Ratings from the Top of the Nielsen Audio Charts

Listening results through late April from Nielsen Audio are in, and Clark Smidt has the numbers and the story behind them in his latest report. Results for radio in America’s biggest media markets, from New York to Boston, are right here.

New York to Boston: Report from the Top 10
By Clark Smidt, Broadcast Connector

The exact dates for this edition are March 26-April 22, covering the February/March/April trends for Nielsen Portable People Meter markets #1 New York – # 10 Boston. Back in the days of Arbitron diaries and ratings books, April/May was considered the big one! The results influenced buys for the remainder of the year as Summer (July/August) was Vacation & Top 40 time with Fall (October/November) released too late for Christmas Season ad buys. Use your experience and imagination to fill in the blanks as we check your up close, printable RBR Scorecard & Commentary for Nielsen subscribers only, 6+ total shares. Cue The Top 10 US Radio Markets:

1 NEW YORK, NY. 6+ population 15,697,400. 52 stations, 71% Nielsen subscribers. Ethnic Comp: Spanish 23%, Black 17%.
Rank Calls Format Owner 3 month gain/loss Feb/Mar/Apr Trend Commentary & Format Totals
1 WLTW Adult Contemporary iHeart. + 0.7; 7.0-7.6-7.9, only NYC A/C, #1 cume 5,671,400 leads #2 by 1.25 mil.
2 WCBS-F Classic Hits CBS. + 0.1; 6.2-6.4-6.3 steady & strong; ‘CBS/FM leads iHeart Classic Rock WAXQ, 1.1.
3 WSKQ-F Tropical Spanish Broadcasting (SBS). + 0.5; 5.2-5.3-5.7, leads 6 subscribing Spanish types Total: 12.0.
4 WHTZ CHR iHeart. Steady, 5.2-5.1-5.2, #2 cume, tops CHRs Emmis Rhythmic WQHT by 1.4, CBS WBMP 2.2.
4 WAXQ Classic Rock iHeart. – 0.2; 5.0-4.9-5.2. The only subscribing NYC Rock format.
6 WBLS Urban A/C Emmis. – 0.9; 5.8-5.7-4.9, beats both iHeart Urban WWPR & Rhythmic A/C WKTU by 1.8.
7 WINS News CBS. – 1.0; 5.1-4.8-4.1, stays ahead of News WCBS 1.3 & N/T WNYC-F by 1.5. N/T Total: 14.6.
8 WQHT Rhythmic-CHR Emmis. + 0.5; 3.3-3.5-3.8. The 3 NYC CHR format Total dips 11.7-11.2.
9 WKTU Rhythmic A/C iHeart. – 0.3; 4.0-3.8-3.7 again beats Hot A/C CBS WWFS by 0.8; CMLS WPLJ by 1.3.
9 WWPR Urban iHeart. + 0.1; 3.6-3.7-3.7. The two Urban, one Gospel format Total drops 9.6-8.8.
11 WFAN-F/WFAN Sports CBS. – 0.5; 3.7-3.4-3.2, needs Yankees, tops ESPN WEPN-F by 2.0, NYC Sports: 4.2.
12 WBMP CHR CBS Radio. + 0.2; 2.8-2.1-3.0.
12 WXNY Spanish CHR Univision. + 0.3; 2.7-3.0-3.0, SBS Spanish Hits WPAT-F behind by 0.8.
14 WWFS Hot A/C CBS. Flat, 2.9-3.0-2.9, maybe not so fresh. Lead over Cumulus Hot A/C WPLJ drops to 0.6.
15 WCBS News CBS. – 1.2; 4.0-3.2-2.8. Surprisingly large dip as News took a beating in several major markets.
16 WNYC-F News/Talk NYC Broadcast Foundation. – 0.3; 2.9-2.6-2.6, the NYC public cluster of 3 Totals 4.4.
17 WPLJ Hot A/C Cumulus. + 0.3; 2.1-2.0-2.4. Finally, a little traction. CMLS has some great ABC signals.
18 WPAT/FM Spanish Hits SBS. – 0.2; 2.4-2.1-2.2. A long time great NY FM signal.
19 WABC Talk Cumulus. – 0.1; 1.8-1.9-1.7. The Mighty 77. Once upon a time, didn’t it hit a 40 share?
19 WNSH Country Cumulus. + 0.4; 1.3-1.5-1.7. The only NYC Country gets another small tick.
21 WOR Talk iHeart. + 0.2; 1.4-1.4-1.6, likely hitting with the Mets; baseball starts to factor around the country.
22 WKXW Talk Townsquare, NJ. 1.2 ties Sports WEPN-F and Classical WQXR NYC Bcast.Foundation, all 1.2.
Ethnic: Univision Spanish N/T WADO 0.7. RegMex WQBU-F, WEPN SpanSports, Emmis Gospel WLIB all 0.2.
Non Commercial: Adult Alternative Fordham U. WFUV 0.6 ties Newark Public Jazz WBGO & N/T WNYC @ 0.6.
Suburban: Greater Media A/C WMGQ 0.6, Pamal A/C WHUD 0.5, Pamal AA WXPK & Press Country WKMK 0.4.
Suburban Hot A/C: Townsquare WJLK 0.2 and Press WWZY/WBHH 0.1.
Swings: + 0.7 A/C WLTW, + 0.5 Tropical WSKQ, + 0.5 Rhym-CHR WQHT; – 1.0 News WINS, – 0.9 UrbanA/C WBLS.
F/M/A Shares: iHeart 26.2-26.5-27.3; CBS 24.7-23.9-22.3; Emmis 9.1-9.4-8.9; SBS 7.6-7.4-7.9; Cumulus 5.2-5.4-5.8.

