Nine more top markets are on today’s tour of October ratings results, ably guided by Clark Smidt. Today’s journey starts in #42 Providence and winds its way to #52 Hartford, with seven stops in between.
Another Round of PPM sound! Final October Top 50 market rating results
By Media Connector Clark Smidt
Besides the excitement of holidaze, transitioning to 2015 and checking year-end score cards, last week’s field trip to Manhattan included one of the industry’s absolute premier events: Eric Rhoads and Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink Forecast at The Harvard Club on West 44th St. The select gathering is a Who’s Who of Radio – with almost all station group heads, finance, programming, sales, advertising, research, law and technical in attendance. NAB President / CEO Senator Gordon Smith, RAB President / CEO Erica Farber, Lifetime Leader Charles Warfield and Forbes Media Chairman Steve Forbes were also part of the quality sharing by folks who call the shots.
Radio has a lot going on. On-going updates about ROI, new connections, in and on demand service with new income potential, have become the norm. Call it personal audio delivery or sustained excitement about a 90 year old medium, radio remains unique, everywhere…..and free is better than fee. Without violating confidential discussions, there’s a great refreshing story and the leaders in the room are out to tell it….and sell it.
Just ahead of this week’s next round of Top 10 advances, let’s catch up with a spotlight on 6+ August/September/October 6+ PPM markets, Providence(42) to Hartford (52) by taking the long cut around the eastern time zone. Per usual, these are Nielsen subscriber-only results; not a comparative Media top line number from every licensed broadcast station.
42. PROVIDENCE, RI. 6+ Population: 1,381,000. Cumulus Media again has the #1 + #1 share & cume combination: CHR WPRO-FM 8.6-9.0-8.6 Aug/Sept/Oct share and 490k weekly October cume. Hall Communications WCTK earns another very close (.1) 2nd place, 9.1-8.9-8.5. iHeart Media holds 3rd & 5th rankers with ClassicHits WWBB 8.2-7.9-8.2 and HotA/C WSNE 5.5-6.2-6.1. 4th place repeats for Cumulus A/C WWLI 7.1-7.6-8.1. Music. iHeart Rock WHJY falling 7.1-6.6-5.7, Cumulus RymCHR WWKX 3.8-3.7-3.5, Davidson Media Tropical WKKB 2.3-2.4-2.3, Bryant University Classical holds .3. News/Talk: Cumulus WPRO/WEAN up 4.9-5.2-5.8, WGBH Educational 1.3-1.2-1.4, iHeart WHJJ .6 ties Rhode Island Public WELH/WRNI .6, Cumulus WPRV .5. Sports: Entercom WVEI/F 3.5-3.7-3.7. Ocean State Stats: 28 Stations, 57% Subscribe. Ethnic Composition: Spanish 10% AfroAm 5%. Maximum Sept/Oct Share Swings: +.6 Talk WPRO/WEAN, -.9 Rock WHJY. Market Cluster September/October Total Shares: Cumulus 25.9-26.5, iHeart 21.3-20.6, Hall 8.9-8.5.
43. RALEIGH-DURHAM, NC. 1,377,700. Local O&Os once again take the top 3 slots. Curtis Media Country WQDR has the #1 share 11.4-9.4-10.6 on 4th high cume, followed by Capitol Broadcasting A/C WRAL 7.5-7.2-6.8 with #1 cume up 487-504k. #3 share goes to University of North Carolina News/Talk WUNC 6.8-6.6-6.7 and Radio One takes over 4th, 5th and 6th: Urban WQOK 6.1-6.6-6.2, UrbanA/C WFXC/WFKX 5.3-5.5-6.1, Gospel WNNL 4.2-5.8-6.0. Music. iHeart CHR WDCG slips 6.4-6.5-5.7 and ties Curtis AdultHits WBBB 6.3-6.5-5.7. Curtis CHR WPLW up 3.9-3.5-4.5, iHeart ClassicRock WRDU 5.0-5.0-4.4, iHeart Country WNCB 4.4-4.8-4.3, iHeart ModRock WDCG-HD2 2.7-2.4-2.4 to tie Educational Information Corp. Classical WCPE quad-cast 2.3-2.4-2.4. Curtis RegMex WYMY 1.8, Radio Training Network Christian WRTP 1.3, Curtis Oldies WPCM .3 and Curtis Comedy WFNL .2. News/Talk/Sports: Capitol Broadcasting Sports WCMC/F gains 2.2-2.7-3.2, iHeart Talk WTKK 2.7, Curtis N/T WPTF 1.7, Capitol Sports WDNC .4, Curtis Talk WPTK .3 and North Carolina Central U. News WNCU .3. R-D Stats: 39 stations, 59% subscribe, AfroAm 23%, Spanish 10%, Swings: + 1.2 Country WQDR, -.8 for both CHR WDCG and AdultHits WBBB. Cluster Shares: Curtis 24.3-25.1, iHeart 21.1-19.5, Radio One 17.9-18.3, Capitol 10.4-10.4.
