PPM’s 10/4

[101tm]

https://ratings.****************/content/arb047

Not a lot of change, but I wouldn’t want to be iHeart in this market. Their highest rated 6+ is Power, below a 3 share. The Bull is below it, and then way further down we have 105.3, 105.7, and I honestly didn’t scroll down enough to see 96.7.

River has dropped the last 3 months but still stays on top. Rough stop for Star but a nice jump for The Game.

Everyone’s favorite dumpster fire WNNX still dutifully keeping its one and a half share.

 

[victorres43]

WABE overtaking WSB?

It's one book, but I don't know if WABE ever overtook WSB, even during election time, etc.

 

[victorres43]

Oh, and iHeartMedia is very weak in Atlanta, at least in this book.

 

[101tm]

Oh, and iHeartMedia is very weak in Atlanta, at least in this book.

iHeart has had a problem in Atlanta for a very long time it seems. It’s one of the weakest large market clusters they have, if not the weakest. Power is second place to Q, The Bull seems back to second fiddle to 101-Five, The Beat has lost its newness factor (before anyone says signal, their signal is ALMOST as good as WALR, and we see how they do) and just has too many established competitors. Who knows with 105.7, and 96.7 is the worst signal for regional Mexican that I can think of. They only have two really good signals, and both of those are up against stations that are well established in the market. Each station is pretty weak.

 

[BarryATL]

WABE overtaking WSB?

It's one book, but I don't know if WABE ever overtook WSB, even during election time, etc.

Wow! WABE is trending up fast. @secondchoice is this due to a change in the sample pool??? You seem to always know this stuff.

Usually, during an election cycle WSB ratings are great. What is going on?

 

[victorres43]

Wow! WABE is trending up fast. @secondchoice is this due to a change in the sample pool??? You seem to always know this stuff.

Usually, during an election cycle WSB ratings are great. What is going on?

Well, WSB increased their share from last book. It's just that WABE is becoming a strong contender, or at least it seems that way.

 

[jt99]

Has there ever been a prior ocassion in any market in which an NPR station and a conservative News/Talk station both finished in the top 5? The fact that WABE and WSB are both top 5 could be showing a big polarization within the market...

On the iHeartMedia end, they're doing poorly at the moment, but they've had better moments in the past. WUBL and WWPW are just very inconsistent stations for whatever reason, and I think both are simply in a down period at the moment. However, part of wonders if there's simply no room in Atlanta for two Country stations, given that there's a lot of northern transplants in the market and a cosmopolitan culture.

 

[victorres43]

Has there ever been a prior ocassion in any market in which an NPR station and a conservative News/Talk station both finished in the top 5? The fact that WABE and WSB are both top 5 could be showing a big polarization within the market...

I would think a market like Washington DC would be the same; WMAL has been a strong performer in the past. Maybe Austin too, given KLBJ being a fixture within the top 5 along with KUT.

On the iHeartMedia end, they're doing poorly at the moment, but they've had better moments in the past. WUBL and WWPW are just very inconsistent stations for whatever reason, and I think both are simply in a down period at the moment. However, part of wonders if there's simply no room in Atlanta for two Country stations, given that there's a lot of northern transplants in the market and a cosmopolitan culture.

Do consider that in Hartford, Boston, and Providence, country is performing substantially. Let's not forget the Midwest, also.

I feel that there are a lot of country fans in north Fulton, Cobb, Forsyth, Cherokee, etc. Although, given Atlanta's status as a black mecca, a good amount of R&B/Hip-Hop stations are performing substantially, if not strongly.

 

[BarryATL]

Well, WSB increased their share from last book. It's just that WABE is becoming a strong contender, or at least it seems that way.

It does seem WABE is getting stronger. NPR stations in other markets are performing better than ever.

Chicago #4

WBEZ-FM

News/Talk

Chicago Public Media

San Francisco #1

KQED-FM

News/Talk

KQED

Washington DC #1

WAMU-FM

NPR

Board of Trustees of American University

Phoenix #2

KJZZ-FM

News/Talk

Maricopa County Community College

Portland, OR #2

KOPB-FM

News/Talk

Oregon Public Broadcasting

https://ratings.****************/content/arb_menu_001

 

[jabba17]

However, part of wonders if there's simply no room in Atlanta for two Country stations, given that there's a lot of northern transplants in the market and a cosmopolitan culture.

Country, like CHR, is a very cyclical format. When it's hot, it's hot. When it's not, it's not. As Jerry Reed would have said.

There's not enough room for two country stations in ATL right now, and that won't change until it does.

Atlanta has had northern transplants and a more cosmo culture for decades. That's not new. WPLO pioneered the more-urbane "town and country" format back in the 60s.

 

[101tm]

Side note: some strong showings for The Fan. Considering they’re on AM mainly except for the limited range translator vs the class C 92.9 The Game, their performance is pretty impressive vs The Game.