2 LOS ANGELES, CA. 10,860,300. 69 stations, 61% subscribe. Spanish 43%, Black 7%.
1 KIIS/KVVS CHR iHeart. + 0.2; 5.2-5.3-5.4, #1 cume 3.847 mil. beats CBS KAMP 1.3, Emmis Rhym KPWR 2.5.
1 KBIG Hot A/C iHeart. + 0.4; 5.0-5.-5.4, exclusive Hot A/C Ties at the Top! CBS Smooth A/C KTWV back 1.5.
3 KRTH Classic Hits CBS. + 0.1; 5.1-5.0-5.2, exclusive Classic Hits takes Bonneville Classic Rock KSWD by 1.3.
4 KOST A/C iHeart. – 0.3; 5.2-5.1-4.9. LA’s 4 A/Cs Hot KBIG, Smooth KTWV, Urban KJLH, Total 14.9-15.3.
5 KSWD Classic Rock Bonneville. + 0.2; 3.7-3.9-3.9, nice Top 5, leads Cumulus Classic Rock KLOS by 1.9.
5 KCBS-F Adult Hits CBS. + 0.1; 3.8-3.7-3.9, LA Exclusive format holds nicely in the Top 5.
5 KTWV Smooth A/C CBS. + 1.3; 2.6-3.5-3.9, great growth for the unique adult format. 5th is a 3-way tie.
8 KAMP-F CHR CBS. – 0.7; 4.3-4.0-3.6, the 4 CHR type stations, Hot, Regular, Smooth & Urban Total 15.7.
8 KLVE Romantica Univision. – 0.3; 3.9-3.9-3.9, leads 9 LA Spanish formats with an 18.6 Total Share.
10 KFI Talk iHeart. Flat, 3.4-3.5-3.4, still #1 of the 7 LA News/Talkers with Total Shares up 12.7-14.0.
11 KRRL Urban iHeart. + 0.6; 2.5-3.2-3.1.
12 KNX/KNX-HD2 News CBS. – 0.2; 3.1-3.1-2.9, LA’s exclusive All-News.
12 KROQ Modern Rock CBS. – 0.2; 3.1-2.9-2.9, same trend as KNX; beats iHeart ModRock KYSR/KSRY, 0.5.
14 KPWR Rhythmic-CHR Emmis. – 0.9; 3.6-2.8-2.5, sick story; it all comes back. Score LA CHR: 6.8-6.1.
15 KYSR/KSRY Modern Rock iHeart. Very Flat, 2.4-2.4-2.4. Add CBS KROQ & LA ModRock Total holds 5.3.
15 KLAX-F Regional Mexican SBS. – 0.1; 2.5-2.3-2.4 ups Reg.Mex. Univision KSCA 0.2; Liberman KBUE, 0.5.
17 KLYY/KDLD/KDKE Spanish Adult Hits Entravision. – 0.1; 2.4-2.4-2.3 vs. SBS Spanish CHR KXOL-F at 1.5.
18 KPPC News/Talk Southern Cal. Public Radio. – 0.3; 2.5-2.6-2.2 vs. Santa Monica College N/T KCRW at 1.6.
18 KKGO Country Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters. 2.3-2.3-2.3-2.2. Solo Country. Mt. Wilson Jazz KKJZ is 0.8.
18 KSCA Regional Mexican Univision. + 0.1; 2.1-2.3-2.2. Univision Spanish N/T KTNQ is 0.3.
18 KRCD/KRCV Spanish Adult Hits Univision. – 0.1; 2.3-2.2-2.2.
22 KLOS Classic Rock Cumulus Media. Flat at 2.0, again for the former Rockin’ Stereo.
23 KUBE/KEBN/KBUA Regional Mexican Liberman. 1.7, Lieberman Ranchera KWIZ now 1.1.
23 KUSC Classical University Southern California. 1.7, format exclusive also for Mt. Wilson Jazz at 0.8.
25 KCRW/KCRI/WCRU/WCRY N/T Santa Monica College, 1.6. Pacifica Variety KPFK 0.2.
Spanish: SBS CHR KXOL-F 1.5, Entravision CHR KSSE 1.3, Univision N/T KTNG 0.3.
Urban: Stevie Wonder’s Taxi Prod. A/C + 0.3; 1.2-1.3-1.5. Meruelo Media R&B Oldies KDAY/KDEY-F 1.0.
Sports: ESPN KSPN 1.0, iHeart KLAC 0.9, LAA1 KLAA 0.3, CBS KFWB 0.2. LA 4 Sports Total: 2.4.
Talk: iHeart KEIB 0.9, Salem KRLA 0.8, Cumulus KABC 0.5.
Salem Inspirational: Christian KFSH-F 0.8 ties Talk KRLA 0.8, Religious Teaching KKLA-F 0.6.
Swings: + 1.3 Smooth A/C KTWV, + 0.4 Hot A/C KBIG; – 0.9 Rhythmic-CHR KPWR, – 0.7 CHR KAMP-F.
Shares: iHeart 20.6-25.9-26.4, CBS 22.8-21.5-22.4, Univision 8.6-8.8-8.0, SBS 4.4-4.0-3.9, Bonneville 3.9-3.9.

