The Rimshot
Leading Participant
Per chron.com:
Written by David Barron, Houston Chronicle, May 17, 2017
After years of being as much of a blip on the radio dial as they were on the field, the Astros are now a determining factor in the daily chase for sports radio listeners in Houston.
KBME (790 AM), the Astros' flagship station, doubled its audience share from a month ago in the most recent Nielsen Audio ratings book, tying KILT (610 AM) for first place among the four all-sports stations in men 25-54, the key advertising demographic for sports radio. KBME has a narrow lead over KILT in persons 12-plus.
None of the three sports stations that draw ratings (KGOW, 1560 AM, has no measurable audiences) are doing great shakes. They have a combined 3.9 percent of the men 25-54 weekly audience, less than the number for each of the top 10 stations in town. But competition is competition, regardless of the weight class, and KBME is on the upswing with the arrival of baseball season and the Astros' team-record fast start.
KBME and KILT are tied for 22nd among all Houston stations in men 25-54, with KFNC (97.5 FM) one spot back. KFNC is top-rated among the three in morning drive, KBME and KILT are tied in middays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.), and KILT has a more substantial lead over KBME and KFNC in afternoon drive time (3-7 p.m.), but, interestingly enough, KBME leads in men 18-49 in that same time slot.
From 7 p.m. to midnight, KBME outrates KILT and KFNC combined with room to spare, which offsets KILT's edge in afternoon drive and produces the weeklong tie.
Among persons 12-plus, a general demo for which Nielsen Audio countenances using specific numbers in print, KBME has a 1.1 rating to 1.0 for KILT and 0.5 for KFNC for the month. That's not much of a lead, but it's double KBME's rating from the March ratings book. The two are essentially tied in morning drive with 1.1 shares, tied in middays at a 0.9 share, and KILT leads by two-tenths in afternoon drive, 1.2 to 1.0.
After 7 p.m., as with men 25-54, it's KBME by daylight with a 2.3 share to 1.0 for the other two stations combined. A month ago, KBME had a 0.5 share after 7 p.m., so the Astros' impact is fairly remarkable in that time frame.
"Whether it's radio or TV ratings or attendance at the games, we're seeing more interest across the board," said Reid Ryan, the Astros' president for business operations. "People now are making a connection with our guys and are following them on a daily basis."
Here are the Nielsen Audio show by show rankings for the three Houston sports radio stations for the April ratings book, which covered March 30-April 26. It's a closely bunched field, with only a difference of 1.3 share point from top to bottom and four-tenths of a point separating the middle eight shows.
And, since we noted his previous ratings difficulties, it's only fair to note that KBME host Josh Innes' afternoon drive show was among the major beneficiaries of the Astros' surge, improving to third among all sports shows for the month.
For comparison purposes, the sports numbers were KBME, 281,800; KILT, 277,500; and KFNC, 149,700.
And, finally, iHeartMedia had the largest share of the audience during April at 19.1 percent, followed by CBS Radio at 16.5 percent, Cox at 13.3, Radio One at 11.8 and Univision at 11.6.
Written by David Barron, Houston Chronicle, May 17, 2017
After years of being as much of a blip on the radio dial as they were on the field, the Astros are now a determining factor in the daily chase for sports radio listeners in Houston.
KBME (790 AM), the Astros' flagship station, doubled its audience share from a month ago in the most recent Nielsen Audio ratings book, tying KILT (610 AM) for first place among the four all-sports stations in men 25-54, the key advertising demographic for sports radio. KBME has a narrow lead over KILT in persons 12-plus.
None of the three sports stations that draw ratings (KGOW, 1560 AM, has no measurable audiences) are doing great shakes. They have a combined 3.9 percent of the men 25-54 weekly audience, less than the number for each of the top 10 stations in town. But competition is competition, regardless of the weight class, and KBME is on the upswing with the arrival of baseball season and the Astros' team-record fast start.
KBME and KILT are tied for 22nd among all Houston stations in men 25-54, with KFNC (97.5 FM) one spot back. KFNC is top-rated among the three in morning drive, KBME and KILT are tied in middays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.), and KILT has a more substantial lead over KBME and KFNC in afternoon drive time (3-7 p.m.), but, interestingly enough, KBME leads in men 18-49 in that same time slot.
From 7 p.m. to midnight, KBME outrates KILT and KFNC combined with room to spare, which offsets KILT's edge in afternoon drive and produces the weeklong tie.
Among persons 12-plus, a general demo for which Nielsen Audio countenances using specific numbers in print, KBME has a 1.1 rating to 1.0 for KILT and 0.5 for KFNC for the month. That's not much of a lead, but it's double KBME's rating from the March ratings book. The two are essentially tied in morning drive with 1.1 shares, tied in middays at a 0.9 share, and KILT leads by two-tenths in afternoon drive, 1.2 to 1.0.
After 7 p.m., as with men 25-54, it's KBME by daylight with a 2.3 share to 1.0 for the other two stations combined. A month ago, KBME had a 0.5 share after 7 p.m., so the Astros' impact is fairly remarkable in that time frame.
"Whether it's radio or TV ratings or attendance at the games, we're seeing more interest across the board," said Reid Ryan, the Astros' president for business operations. "People now are making a connection with our guys and are following them on a daily basis."
Here are the Nielsen Audio show by show rankings for the three Houston sports radio stations for the April ratings book, which covered March 30-April 26. It's a closely bunched field, with only a difference of 1.3 share point from top to bottom and four-tenths of a point separating the middle eight shows.
And, since we noted his previous ratings difficulties, it's only fair to note that KBME host Josh Innes' afternoon drive show was among the major beneficiaries of the Astros' surge, improving to third among all sports shows for the month.
For comparison purposes, the sports numbers were KBME, 281,800; KILT, 277,500; and KFNC, 149,700.
And, finally, iHeartMedia had the largest share of the audience during April at 19.1 percent, followed by CBS Radio at 16.5 percent, Cox at 13.3, Radio One at 11.8 and Univision at 11.6.