44. NORFOLK-VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. 1,358,100. Entercom repeats a win-win with #1 share UrbanA/C WVKL 12.2-11.1-13.3 and #1 cume 362-387k. iHeart Media Urban WOWI 8.5-8.2-9.0, Max Broadcast Group again 3rd & 4th with Country WGH/F 7.3-7.2-7.1 and ClassicHits WVBW 5.0-5.4-5.2. #5 share for Entercom ModA/C WPTE 5.3-4.8-5.1 followed by Entercom RymA/C WNVZ 4.4-4.3-4.1 & Entercom A/C WWDE/F 3.8-3.8-4.0. Max Broadcast Group CHR WVHT 3.1-3.6-3.8 vs. iHeart CHR WNOH 2.4-4.6-3.1. Max Sports WVSP/F moves 1.6-2.5-3.2. iHeart RymA/C WMOV/F drops 4.8-3.1-2.5, Max UrbanA/C WGH 3.2-2.7-2.0, iHeart UrbanA/C WKSA 1.6-1.7-1.7, Hampton University Gospel WHOV 1.3. Norfolk-VA Beach Stats: 36 stations, 39% subscribe, 32% AfroAm, 5% Spanish, Swings +2.2 UrbanA/C WVKL, -1.5 CHR WNOH. Shares: Entercom 24.0-26.5, Max Broadcast 21.4-21.3 iHeart 17.6-16.3.
45. NASHVILLE, TN. 1,285,000. Midwest Communications has the prize #1 share & #1 cume SoftA/C WJXA 11.1-11.0-10.0 and 498k weekly listeners. Cumulus Sports WGFX jumps into 2nd 6.3-6.6-8.4, iHeart Media takes share rankers 3, 4 & 5 with CHR WRVW 7.7-8.0-7.4, Urban WUBT 7.0-6.7-6.6 and ClassicRock WNRQ 6.3-5.7-6.0 in a 5th place tie with Midwest AdultHits WCJK 5.9-5.3-6.0. Music. Cumulus Country WSM/F 4.3-5.3-5.4 vs. a tie between Cumulus other Country WKDF and iHeart Country WSIX/F, both 4.8 and Ryman Hospitality Country WSM 1.4. Cumulus UrbanA/C WQQK 5.7-4.8-5.3. Cromwell Group ModRock WBUZ 2.9-2.8-2.4 ties Cumulus CHR WNFN 2.5-2.5-2.4, WAY Christian WAYM 2.0, Nashville Public Classical WFCL 1.2 and Cromwell Gospel WPRT-HD2 .7. News/Talk/Sports: Nashville Public N/T WPLN 3.2-3.7-3.5, Cumulus Talk WWTN 3.2-3.0-3.0, iHeart N/T WLAC 1.8, Cromwell Sports WPRT 1.5 & other Cromwell Sports WQZQ .5. Nashville Stats: 53 stations, 43% subscribe, AfroAm 16%, Spanish 6%, Swings: + 1.8 Sports WGFX, -1.0 SoftA/C WJXA. Shares: Cumulus 22.7-29.3, iHeart 27.1-22.4, MidWest 16.3-16.0.
