Ft. Pierce-Stuart-Vero Beach Ratings

[John FL]

I was eager to see the Spring 2020 book for the Treasure Coast market. This could also be referred to as the pandemic book. Here's the link:

https://ratings.****************/content/arb517

We've certainly seen changes in listening habits in the PPM markets. This was to be expected given how the pandemic has changed our lives. I wasn't sure how this would pan out in a diary market such as Ft. Pierce-Stuart-Vero Beach. I suspected we would not see too much of a change as we've seen in the PPM markets. My initial thinking is this diary reporting does have characteristics of the PPM.

First off, the long-time perennial #1 station in the market, iHeartMedia's Classic Hits WQOL-FM finds itself in 4th place. We've been reminded by other posters that shares don't mean what they once did since listening is off around 30% pretty much everywhere. There may be more integrity with the diary system than I have long believed. Perhaps the majority of participants are honest and record close to actual listening as possible.

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with The Treasure Coast market, I can attest to the popularity of WQOL. It's great signal and not too hard sounding playlist finds itself as the background music station in restaurants, banks doctor's offices etc. But, with less people working, going out to eat, or working in a traditional office, I can see how this would negatively affect WQOL. There is a possibility the older listeners, and there are many here, have been turning away from the station as it has advanced its playlist to an 80s core with some 70s and even 90s now.

Soft AC WOSN-FM, my personal favorite in the market, has seen a nice bump climbing to #2 overall. This station programs to a 55+ audience. While it's signal is not the best to penetrate office buildings etc., I suspect with more older adults staying home. Their radio listening may have actually gone up earning a few more extra ratings credits. I am aware of the various music tweaks the station has been making over time. Maybe listeners are positively responded to that as well. This is all a guess on my part. What we do know is both WQOL and WOSN shared a good deal of music overlap at one time. That is no longer true.

iHeartMedia's Country WAVW-FM has long been a popular station in the market, often at #2 or tied with WQOL. It's gotten a good bounce and is #1. It will be interesting to see how iHeart's recently flipped WZTA (AM/FM translator combo) performs in the next book. The signal is pretty bad and limited. Expectations are probably not high but time will tell.

 

[John FL]

There's a couple of other tidbits worth mentioning. What's noticeably absent is a dominant conservative news/talk outlet. Overall, The Treasure Coast is quite conservative so one would think there would be a conservative news/talk format on a killer signal. Rush, for example, does not have a local outlet. Perhaps it's possible that voting history and preferences don't translate to support of a political like-thinking format.

Indian River County, home to Vero Beach for example, has not voted Democrat in a Presidential election since Franklin Roosevelt's 4th and last term in 1944. Martin County to the south is quite similar to Indian River's voting history. St. Lucie County is the exception registering "blue" in some cycles and going light pink, not solid red, at times.

There is News/Talk WTTB-AM/105.7 via translator. The station earns mainly fractional shares. As I mentioned earlier, News/Talk WZTA-AM/107.9 via translator has flipped to oldies and the format was mired in fractional shares as well. West Palm's Conservative Talk News/Talk WJNO isn't received well enough into most of The Treasure Coast so it doesn't get a mention.

Ironically, there's the highly successful WQCS-FM which is NPR for The Treasure Coast. It's a top tier station in the ratings. While the format is listed as news/talk, classical and jazz occupy more time on the schedule. There's news, talk and information. I've listened to NPR here on The Treasure Coast and elsewhere. I'm a political independent and prefer a straight news/no spin kind of presentation. Perhaps that's a style that works here and in other places as well. Overall, NPR attracts a wide range of audience from what I have heard and read.

Another interesting thing I discovered is Country format WPHR-FM shows a different ownership than previously but it looks to me like it's the same owner but with a different name. The previous owner name was "Treasure & Space Coast Radio DBA Vero Beach Broadcasters." Today it's R&S Radio with the R & S being the same individuals who are the principles of Vero Beach Broadcasters. Is this common? Why would one station in the cluster spin off under a different ownership name? For what it's worth, Vero Beach Broadcasters is a nice little cluster of stations. I hope it stays that way.

 

[Alex Browne]

What's noticeably absent is a dominant conservative news/talk outlet. Overall, The Treasure Coast is quite conservative so one would think there would be a conservative news/talk format on a killer signal. Rush, for example, does not have a local outlet. .

John, it's certainly not a "killer signal," but Rush does have a local outlet: WPSL-1590 in Port St. Lucie. Port St. Lucie Broadcasters is the local owner of three small (but historic) AM stations: WPSL/Port St. Lucie, WSTU/Stuart, and WJNX/Fort Pierce. WPSL and WSTU offer a mix of conservative and local talk and sports; WJNX is Spanish-language. The signal of WPSL is pretty much limited to St. Lucie County, difficult to hear up your way in Vero.

 

[John FL]

John, it's certainly not a "killer signal," but Rush does have a local outlet: WPSL-1590 in Port St. Lucie. Port St. Lucie Broadcasters is the local owner of three small (but historic) AM stations: WPSL/Port St. Lucie, WSTU/Stuart, and WJNX/Fort Pierce. WPSL and WSTU offer a mix of conservative and local talk and sports; WJNX is Spanish-language. The signal of WPSL is pretty much limited to St. Lucie County, difficult to hear up your way in Vero.

Thanks, Alex. This is good info. Still, you would think there would be a powerful signal for all of the Treasure Coast. I live in an area where I can pick up lots of FM radio stations from near and far. I'm actually south of Vero and in walking distance to St. Lucie County. Unfortunately, WPSL-AM doesn't simulcast on an FM translator. I find AM reception to not be a good listening experience overall. Radio-Locator indicates a local signal where I live. To be honest, I'm just not into talk radio much these days.

With ratings reporting only twice a year, I would find that to be a difficult parameter in which to work. Make some music tweaks and other changes and it's like taking a shot in the dark. I'd find it hard to operate that way. There are obvious differences in PPM and continuous measurement markets in that you've got a couple months or more of trends where you're afforded timely opportunities to make changes or stay the course. With markets such as this,you've got to wait 6 months to see performance.

Perhaps, a discussion of Market #96 radio ratings is practically moot. In another ratings discussion about Nielsen exiting markets, poster/Moderator David Eduardo said this: "It's been long rumored that Nielsen would like to get out of all markets under #100 and even, perhaps, cancel the one between 50 and 100 that are not under the new continuous measurement and only had two books a year."

Should that happen to radio measurement on The Treasure Coast, I'm coming to the conclusion it wouldn't be a big deal. We don't get the full picture anyway with a good number of stations that don't participate in Nielsen such as the ones explained in the last post.