Radio is a persistent business – there’s a new opportunity every quarter hour. You snooze, you lose. Summer hears shifting gears as owners & operators get the first half picture and race for the win. Radio must Remind Results from the millions tuned in and our 600% Advertising ROI: $6 income for every $1 spent. Content IS King when it comes to local service and dialing for digital dollars. We have plenty of spectacular ways to send and receive, as long as there’s compelling product to turn-on audience and advertisers. After all, RADIO was and is THE FIRST MOBILE MEDIA: Wireless crystals to essential chips. Transistors, instant info, Rock & Roll and Sports grabbed people by the ears and never let go. The basics are still same time, same station for delivering great programs. And, isn’t that true for TV, too.
Let’s check trends for more of The Top 100 Markets, all from diaries, either quarterly reports or tow per year for Total Shares 12+. Again, we have only paid subscribers to report, and often quantifying only a handful of players while Every Station Tells A Story. All information heard about Radio Refreshes Reasons to prove value.
The 4 per year Diary Markets are shown Fall ’13-Winter ’14-Spring ’14 . 2 Report editions show year to year, Spring-Fall-Spring.
39. Hudson Valley, just north of NYC. 12+ population 1,487,300. (4 Report Market). Interesting large area, valuable real estate, lots of audience influenced by Big Apple ADI. Class B FM’s have clear advantage while A’s and AM’s cover specific communities one-to-one. Locally, Pamal lines up 1, 2, 3: #1 Share A/C WHUD 5.3-5.6-6.5, CHR WSPK 2.5.-3.4-3.9 and AdultAlternative WXPK 1.8-1.1.-1.6. Notes: 4 other in-market FM’s record less than a 1.0 but CMLS WNBM 1.6-1.2-.6 just moved its signal closer to The Bronx and now brands as New York’s Best Mix of R & B. CMLS also has local Westchester Talk WFAS/A. Another 11 signals – 2 FM, 9 AM – don’t subscribe. Providing solid service to this big city bedroom area include Townsqure‘s 4 station cluster ModRock WRRV, Country WZAD & WDBY, Sports WPUT/A, Sunrise combo A/C WNBM-Oldies WGNY/A and Bill O’Shaughnessey‘s iconic New Rochelle News/Talk WVOX/A with Ethnic WVIP/F. Cluster Shares: Pamal 12.0.
61. Ft. Meyers – Naples, FL. 879,600. (2 Report Market). Desirable territory with Renda Broadcasting’s Country WWGR #1 5.4-5.8-5.7, Beasley CHR WXKB ranks 2nd stable 5.1-5.3.-5.2 while cluster mates Active Rock WRKX rises to 5th 3.1-2.9-4.0, 6th share Soft A/C WJPT falls 5.6-6.0-3.5. and Sports WWCN 1.3-1.9-2.3. Clear Channel is 3rd & 4th with RymCHR WBTT up 4.3-4.7-5.0 and Classic Hits WOLZ 3.8-3.3-4.3. Notes: CCU also has runner-ups Country WCKT steady 3.0 and CHR WZJZ 2.6-2.4-1.8. Renda complements their top spot with Variety Hits WJGO 2.6-3.7-3.3, Hot A/C WSGL 1.9-1.3-1.0 and N/T WGUF .7. Shares: Beasley 15.0, CCU 14.1, Renda 10.7.
67. Fersno, CA. 760,700. (4 Report). CCU RymCHR KBOS #1 8.6-7.5-7.7. CMLS hits 2-3-4 as Hot A/C KWYE gains 4.6-5.5-6.0, Country KSKS 5.2-4.9-5.3 and RymOldies KMGV 6.6-4.4-4.9. There’s a 4 way tie for 5th spot with Soft A/C CCU 5.5-4.4-3.9, Univision Reg.Mex. 2.8-2.6-3.9 and Lotus also with Reg.Mex. KLBN 5.0-5.0-3.9 and RymCHR 5.0-4.2-3.9. Lotus also has runner up Classic Rock KKBZ 1.6-2.4-2.0 vs. Wilks Broadcasting Classic Rock KJFX 2.8-4.0-3.2; co-owned Wilks ModRock KFRR is 1.6-2.4-2.0. Notes: CMLS has a pair of News/Talkers KMJ 3.5-4.8-3.7 and KMJ/F 1.4-1.2-.5. CCU adds Talk KALZ 2.9-3.9-3.2, Country KHGE 2.9-2.9-2.6, RymA/C KBFT 1.6-2.4-2.4 and SpanishAdult 1.9-2.2-2.4. Univision pairs SpanishUrban KLLE 1.7 with SpanishAdult KRDA .9. 18 stations don’t post 12+ numbers. Ethnic Comp 49% Hispanic. Potential trade potential with two groups. Cluster Shares: CCU 22.6, CMLS 20.4, Lotus 10.5, Univision 6.5, Wilks 5.5.
