December Ratings

[SirRoxalot]

The beauty contest ratings for December are out now. Remember, this is a rolling 3-month average, and the first one to show a significant Jingle Jam bump. Here are all the stations who paid for the book and broke a 1-share. Get the full 12+ here:

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ratings.radio-online.com

Station	Format	Owner	23-Sep	23-Oct	23-Nov	23-Dec
WBLK-FM	Urban	Townsquare Media	9.4	9	9	8.6
WGRF-FM	Classic Rock	Cumulus Media	8.2	8.1	8.2	8.2
WYRK-FM	Country	Townsquare Media	7.2	7.8	7.5	7.2
WTSS-FM	AC	Townsquare Media	4	4	4.4	6.9
WGR-AM	Sports	Audacy	4.2	4.9	5.7	6.1
WHTT-FM	Classic Hits	Cumulus Media	7.8	6.7	7.3	6.1
WKSE-FM	CHR	Audacy	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.4
WBEN-AM	News/Talk	Audacy	7.2	6.5	5.9	5.2
WBFO-FM	Public Radio	WNYPBA	3.5	3.4	3.5	3.9
WECK-AM	Oldies	Radio One Buffalo	4.3	4.5	4.8	3.8
WEDG-FM	Alternative	Cumulus Media	2.9	3.4	3	3.7
WNED-FM	Classical	WNYPBA	2.1	2.2	2.1	2.2
WBUF-FM	Rock	Townsquare Media	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.6
WLKK-FM	Country	Audacy	1.5	1.5	1.1	1.1

 

[flybynight]

The beauty contest ratings for December are out now. Remember, this is a rolling 3-month average, and the first one to show a significant Jingle Jam bump. Here are all the stations who paid for the book and broke a 1-share. Get the full 12+ here:

Radio Industry News, Radio Show Prep, Radio Promotions, Radio Station Data, Podcast News

RADIO ONLINE offers the latest radio industry news, podcast news, radio show prep, radio promotions, radio station data and more. RADIO ONLINE has been serving the radio industry since 1989, with up-to-the-minute news at radio-online.com

ratings.radio-online.com

Station	Format	Owner	23-Sep	23-Oct	23-Nov	23-Dec
WBLK-FM	Urban	Townsquare Media	9.4	9	9	8.6
WGRF-FM	Classic Rock	Cumulus Media	8.2	8.1	8.2	8.2
WYRK-FM	Country	Townsquare Media	7.2	7.8	7.5	7.2
WTSS-FM	AC	Townsquare Media	4	4	4.4	6.9
WGR-AM	Sports	Audacy	4.2	4.9	5.7	6.1
WHTT-FM	Classic Hits	Cumulus Media	7.8	6.7	7.3	6.1
WKSE-FM	CHR	Audacy	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.4
WBEN-AM	News/Talk	Audacy	7.2	6.5	5.9	5.2
WBFO-FM	Public Radio	WNYPBA	3.5	3.4	3.5	3.9
WECK-AM	Oldies	Radio One Buffalo	4.3	4.5	4.8	3.8
WEDG-FM	Alternative	Cumulus Media	2.9	3.4	3	3.7
WNED-FM	Classical	WNYPBA	2.1	2.2	2.1	2.2
WBUF-FM	Rock	Townsquare Media	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.6
WLKK-FM	Country	Audacy	1.5	1.5	1.1	1.1

WECK is only 1.4 shares behind 8th place broken record WBEN? Who'dathunkit?

 

[DavidEduardo]

WECK is only 1.4 shares behind 8th place broken record WBEN? Who'dathunkit?

And WECK seems to have surrendered a point to WTSS during the Christmas music season.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Let's not forget Rochester:

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RADIO ONLINE offers the latest radio industry news, podcast news, radio show prep, radio promotions, radio station data and more. RADIO ONLINE has been serving the radio industry since 1989, with up-to-the-minute news at radio-online.com

ratings.radio-online.com

Station	Format	Owner	Sep 23	Oct 23	Nov 23	Dec 23
WBEE-FM	Country	Audacy	8.2	8.4	9.6	10.1
WDKX-FM	Urban	Monroe County Broadcasting	8.8	8.7	9.6	9.4
WHAM-AM	News/Talk	iHeartMedia	5.3	6.3	6.7	6.7
WRMM-FM	AC	Stephens Media Group	4.9	4.2	4.0	5.6
WCMF-FM	Classic Rock	Audacy	7.8	7.1	6.1	5.5
WPXY-FM	CHR	Audacy	3.9	3.9	5.2	4.6
WAIO-FM	Talk	iHeartMedia	2.0	2.0	2.5	3.0
WBZA-FM	Adult Hits	Audacy	3.1	3.3	3.6	2.7
WDVI-FM	Country	iHeartMedia	2.2	2.1	2.8	2.7
WFKL-FM	Adult Hits	Stephens Media Group	1.7	1.7	2.0	2.2
WLGZ-FM-HD2	Urban	Djro Broadcasting	1.5	1.8	1.9	2.0
WKGS-FM	CHR	iHeartMedia	1.8	1.7	1.5	1.5
WXXI-AM	Public Radio	WXXI Public Broadcasting Council	1.5	1.5	1.2	1.5
WRUR-FM	AAA	University of Rochester Broadcast	1.4	1.4	1.0	1.3

 

[leethalweapon]

Is WZNE on life support? It appears to have all but disappeared.

