We’ll start in Providence RI and end up not too far away in Hartford CT in today’s journey through the world of radio ratings. However, the trip from market #42 to market #52 includes many twists and turns, though none further west than Memphis TN. At the wheel: ratings expert Clark Smidt.
Nielsen PPM Markets #42 Providence to #52 Hartford
by Clark Smidt, Broadcast Connector.
This edition completes the March Nielsen PPM markets. April numbers will shower on us this week! We’re seeing some formats with legs (Urban A/C, Adult Hits, Rhythmic Oldies) and some trying to carve up pies (Sports) that don’t fill the plate.
Let’s get to the Jan/Feb/March finale of 6+ Nielsen subscribers: Your suitable for sharing RBR Score Card & Commentary.
42. PROVIDENCE, RI. 1,381,000. Spanish 10%, Black 5%. 28 Stations, 57% Subscribe.
1 WPRO-F CHR Cumulus. – 1.1; 10.4-9.8-9.3, slides from top to tie but at least with AC partner WWLI.
1 WWLI A/C Cumulus. + 0.7; 8.6-8.9-9.3, new #1 cume by 3400 at 526k. CMLS 1-2 are both exclusive.
3 WCTK Country Hall. + 0.2; 7.4-7.6-7.6, stays steady as Hall does well with their Country stations.
4 WHJY Rock iHeart + 2.0; 5.5-6.7-7.5, continues to work its way back up.
5 WPRO/WEAN-F Talk Cumulus. + 0.6; 5.3-5.8-5.9, leads 5 talkers as format Total grows 9.3-9.6.
5 WSNE-F Hot A/C iHeart. + 1.2; 4.7-4.9-5.9, good jump, brings A/C-Hot A/C Total to 14.3
7 WWBB Classic Hits iHeart. – 2.0; 6.8-4.7-4.8. Solo Classic worries; did adjusted signal backfire?
8 WWKX Rhythmic-CHR Cumulus. – 0.5; 3.7-3.4-3.2. Class A signal from nearby New Bedford.
9 WVEI-F Sports Entercom. – 2.1; 5.2-4.1-3.1. A bad sign from the WEEI Boston feed?
10 WGBH News/Talk Boston Educational Foundation. + 0.4; 1.8-1.7-2.2.
11 WKKB Tropical Davidson Media. – 0.2; 2.2-1.9-2.0. Drifted from recent 3’s.
Talk: WPRV Cumulus 0.6-0.8-0.6; WHJJ iHeart 0.9-0.6-0.5; WELH/WRNI RI Public Radio 0.5-0.4-0.4.
Classical: WJMF Bryant University 0.4-0.4-0.5; WCRB Boston WGBH Educational Found., flat 0.1.
Swings: + 2.0 Rock WHJY, + 1.2 Hot A/C WSNE-F; – 2.1 Sports WVEI-F, – 2.0 Classic Hits WWBB.
Shares: Cumulus Media 28.7-28.3, iHeart 16.9-18.2, Hall Communications 7.6-7.6.