 

[RadioDoogie]

iHeart has had a problem in Atlanta for a very long time it seems. It’s one of the weakest large market clusters they have, if not the weakest. Power is second place to Q, The Bull seems back to second fiddle to 101-Five, The Beat has lost its newness factor (before anyone says signal, their signal is ALMOST as good as WALR, and we see how they do) and just has too many established competitors. Who knows with 105.7, and 96.7 is the worst signal for regional Mexican that I can think of. They only have two really good signals, and both of those are up against stations that are well established in the market. Each station is pretty weak.

Minus the morning show, I would say that Power needs to open up their playlist a bit to compete with Q. It’s too narrow. But I doubt that will happen since Power is programmed much like the other iHeart CHRs nationwide. Power has really not changed their format at all over the past decade. I prefer Power over Q but you are right, Q has been established for 11 more years. However, there have been a few times where Power has beat Q.

 

[chrocket87]

Wow! WABE is trending up fast. @secondchoice is this due to a change in the sample pool??? You seem to always know this stuff.

Usually, during an election cycle WSB ratings are great. What is going on?

WABE is likely trending up for the same reason as WSB- there’s a big midterm election coming up- and Georgia just might once again be the state that decides the Senate.

 

[davideduardo]

Wow! WABE is trending up fast. @secondchoice is this due to a change in the sample pool???

The PPM has a panel and households / dwelling units can remain in it for 24 months, although during the pandemic some have been extended beyond that limit.

The panel changes about 6% to 8% every month due to households reaching the time limit or people dropping off. The greatest panel drop-offs are over the Holiday book and during the summer. So there may have been considerable July and August turnover, but September should be rather typical (although since the pandemic began, nothing is "typical" any longer).

In general, wobbles of +/- 5% to 6% are not unusual and unless are seen to be a three or more book trend, not worth getting excited about.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

The PPM has a panel and households / dwelling units can remain in it for 24 months, although during the pandemic some have been extended beyond that limit.

The panel changes about 6% to 8% every month due to households reaching the time limit or people dropping off. The greatest panel drop-offs are over the Holiday book and during the summer. So there may have been considerable July and August turnover, but September should be rather typical (although since the pandemic began, nothing is "typical" any longer).

In general, wobbles of +/- 5% to 6% are not unusual and unless are seen to be a three or more book trend, not worth getting excited about.

David, some years back, a family on the panel was listening to Star 94 for something like all day every day. And when that family dropped out of the panel, Star's numbers reflected it.

As far as WABE, while I realize there should be ratings stability given the panel will remain pretty much the same for a while, I want to see a couple more months before I'm convinced these big shares are for real. Nothing with WABE's programming has changed so the sudden dramatic increase is difficult to fathom. I suppose we could get creative and think WABE's audience was motivated by Dobbs to become interested in the election, but I highly doubt that's the reason.

 

[WCDukenfield]

Can someone see WABE's tune in/tune out data to see where they are gaining?

 

[101tm]

A lot of NPR affiliates have been doing extremely well this year, quite higher than their recent year average. WFAE in Charlotte and KJZZ in Phoenix also immediately come to mind.

I noticed 98.9/“99X” didn’t register at all. OG97.9 is getting around a 1 share (their signal is situated well for the format). Classix 102.9 is doing even better.

 

[secondchoice]

Wow! WABE is trending up fast. @secondchoice is this due to a change in the sample pool??? You seem to always know this stuff.

Usually, during an election cycle WSB ratings are great. What is going on?

I don’t think there is any panic at the Digital White Columns. WSB (95.5/750am) is up .8 (6+) this book (5.5 to 6.3). Georgia has become a “Purple” state temporally*. It would be interesting to see how conservative hosted hours stack up against WABE. There is a very slight possibility that the "Democrats" are listening to WABE instead of WSB those hours. Without the hour by hour numbers that Nielson charges for that is only a guess.

The recent only changes to WSB that I notice are:

Scot Slade the Morning News Anchor seems to be getting more time off

They have moved “Word on the Street” with ex 106.7’s Shelly Winters to evenings.

They seem to be playing a lot more commercials both political and regular.



*IMHO Most likely there will be not statewide Democrats elected this election, so we will be back the mostly Red column with only one US Senator being a Democrat who will likely to be defeated in 2026 putting GA back in the total Red column.

 

[jabba17]

I noticed 98.9/“99X” didn’t register at all. OG97.9 is getting around a 1 share (their signal is situated well for the format). Classix 102.9 is doing even better.

99X is there with an 0.4 share, as WWWQ-HD2, between the WTBS Franken-FM above it and WGKA 920 below it.

Noticed that WSTR-HD2 (The Classic Sound of Star) is still doing well for an HD subchannel signal with no translator, with a 0.2 share.

Does either WABE-HD2 or HD3 have a translator? What about WVEE-HD2?

Noticed that WFOM has absolutely cratered.

 

[Cordelia Chase]

Everyone’s favorite dumpster fire WNNX still dutifully keeping its one and a half share.

I just took a look at their playlist and other than a few of the newer songs that I haven't heard yet, I'm pretty much on board with the music. What's the problem here? BTW, I'm not from Atlanta, I'm a rock fan who doesn't want to see the format die. From the look of things, Atlanta must be more of a news/talk town, LOL.