 

[TheBigA]

And WECK seems to have surrendered a point to WTSS during the Christmas music season.

I though WECK played Christmas songs this year.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I though WECK played Christmas songs this year.

Was it all-Christmas? In other markets, playing some Christmas seems to be a negative rather than positive... or at least it does nothing good.

 

[Mark1981]

Some thoughts on this most intriguing book:

First of all, Big A, WECK was not a full-time Christmas station. Its online station, Big WECK 2, played all Christmas music from Halloween through Christmas Day.

DavidEduardo, Buffalo’s all Christmas station, WTSS, the New 96.1, vaulted to a 6.9 share. That was number four in this 12+ book. Not too shabby for a frequency that has languished since the days of WJYE. We’ll see if the station can retain that success with its Hot AC format. But one can conclude the holiday format was a positive, not a negative, for at least one station in Buffalo. Perhaps someone else can confirm this. But I remember reading in a thread that the old Star 102 went all Christmas after Halloween. It registered a .03 in this book on WLKK-HD2. Admittedly, miniscule. But interesting, nonetheless.

A poster in this thread mentioned that WECK is now 1.4 shares away from WBEN. What I find more interesting is that WBFO is within 1.3 shares of WBEN. Buffalo’s two news/talk stations have never been this close. I know I have been critical of my former station for its reduced local news presence. What I can say is, though, I know I’m getting accurate reporting from the station, whether the content is generated by WBFO or NPR.

That’s not the case with WBEN. They failed miserably with the coverage of the Rainbow Bridge incident on the day before Thanksgiving. I haven’t listened to the station since because I lost trust in it. Maybe others have, too. I’m not a ratings expert. But WBEN’s share has fallen from 7.2 in September to 5.2 in December. Is four months enough of a trend to indicate WBEN is in trouble? I’ll defer to more expert opinion. But I think we’re seeing the first evidence that WBEN’s long tenure as a market leader is over.

 

[RadioGuy1864]

WBEN's listeners decline daily just because of deaths from illness or natural causes. But they still bill well, and will for the next 4-5 years.

 

[tbolt909]

Was it all-Christmas? In other markets, playing some Christmas seems to be a negative rather than positive... or at least it does nothing good.

Mark stated that WECK was not playing all Christmas music. They went down a full share. Keep in mind that in previous years there were two full signal FM stations playing ALL Christmas. They would split the audience. Since K-Love replaced STAR, 96.1 had no competition in the Christmas category. Their ratings spike will likely drop back 2 to 3 shares in January. We cannot see ratings for K-Love. Is Jesus more popular in December?

Meanwhile, formats like WBUF and The Wolf shamble on like the Ghost of Jacob Marley wearing the chains they forged in life. They both are far beyond all hope...

 

[four4rock]

Curious... Can anyone share any insight into what the factors are for the disparity between Rochester and Buffalo relative to the formats at the top of the heap(s)... are the demographics substantially different... or programming?

Sincerely, Proud member of the 1.1 share listener club.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Meanwhile, formats like WBUF and The Wolf shamble on like the Ghost of Jacob Marley wearing the chains they forged in life. They both are far beyond all hope...

You get extra points for creative writing and referencing a literary holiday classic, 'bolt.

It could be that Mix-Breeze-Star-New-Now-What's-Next?-Ninety Six Point One "sustains and retains," and doesn't drop two or three shares when it reverts to it regular Hot AC format. That many (AC, Hot AC) formats come down to earth after All-Christmas has been documented in major and medium markets. It happened to OTA Star 102.5, and conventional thinking indicates it will happen to one degree or another to 96.1. But given that there may be a tranche of listeners who "discovered" or "re-discovered" the 96.1 frequency, the post Christmas erosion may not be as severe. In large measure it depends on how those re-or-newly-attracted listeners like the product. It's a roll of the dice.

We can see the power and impact of All Christmas: WECK was down. WHTT was down. Kiss was off. All the while 96.1 gained two and a half shares Persons 12+, no small feat. Past practice would indicate that 96.1 had a monster month with Women 25-54, largely at the expense of its in-format and flanking-format competitors. The question now is, can 96.1 most of those listeners? I'm out of the gender and age demo, but I listened to All Christmas on 96.1 in the ten days prior to December 25th. I also listened afterwards, when the normal format returned. I punched out because the music, such as it is and such as my tastes are, is ... let me be kind ... not my bowl of soup.