3. CHICAGO, IL. 7,819,200. 78 stations, 53% subscribe. Spanish 20%, Black 18%.
1 WAVZ Urban A/C iHeart. + 0.6; 6.3-6.5-6.9, over Urbans iHeart WGCI 3.8 & Crawford WPWX by 5.1.
2 WBBM/WCFS News CBS. – 2.0; 7.4-6.8-5.4. AM has the Cubs, FM splits with 2.2; Total AM+FM: 7.6.
3 WTMX Hot A/C Hubbard. Steady 5.2-5.6-5.2, tops iHeart Hot A/C WLIT/FM 1.4. HotA/C Total: 9.7.
4 WKSC-F CHR iHeart. – 0.2; 4.2-4.2-4.0, slips & ties CBS Rhym-CHR WBBM-F, #2 cume 2.241mil.
4 WBBM-F Rhythmic CHR CBS. + 0.1; 3.9-3.9-4.0, an old fashioned dirt fight; #1 cume 2.355mil.
6 WLIT/FM Hot A/C iHeart. – 0.3; 4.1-3.6-3.8, next Hot A/C is Digity suburban WXLC down at 0.7.
7 WJMK Classic Hits CBS. + 0.6; 2.9-3.6-3.5. The 3 Chicago Classic Hits gap is tight from 0.2 to 0.8.
8 WGN Talk Tribune. + 0.3; 3.1-3.3-3.4, #2 of 5 N/Ts leads ChiPublic WBEZ 0.9, CBS WCFS-F 1.2.
8 WKQX Modern Rock Cumulus. + 0.3; 3.1-3.1-3.4, Chicagoland’s only Modern Rocker.
10 WDRV/WWDV Classic Hits Hubbard. – 0.3; 3.5-3.5-3.2. Three Classic Hits Total dips 10.5-9.4.
11 WOJO Regional Mexican Univision. – 0.2; 3.3-3.8-3.1, SBS Regional Mexican WLEY-F behind 0.9.
11 WGCI-F Urban iHeart. – 0.2; 3.3-3.2-3.2. 6 station Urban/UrbanAC/Gospel Totals 13.6.
13 WXRT Adult Alternative CBS. Quite flat, 3.0-3.0-3.0, Chicago’s only AA.
14 WLS-F Classic Hits Cumulus. – 1.0; 3.7-3.4-2.7. Great calls, big dipper.
14 WUSN Country CBS. – 0.1; 2.8-2.6-2.7. #1 Country; iHeart Country WEBG now just 0.7 back.
16 WLUP-F Classic Rock Cumulus. + 0.7; 1.9-2.5-2.6. Matrix ClassicRock WFXF 0.3, Digity WRXQ 0.2.
17 WSCR Sports CBS. – 0.3; 2.8-2.5-2.5, leads ESPN Sports rival WMVP by 0.7. Sports Totals: 4.3
17 WBEZ News/Talk Chicago Public Media. – 0.1; 2.6-2.1-2.5. N/T 5 stations Total 14.6.
19 WLEY-F Regional Mexican Spanish Broadcasting. – 0.1; 2.5-2.3-2.2. Spanish subscriber Total: 8.5.
19 WSHE-F A/C Hubbard. Flat, 2.2-2.2-2.2-2.2. Can’t make this up.
19 WCFS-F CBS News. First solo trend after split from WBBM. First post = 2.2 net + 0.2 combo gain.
22 WEBG Country iHeart. + 0.3; 1.7-2.3-2.0, the three Country format Total steady 5.3-5.2.
23 WPWX Urban Crawford Broadcasting. – 0.1; 1.9-1.9-1.8. 23 WMVP Sports ESPN. + 0.5; 1.3-1.4-1.8.
25 WPPN Spanish Hits Univision. – 0.4; 2.1-1.7-1.7 26 WERV Classic Hits Digity 1.4, cluster Total 4.2.
27 WLS Talk Cumulus, 1.1. 28 Univision Spanish Urban WVIV-F/WVIX 0.9.
29 WFMT Classical Window to World 0.9 ties iHeart Gospel WGRB 0.9. Moody Bible WMBI 0.6.
Digity: Rock WIIL 0.8, HotA/C WXLC 0.7, A/C WSSR 0.6, Country WCCQ 0.5, ClassicRock WRXQ 0.2.
Etc: Weigel Oldies WRME 0.7, MatrixA/C WZSR 0.5 / ClassicRock WFXF 0.3, DuPage Jazz WDCB 0.2.
Etc: Crawford Gospel WYCA, Univision SpanN/T WRTO, Olivet Nazarene Christian WONU/WUON @ 0.1.
Swings: + 0.7 Classic Rock WLUP-F, + 0.6 Urban A/C WVAZ, + 0-.6; Classic Hits WJMK;
– 2.0 News WBBM, – 1.0 Classic Hits WLS-F.
Shares: CBS 22.8-22.4-21.1, iHeart 20.6-21.0-20.6, Hubbard 8.7-11.3-10.6, Cumulus 9.9-10.2-9.8, Univision 6.4-6.9-5.8.