43. RALEIGH, NC. 1,377,700. Black 22.5%, Spanish 10%. 40 Stations, 60% Subscribe.
1 WQDR-F Country Curtis. – 1.2; 9.4-8.8-8.2, stays ahead of iHeart Country WNCB by 4.9.
2 WUNC News/Talk University NC Chapel Hill. – 0.7; 7.7-7.8-7.0, tops N/T 4 station Total: 12.6.
3 WDCG CHR iHeart. + 0.5; 6.2-7.1-6.7, holds a 2.0 lead on Curtis CHR WPLW. CHR Total: 11.4.
4 WRAL A/C Capitol Broadcasting. – 0.5; 7.0-6.6-6.5. The lone A/C, holds #1 cume 496k.
6 WQOK Urban Radio One. – 0.1; 6.0-5.5-5.9. Radio One’s 3 Urbans, a tight 6-7-8 race; Total 17.2.
7 WFXC/WFXK Urban A/C Radio One. – 0.9; 6.6-6.1-5.7, Urban WQOK + 0.2, Gospel WNNL – 0.1.
8 WNNL Gospel Radio One. – 0.4; 6.0-5.3-5.6. Exclusive.
9 WBBB Adult Hits Curtis. – 0.1; 5.5-5.5-5.4. Exclusive, steady, mid-range results.
10 WRDU Classic Rock iHeart. + 1.2; 3.9-4.6-5.2, adds to its 1.9 lead on Curtis Classic Hits WKIX-F.
11 WPLW CHR Curtis. – 0.3; 5.0-4.4-4.7.
12 WCMC-F Sports Capitol. + 0.9; 3.3-3.2-4.2. Capitol Sports WDNC is 0.5; Sports Total up 3.5-4.7.
13 WKIX-F Classic Hits Curtis. – 0.2; 3.5-3.7-3.3-3.3. Classic Rock/Classic Hits/Adult Hits Totals 13.9.
13 WTKK Talk iHeart. + 0.4; 2.9-3.7-3.3. Curtis News/Talk WPTF at 1.8 & WPTK 0.5.
13 WNCB Country iHeart. – 0.2; 3.5-3.4-3.3. Raleigh’s one Country stays steady.
16 WDCG-HD2 Modern Rock iHeart. + 0.3; 2.4-2.6-2.7, also a market exclusive.
17 WCPE/WBUX/WURI/WZPE Educational Informational. Holding, 2.5-3.2-2.5.
18 WYMY Regional Mexican Curtis. + 0.2; 2.2-2.3-2.4. Curtis Comedy WFNL at 0.3.
News/Talk: Curtis WPTF 1.8, Curtis WPTK 0.5, North Carolina Central Univ 0.2.
Etc: Capitol Sports WDNC 0.5; Shaw University Jazz WSHA 0.3; Radio Training Christian WRTP 0.3.
Swings: + 1.2 Adult Hits WBBB, + 0.9 Sports WCMC-F; – 1.9 Country WQDR-F, – 0.9 Urban A/C WFXC
Shares: Curtis Media 27.3-26.6, iHeart Media 21.4-21.2, Radio One 16.1-17.2, Capitol 10.1-11.2, University North Carolina Chapel Hill 8.0-7.0.
44. NORFOLK, VA. 1,358,100. Black 32%, Spanish 5%. 37 Stations, 59% Subscribe.
1 WVKL Urban A/C Entercom. – 3.4; 13.4-12.2-10.0, #1 cume 364,300. 5 Urban types Total 23.9.
2 WOWI Urban iHeart Media. + 2.0; 7.7-8.5-9.7, a close 0.3 fight for king of the Urban hill.
3 WGH-F Country Max Broadcast. – 0.7; 6.2-6.0-5.5, exclusive Country in Norfolk.
3 WNOR Rock Saga Communications. – 0.2; 5.7-6.0-5.5 lead on Saga ClassicRock WAFX off 2.1-0.9.
5 WVBW Classic Hits Max Broadcast. – 0.6; 5.9-5.4-5.3, the 1.5 lead is now just 0.7 over WAFX.
6 WNVZ Rhythmic-CHR Entercom. + 1.5; 3.7-4.6-5.1. On the move, pushes 3 CHR Total: 9.8-10.3.
7 WAFX Classic Rock Saga. + 0.4; 4.2-3.9-4.6. Saga has both “Rock” brands. Total up: 9.9-10.1.
8 WPTE Modern A/C Entercom. – 1.1; 5.6-5.4-4.5, lead on ETM A/C WWDE just 0.3. 5 A/Cs = 23.4.
9 WVHT CHR Max Broadcast. – 0.5; 3.8-3.2-3.3, jumps iHeart CHR WGH by 1.4.
10 WHBT-F Rhythmic Oldies iHeart. + 0.3; 2.5-3.6-2.8, slips. Classic Rock/Hits/Oldies Total: 12.7.
10 WMOV-F Rhythmic A/C IHeart. + 0.7; 2.1-2.1-2.8, has a lift. Are two Rhym. formats too close?
12 WNOH CHR iHeart – 0.5; 2.4-2.0-1.9.
12 WGH A/C Max Broadcast. Flat, 1.9-2.0-1.9.
12 WVSP-F Sports Max Broadcast. – 0.5; 2.4-1.7-1.9. This is the Only Norfolk Sports station, period.
15 WHOV Gospel Hampton University, 1.3-1.3-1.4. 16 Norfolk State University Urban, 0.5-0.8-0.9.
17 WJOI Adult Standards Saga, 0.6.
Swings: + 2.0 Urban WOWI, + 1.5 Rhythmic-CHR WNVZ; – 3.4 Urban A/C WVKL, -1.1 Modern A/C WPTE.