As to the question regarding WBEN and its down trend. Yes, four monthlies, which are essentially "books," constitute a trend. However, the true and holding trend would be a year-to-year comparison, as was down in the old days in diary driven markets, when stations (particularly those that saw ratings slide) did a four book (one year) breakout to show that they still had strength. But in this day and age, four bad monthlies in a diary market don't look particularly good. Frankly, I thought WBEN would do better. I wouldn't quite put a fork in them, but let's say they're in need of some oxygen.

Readers and posters here should keep on eye on 97 Rock, which weathered the month remarkably well. That's a tribute to the format, the people on the air, and the programmers. Also, to the hordes of listeners, 18-65+, who like 40-50 year old rock classics.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Likely the biggest difference between Buffalo and Rochester is in ownership. Buffalo has Townsquare, Audacy, and Cumulus. Rochester has Audacy, iHeart, Stephens Media and a monster local in Monroe County Broadcasting. iHeart is essentially living off WHAM in Rochester. They've got some pretty good signals that are languishing mostly as flankers for successful formats. It's surprising to me that WXXI and its affiliates are rating better, but public broadcasters uniformly tell you that ratings don't matter, but revenue does. That's a TV/Radio combo, and like most combos, TV gets the bigger share of attention.

 

[ckg279]

Likely the biggest difference between Buffalo and Rochester is in ownership. Buffalo has Townsquare, Audacy, and Cumulus. Rochester has Audacy, iHeart, Stephens Media and a monster local in Monroe County Broadcasting. iHeart is essentially living off WHAM in Rochester. They've got some pretty good signals that are languishing mostly as flankers for successful formats. It's surprising to me that WXXI and its affiliates are rating better, but public broadcasters uniformly tell you that ratings don't matter, but revenue does. That's a TV/Radio combo, and like most combos, TV gets the bigger share of attention.

I'd add, too, that WXXI just added 105.9 to their portfolio and the signal is good enough to get them coverage of MOST of the metro Rochester area. I'm not sure if that was factored into 'XXI's ratings this go-round....maybe Scott Fybush could answer that question?

 

[TheBigA]

It's surprising to me that WXXI and its affiliates are rating better,

I wonder if that's because some might say Rochester is a bit more high-brow than Buffalo.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I'd add, too, that WXXI just added 105.9 to their portfolio and the signal is good enough to get them coverage of MOST of the metro Rochester area. I'm not sure if that was factored into 'XXI's ratings this go-round....maybe Scott Fybush could answer that question?

I don't know the dates, but Nielsen requires full survey period simulcasting for combined Total Line Reporting. What I also don't know for sure is how Nielsen handles diary markets, but I assume that a station has to be 100% simulcast for the entire 12 week survey period for the two to be combined.

 

[RadioGuy1864]

It used to be that Rochester was considered "richer" than Buffalo, but that was before Xerox, Kodak, and a few other business collapsed. Today I would say they are about equal, with Rochester perhaps having a slight edge in wealth over Buffalo, but Buffalo has more population.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I wonder if that's because some might say Rochester is a bit more high-brow than Buffalo.

That was what Rochester believed at one time when Kodak and Xerox were riding high. That was decades ago. Buffalo has emerged from its rustbelt industrial losses to become a less blue-collar city with very strong cultural institutions and major league sports that draw support from Rochester. Reality is that the region grows best when there's cooperation between the two cities. If you want stats, check out this link.

2024 Compare Cities Overview: Rochester, NY vs Buffalo, NY

Best Places to Live | Compare cost of living, crime, cities, schools and more.

www.bestplaces.net

 

[fybush]

Having spent a chunk of the last week in Buffalo (where I have a family member recovering from surgery at the moment), it's kind of remarkable how both cities have ended up in such a similar condition.

There's still a little more higher ed over here in Rochester, which spins off more high-tech business, and a little more blue collar industry in Buffalo, but it's equalized a lot in the last few decades. We have Park Ave, Buffalo has Elmwood.

And we all answer to "Go Bills," of course.

As for the ratings - I have reminded the powers that be that they need to press Nielsen about TLR to combine the AM and FM numbers. I don't really trust our numbers right now, because I am certain that changing the 91.5 calls has made a complete mess of diary reporting. I am usually grateful we're not a PPM market, but it sure would help in this case.

 

[DavidEduardo]

As for the ratings - I have reminded the powers that be that they need to press Nielsen about TLR to combine the AM and FM numbers. I don't really trust our numbers right now, because I am certain that changing the 91.5 calls has made a complete mess of diary reporting. I am usually grateful we're not a PPM market, but it sure would help in this case.

The rule is actually simple: two simulcast stations must be so for the entire ratings period. In the diary, that is the newer rolling average of 12 weeks. So if the simulcast began, for example, during the October survey month (which is partly in September... but that is a different calendar based issue), that month is excluded. The first full Nielsen "month" of full simulcast is the starting point, and two additional months must be simulcast. So in this case, the January "book" which is November, December and January would be the first on showing the simulcast under the TLR rules.

I was told, but not confirmed, that Nielsen has made exceptions if the added station had zero ratings in periods prior to beginning the simulcast. And sign-ons that are "fresh" signals can be added immediately as there is no contamination from listening estimates for a prior format or operation.