4. SAN FRANCISCO, CA. 6,131,500. 49 stations, 69% subscribe. Spanish 22%, Black 7%.
1 KCBS/KFRC-F News/Talk CBS. – 0.3; 6.6-6.2-6.3, N/T leader over KQED 2.9; Cumulus KGO by 4.7.
2 KOIT A/C Entercom. + 0.1; 4.7-4.5-4.8, #1 cume gains 146k to 1.729 mil, tops Digity A/C KBAY 2.7.
2 KNBR Sports Cumulus. + 1.1; 3.7-3.7-4.8, Giants baseball hits past ETM KGMZ 3.3, CMLS KTCT 4.3.
4 KLLC Hot A/C CBS. + 0.1; 4.4-4.2-4.5, leads iHeart Hot A/C KIOI 0.3, Digity Hot A/C KEZR by 2.9.
5 KMEL Urban iHeart. + 0.2; 4.1-4.1-4.3, the jump on Entercom Urban A/C KBLX goes 1.4-1.9.
6 WMVQ-F CHR CBS. – 0.1; 4.3-4.3-4.2, an 0.7 edge on iHeart Rhythmic-CHR KYLD.
6 KQED, Inc. News/Talk. + 0.2; 4.0-4.3-4.2, the 6 Golden Gate News/Talkers Total slips 15.6-15.2.
6 KIOI Hot A/C iHeart. + 0.5; 3.7-3.9-4.2, the 3 Hot A/C format Total gains 9.9-10.3.
9 KBRG Spanish Adult Univision. – 0.2; 3.9-3.6-3.7, v. RegMex Univision KSOL at 2.1, SBS KRZZ 1.8.
10 KYLD Rhythmic-CHR iHeart. Sticks 3.5-4.0-3.5, added to CHR WMVQ, SF CHRs hit 7.7.
11 KISQ Rhythmic Oldies iHeart. – 0.3; 3.7-3.6-3.4, steady Adult Cross-Over format.
12 KDFC/KXSC/KOSC Classical University Southern California. – 0.2; 3.0-2.9-2.8, exclusive concert.
13 KRBQ Rhythmic A/C Entercom. + 1.1; 1.5-1.6-2.6. Big jump with growth potential as exclusive.
14 KBLX Urban A/C Entercom- 0.5; 2.9-2.7-2.4, likely at the expense of Entercom partner KRBQ.
15 KSAN Classic Rock Cumulus. + 0.1; 2.2-2.2-2.3, iconic calls beat Entercom Classic Rock KUFX 0.9.
16 KOSF Classic Hits iHeart. – 0.3; 2.5-2.9-2.2, Total for 3 Classic Rock/Classic Hits is just 5.9.
17 KSOL/KSQL Regional Mexican Univision. – 0.5; 2.6-2.2-2.1, edge SBS KRZZ 0.3, Lazer KXZM 1.5.
17 KBAY A/C Digity. + 0.3; 1.8-2.1-2.1, beats the 3 Alpha A/Cs KUIC, KKIQ, KKDV 1.4 Total, by 0.7.
19 KSFO Talk Cumulus. + 0.3; 1.7-2.4-2.0. Cumulus News KGO shows 1.6, N/T SF United KALW at 0.3.
19 KITS Modern Rock CBS. – 0.4; 2.4-2.2-2.0, format exclusive. Anything called Rock in SF Totals 5.7.
21 KRZZ Regional Mexican SBS. + 0.2; 1.6-1.7-1.8 the 4 subscriber Spanish/Mexican Total is 8.3.
19 KFOG/KFFG Adult Alternative Cumulus. -.7; 2.3-2.1-1.6, interestingly the only Golden Gate AA.
19 KEZR Hot A/C Digity 1.6 ties KGO News Cumulus, 1.6.
Sports: Entercom KGMZ/KGMZ-HD2, holds at 1.5; Cumulus KCTC ticks up to 0.5. Total Sports: 6.8.
Music: Cumulus Country KSJO 0.9. Alpha Media suburban A/Cs: KKIQ 0.6, KUIC 0.5, KKDV 0.3.
Swings: + 1.1 Sports KNBR, + 1.1. Rhythmic-A/C KRBQ, + 0.5 Hot A/C KIOI; – 0.7 AdultAltern. KFOG,
– 0.5 Urban A/C KBLX, – 0.5 Regional Mexican KSOL/KSQL.
Shares: iHeart 18.4-19.4-18.4, CBS 17.7-16.9-17.0, Cumulus 12.9-13.2-13.7, Entercom 11.9-12.0-12.7.

5. DALLAS, TX. 5,301,200. 66 stations, 55% subscribe. Spanish 26%, Black 16%.
1 KHKS CHR iHeart. – 0.3; 7.9-7.6-7.6, #1 share, #1 cume 1.959 million; exclusive market CHR.
2 KDMX Hot A/C iHeart. + 0.5; 4.9-4.2-5.4, jumps 2.3 over CBS Hot A/C KVIL. Hot A/C Totals 8.5
3 KLUV Classic Hits CBS. + 0.2; 4.5-4.9-4.7, exclusive, edges iHeart Classic Rock KZPS by just 0.1.
3 KPLX Country Cumulus. – 0.1; 4.8-4.5-4.7, CMLS has the Country monopoly with KSCS at 3.5.
5 KZPS Classic Rock iHeart. + 0.8; 3.8-3.8-4.6. Big D has 1 @ Classic Hits & Classic Rock. Total: 9.3.
6 KLTY Christian Salem. 0.7; 5.1-4.6-4.4, rises above First Dallas Christian KCBI by 2.1 to Total 6.7.
7 KSCS Country Cumulus. – 0.1; 3.6-4.0-3.5. Dallas Country Total from two stations dips 8.5-8.2.
7 KRNB Urban A/C Service Broadcast. – 0.5; 4.0-3.9-3.5, Urban KKDA-F 3.4; CMLS KLIF-F at 1.7.
9 KKDA-F Urban Service Broadcasting. -0.4; 3.8-3.3-3.4. Urban formats + RhymOldies KSOC = 11.2.
10 KBFB Rhythmic-CHR Radio One. + 0.2; 3.1-3.0-3.3. Exclusive Rhythmic-CHR.
11 KLNO Regional Mexican Univision. + 0.2; 2.9-3.6-3.1, tops 6 Regional Mexican format Total: 10.9.
11 KVIL Hot A/C CBS. + 0.4; 2.7-2.9-3.1.
13 KEGL Rock iHeart. – 0.5; 3.4-3.1-2.9, leading iHeart Rock partner WDGE 0.6. DFW Rock Total: 5.5.
14 KERA News/Talk North Texas Public. + 0.2; 2.4-2.9-2.6, the lead N/T. 5 station format Total: 8.0.
14 KSOC/KSOC-HD2 Rhythmic Oldies Radio One. – 0.2; 2.8-2.8-2.6, trails CBS Classic Hits KLUV 2.1.
16 WBAP N/T Cumulus. + 0.4; 2.0-2.4-2.4. Salem Talk WSKY 0.5, CMLS N/T KLIF/KLIF-HD2, 0.3.
16 KJKK Adult Hits CBS. – 0.1; 2.5-2.1-2.4, steady in exclusive format territory.
17 KDGE Rock iHeart. – 0.1; 2.4-2.4-2.3. 17 KMVK Regional Mexican CBS. – 0.3; 2.6-2.1-2.3.
17 KCBI Christian First Dallas Media. + 0.6; 1.7-1.9-2.3; SW Adventist University Christian at 0.1.
20 KRLD/KRLD-HD2 News/Talk CBS. – 0.6; 2.7-2.9-2.1.
21 KZZA Regional Mexican Liberman. + 0.4; 1.6-1.8-2.0. Same owner/format KNOE 1.6, KBOC 1.1.
22 KRLD-F Sports CBS. + 0.4; 1.4-1.4-1.8 vs. Cumulus Sports KTCK 1.6 & KESN 1.4. Total 4.8.
23 KLIF-F Urban Cumulus. – 0.2; 1.9-1.9-1.7. KKXT Adult Alternative North Texas Public 1.3.
Spanish Univision: Hits KDXX/KESS 1.4, Regional Mexican KFZO 0.8, News/Talk KFLC 0.1.
Talk: Salem KSKY 0.6, Cumulus KLIF/KLIF-HD2, SW Adventist U Christian KJRN 0.3, iHeart FKXR 0.0.
Swings: + 0.8 Classic rock KZPS, + 0.6 Christian KCBI; – 0.7 Christian KLTY, – 0.6 N/T KRLD/KRLD-HD2.
Shares: iHeart 22.5-21.1-22.8, CBS 16.4-16.3-16.4, Cumulus 15.5-15.8-15.6, Service Broadcast. 7.8-7.2-6.9.