Shares: Entercom 27.3-23.8, Max Broadcast 18.3-17.9, iHeart 16.2-17.2, Saga 10.4-10.7.
45. NASHVILLE, TN. 1,285,000. Black 16%, Spanish 6%. 54 Stations, 44% Subscribe.
1 WJXA Soft A/C Midwest. + 1.9; 10.0-11.2-11.9, #1 cume 527,500. Cumulus Urban A/C trails 6.7.
2 WRVW CHR iHeart. + 0.2; 7.8-8.2-8.0, takes Cumulus CHR WNFN by 5.5. CHR Total: 10.6-10.5.
3 WCJK Adult Hits Midwest. – 0.4; 7.5-7.7-7.1, Adult Hits in Top 3; Midwest has the pick of the litter.
3 WUBT Urban iHeart. – 0.4; 7.5-7.1-7.1, CMLS UrbanA/C WQQK back 1.9.
5 WNRQ Classic Rock iHeart Media. + 1.1; 5.2-5.3-6.3, now has Cromwell Modern Rock WBUZ by 3.5.
6 WGFX Sports Cumulus. – 1.0; 6.5-5.4-5.5, Cromwell Sports WPRT-F 1.1, WQZQ 0.2. Total Sports: 6.8.
7 WQQK Urban A/C. – 0.2; 5.4-5.4-5.2. A/C WJXA 6.7 above; Cromwell Gospel WPRT-HD2 4.6 below.
8 WKDF Country Cumulus. – 0.6; 5.0-4.9-4.4, leads 4 Country stations, incl co-owned WSM-F by 0.8.
9 WPLN-F News/Talk Nashville Public Radio. + 0.3; 3.6-3.5-3.9. Co-Owned N/T WPLN tied at last, 0.1.
10 WSM-F Country Cumulus. – 0.2; 3.8-4.3-3.6, still 0.5 over iHeart Country WSIX. Country Total: 14.3.
10 WWTN Talk Cumulus. + 0.2; 3.4-3.8-3.6, lost talk lead to WPLN by 0.3. Total 4 N/T Total stays 9.3.
11 WSIX-F Country iHeart. – 0.3; 3.7-3.8-3.4, Ryman Hospitality WSM is half WSIX-F share back, 1.7.
12 WBUZ Modern Rock Cromwell. – 0.6; 3.4-3.2-2.8. Cromwell Gospel WPRT-HD2, 0.5-0.3-0.6.
13 WNFN CHR Cumulus. + 0.2; 2.3-2.4-2.5.
14 WAYM Christian WAY Media. Flat, 1.8-2.1-1.8. WAY Co-owned WAYQ sitting still at 0.3.
17 WLAC News/Talk iHeart. + 0.1; 1.6-1.8-1.7.
17 WSM Country Ryman Hospitality. + 0.7; 1.0-1.3-1.7, iconic Grand Ol’ Oprey calls.
18 WPRT-F Sports Cromwell Group. – 0.4; 1.5-1.3-1.1, Cromwell also Sports WQZQ at 0.2.
19 WFCL Classical Nashville Public Radio 0.1, NPR Cluster 4.9. Middle TN State U Classical WMOT, 0.1.
Swings: + 2.0 CHR WRVW, + 1.9 CHR WRVW; – 1.0 Sports WGFX, – 0.6 Country WKDF & ModRock WBUZ.
Shares: iHeart 26.2-26.5, Cumulus 26.2-24.8, Midwest 18.9-19.0, Nashville Pub 5.0-4.9, Cromwell 5.0-4.7.
