February PPM

[RoddyFreeman]

The PPM monthlies usually come with some surprises/possible flukes, but this one seemed to have more than usual, at least in my opinion.

The surprises/possible flukes include:

WSRV 8.8 - Yes, The River has been doing great for a long time, but isn't this a new high?

WKHX 3.8, WUBL 2.1 - Both stations sound good to me. The Bull recently changed its positioner from "Atlanta's station for new country" to "new country and your all-time favorites." And given that country music has been in somewhat of a slump, a number of stations have increased their older songs by today's stars. Ironically, WKHX's sister station in DFW last week made a major change in that direction. But New Country 101-5 somehow managed to smother The Bull.

WZGC- 1.6 - Well, at least the numbers didn't include last week or today. If they did, the share would be quite a shock.

WNNX - From 1.3 to 2.2. Did everyone dislike Jason Bailey, or are Axel and Southside killing it in PM drive? I've listened in afternoons. Not bad but not that different either.

Not a surprise or a fluke, but in the battle of the W's, WWWQ got a 5.4 and WWPW a 3.2. With Power at about the same share for several months, it's becoming clear that the station should have kept a local morning show. Since Jubal debuted, I've been questioning the wisdom of playing tracks from yesterday's show in Seattle. Jubal is syndicated in a number of markets, and Atlanta is the largest. And, creating more misery for Power, Q99.7 recently extended the Bert Show to 11AM.

 

[101tm]

Agreed that Atlanta is way too big of a market for iHeart to be putting syndication on a CHR on for AM drive if they want to be competitive. My opinion is still Q gets the numbers it does because of The Bert Show. Other than morning shows, both stations sound great, but the same. Power sounds a bit more lively.

Funny seeing 680 basically tied with 92.9. Goes to show just being on FM isn’t always an advantage. I do wonder how The Fan would do with more of an FM signal than the translator. That’ll be tough to ever happen though considering there are really no decent FM signals anyone would give up unless Radio One did some more transactional swaps or Cumulus wanted to reduce their footprint in large markets a bit more, and the Dickeys had the $$$.

V103 and Hot are both stable but still well below their previous averages.

Star seems to have leveled around a 3 share, so if it’s doing well in the demos Audacy is after, it’s probably considered a semi success and is doing better than the hot AC Star.

 

[deejaywestbrook]

Q997 sounds almost Rhythmic-CHR these days and I'm kinda hear for it! Power needs to wake up and stop playing so many (Hot AC) recurrents. I get it that lately gold based Rhythmic is all the rage again. But Power then chooses Bruno Mars "Just The Way You Are" and Q997 plays Notorious B.I.G. "Hypnotize". My how the tables have turned. Lol

 

[BarryATL]

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Looks like a meter picked up WBIN (AM 640). The showed up for the first time in months.

With all the swings, was there a big change in people carrying the meters?

 

[TheBigA]

Agreed that Atlanta is way too big of a market for iHeart to be putting syndication on a CHR on for AM drive if they want to be competitive. My opinion is still Q gets the numbers it does because of The Bert Show.

Keep in mind The Bert Show and Kincaid & Dallas are both syndicated. Just that they originate in Atlanta.

 

[101tm]

Keep in mind The Bert Show and Kincaid & Dallas are both syndicated. Just that they originate in Atlanta.

Yeah, but IMO it’s a different thing for them to originate from the market than to be piped in. If they originate in a large market, they are likely to know the area and be able to customize it in ways it wouldn’t generally be for smaller market affiliates. Plus, these shows generally are successful in their home markets before they’re syndicated out, at least The Bert Show among others were…not sure about Kincaid and Dallas.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Funny seeing 680 basically tied with 92.9. Goes to show just being on FM isn’t always an advantage. I do wonder how The Fan would do with more of an FM signal than the translator.

We're talking about 1 month. 92.9 has been soundly beating 680 for many years at this point.

For a station with such low ratings, 680/93.7 sounds really good and has some excellent hosts.

 

[TheBigA]

Yeah, but IMO it’s a different thing for them to originate from the market than to be piped in.

The other side of that is how does the syndication aspect limit the localism of the content? They know they can't be too Atlanta-centric or the show won't work in other areas. That could be said about any show that isn't strictly local.

 

[MarkW]

Credit where credit is due; that is an AMAZING surge for 101.5.

I think their free gas promotion is a big reason for the ratings boost. I was complimentary of the promotion and the stunting around it at the time, but holy cow, I wasn't expecting such a drastic result!

I bet Rock 100.5 will give up some of its recent increase in the next book. Upper 1's is their long term average, and that is probably where the numbers will settle.

 

[MarkW]

I never understood why Power 96.1 has undergone so many morning show changes. On at least two occasions, possibly three, the ratings were quite good when one morning show was fired (or moved to a different, smaller market) in favor of another morning show.

Does someone inside the building - or at iHM corporate - want the station to fail? I mean, some of the moves have been total head scratchers!

Putting Jubal in A.M. drive, with largely recycled content, is a terrible idea; Q99-7 has won the CHR battle as far as I'm concerned.

 

[secondchoice]

Credit where credit is due; that is an AMAZING surge for 101.5.

I think their free gas promotion is a big reason for the ratings boost. I was complimentary of the promotion and the stunting around it at the time, but holy cow, I wasn't expecting such a drastic result!

I bet Rock 100.5 will give up some of its recent increase in the next book. Upper 1's is their long term average, and that is probably where the numbers will settle.

I agree. I will admit I was wrong about Cumulus’s country programmers. They have fixed 101.5 in Atlanta. It is a shame that Rock 100.5 will soon suffer the Braves games. It will be 6 (hopefully 7) months until they get back to normal. I not knocking the World Champions but IMHO Rock 100.5’s P1 and baseball play by play are not a good mix. I get that the Braves games are a real source of revenue for 100.5 especially because of the TV deal the Braves have, but 100.5 might be heading in the correct direction.

