.4 over 2nd place -1.2 iHeart Country WQIK-F (7.5-7.7-6.5) and a 244,000 cume lead (21% of the market pop) ahead of – 0.7 Cox CHR WAPE-F (76.1-6.6-6.4) ranking 3rd. Losses: – 1.0 Cox News/Talk WOKC-F (6.4-6.7-5.4), – 0.7 iHeart Adult Hits WWJK (3.6-3.3-2.9), – 0.6 Cox Classic Hits WJGL ( 6.4-6.1-5.8) and – 0.5 for both Renda Country WGNE-F (5.5-5.4-5.0) and iHeart Sports (0.7-0.6-0.2). Only gains, of note: + 1.3 Cox Urban A/C WHJX (3.3-3.9-4.6) and + 0.2 for both iHeart Rhythmic Oldies WSOL-F (4.3-4.6-4.5) and Cox Urban WJGL-HD2 (2.9-3.3-3.1). Top 10: November 58.9, Holiday 66.6. Listening + 11.6%
51. MEMPHIS, TN. 1.104,200. Black 45%, Spanish 5%. Subscribers 53%. + 5.2 Entercom A/C WRVR (6.3-7.7-11.5) leads by 2.6 over 2nd place – 0.2 iHeart Urban A/C KJMS (9.1-8.8-8.9) and a 140,000 cume, 12.7% population lead over 0.8 iHeart Urban WHRK (8.1-8.4-8.9) at #3 share. The only other gains were tiny: + 0.3 Entercom Country WLFP (1.1-1.3-1.4). Losses led by: – 1.3 Cumulus R&B oldies WRBO (8.1-6.9-6.8), – 0.9 Finn Broadcasting Rhythmic CHR KXHT (5.6-5.3-4.7), – 0.8 Cumulus Country WGKX (4.6-4.5-3.8), – 0.8 iHeart News/Talk WREC (2.5-2.4-1.7) and – 0.7 iHeart Urban A/C WDIA (6.1-6.2-5.4). Top 10: November 65.3, Holiday 67.2. Listening + 3%.
52. HARTFORD, CT. 1,072,700. Spanish 13%, Black 11%. Nielsen Subscribers 46%. CBS has consistent leader + 6.8 Soft A/C WRCH (8.4-8.7-15.2) posting a 8.4 share over 2nd place – 0.1 iHeart CHR WKSS (6,9-6.5-6.8); the RCH 103,400 cume lead represents 9.6% of the market population. The only other station immune to holiday fever: + 0.8 CBS Rhythmic CHR WZMX (5.2-6.0-6.0). Losses include: – 1.8 CBS Hot A/C WTIC-F (7.8-7.2-6.0), – 0.7 iHeart Country WWYZ (7.3-8.2-6.8) at 3rd place overall, – 0.7 iHeart Classic Hits WHCN (6.0-6.4-5.3), – 0.7 Connoisseur Media Classic Hits WDRC-F (4.6-4.1-3.9) most recently evolving to Classic Rock and – 0.4 Connoisseur Talk WDRC/WMMW/WWCO/WSNG (1.5-01.5-1.1). Top 10 Shares: November 58.1, Holiday 61.2. Listening + 5%.
Average Listening Increase for these last 10 PPM Markets: 6.3%.
Here’s the Clark Holiday Scorecard based on 47 PPM Markets:
The average November / December / Holiday market share gain is 7.08%. Only 3 markets record a share loss. A/C and Soft A/C have the most winners.
Top Market Share Gains by percentage:
1. 16.4% Chicago
2. 14.5% St. Louis
3. 14.0% Philadelphia
4. 13.5% Portland
4. 13.5% West Palm Beach
6. 12.0% Houston
6. 12.0% San Diego
6. 12.0% Orlando
9. 11.3% New York
10. 11.0% Phoenix
Top gaining stations November/December/Holiday Share Trend and final Holiday Share:
1..+11.8 KSFI, Salt Lake City 17.9
2..+10.8 WMJX, Boston 16.5
3..+10.4 WEJZ, Jacksonville 17.9
4..+10.1 KKCW, Portland 18.1
5..+9.7 KESZ, Phoenix 14.3
6..+9.4 WNIC, Detroit 13.7
7..+8.9 WLIF, Baltimore 14.6
8..+8.8 WASH, Washington DC 13.6
9..+8.3 WBEB, Philadelphia 15.1
10..+7.9 WLTW, New York 13.5
Lowest Holiday Market Share Change by percentage:
1. -10.3% Riverside, CA
2. -6.0% Pittsburgh, PA
3. -0.1% Nashville, TN
4. +2.0% Greensboro, NC
5. +2.5% Columbus, OH
6. +3.0% San Francisco, CA6. + 3.0% Miami, FL
6. +3.0% Cincinnati, OH
6. +3.0% Memphis, TN
10. +3.5% Charlotte, NC 10.5%
Takeaways:
* Holiday tunes are familiar and are often more than 40 years old.
* R&B Oldies, Classic Hip Hop, etc. leads are at the corner of Fresh and Familiar
* Urban A/C delivers variety and adult tempo
* Shop Early for Xmas
Broadcast Connector Clark Smidt improves bottom line results with existing resources. Hands-on since ’66, Advising since ’82.
Conversations on Goals & Results: 978 470-2120, Andover, MA. www.broadcastideas.com [email protected]