68. Albuquerque, NM. 749,400. (4) Many stations, small shares. Univision RymCHR KKSS on top 4.4-4.3-5.5. CMLS bunched up is positions 2-3-4 with News/Talk 6.1-6.1-5.1, Country 5.5-4.0-5.0, CHR KKOB/F. 5th rank goes to CCU Hot A/C KPEK 4.5-4.4-4.6. Notes: American General Media Classic Hits KABG 3.9-4.3-3.7 ties CCU Rock KZRR 3.4-4.3-3.7, then CCU runner-up Country 3.6-3.6-3.5 also scores 3.1with Country KBQI-HD2, putting format bragging rights in question as CMLS Country KRST is 5.0 while A/C partner KMGA is 4.2-3.9-3.4. Talk about a crowd, 10 stations bunch up between 1.6 and 2.9 with another 10 score above .4. Still 10 more DNS (Do Not Show). 46% Hispanic. Cluster Shares: CMLS 14.8, Univision 5.5, CCU 4.6, American General 3.7.
73. Des Moines, IA. 663,9000. (4). Only CCU and CMLS subscribe with their 12 stations but an important political market has 23 stations not quantifiable for 12+ comparison. CCU is Win, Place and Show with Adult Hits KDRB on top jumping 6.3-6.1-8.4. News/Talk WHO 7.5-6.5-7.2, CHR KKDM 8.0-7.1-6.5. Next, three are CMLS Country KHKI 6.7-6.5-5.9 and CMLS Country KJJY 5.3-4.5-4.6 with Classic Rock KGGO 4.6-3.8-4.2. Notes: Next in the pecking order come another CCU pair ModRock KDXA 2.0-2.5-3.2 and Sports KXNO 2.2-2.3-1.7. CCU Hot A/C KCYZ .7 and Talk KSAI zip. CMLS rounds out with Talk KWQW .9 and Sports KBGG 0.0. Of those 23 stations (13 FM, 10 AM) not given top line share to compare, 6 are Saga owned, 5 for M and H Broadcasting and Digity has 2. Total Ethnic 9.2%. Shares: CCU 27.9, CMLS 15.6.
75. Omaha. 659,400. (4). CCU #1, 2, 3 with Country KXKT on top 9.5+9.3-9.2, Oldies ( they still use that word) KGOR 7.6-6.4-7.7 and News/Talk KFAB 9.8-7.5-6.9. Journal Broadcast has 4th & 5th 12+ shares WITH Rock KEZO 6.9-6.8-6.0 and RymCHR KQCH 6.9,6.8-6.0. Notes: NRG Media UrbanContemp KOPW delivers 54-3.8-5.8, Hot AS/C KQKQ 4.0-2.7-3.9 and Adult Hits KOOO 2.1-1.9-2.5. Journal has the top Hot A/C KSRZ 4.2-5.4-4.8 and Classic Rock KKCD 3.0-3.7-4.6. CCU has CHR KISO 3.5-3.3-3.7 and Classic Country KFFF down 4.1-2.6-2.5. Just 7 stations below the line, 5 FM, 2 FM including 3 owned by Salem. Shares: CCU 30.0, Journal 22.5, NRG 15.7.
76. Sarasota, FL. 652,100. (2 Report Market). Only CCU is listed with 5 of their 7 stations led by Classic Hits WSRZ off from a year ago, 9.8-7.0-8.5. Country WCTQ is steady 5.0-4.9-4.8. Active Rock WTZB 1.7, A/C WLTQ 1.6 and EZListening WSDV/A drops 2.6-2.0-.5. Notes: 10 stations are below the line, including CBS Sports WHFS/F and Cox Talk WHPT/F. Total Shares: CCU 17.1.
77. Bakersfield, CA. 622,900. (4). American General RymCHR KISV is #1 8.9-8.2-10.0. Owens Broadcasting Country KUZZ A/F rises to 2nd 12+ share 8.0-8.8-9.36, Lotus RegMex KIWI 6.1-7.0-6.1, CCU ClassicRock KDFO 3.2-3.8-4.9 and two of the last 5 Buckley Broadcasting stations in California follow with RymOldies KKBBF 6.7-5.3-4.8 and Talk KNZR A/F 4.8-4.5-4.2. Notes: American General CHR KKXX holds 3.8 and co-owned Soft A/C KGFM 3.8-3.0-3.4. In between there’s a tie at 3.7 for CCU Rock KRAB 3.4-2.3-3.7 and Lotus SpanishAdult KOPSL 4.7-2.2-3.7. Ownes Adult Hits rises 2.2-1.7-2.6 and Owens Classic Country KCWR 3.4-3.8-2.5 ties Buckley CHR 3.4-3.8-2.5. 8 subscribing stations fall below 2.2. Ethnic Composition is 51% Hispanic and 15 stations aren’t published, including 9 FMs, 3 from Bohn Broadcasting and another pair from American General. Shares: American General 20.6, Owens Broadcasting 11.8 while Lotus and Buckley Match Up at 11.5 each.
78. Akron, OH,. 602,800. (4) Three Groups subscribe with Rubber CIty Radio Country WQMX #1 6.9-4.8-7.7. Rubber City is also 3rd and 5th with Classic Rock WONE/F 5.4-5.4-5.6 and Oldies WAKR 1.7-2.2-2.3, Stand Alone Media-Com Talk WNIR is 2nd 6.7-6.4-6.8 and CCU Hot A/C WKDD 3.6-3.5-3.9 in 4th place. Notes: CCU has 4 stations in the market, N/T WHKO at .8, CHR WAKS and Sports WARF are not recorded.