6. HOUSTON, TX. 5,025,800. 61 stations, 54% subscribe. Spanish 34%, Black 18%.
1 KODA Soft A/C iHeart. + 0.5; 6.9-6.9-7.4; #1 cume, lead now 910k at 2.234 million, exclusive format.
2 KMJQ Urban A/C Radio One. – 0.1; 6.9-6.3-6.8, solid format grows 3.0 lead over iHeart Urban KQBT.
3 KGLK/KHPT Classic Rock Cox. + 0.1; 5.4-5.7-6.4, Classic Hits now Classic Rock, remains exclusive.
4 KLTN Regional Mexican Univision. – 0.1; 6.3-6.3-6.2, leads 5 Regional Mexican format Total: 10.7.
5 KKBQ Country Cox. + 0.8; 5.3-5.4-6.1, tops Country CBS KILT by 1.9, Cox Classic KTHT by 3.9
6 KTBZ-F Modern Rock iHeart. – 0.2; 5.1-4.9-4.9, format exclusive, only Rock brand in Houston.
7 KBXX Rhythmic-CHR Radio One. Holds 4.6 x 4 mo, tops CHRs CMLS KRBE 1.0, CBS KKHH 1.4.
8 KSBJ/KUBU Christian KSBJ Educational Foundation. -1.4; 5.8-5.1-4.4, reading the wrong verse?
9 KILT-F Country CBS. + 0.3; 3.9-4.1-4.2. Houston’s Country trio Total share grows 11.6-12.5.
10 KQBT Urban iHeart. + 0.1; 3.7-3.5-3.8, add Rythmic Oldies and All Urban Total grows 11.5-12.4.
11 KTRH News/Talk iHeart. – 0.1; 3.7-3.8-3.6, stays #1 News at 1.8 over University Houston N/T KUHF.
11 KRBE CHR Cumulus. + 0.2; 3.4-3.6-3.6, #2 cume, leads CBS CHR KKHH by 0.4.
13 KLOL Spanish Hits CBS. – 0.2; 3.4-3.4-3.2, lead on Univision Spanish Hits KAMA cut to 0.5.
13 KKHH CHR CBS. – 0.4; 3.6-3.3-3.2. Sean Ross may be right: A Format About Nothing.
13 KHMX Hot A/C CBS. + 0.1; 3.1-3.2-3.2, exclusive & only A/C, anything. 3-way CBS tie at #13.
16 KOVE-F Spanish Adult Hits Univision. – 0.2; 3.2-3.5-3.0.
17 KAMA Spanish Hits Univision. + 0.3; 2.4-2.5-2.7. Grand Total of 9 Hispanic formats slips 20.7-19.7.
18 KTJM/KJOJ Regional Mexican Liberman. Flat, 2.3. Same owner & format KQQK 1.2, KEYH 0.3.
19 KTHT/KTHT-HD2 Classic Country Cox. + 0.2; 2.0-2.1-2.2.
20 KUHF News/Talk University Houston 1.8; UnivHouston Classical KUHA 1.0. iHeart Talk KPRC 0.7.
20 KROI Rhythmic Oldies Radio One 1.8.
Sports: CBS KILT 1.6; iHeart KBME 1.4; Gow Comm. KFNC 0.8, WGOW 0.2. Total 5 Sports: 3.7-4.1.
Etc: iHeart Talk KPRC 0.7, Univision Reg.Mex. KQBU-F 0.6, Univision Spanish N/T KLAT 0.1.
Swings: + 1.0 ClassicRock KGLK/KHPT, + 0.8 Country KKBQ-F; – 1.4 Christian KSBJ, – 0.4 CHR KKHH.
Shares: iHeart 20.9-20.8-21.8, CBS 15.8-15.9-15.5, Cox 12.7-12.8-14.7, Radio One 13.2-12.6-13.2, Univision 12.6-12.4-12.6. The coincidence of identical cluster shares within 3-4 months is interesting.