46. GREENSBORO-WINSTON-SALEM, NC. 1,219,700. This part of North Carolina shows Entercom taking share rankers 1, 2, 3. #1 share on 8th cume for UrbanA/C WQMG, 10.0-11.1-11.5, AdultHits WSMW 8.3-8.5-8.5 is #2 with the #1 cume 434k and Entercom RymCHR WJMH 7.7-8.2-7.9. 4th share iHeart Country WTQR 7.7-6.8-7.7 vs #5 Entercom Country WPAW down 9.3-9.0-7.4. Dick Broadcasting combo CHR WKZL 5.8-5.8-6.4 and Dick ClassicRock WKRR 5.7-6.4-6.1. iHeart A/C WMAG 6.0-5.4-5.6, iHeart CHR WMKS 4.5-5.1-4.7, iHeart ModRock WVBZ 2.1-2.3-2.4, Curtis RegMex WYMY 1.4 & Curtis Oldies WPCM .3. Baker Family Southern Gospel WXRI & WTJY total .7, Entercom Gospel WEAL .1 and Winston-Salem State University Jazz WSNC .1 News/Talk/Sports: iHeart Talk WPTI 2.6-2.4-2.2, Wake Forest University N/T WFDD 2.1, UNC Chapel Hill N/T WUNC 1.5, Curtis Talk WSJS 1.0, Curtis Sports WCOG .1. Greensboro-High Point Stats: 44 stations, 50% subscribe, AfroAm 22%, Spanish 8%, Swings: + .9 Country WTQR, – 1.6 Country WPAW. Shares: Entercom 36.9-35.3, iHeart 21.0-23.0, Dick 12.2-12.5.
48. WEST PALM BEACH-BOCA RATON, FL. 1,163,200. Digity gains with #1 share & #1 cume HotA/C WRMF 8.0-7.4-8.8 and 437k. iHeart ClassicHits WOLL 2nd, 8.0-8.9-8.0 and all Digity for 3rd, 4th and 5th share rankers: Country WIRK jumps 4.3-4.5-5.7, A/C WEAT gains 4.1-4.7-5.1 and Digity UrbanA/C WMBX is up 3.9-3.9-4.7. Music. iHeart CHR WLDI 3.8-4.0-4.4, iHeart ClassicRock WKGR sinks 4.7-5.3-3.9, WAY Media WAYF Christian 3.7-3.9-3.2, iHeart SpanishHits WRLX 2.3, American Public Media Classical WPBI 1.2. News/Talk: iHeart Talk WZZR 2.3, Dade County School Board N/T WLRN/WKWM 2.0, iHeart N/T WJNO 1.2, American Public Media News WPBI-HD2 1.1 and iHeart Talk WBZT.1 West Palm Stats: 35 Stations, 49% Subscribe, Spanish 19%, AfroAm 17%, Swings + 1.4 HotA/C WRMF, -1.4 ClassicRock WKGR. Shares: Digity 20.5-24.3, iHeart 24.0-22.2.
49. JACKSONVILLE, FL. 1,156,700. Renda Broadcasting repeats #1 share & #1 cume with SoftA/C WEJZ 8.4-9.8-8.6 and a steady 423k. #2 Cox CHR WAPE/F grows 6.4-6.5-7.2, Cox ClassicHits WJGL 6.3-6.0-6.1 is 3rd and 4th is Cox N/T WOKV/F 5.1-5.1-6.1. iHeart takes 5th and 6th as Urban WJBT registers 5.6-5.8-5.9, iHeart Country WQIK 5.3-4.8-5.7 vs. Renda Country WGNE/F 6.2-6.1-4.9 and Renda other Country WMUV 1.6. Cox ModRock WXXJ 5.3-5.6-4.9. iHeart CHR WKSL 5.0-4.4-4.7, iHeart UrbanA/C WSOL 4.2-4.7-4.4 vs, Cox UrbanA/C WHJX 4.5-3.4-3.5. Also Cox: Urban WLGL-HD2 3.3, AdultHits WWJK 4.4-4.0-4.5, Rock WKSL-HD2, .8. News/Talk/Sports: WJCT, Inc. N/T WJCT/F 3.4-2.9-2.8 and iHeart Sports WFXJ .6. J’Ville Stats: 40 stations, 43% subs, 21% AfroAm, 7% Spanish, Swings: + 1.0 N/T WOKV, – 1.2 for both SoftA/C WEJZ and Country WGNE. Shares: Cox 30.1-31.1, iHeart 25.3-26.2, Renda 17.4-15.1.