46. GREENSBORO, NC. 1,219,700. Black 22%, Spanish 8%. 45 stations, 47% subscribe.
1 WSMW Adult Hits Entercom. + 0.4; 10.1, 9.4-10.5. Exclusive, well done #1 cume up 339,300-414,800.
2 WQMG Urban A/C Entercom. + 0.3; 9.6-10.2-9.9. Another solid format. Score Entercom trifecta 1-2-3!
3 WJMH Rhythmic-CHR Entercom. + 1.2; 6.5-8.1-7.7, leads Dick CHR WKZL 1.3 & iHeart CHR WMKS 1.6.
4 WTQR Country iHeart. + 0.8; 6.0-6.1-6.8, blows Entercom Country WPAW out of 4th place by 1.7.
5 WKZL CHR Dick Broadcasting. + 1.9; 4.5-6.3-6.4, just 0.5 over iHeart CHR WMKS. CHR Total: 11.5.
6 WMAG Adult Contemporary iHeart. – 1.2; 7.3-5.9-6.1, only A/C just coming back from the holidaze.
7 WMKS CHR iHeart. + 1.5; 4.4-5.6-5.9.
8 WKRR Classic Rock Dick Broadcasting. + 0.3; 5.2-5.0-5.5. Only other Rock is iHeart Modern WVBZ 1.7.
9 WPAW Country Entercom. – 2.0; 7.1-6.4-5.1, Slippidy do dah. 3 station Total Country Share: 12.5-12.1.
10 WPTI Talk iHeart. + 0.5; 2.3-2.8-2.8, an 0.9 edge on both N/T’s Wake Forest WFDD & WUNC Chapel Hill.
11 WYMY Regional Mexican Curtis Media. + 0.2; 1.8-1.9-2.0, the one Hispanic subscriber; 7 below the line.
12 WFDD News/Talk Wake Forest & N/T WUNC UNC Chapel Hill tie again + 0.2 at 1.9. Curtis Talk WSJS 1.4.
14 WVBZ Modern Rock iHeart. – 0.1; 1.8-1.5-1.7.
Gospel: Baker Family Southern with WXRI 0.3 & WTJY 0.1. Entercom Gospel WEAL 0.1.
Etc: Curtis Country WPCM 0.1. Curtis Sports WCOG 0.1 by itself! Winston-Salem State U. Jazz WSNC, 0.1.
Swings: + 1.5 CHR WMKS, + 1.2 Rhythmic-CHR WJMH; – 2.0 Country WPAW, – 1.2 A/C WMAG.
Shares: Entercom 34.2-33.3, iHeart Media 21.9-23.3, Dick Broadcasting 11.3-11.9.
48. WEST PALM BEACH, FL. 1,163,200. Spanish 19%, Black 17%. 34 Stations, 50% Subscribers.
1 WRMF Hot A/C Digity Media. – 0.2; 9.9-10.4-9.7, #1 cume 485,700, the only Hot A/C in town.
2 WIRK Country Digity Media. + 0.3; 7.2-6.8-7.5, solo Country in West Palm. Hot Digity has 4 of Top 5.
3 WOLL A/C iHeart Media. – 0.3; 7.4-7.7-7.1 with a 2.2 lead over Digity A/C WEAT.
4 WEAT A/C Digity Media. – 0.6; 5.5-5.1-4.9, slipping. Hot A/C, A/C & Urban A/C Total off 27.7-26.2.
5 WMBX Urban A/C Digity Media. – 0.3; 4.8-4.5-4.5. Completes the 1-2-4-5 West Palm Digity win.
6 WKGR Classic Rock iHeart. + 0.6; 3.2-3.3-3.8, this is the only PB station with Rock in its name.
7 WAYF Christian WAY Media. Kneels in place, 3.7-3.5-3.7. WRMB Moody Bible Religious is now 1.0.
8 WLDI CHR iHeart. + 0.6; 2.9-3.6-3.5. Solo CHR is a low one for iHeart, usually tops in the format.
9 WZZR Talk iHeart + 0.4; 2.3-2.6-2.7. iHeart’s Spanish Hits WRLX is 1.6 & News/Talk WJNO 0.9.
10 WLRN-F/WKWM Dade County School Board. Holds 1.6-2.0-1.6. N/T 5 station Total Share: 7.3.
10 WBPI-HD2 N/T American Public Media 1.6, WBPI American Public Classical 1.4 & Classical WKCP 0.0.
Swings: + 0.7 News WPBI-HD2, + 0.6 Classic Rock WKGR, + 0.6 CHR WLDI; – 0.6 A/C WEAT; 4 post – 0.3.