7. WASHINGTON, D.C. 4,522,700. 51 stations, 51% subscribe. Black 27%, Spanish 14%.
1 WTOP/WTLP News Hubbard. – 1.4; 9.3-9.1-7.9, rare drop; 5 News/Talkers Total 20.6.
2 WAMU News/Talk American Univ. – 0.4; 7.5-7.2-7.1, 0.8 under WTOP, 3.1 over CMLS N/T WMAL.
3 WIHT CHR iHeart. + 0.7; 5.8-6.1-6.5, #1 cume 1.313 mil, again takes Cumulus CHR WRQX by 4.1.
4 WHUR-F Urban A/C Howard University. – 0.7; 6.9-6.3-6.2, tops 3 Radio One Urbans by 2.0 or more.
5 WASH A/C iHeart. – 0.1; 5.4-5.6-5.3, leads all DC A/C genres, 2 Urban, 2 Regular, 4 Hot; Total 19.6.
6 WBIG-F Classic Rock iHeart. Flat, 4.6-4.8-4.6, format exclusive, but no more Capitol Classic Hits.
7 WPRS-F iHeart Gospel. + 0.6; 3.6-3.9-4.2. Singing with Spirt is needed in DC.
8 WETA/WGMS Classical Gtr. Washington Educational Telecomm. Steady, 4.1-4.3-4.1, classy score.
9 WMAL-F/WMAL News/Talk Cumulus. – 0.5; 4.5-4.8-4.0. Each of the Top 10 News/Talkers dropped.
10 WWDC Modern Rock iHeart. – 0.2; 4.0-4.2-3.8, exclusive format; 2 station Rock Total dips: 9.0-8.4.
11 WMZQ iHeart Country. + 0.3; 3.4-3.9-3.7. Just one Cowboy strolling down Pennsylvania Avenue.
12 WMMJ Urban AC Radio One. – 0.3; 3.8-4.1-3.5. Total Urban shares including A/C & Gospel: 17.3.
13 WKYS Urban Radio One. + 0.1; 3.3-3.3-3.4, now in a 3-way tie, includes CBS Rhym-CHR WPGC.
13 WGTS Christian Columbia Union College. – 0.5; 3.9-3.1-3.4, only Inspirational with Gospel WPRS.
13 WPGC-F Rhythmic CHR CBS. + 0.4; 3.0-2.8-3.4.
16 WIAD Hot A/C CBS. – 0.1; 3.4-3.3-3.3. CBS Balto A/C WLIF & Hot A/C WWMX both 0.1 in DC.
17 WJFK-F Sports CBS. + 0.5; 1.9-2.0-2.4, beats all 4 Red Zebra Sports by 0.4. Total DC Sports: 3.7.
17 WRQX CHR Cumulus. + 0.6; 1.8-2.0-2.4. Nice move, considering all the tunes that fit these days.
19 WLZL Tropical CBS. – 0.4; 2.1-1.9-1.7, exclusive format.
20 WNEW-F News/Talk CBS. – 0.1; 1.6-1.7-1.5.
21 WTEM/WWXT/WWXX Red Zebra Sports. – 0.3; 1.4-1.4-1.1. Red Zebra other Sports WSPZ at 0.2.
22 WBQB Hot A/C Centennial & same owner/same format WNIC-F, suburban VA are 0.7 and 0.5.
Etc: WAMU-HD2 American University Blue Grass and WFED Hubbard Talk both stay at 0.1.
Swings: + 0.7 CHR WIHT, + 0.6 Gospel WPRS & CHR WRQX; – 1.4 News WTOP, – 0.7 UrbanA/C WHUR-F
Shares: iHeart 19.6-24.6-23.9, CBS 12.7-11.9-12.5, Radio One 10.2-11.3-11.1, Hubbard 9.3-9.1-8.0, Cumulus 6.0-6.8-6.4.

