• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

September 2020 Ratings

A

atthestars

September's vanity numbers are out:

WDAS-FM continues to kill it holding a 2.3 share lead over #2.

KYW is solid in this time of news consumption. WHYY reaching (if I remember correctly) a record share, and an amazing 5th place in the overall numbers.

WBEB takes a hit, but their cume is up. People listening in much shorter spurts?

WOGL pulls back ahead of WBEN. We'll see if it's a lasting Adult Hits/Classic Hits battle.

WPEN- Just middling along towards the bottom.

WIOQ's share almost double that of WTDY.

WDAS-AM (the Gambler) is reaching less than 10,000 people? That's pretty sad.

WTEL-AM (Black Information Network) not showing, but WTEL never showed in the 6+ numbers before, so not sure if that is because of low listenership or because Nielsen isn't showing them. (Based on PPM numbers from the BIN stations in Atlanta and Cleveland... at least SOME people are listening)
 
People in Philly love their rock music. MGK and MMR at #2 and #3:

https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb007

I think the strength of mainstream and classic rock are taking listeners away from alternative, which is in a down cycle.
 
TheBigA said:
People in Philly love their rock music. MGK and MMR at #2 and #3:

https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb007

I think the strength of mainstream and classic rock are taking listeners away from alternative, which is in a down cycle.
Click to expand...

I've debated if it's a "rock" thing per-se, or if it's more a "Classic" rock thing. Classic Rock and Classic Hits have been doing well recently. Whether that's because it's tougher to get attract younger listeners to radio and older listeners still listen to radio more, or because of weak current product, I'm not sure.
 
atthestars said:
I've debated if it's a "rock" thing per-se, or if it's more a "Classic" rock thing. Classic Rock and Classic Hits have been doing well recently.
Click to expand...

Not so much in Philly. WOGL is a full 2 points behind WMGK. In most cities, classic hits is higher. And when the demos come out, we'll see WMGK doing well in 18-34.
 
WHYY reaching (if I remember correctly) a record share, and an amazing 5th place in the overall numbers.

What would you expect in a city that's around 85 percent left winged, liberal.


WTEL-AM (Black Information Network) not showing, but WTEL never showed in the 6+ numbers before, so not sure if that is because of low listenership or because Nielsen isn't showing them. (Based on PPM numbers from the BIN stations in Atlanta and Cleveland... at least SOME people are listening)

When you have a strong, well established, Black owned information station like WURD, with a good FM signal, that really cares about the Black community, and people believe in, BIN has no chance at all. The cities where BIN might have a chance has no WURD.
 
TheBigA said:
People in Philly love their rock music. MGK and MMR at #2 and #3:

https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb007

I think the strength of mainstream and classic rock are taking listeners away from alternative, which is in a down cycle.
Click to expand...

I don't have access to the daypart breakouts, but WRFF's decline directly corresponds with the addition of The Woody Show. It will be very interesting to see if that show gains any traction, as WRFF's social media fans have taken a very aggressive stance in opposition to the show. It's almost comical to read their posts every time something from The Woody Show is shared.
 
TheBigA said:
How could that be if the decline happened in the month before the show was added?
Click to expand...
The show was added on August 3rd which corresponds with ratings decline for August and September. Looking at 6+, they were 4.0 in June, 4.3 in July, then 3.0 for August and September.
 
Radionerd408 said:
The show was added on August 3rd which corresponds with ratings decline for August and September. Looking at 6+, they were 4.0 in June, 4.3 in July, then 3.0 for August and September.
Click to expand...

Adding to BigA's dates... Nielsen "months" are only approximate. In fact, a Nielsen year has 13 months that are each 4 weeks long. So, during some periods, more than half of the "month" is shared with another calendar month.

Broadcasters and advertisers know this; listeners who read about the numbers on news sites can easily misunderstand the system as it wasn't designed for use by radio listeners. I hope this helps your understanding and analysis.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Adding to BigA's dates... Nielsen "months" are only approximate. In fact, a Nielsen year has 13 months that are each 4 weeks long. So, during some periods, more than half of the "month" is shared with another calendar month.

Broadcasters and advertisers know this; listeners who read about the numbers on news sites can easily misunderstand the system as it wasn't designed for use by radio listeners. I hope this helps your understanding and analysis.
Click to expand...

Thanks David!

One quick question

WDAS-AM: It showed a very low cume. Is that JUST listening to the AM signal, or does that include possible listening on WDAS-FM-HD2 during that time? (Or would WDAS-FM-HD2 show up as a different line if there were listeners?)
 
atthestars said:
Thanks David!

One quick question

WDAS-AM: It showed a very low cume. Is that JUST listening to the AM signal, or does that include possible listening on WDAS-FM-HD2 during that time? (Or would WDAS-FM-HD2 show up as a different line if there were listeners?)
Click to expand...

HD2 simulcasts will be combined with the originating signal if there is a 100% simulcast.

There is a set of rules about simulcasts. In the case of an translator created for an AM, the FCC requires 100% simulcasting and Nielsen combines them. If there is any other kind of simulcast, including a web stream, Nielsen allows the client to decide on a combined listing or separate ones if there is a 100% simulcast. However, if the stream or one of the broadcast signals in a simulcast does not do a 100% simulcast for essentially all of the survey period (there are exceptions for a limited number of special shows), then each has to be listed separately.

Remember, the main and principal purpose of ratings is to help sell advertising by justifying pricing of ads.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Broadcasters and advertisers know this; listeners who read about the numbers on news sites can easily misunderstand the system as it wasn't designed for use by radio listeners. I hope this helps your understanding and analysis.
Click to expand...

I'll add that ANY change a programmer makes in a station can affect the ratings. The rebranding of the station to Alt likely has some regular listeners miffed. The change in morning show likely alienated some regulars too. All of that is factored in when they make the change. The reality is a lot of the changes being made by iHeart, Entercom, and Beasley have more to do with money than with programming. A drop in the ratings isn't going to cause them to hire more local staff.
 
TheBigA said:
I'll add that ANY change a programmer makes in a station can affect the ratings. The rebranding of the station to Alt likely has some regular listeners miffed. The change in morning show likely alienated some regulars too. All of that is factored in when they make the change. The reality is a lot of the changes being made by iHeart, Entercom, and Beasley have more to do with money than with programming. A drop in the ratings isn't going to cause them to hire more local staff.
Click to expand...

This is the same scenario as a group PD I have worked with has commented:

When you hire a new PD for a successful station, half the time they hit the ground running and keep the station fresh but consistent.

The other half has two groups: a PD who is frightened by a bigger station in a bigger market, and does nothing... the ratings gradually decline as it gets stale. The other group wants to put their stamp on the station and changes things that did not need changing just to take possession of the format; listeners are confused and the ratings decline.

These economically and pandemicly (is that a word?) caused changes are done to save money when revenues are off by as much as half. No company can go 7 months with that kind of revenue hit without dramatically reducing costs.
 
While on the subject of WRFF, the real story isn't in the 6+, but in the 18-34 breakout, where (according to AllAccess.com) the station moved up to #3:

iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5) bounced back from a down book to advance two spaces to #3. WHYY stepped up to #4 with its highest mark since APRIL
Click to expand...

Meanwhile WMMR is #1 in both 18-34 and 18-49.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom