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August PPM's (It wasn't a fluke)

Miguelito

Miguelito

I don't know what to think of this but B101.1's plunge was not a fluke. In August, they rebounded only one-tenth of a point to 5.6! I was kidding last month but maybe they really should start hoping for Christmas!

In other news, WIP-FM jumped to their highest showing in recent memory (5.9 to 6.7), WDAS-FM is also very high (5.8 to 6.3), and WOGL lost a full point to their lowest rating in memory (5.7). With KYW mired in the mid-to-upper 3's and WTDY in the low-to-mid 2's, the folks at Entercom probably aren't exactly popping bottles right now.

WPPZ continues its upward trajectory (2.0 - 2.2 - 2.5 - 3.0 - 2.9 - 3.3) and at 2.9, BEN-FM is almost ready to crack the 3's again.

Q102 is tied with BEN-FM. And also with Radio 104.5 and WHYY.

For what it's worth, B101.1 and WOGL are #1 and #2, respectively, in cume.
 
There are two ways to look at this: One is that some stations drop. The other that stations jump up.

Then you ask why did WIP jump a point? The answer is the Phillies are having their best season in years. It makes perfect sense.

You compare one station that's Phillies all the time vs. two stations playing 25 year old songs, I ask you who is more exciting?

The Phillies season comes to an end in a few weeks, and the 25 year old songs will still be there. That's when BEB and OGL will recover.

Of course a lot depends on what happens with The Eagles.
 
You're saying B101.1 and WOGL's listeners went away to listen to baseball?! And that they might stay away for football? I seem to recall the Eagles winning the Super Bowl and the Phillies winning the World Series without AC and Classic Hits fans abandoning their presets for Sports radio. I must disagree with you but the ratings will help us figure this all out. :)
 
I get the point that more “casual” fans might spend more time with sports when there’s a period of heightened interest. It’s not an all or nothing proposition, just as spending more time with KYW in a snowy winter isn’t “abandoning” your preferred music stations.

Of course, and as always, it’s the demos and how those translate into revenue that matter,
including how cluster-mates fit together. And I get that we don’t get that. But I still find it hard to ascribe much significance to figures that lack meaningful context.
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
I get the point that more “casual” fans might spend more time with sports when there’s a period of heightened interest. It’s not an all or nothing proposition, just as spending more time with KYW in a snowy winter isn’t “abandoning” your preferred music stations.

Of course, and as always, it’s the demos and how those translate into revenue that matter,
including how cluster-mates fit together. And I get that we don’t get that. But I still find it hard to ascribe much significance to figures that lack meaningful context.
Click to expand...

The thing is, B101.1 was down across the board for July. It's looking like a repeat for August. They're not going out of business or anything but I wonder whether these figures really lack context. After years of being in the 6's and 7's, they're way down and the demos seem to have followed suit. That feels like context.
 
TheBigA said:
The meaningful context is a few months ago there were staff changes made at WBEB and WOGL.

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/172887/people-moves-12-14-wbeb-makes-programmer-change/

WBEB is no longer programmed as a stand-alone. It's now part of a cluster. How's that for context?
Click to expand...

I hit the Dislike button when this was announced, adding that I wasn't surprised since the station was now a cog in a conglomerate. I believe I was told that the change would be of little consequence. I hope Chuck is doing well. And I'm sure he's being kept apprised of the ratings crater at his former home.

Kinda sad that a station's misfortune is one of the few interesting things going on in the market that provide topics for discussion! Maybe there'll be big changes on 1210 or KYW will move to FM soon. (Just kidding! haha)
 
In other news, WPPZ 107.9 is making huge waves. I think by the time the November books come out, we'll be looking at 107.9 nearing a 4 share, if they continue on this upward trajectory. Really have to hand it to them, whoever is programming the station and who makes all the decisions, they are doing an amazing job and really making the most out of a lower powered signal! Goes to show you a blowtorch signal and a huge budget isn't a guaranteed success always. Great job WPPZ!

Also, Radio 104.5 still exactly where they usually are, right around the 3 share mark. Suspect they will bump up to a 3.5 area with the september books. I seem to remember they have increased listening during the school months, with more college aged kids driving to classes and what not, and they flip their dials to 104.5. Not guaranteed but just a hunch.

Unfortunately WXPN's 2.6 was probably a rare occurrence as they're back down to a 1.8. They normally are around here so it's not a big deal.

The Breeze staying steady at 4.7- so I think it's been long enough to say the Breeze normal ratings are mid to high 4s (4.4-4.9)
 
It’s always a challenge that the “road not taken” is an unprovable entity. There are enough other factors that there’s no way of knowing the degree to which not making a change would or wouldn’t have netted a similar (or better...or worse) result.

Did the product change? Sure, the name went back to the old one. But beyond that, was there a widely noticeable change under their control? Or were factors such as The Breeze (to name an obvious one) going to have an impact either way? The landscape did change, and it’s fair to note comparisons are not apples to apples. Would it still be More FM and on top of the heap in the numbers that don’t matter all that much had they not been sold? Had they not made a change to the programming approach? Maybe. Maybe not.

Detailed research and analysis could shed some light on that. And ultimately it’s about the revenue, linked more closely to the target demo results.

That’s all I meant about context. There’s more to any story than the free numbers.
 