Shares: Rubber City 15.6, CCU 4.7.
79. Wilmington, DE. 602,7000. (2 Reports) Delmarva Broadcasting leads with #1 CHR WSTW 7.5-8.5-9.0 and 3rd place Country WXCY 4.4-4.0-5.4, besting CCU Country WDSD 2.4-3.6-3.5. Beasley A/C WJBR is 2nd holding 6.5-5.38-6.2 and QC Communications UrbanContempo. WJKS at 2.1-1.8-2.1. News/Talk is very tight between Delmarva WDEL 2.3-1.5-1.9 vs. CCU WLIM 2.3-1.4-1.8. Just three stations below the line QC Gospel WFAI/A, CCU Sports WWTX/A and Chesapeake Catholic WFDS/F. Shares: Delmarva 16.3, Beasley 6.2, CCU 5.3.
80. Harrisburg, PA. 592,100. (4). All CMLS and CCU. CMLS Hot A/C WNNK #1 8.7-9.9-8.5 and 5th with Rock WQXA 4.7-4.7-4.8. In between CCU has 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Talk WHP 6.1-6.6-7.0, Country WRBT 7.4-5.3-6.7 and Classic Hits WRVV 6.3-6.2-6.2. Notes: The two giants tie at 3.3 with CCU CHR WHKF 3.9-4.2-3.5 and CMLS Dance WWKL4.0-3.9-3.5. CMLS has runner-up Country WZCY 2.4 and wins Sports with WHGB 1.4. There are 14 stations not posting shares 7 AM, and 7 FM and 3 “Mom & Pop” AM/FM combos. Shares: CCU 23.9, CMLS 20.6.
82. Charleston, SC. 575,600. (4) More of a variety of subscribers. CMLS UrbanContemp. WWWZ #1 8.3-8.7-8.6, Apex Broadcasting Urban A/C WXST 9.5-9.9-7.8, CCU Country WEZL 6.2-6.6-6.0, Kirkman Broadcasting Gospel WJNI 4.2-5.5-5.3 and CCCU A/C WXLY 6.5-3.6-4.9. Notes: Interesting market, and a tight bettle. CCU ties itself with Talk WSCC/FM 3.5-4.2-4.7 and Classic Rock WRFQ 3.0-2.8-4.7. A 3 way tie finds CMLS CHR WSSZ 4.2-5.1-4.6, CMLS Urban A/C 5.9-4.2-4.6 and Apex Adult Hits WAVEW 5.8-4.2-4.6. Apex also pairs Hot A/C WMXZ 2.7-3.0-2.7 and Country WCKN 3.5-3.3-2.4 while Urban A/C WMXZ-HD2 is 2.0-1.2-1.7. L.M. Communications combo shows Rock WYBB up 2.4-2.8-3.5 and AdultAlt WCOO 1.8-2.7-2.3. Kirkman Broadcasting has a 4 station cluster with Talk WQSC and Sports WWIK totaling 2.2. Just 7 stations below the line 5 AM, 2 FM. Shares: CMLS 22.7, CCU 20.3, Apex 19.2. L.M. 7.8
83. Greenville-New Bern, N.C. 574,900. 250% more non subscribers than those listed. Nielsen numbers are shared between Beasley & Digity Media. Beasley is #1 with Urban A/C WIKS 9.7-13.2-11.9. Digity next with Country WRNS A/F 12.9-10.6-11.2 and CHR WERO 7.2-8.1-8.6. Beasley collects the next 5 slots with Classic Hits WNCT 5.9-4.6-6.0, Classic Rock WSFL 4.6-5.4-5.6, A/C WMGV gaining 2.9-3.7-4.3, ModRock WXNR 2.2-3.5-3.4 and Rym Oldies WNCT .7-.6-1.9. Notes: Digity ties itself with Mod Rock WZQR and Country WQSL at 1.7. With 27 stations not getting a simple number, there’s really a loss of apples to apples. Selling on a top line not in in subscribing numbers is illegal and has been for years. By posting the 12+ in a situation like this, there could be stories to attract new subscribers and draw attention to the value of suburban stations. The breakdown is 15 FM, 12 AM, including clusters of 4 from Inner Banks and Conner Media. Shares: Beasley 33.1, Digity 23.2
Next, we’ll finish up the Top 100 with highlights from beyond. So far, some interesting conclusions coming together regarding cluster coordination, formats hot and not, and opportunities to drop in and win.
–Clark Smidt, Media Connector assists with non-duplicated objectives. Recent assignments have included NH1 News Network Start-Up, Research Director Inc, business and content deveoplement, digital delivery 35+ and Boomer Audiences with Mass Appeal music and information. Income opportunities. Without adding cost. Contact: [email protected] 978 470 2120 Andover, MA. www.broadcastideas.com.
Clark Smidt – Media Connects
[email protected] 978 470 2120 www.broadcastideas.com