51. MEMPHIS, TN. 1,104,200. iHeart takes 1st, 2nd and 3rd share. UrbanA/C KJMS #1 share on #2 cume, 9.0-9.4-9.2, Urban WHRK is #2 8.0-7.8-8.3 with #1 cume 339k. Gospel WHAL/F 8.2-8.1-8.2. And, this time around Cumulus has 4th & 5th: R&BOldies WRBO 8.1-8.1-7.4 ties Country WGKX 8.0-7.7-7.4. Music. Flinn Broadcasting RymCHR KXHT 4.4-4.5-5.2, iHeart UrbanA/C WDIA 5.8-5.4-5.0, Entercom HotA/C WMC/F dips 5.7-5.2-4.8, Entercom A/C WRVR 4.9-4.3-4.7, Cumulus Rock WXMX 3.6-3.7-3.7, iHeart ClassicRock WEGR 2.3-2.5-2.8, Entercom Country WLFP 3.5-3.3-2.5 vs. Mighty Media Country WEBL/WOWW 1.5, Mighty Classic Country WUMY .5. Flinn CHR WHBQ/F 2.4 vs. iHeart CHR KWNW 1.5; Mid-South Pacific Classical WKNO quad-cast is also 1.5. Shelby County Schools UrbanA/C WQOX .7 matches Flinn ModRock WIVG .7 and Mighty Media ClassicHitsWGUE .4. News/Talk/Sports. iHeart N/T WREC 2.1-2.3-2.3, Cumulus Talk WKIM .8, WHBQ Sports .5 vs. Entercom Sports WMC .4 and Flinn Sports WPGF .2. Graceland Stats: 47 Stations, 53% Subs, AfroAm 45%, Spanish 5%, Swings +.7 RymCHR KXHT, -.8 Country WLFP. Shares: iHeart 37.3-37.3, CMLS 20.5-19.3, Entercom 16.2-15.7, Flinn 9.0.
52. HARTFORD, CT. 1,072,700. CBS captures the #1, 2 & 5 share rankers but there’s a big change at the top. The New #1 is HotA/C WTIC/F 8.1-8.7-8.8 on the #2 cume and taking the lead from CBS cluster mate SoftA/C WRCH/F sliding 9.6-9.0-8.6. News/Talk WTIC/A is 5th 6.9-7.0-6.5. iHeart takes 3rd and 4th shares with Country WWYZ 7.5-8.1-8.2 and CHR WKSS 6.7-7.5-6.8 with a steady 377k #1 cume. Music. iHeart Classic Hits WHCN recovers 5.3-5.1-6.0 vs. Connoisseur Media ClassicHits WDRC/F slipping again 5.7-5.0-4.2. News/Talk/Sports: Connecticut Educational Telecommunications Corp. N/T WNPR quad-cast 2.9-3.0-3.0 vs. Connoisseur Talk WDRC/A quad-cast .9-1.4. U. Mass Amherst News WFCR 1.1 and iHeart Sports WPOP .2. Capital Stats: 26 stations, 46% subscribe, Spanish 13%, AfroAm 11%, Swings + .9 ClassicHits WHCN, -.8 ClassicHits WDRC/F. Shares: CBS 30.0-29.8, iHeart 20.9-21.2, Connoisseur 5.9-5.6.
Special NYC thanks to Radio Ink, Sun Broadcast Group and United Stations Radio Networks.
Take Aways:
* There’s mixed priority on: digital, mobile, live and local.
* Is that: new receivers, in-car listening, personality and presentation?
* Priorities are refocusing on content and result$, with multiple ways to get there.
* Skeptics vs. new ideas. Talking about it vs. making the magic.
* Engage, participate, “chip in” with easy delivery.
* Build stand-out channels; Unify radio’s successful message.
* Radio keeps connecting everywhere.
Media Connector Clark Smidt, provides non-duplicated input for income results with existing resources. www.broadcastideas.com. 978 470-2120. Andover, MA.
Safe travels & Happy Thanksgiving.