8. PHILADELPHIA, PA. 4,493,700. 47 stations, 57% subscribers, Black 21%, Spanish 8%.
1 WBEB A/C Jerry Lee. – 0.4; 6.9-6.6-6.5, again #1 share, #1 cume 1.55 million, 333k lead. Solo A/C.
The winning stand-alone nears end of the Jerry Lee Era of setting an all-time radio championship example.
2 WMGX Classic Rock Greater Media. – 0.2; 6.2-5.7-6.0, now in a tie with CBS Classic Hits WOGL.
2 WOGL Classic Hits CBS. + 0.5; 5.5-5.6-6.0. Philly hears Classic is King; Classic/Oldies Total: 18.2.
4 WDAS-F Urban A/C iHeart. + 0.1; 5.6-5.8-5.7, tops 6 Urban/Rhym/Gospel stations to Total 19.2.
5 KYW News CBS. – 1.4; 6.8-6.1-5.4, #1 N/T down, 4 station race. WHYY & Co back 2.2. Total 11.0.
6 WMMR Rock Greater Media. + 0.2; 4.7-4.8-4.9. Market’s 3 Rockers (Classic, Mod, Reg) Total 15.7.
6 WXTU Country CBS. + 0.7; 4.2-4.2-4.9, the only Liberty Bell Country now in the CBS corral.
8 WIP-F Sports CBS. + 0.8; 4.0-5.0-4.8, wins vs Greater Media WPEN by 2.8. Sports dips: 7.6-6.8.
8 WRFF Modern Rock iHeart. + 0.5; 4.3-4.6-4.8, #3 Rocker trails Gtr.Media WMMR 4.9, WMGK 6.0.
10 WIOQ CHR iHeart. + 0.5; 4.1-4.7-4.6, #2 cume 1.235 mil, fresh fight with CBS CHR AMP WZMP.
11 WUSL Urban iHeart. – 0.1; 4.6-4.3-4.5.
12 WBEN-F Adult Hits Greater Media. – 0.7; 3.9-4.0-3.2, unique format takes a step back.
12 WISX iHeart Rhythmic A/C. – 0.1; 3.3-3.4-3.2.
12 WHYY/WNJN/WNJS/WNJB/WNJM/WNJZ. News/Talk. Stays 3.2-3.4-3.2, non-comm 6 stations.
12 WRNB R&B Oldies Radio One. – 0.2; 3.4-3.2, Oldies battle with its own WPHI-F, just 0.2 apart.
16 WPHI-F Rhythmic Oldies Radio One. – 0.5; 3.5-3.0-3.0, started higher, now steady in family feud.
17 WPPZ Gospel Radio One. + 0.4; 2.4-2.3-2.8, complements the cluster, stays away from the fray.
18 WZMP CHR CBS changed to AMP brand, from WRDW Rhym-CHR. + 0.3; 2.4-2.3-2.7.
19 WPEN Sports Greater Media. + 0.1; 1.9-2.6-2.0. Big gap behind CBS WIP-F.
20 WRTI Temple University Classical. + 0.3; 1.5-1.6-1.8. U Penn. Adult Alternative WXPN up to 1.3.
21 WPHT Talk CBS. – 0.1; 1.8-1.7-1.7. Townsquare Talk WKXW 0.7. Four Rivers Christian WBYO 0.2.
Townsquare Suburban: Hot A/C WSJO and Country WPUR both show 0.1.
Swings: + 0.8 Sports WIP-F, + 0.7 Country WXTU; – 1.4 News KYW, – 0.7 Urban WUSL.
Shares: CBS 24.7-24.9-25.5, iHeart 21.9-22.8-19.8, Greater Media 16.7-17.1-16.1, Radio One 9.3-8.4-9.0.

9. ATLANTA, GA. 4,322,100. 71 stations, 45% subscribe. Black 34%, Spanish 10%.
1 WVEE Urban CBS. + 0.5; 8.0-7.8-8.5, leads 7 Urban types with 2 Rhythmic Oldies. Total 27.9-26.4.
2 WSB/WSBB-FM News/Talk Cox. + 0.3; 7.1-7.0-7.4, #1 of 8 News/Talkers Total 13.2. All Top 5 gain.
3 WALR/FM Urban A/C Cox. + 1.0; 5.4-5.4-6.4, jumps to 2.5 lead over Radio One Urban A/C WAMJ.
4 WSB-F Adult Contemporary Cox. + 0.1; 6.2-6.5-6.3, #1 cume 1.411 mil, 170k lead. Cox wins 2-3-4.
5 WFSH-F Christian Salem. + 1.6; 4.6-5.6-6.2, Fish are jumping! 5.2 higher than Christian WVFJ, 1.0.
6 WWPW CHR iHeart. – 0.8; 5.5-5.2-4.7, battles with Cumulus CHR WWWQ and a scant 0.2 edge.
7 WSRV Classic Hits Cox. Flat, 4.6-4.9-4.6, leads Cumulus Classic Rock WNNX 2.7 & 2 RhymOldies.
7 WUBL Country iHeart.- 0.2; 4.8-4.4-4.6 takes Cumulus Country WKHX by 1.2. Country Total: 8.0.
9 WWWQ CHR Cumulus. – 0.6; 5.1-4.8-4.5, for an interesting CHR match. Total share: 9.2.
10 WPZE Gospel Radio One. – 0.5; 4.5-4.6-4.0, the only subscriber raising its voice.
11 WAMJ/WUMJ Urban A/C Radio One. – 0.5; 4.4-4.3-3.9. Urban A/C Total dips 9.7-8.3.
12 WHTA Urban Radio One. – 0.3; 3.9-3.8-3.6 in a crowded field.
13 WKHX Country Cumulus. + 0.3; 3.1-3.3-3.4.
14 WSTR Hot A/C Lincoln Financial. – 0.2; 3.2-3.0-3.0, exclusive; still waiting for Entercom closing.
15 WABE News/Talk City of Atlanta Board of Education. – 0.2; 3.1-3.2-2.9.
16 WRDA/WRDG Modern Rock iHeart. – 0.2; 2.5-2.3-2.3, Cox ModRock WTSH-F back 1.7 at 0.6.
17 WZGC Sports CBS. – 0.5; 2.6-2.4-2.1, leads Lincoln Sports WQXI by1.8. Two team Total: 2.4.
18 WNNX Classic Rock Cumulus. – 0.4; 2.3-2.0-1.9. Total Atlanta Rock Share drops 5.6-5.0.
19 WBZY Regional Mexican iHeart. – 0.1; 1.8-1.7-1.7, only Spanish subscriber for the 10% population.
20 WWWQ-HD3 Rhythmic Oldies Cumulus. + 0.1; 1.3-1.2-1.4. Highest rated Top 10 solo HD feed.
21 WYAY News/Talk Cumulus. – 0.5; 1.8-1.4-1.3.
22 WCLK Jazz Clark Atlanta University. Playing in place, 1.1-1.1-1.1.
23 WVJF-F Radio Training Net Christian, 1-1.0.9-1.0.
Etc: WAMJ-HD2 RhymOldies Radio One 0.9, WTSH ModRock Cox 0.6, WWWQ-HD2 Country CMLS 0.1.
News/Talk: iHeart WUBL-HD3, 0.5 & WGST 0.3; GA State U WGST 0.4; CBS WAOK & Salem WGKA 0.2.
Swings: + 1.6 Christian WFSH-F, + 1.0 Urban A/C WALR-F; – 0.8 CHR WWPW, – 0.6 CHR WWWQ.
Shares: Cox 23.9-24.5-25.3, iHeart 14.9-14.3-14.1, Cumulus 13.8-12.9-12.6, Radio One 13.5-13.5-12.4, CBS 10.8-10.4-10.8.