Shares: Digity Media 26.8-26.6; iHeart Media 19.9-17.1.
49. JACKSONVILLE, FL. 1,156,700. Black 21%, Spanish 7%. 39 Stations, 44% Subscribe.
1 WEJZ Soft A/C Renda Broadcasting. -1.9; 12.9-11.9-11.0. Still big #1 share by 2.5, #1 cume 528k.
2 WQIK-F Country iHeart. + 1.1; 7.4-7.3-8.5 vs. Renda Country WGNE-F behind on the trail by 1.7.
3 WJGL Classic Hits Cox. + 0.5; 7.3-7.7-7.8. All by itself.
4 WAPE-F CHR Cox. – 0.4; 7.7-7.7-7.3 vs. iHeart CHR WKSL 1.6 off the pace.
5 WGNE-F Country Renda. + 0.1; 6.7-7.3-6.8. Country Total gains,14.6-15.3.
6 WKSL CHR iHeart. + 1.1; 4.6-4.8-5.7, the two CHRs have a lucky 13.0 share.
7 WOKV-F News/Talk Cox. – 0.4; 6.0-5.9-5.6 with a 2.7 lead over News/Talk WJCT-F, Inc.
8 WJBT Urban iHeart Media. – 0.7; 5.8-5.8-5.1 scores 2.3 ahead of Cox Urban WJGL-HD2.
9 WSOL Rhythmic Oldies iHeart. – 0.1; 4.8-4.2-4.7. Watch, or hear, this format grow.
10 WXXK Modern Rock Cox. – 0.5; 5.1-5.1-4.6. Just one other Rock: iHeart WKSL-HD2, 0.7.
11 WHJX Urban A/C Cox. – 0.2; 4.7-4.3-4.5 within an 0.2 tight fight with Rhythmic Oldies WSOL.
12 WWJK Adult Hits iHeart Media. + 0.9; 3.0-3.7-3.9, also on the move.
13 WJCT-F News/Talk WJCT, Inc. – 0.1; 3.0-3.1-2.9. News/Talk Totals 8.5.
11 WJGL-HD2 Urban Cox. – 0.3; 3.1-2.8-2.8. Urban Totals 12.4.
12 WMUV Christian Chesapeake-Portsmouth Bcstng. + 0.1; 1.0-1.4-1.1 only Inspirational subscriber.
13 WKSL-HD2 Rock iHeart 0.7. iHeart Media WFXJ Sports 0.3, only Jacksonville Sports subscriber.
Swings: + 1.1 Country WQIK-F & CHR WKSL, + 0.9 AdultHits WWJK; – 1.9 SoftA/C WEJZ, – 0.7 Urban WJBT
Shares: Cox Media 33.1-32.6. iHeart Media 26.9-28.9. Renda 19.2-17.8.