Some rankings (from reading All Access analysis), just to shade things in a bit more. Some slots are marked "no idea" because they were skipped in the article I read. Clearly, WOGL is down but they were previously up so this might be a bit of normalization for them. And while WBEB is in recovery mode, they're clearly nowhere near where they used to consistently hover. WIP-FM certainly is having a good time.

25-54
1. WMMR
2. WMGK
3. WDAS
4. WIP (up 3 places)
5. WBEB (slight increase)
6. WUSL
7. No idea
8. WOGL (dropped five places)

18-34
1. WUSL
2. WMMR
3. WXTU
t. WBEB (up two spots)
5. WIOQ
6. WIP-FM (up of course)
7. No idea
8. No idea
9. WIOQ
t. WOGL (dropped six slots)

18-49
1. WMMR
2. WUSL
3. WBEB (up a bit)
4. WIP-FM ("rather large increase")
5. WDAS
6. WXTU
7. WMGK
8. WIOQ
t. WOGL
 
Miguelito said:
Some rankings (from reading All Access analysis), just to shade things in a bit more. Some slots are marked "no idea" because they were skipped in the article I read. Clearly, WOGL is down but they were previously up so this might be a bit of normalization for them. And while WBEB is in recovery mode, they're clearly nowhere near where they used to consistently hover. WIP-FM certainly is having a good time.

25-54
1. WMMR
2. WMGK
3. WDAS
4. WIP (up 3 places)
5. WBEB (slight increase)
6. WUSL
7. No idea
8. WOGL (dropped five places)

18-34
1. WUSL
2. WMMR
3. WXTU
t. WBEB (up two spots)
5. WIOQ
6. WIP-FM (up of course)
7. No idea
8. No idea
9. WIOQ
t. WOGL (dropped six slots)

18-49
1. WMMR
2. WUSL
3. WBEB (up a bit)
4. WIP-FM ("rather large increase")
5. WDAS
6. WXTU
7. WMGK
8. WIOQ
t. WOGL
Click to expand...

Though The Breeze is never mentioned in these stories about the rankings, I think it would be malpractice to think they're not part of what's plaguing B101.1. This really does make me wonder what their Santa Strategy will be. Do they keep on and hope they don't lose too many listeners to WBEB? Or do they also flip so their new friends don't have reason to even think about returning to their old home? I suspect if they stick with the regular format, they're going to have a bad December book and a downright dismal Holiday book. Only time will tell!
 
Miguelito said:


Though The Breeze is never mentioned in these stories about the rankings, I think it would be malpractice to think they're not part of what's plaguing B101.1. This really does make me wonder what their Santa Strategy will be. Do they keep on and hope they don't lose too many listeners to WBEB? Or do they also flip so their new friends don't have reason to even think about returning to their old home? I suspect if they stick with the regular format, they're going to have a bad December book and a downright dismal Holiday book. Only time will tell!
Click to expand...

There could be some fascinating data coming out of research with their target audience.
 
Miguelito said:
This really does make me wonder what their Santa Strategy will be. Do they keep on and hope they don't lose too many listeners to WBEB? Or do they also flip so their new friends don't have reason to even think about returning to their old home?
Click to expand...

iHeart has a centrally programmed Christmas music format available for all its markets. It becomes an easy low-cost way to do Christmas music for the holidays.

On the other hand, WBEB usually does a locally programmed format.
 
Those demo rankings are quite interesting.

--WBEB isn't #1 in any demo. It once was a consistent winner in the 25-54 demo. But WBEB is top 5 in every demo. As David has told us, if your station is in the top 5 in a given demo, you'll get included in the agency buys within that demo. It's nice to be #1, but being top 5 in 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 across the board makes you a lot of money.

--I'm always amazed at WMMR's strong ratings in all demos. It's hard-edged and despite its heritage it rarely plays older rock. You'd think it would be strong 18-34 and leave 25-54 for co-owned Classic Rock WMGK. Yet for a hard rock station, it's #1 25-54 and #2 18-34. Young rock fans and their dads are listening to the same rock station.

--Surprised not to see WISX in the 25-54 ratings. Maybe it's the missing #7 station in that demo. KISQ San Francisco, KSWD Seattle and other Soft ACs have showed us that this format can do well 25-54 and even make inroads in younger demos. But despite being #8 overall, WISX isn't doing that yet.

--I always thought Country, especially in northern markets, was a 25-54 format. Yet we see WXTU at #3 in the youth demo, but not even on the list in the 25-54 demo.
 
TheBigA said:
iHeart has a centrally programmed Christmas music format available for all its markets. It becomes an easy low-cost way to do Christmas music for the holidays.

On the other hand, WBEB usually does a locally programmed format.
Click to expand...

I love Christmas music. I never tire of it but it has to be a good selection. I've heard the iHeart Christmas Cookie Cutter library and it is so personally unappealing. Clay Aiken and all that junk. If The Breeze wants to compete with B101's well thought out and curated library, I think they're gonna have to do better than throwing on that unfocused mess. Of course, Entercom may have a cookie cutter Christmas library as well and for all we know, that's what could end up on B101.1 this year. I think they usually post their Christmas music survey on October 1 so maybe we're about a month from getting an idea of whether they're sticking with the status quo.
 
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