10. BOSTON, MA. 4,022,600. 62 stations, 44% subscribe. Spanish 9%, Black 7%. Disclaimer: home since ’70.
1 WROR-F Classic Hits Greater Media. – 0.4; 7.8-8.1-7.4, #1 for 3 in a row! CBS ClassicRock WZLX back 2.9.
2 WMJX A/C Greater Media. – 0.3; 6.6-6.6-6.3, good ranks for Gtr. Media, rare to see a 3-way Hub tie at #2.
2 WBZ News/Talk CBS. – 1.3; 7.6-6.3-6.3, InfoGoToRadio tops N/Ts WGBH by 3.2, WBUR 3.9, WRKO 4.0.
2 WXKS CHR iHeart. + 0.3; 6.0-6.3-6.3, is back into a tie for #2 with #1 cume gaining 66k at 1.382 million.
5 WKLB Country Greater Media. – 0.4; 5.8-5.8-5.4. The iHeart Country “Bull” WBWL lead goes 4.5-4.3-4.0.
6 WEEI-F Sports Entercom. – 0.1; 5.0-4.1-4.9, Sox start & Patriots balls starts a real S(ports)Fight vs.WBZ-F.
7 WBZ-F Sports CBS. – 0.8; 5.5-4.7-4.7, hasn’t trailed EEI-F by 0.2 in long while. Sports talk grows 8.8-9.6.
8 WZLX Classic Rock CBS. – 0.1; 4.6-4.6-4.5, cume up a tad 20k, share dips a click. Hub Classic Total: 12.9.
9 WBMX Hot A/C CBS. – 0.1; 4.3-4.2-4.2, tops CMLS HotA/C WXLO 2.4. Cluster may need Spring Refresh.
10 WBQT Rhythmic A/C Greater Media. + 0.7; 3.3-3.6-4.0, jumps into Top 10, lead vs. CBS CHR WODS 0.7.
11 WAAF Rock Entercom. + 0.6; 2.9-3.2-3.5, now just 1.0 back of CBS ClassicRock WZLX. ETM gains.
12 WBOS Greater Media Modern Rock. + 0.5; 2.9-2.9-2.9-2.9-2.9-3.4. Finally moves, Gtr. Media boats rise.
13 WJMN Rhythmic CHR iHeart. – 0.4; 3.7-3.6-3.3, got crowded stick’s short end, now ties CBS AMP ODS.
13 WODS CHR CBS. + 0.7; 2.6-2.9-3.3. Young battle heats up, Hot/Rhymic/CHR 6 station ClusterF(un): 22.9.
14 WGBH Educational Foundation News/Talk. – 0.3; 2.9-3.4-3.1 no gain but WBUR pain, rare 0.7 behind.
15 WXRV Adult Alternative Northeast Broadcasting. + 0.5; 2.0-2.2-2.5. Variety helps the River flow north.
16 WBUR News/Talk Boston University. -1.8; 4.2-4.0-2.4, ouch! Good outdoor, content; drops 1.3 vs WGBH.
17 WRKO Talk Entercom. + 0.9; 1.4-1.8-2.3. Nice trend, from Howie Carr’s PM return? N/T Total: 14.1.
18 WXLO Hot A/C Cumulus. + 0.2; 1.6-1.6-1.8. Big Worcester signal. Boston A/C+Hot A/C = 12.3.
19 WCRB Classical WGBH Ed. Foundation. + 0.1; 1.5-1.4-1.6. Classical music likely has more Boston fans.
20 WBWL Country iHeart. + 0.1; 1.3-1.5-1.4. Not yet, despite outdoor & redirected signals. Country Total: 6.8.
22 WCTK Country Hall Communications. + 0.3; 0.9-1.2-1.2. Providence signal; private company, strong south.
23 WERS Variety Emerson College. – 0.2; 0.9-1.0-0.7. Good signal, slips.
24 WKOX Spanish iHeart ties WEEI-A Sports Entercom 0.4. March cumes tied 63k. April EEI 75.4, KOX 74.7.
26 WUMB Folk University Massachusetts, the 5 good signals Total 0.1 & 31k cume. New President may notice.
26 WWFX, Classic Hits Cumulus. “The Pike” from Worcester makes it to Boston with a token 0.1.
Swings: + 0.9 Talk WRKO, + 0.7 RhymA/C WBGT, + 0.7 CHR WODS; – 1.8 N/T WBUR, – 1.3 N/T WBZ.
Shares: Greater Media 26.4-27.0-26.5, CBS 24.9-22.9-23.0, iHeart 11.3-11.8-11.4, Entercom 9.6-9.4-11.1.

Takeaways:
* Coincidental or do same trend numbers come from small sample or prolonged Portable People Keepers?
* Is Voltair the Nielsen Inflategate?
* The Channel Glut demands Bright Ideas, without delay.
* Classic Rock / Classic Hits / Oldies picking up at the corner of Fresh & Familiar.

Broadcast Connector Clark Smidt guides existing resources for new income. 978 470-2120.
@ClarkSmidt, [email protected]. Please search Clark Smidt, www.RBR.com for weekly updates.