May ratings are here

[Mediafrog+]

The totally useless and virus infected May 6+ ratings: https://ratings.****************/content/arb033

The Spot rebounds, as does Sunny.

KLTN falls back from its April bounce.

Don't think I've ever seen Country Legends get into the threes before.

Mix is sinking. Somewhat surprising, but Hot AC might be feeling effects of CHR decline. KRBE has been falling during the pandemic as well.

Gow Media, ouch.

Classical on KUHF HD-2 shows a pulse. Supposedly the pandemic is helping the format nationwide.

And our favorite dumpster fire, KROI......oh never mind.

 

[cotton belt]

I am impressed with what Scott Sparks has accomplished as the PD at 107.5. I would suspect the station hasn't seen a 7 share since the days of Z107. I've certainly liked what I've heard in my travels to Houston. Every aspect of the on air presentation sounds sharp, and the music has a great flow to it. If not the best, one of the best sounding classic rock stations in Texas right now.

 

[davideduardo]

I am impressed with what Scott Sparks has accomplished as the PD at 107.5. I would suspect the station hasn't seen a 7 share since the days of Z107. I've certainly liked what I've heard in my travels to Houston. Every aspect of the on air presentation sounds sharp, and the music has a great flow to it. If not the best, one of the best sounding classic rock stations in Texas right now.

A 7 share in May is about the same as a 5 share in February. Even in partially recovered May, listening levels on average are off between 20% to 30% in the PPM markets.

A bigger share of fewer people is not a gain.

 

[cotton belt]

A bigger share of fewer people is not a gain.

Thank you, Buzz Killington. Nevertheless, an impressive sounding rock station; one of which those who make it happen should be proud. Chris Huff noted this is the first time either 107.5 or 106.9 have ever attained a share of the market's top spot. That deserves, at the least, an "attaboy".

 

[davideduardo]

Thank you, Buzz Killington. Nevertheless, an impressive sounding rock station; one of which those who make it happen should be proud. Chris Huff noted this is the first time either 107.5 or 106.9 have ever attained a share of the market's top spot. That deserves, at the least, an "attaboy".

Another bucket of water on the fire: even Nielsen advised, back in February, that ratings during this crisis are meaningless for programming decisions and useless for sales.

The panels are not perfectly proportional, and in some cases there are so few people in on particular group that the results could have come from the Magic Kingdom, not from Nielsen.

 

[stan]

Buzz Killington ranks up there with Frankenberry as a snort generating read on a hot afternoon.

 

[ThatVoice22]

Besides the pandemic impact, the "free" Nielsen ratings for the Age 6+ population are mostly useless since they do not reflect the key age-range demographics targeted for advertisement purchases. If anyone knows, please post the proprietary ratings for Ages 25-45, where the real money is generated.
(The word "proprietary" probably means the 25-45 data is unavailable to the non-paying public and might be illegal for others to publish.)

Seeing KGLK and KLTN tied for #1 at 7.0 seems surprising and maybe misleading. Also, seeing sports radio stations hold relatively steady for the past 3 months of zero sports activities is surprising, or maybe misleading as well. If those numbers hold steady or improve, sports talk hosts deserve an award for keeping listeners during an extended period of nothing but NFL & MLB draft picks, rumors, past-game comparisons, and endless predictions.

FM 106.9 KHPT does not appear in the ratings, but I assume that since they simulcast the classic rock on FM 107.5 KGLK, the 2 stations are added together for one total rating assigned only to KGLK. That makes the actual totals for KHPT (91.6 KW northern coverage area) to be unknown, while KGLK (95 KW southern coverage area) gets an unrealistic boost. How does Cox rationalize the simulcast deal, unless they have their own internal information?

 

[davideduardo]

Besides the pandemic impact, the "free" Nielsen ratings for the Age 6+ population are mostly useless since they do not reflect the key age-range demographics targeted for advertisement purchases. If anyone knows, please post the proprietary ratings for Ages 25-45, where the real money is generated.

The "ratings" released publicly are really "share" which means they are the percentage of those listening to radio. Since part of March, and all of April and May had much lower use of radio, looking at "share" represents a percentage of a much smaller number of people. So, until radio listening is back at close to the pre-virus, looking at the "free" numbers is almost meaningless.

(The word "proprietary" probably means the 25-45 data is unavailable to the non-paying public and might be illegal for others to publish.)

"25-45" is not where the "real money" is generated: it is 25-54. Secondary is 18-34, and for Black and Hispanic buys it is 18-49 due to the younger average age of those communities. Of course, that is a general range, and specific buys can be as detailed as "18-44 Spanish Dominant Hispanic Females" or "Men 25-54"; the buy is made based on the advertiser's specific marketing focus.

Seeing KGLK and KLTN tied for #1 at 7.0 seems surprising and maybe misleading. Also, seeing sports radio stations hold relatively steady for the past 3 months of zero sports activities is surprising, or maybe misleading as well. If those numbers hold steady or improve, sports talk hosts deserve an award for keeping listeners during an extended period of nothing but NFL & MLB draft picks, rumors, past-game comparisons, and endless predictions.

7% of April listening is no better than a 3.5 share in January or February. It is actually less people than they had earlier in the year.

FM 106.9 KHPT does not appear in the ratings, but I assume that since they simulcast the classic rock on FM 107.5 KGLK, the 2 stations are added together for one total rating assigned only to KGLK. That makes the actual totals for KHPT (91.6 KW northern coverage area) to be unknown, while KGLK (95 KW southern coverage area) gets an unrealistic boost. How does Cox rationalize the simulcast deal, unless they have their own internal information?

Subscribers to simulcasts in the same Metro Survey Area (MSA) are allowed to select total listening to the simulcast (listed under the lead station) or separate listening. I don't know of any simulcasters that don't select "combined" listings. The reason is that advertisers, particularly agencies, tend to buy the top stations; two stations with 2's won't be noticed but on station with a 4 will be.

Yes, stations can get separate listings for each member of a simulcast or multicast. But most simulcasters don't bother unless they are concerned that there is a signal issue. I know of one case where a station moved one of the sites, and they wanted to see if it had benefited the overall operation.