 

[weilr668]

From All Access today...huge for Q99.7 again.

Last month, COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) and COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) were co-leaders of the 6+ contest. Their fortunes varied widely this time. WSRV remained on top with its largest share in over a year (7.1-8.8). WALR slipped to #3 with its lowest score since NOVEMBER (7.1-6.5). In between was COX MEDIA Talk WSB-A, which stepped up to #2 with its second up book in a row (6.9-7.4). COX MEDIA AC WSB (B98.5) moved up to #4 (5.6-5.8), while two stations were entangled at #5. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7) dipped from #4 (6.1-5.4), while URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) inched up from #6 (5.5-5.4). WSRV was the cume leader for the first time since JUNE thanks to a 14.7% increase (719,000-824,600). The market gained 1.7%.

WWWQ was the leading 25-54 station for the second book in a row. Though it was not able to repeat its double-digit performance from last time, it had plenty left in the tank to have a wide lead over the rest of the field. WSRV rose from #7 to #2 as it ended a steep three-book slide and still trailed WWWQ by over two shares. WALR stepped down to #3 as it ended a strong two-book surge. Three stations were cheek-by-jowl at #4. SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (104.7 THE FISH) and AUDACY Urban WVEE (V103) were in that position last month. Both stations were up slightly. They were joined by WAMJ, which slipped from #3 as it also ended a solid two-book surge.

For the second consecutive survey, WWWQ was both #1 and in double digits 18-34. WSRV again posted its largest share in over a year as it moved up to #2 but was staring at about a two-share gap. WSB slipped to #3 with a slight decrease and was tied with WVEE, which remained in place with a slight increase. AUDACY Rhythmic AC WSTR (STAR 94) slipped to #5 as it ended a very strong five-book surge.

Though it took a share hit, WWWQ remained the undisputed 18-49 champion for the second book in a row. WSB was up to #2 with a slight increase, while WVEE advanced two spaces to #3 with its best showing since APRIL. WSRV took four giant steps forward to #4 as it ended a four-book slide, while WALR dropped from #2 to #5 with its smallest share since OCTOBER. WAMJ fell from a tie at #3 to #7.

 

[101tm]

What exactly is it that WWWQ is doing that other CHR’s aren’t? The format has been sort of in the doldrums and just getting by in most markets since the pandemic started, but there’s been a little improvement recently.

 

[victorres43]

What exactly is it that WWWQ is doing that other CHR’s aren’t? The format has been sort of in the doldrums and just getting by in most markets since the pandemic started, but there’s been a little improvement recently.

The Bert Show must be wildly popular in Atlanta. Yelp reviewers used to say how they listen to Q100 (now Q99.7) in the mornings, even if many of them do not care for pop music at all. (The listing is for 99X, but some reviewers have chimed in on their thoughts on The Bert Show.)

That, or WWWQ is not programmed as if they are fearing Star 94's power in playing adult pop rock.

 

[jt99]

V103 and Hot are both stable but still well below their previous averages.

WRDG is right below WHTA with a 1.9 share. Not a great performance, but it seems like WRDG may be bringing down the numbers of WHTA and WVEE a bit.

 

[victorres43]

WRDG is right below WHTA with a 1.9 share. Not a great performance, but it seems like WRDG may be bringing down the numbers of WHTA and WVEE a bit.

Having The Breakfast Club helps WRDG be in parity with WHTA.

 

[101tm]

That, or WWWQ is not programmed as if they are fearing Star 94's power in playing adult pop rock.

It took Power coming on the scene and then some for Q to finally stick with a mainstream CHR playlist and stop the back and forth adult lean because of Star and even B98.5. Star’s direction was more due to B98.5, but I’m sure there was still an impact.

Re WRDG, keep in mind they have an almost identical signal to WALR, not quite as great but we see how WALR does. So there is actually a lot of potential for the 105.3 signal to pull numbers, even if it doesn’t.

Doesn’t look like El Patron has bothered 107.1/102.3.

 

[jt99]

For the second consecutive survey, WWWQ was both #1 and in double digits 18-34. WSRV again posted its largest share in over a year as it moved up to #2 but was staring at about a two-share gap. WSB slipped to #3 with a slight decrease and was tied with WVEE, which remained in place with a slight increase. AUDACY Rhythmic AC WSTR (STAR 94) slipped to #5 as it ended a very strong five-book surge.

I doubt 18-34 is what Audacy is looking for with WSTR, but I guess they'll take it.

 

[jabba17]

The Bert Show must be wildly popular in Atlanta. Yelp reviewers used to say how they listen to Q100 (now Q99.7) in the mornings, even if many of them do not care for pop music at all. (The listing is for 99X, but some reviewers have chimed in on their thoughts on The Bert Show.)

That, or WWWQ is not programmed as if they are fearing Star 94's power in playing adult pop rock.

I'd love to see how the top stations are doing in the AM drive daypart. I would expect the Bert Show to be near the top, and I'd also like to know how Rock100.5's AM drive compares.

I think Cumulus was wise to extend the Bert Show to later in the morning; with more people working from home "AM drive" is becoming longer and other stations in other markets have had success with extending their morning shows.

Something else I noticed; WFOM seems to be putting a big hurt on WGKA. And WFOM doesn't seem to be hurting from the demise of Zombie Rush.

 

[jabba17]

I doubt 18-34 is what Audacy is looking for with WSTR, but I guess they'll take it.

For some reason, young people these days like older music. My daughter has moved on from Radio Disney to the likes of AC/DC, the Scorpions, and Iron Maiden.