51. MEMPHIS, TN. 1.104,200. Black 45%, Spanish 5%. 48 stations, 54% subscribe.
1 KJMS Urban A/C iHeart + 0.4; 10.0-9.5-10.4, iHeart wins 1-2-3 and has 3 Urban formats.
2 WHRK Urban iHeart. + 0.6; 7.3-8.0-7.9.
3 WHAL-F Gospel iHeart. – 1.0; 8.8-8.1-7.8. Still a large Gospel audience, exclusive format.
4 WRBO R&B Oldies Cumulus. + 0.5; 6.7-6.9-7.2. Rhym Oldies CMLS WKIM at 1.6, Flinn WIVG 1.2.
5 WRVR A/C Entercom- 1.1; 7.2-6.9-6.1. #1 cume gets a slight rise to 333,200.
6 WDIA Urban A/C iHeart + 0.5; 5.4-5.7-5.9. Six Urban types in Memphis Total: 39.6.
7 WMC-F Hot A/C Entercom. – 0.1; 5.3-5.4-5.2. A/C + Hot A/C Total 11.3
8 KXHT Rhythmic-CHR Flinn Broadcast. + 0.5; 4.3-4.5-4.8. All CHRs Total: 8.6.
9 WXMX Rock Cumulus. + 0.7; 3.5-3.5-4.2. iHeart Classic Rock WEGR is now 1.9 back.
10 WGKX Country Cumulus. – 1.1; 5.1-3.9-4.0. WLFP Entercom Country Flat, 1.7.
11 WMFS-F Sports Entercom. – 0.2; 3.1-2.9-2.9 & Sports WMC, 0.1. Flinn’s WHBQ 0.7, WPGL 0.1
12 WREC News/Talk iHeart. + 1.0; 1.8-2.3-2.8.
13 WEGR Classic Rock iHeart. Flat, 2.3. Mighty Media Classic Hits WGUE, + 0.5 to 1.1.
14 WKNO-F/WKNP Classical Mid-South Public Communications. – 0.2; 2.2-2.5-2.0.
14 WHBQ-F CHR Flinn. – 0.3; 2.3-2.4-2.0. KWNW CHR iHeart. Holds 1.8
17 WLFP Country Entercom. Flat, 1.7. Mighty Media Country WEBL/WOWW, 1.3.
18 WKIM Cumulus Rhythmic Oldies was recently N/T 1.6. WIVG Flinn RhymOldies 1.2
Etc: Mighty Media Classic Country WUMY 1.1 Shelby Country Schools Urban A/C WQOX 0.4.
Swings: + 1.0 News/Talk WREC, + 0.7 Rock WXMX; -1.1 A/C WRVR, – 1.0 Gospel WHAL-F.
Shares: iHeart 37.4-39.1, Cumulus 15.9-17.0, Entercom 17.2-15.9, Flinn 9.0-8.8.
52. HARTFORD, CT. 1,072,700. Spanish 13%, Black 11%. 25 Stations, 52% Subscribe
1 WRCH Soft A/C CBS. + 0.6; 9.6-9.6-10.2. Continues as #1 share. Score CBS 1 & 2.
2 WTIC-F Hot A/C CBS. + 0.7; 7.2-7.6-7.9. Soft & Hot A/C Total: 18.1.
3 WWYZ Country iHeart. Steady, 7.6-8.0-7.6, lone ranger on the Connecticut River.
4 WKSS CHR iHeart. + 1.1; 6.4-6.7-7.5 now besting CBS Rhythmic-CHR by 1.7.
5 WTIC News/Talk CBS. – 0.3; 7.6-8.1-7.3. Long time info source & only CT 50kw AM.
6 WHCN Classic Hits iHeart. + 1.5; 5.3-5.6-6.8 and takes Connoisseur WDRC-F by 1.5.
7 WZMX Rhythmic-CHR CBS – 0.3; 6.0-5.8-5.7, could be on a slow slide.
8 WDRC-F Classic Rock Connoisseur Media. – 0.2; 4.6-5.3-4.4. “Whale” is the only Rock.
9 WNPR/WPKT/WEDW/WRLI News/Talk Connecticut Educational. – 0.2; 3.3-3.0-3.1.
10 WUCS Sports iHeart. – 1.0; 2.7-1.9-1.7. Co-owned iHeart Sports WPOP sits down at 0.1.
12 WDRC/WMMW/WSNG/WWCO Talk Connoisseur Media. + 0.3; 1.1-1.4-1.4.
13 WFCR News University of Massachusetts. – 0.6; 1.4-1.5- 0.8. News/Talk Total: 12.4.
Swings: + 1.5 Classic Hits WHCN, + 1.1 CHR WKSS; – 1.0 Sports WUCS, – 0.6 News WFCR.
Shares: CBS 31.1-31.1, iHeart 22.3-23.7, Connoisseur Media 6.7-5.6.
Takeaways:
* Radio feeds all the new webs, apps, chips & digital.
* Your computers and smart phones are now radios.
* With new ways to listen, we need new programs to hear.
* Add easy delivery, great presentation and radio is better than ever!
Clark Smidt connects resources with new business. Boston since ’70.
Make It Your Championship Year. 978 470-2120. [email protected] www.broadcastideas.com
