March PPM's

[Miguelito]

Some things that caught my eye...

WMGK, B101.1, and WIP in the top 3 positions, showing almost alarming consistency.

WDAS continues their upward trajectory (5.3 - 5.7 - 6.1 - 6.5). When was the last time they were in the mid-6's?

Interesting trajectory for WMMR (5.9 - 7.1 - 7.1 - 5.8).

The snow is over, but the war isn't, so maybe that's why KYW dropped into the 5's, instead of back to their typical 4's and 3's.

I'll wait to see some of the demos, but K-Love's super-friggin-weird fever dream may finally have broken (4.4 - 4.6 - 4.6 - 4.7 - 5.0 - 4.3).

BEN-FM and Big 98 are tied. I don't know why, but I just love when that happens.

Classix 107.9 not only cracked the 3's, but jumped to 3.5.

Philadelphia

Nielsen Audio PPM Monthly Ratings Philadelphia (Market #9) Population: 4,774,100 Black: 971,900 – Hispanic: 499,800 Average Quarter Hour Share for Persons 6+, Mon-Sun 6AM-Mid All ratings are Copyright © 2005-2024 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen radio audience estimates and data...

radioinsight.com

 

[davideduardo]

I'll wait to see some of the demos, but K-Love's super-friggin-weird fever dream may finally have broken (4.4 - 4.6 - 4.6 - 4.7 - 5.0 - 4.3).

I don't understand the questioning of those wobbles. Every one of those numbers is "the same"... meaning all are within the margin of error of the survey.

 

[Huff]

WDAS continues their upward trajectory (5.3 - 5.7 - 6.1 - 6.5). When was the last time they were in the mid-6's?

They had a 6.5 last May.

 

[Miguelito]

I don't understand the questioning of those wobbles. Every one of those numbers is "the same"... meaning all are within the margin of error of the survey.

I love all your contributions and respect just about everything you say in these forums, but, c'mon. Out of seemingly nowhere, they're getting 4 shares? Then they go up again. Then they stay up. Then they're a little higher. Then they're higher yet. Then, even higher. Then, they're lower than all the numbers described. Yes, all wobbly. And I totally get the wobbles. Seriously, we love saying the word "wobble," and I am totally on board with the wobbles, and I seriously do understand all the wobbliness.

But it's simply a matter of: UP, UP, still UP, UP again, UP even more again, DOWN below where we even started. And it's not like we're talking about some entrenched player, like WMGK or B101.1 or KYW, or even BEN-FM.

I'm allowed to question, and you're certainly allowed to question my questioning. But seriously, it's literally just arrows. Up arrows and down arrows. That's really all I was talking about. And "talking about" is what this site is for, right? Because days and days go by here without anyone saying anything at all. So, maybe let's not be so quick to judge when someone does contribute.

 

[andygradel]

With WMMR, I feel like there have been a handful of simultaneous music shifts:

• Annual promotion of their MMR-BQ concert: They've been hammering the bands that are on the bill, a few of which definitely aren't core parts of their library. As much as I love The Hooters and Alice Cooper, I feel like they've gone from lunar rotation to hearing them - along with the newer artists playing the show - constantly. While I'm looking forward to the show (love The Hooters!), I always question the value of over promoting a concert that less than 4% of your cume will even attend - if it sells out.
• A shift to harder-edged currents: Could just be cyclical, but feels like more of their currents are leaning a bit heavier. That could have shifted some of the more classic rock-leaning listeners over to 'MGK.
• Suddenly re-discovered Triumph: I know this didn't meaningful shift their numbers, but feels like a cousin to my MMR-BQ bullet above. I've listened to 'MMR for the past 40+ years and can count on my hands how many times I've heard Triumph prior to the band's current tour announcement. Now? 2x - 3x a day. I know it's only a few spins in the midst of the 200+ plays in a day, but just feels... odd and a bit disingenuous. Kind of like when I worked at WRAT in the '90s and our annual "RAT Fest" concert was Warrant, Slaughter and I forget who else. All of the sudden I went from never playing a single "hair band" during a shift to spinning "Cherry Pie," "Up All Night" and "Down Boys" constantly. I totally know I'm way more in tune to stuff like that than the average listener, but still feels like it chips away at a station's credibility a bit.

 

[kevtronics]

Were the ratings pulled? The latest they show are for February.

EDIT: Nevermind, the March ratings are showing up again.

 

[Larry]

The snow is over, but the war isn't, so maybe that's why KYW dropped into the 5's, instead of back to their typical 4's and 3's.

I don’t think KYW (and WIP) will dip as much as previously because numbers are now combined radio and streaming where streaming used to be broken out separately in the ratings.

 

[deepstblu]

Decent upticks for Power and WRNB; along with the previously mentioned DAS and Classix, a nice month all around for those who lean urban.

 

[Miguelito]

Research Director's demo write-up... Hot Topics | Research Director, Inc.

 

[TheBigA]

From Research Director:

WXTU fared far better with the 18-34 crowd as it moved up to #1 with its highest mark in over a year. The station was dangerously close to hitting double figures.

They did better in 18-34 than 18-49. So that tells me that when Philadelphians in their 20s listen to the radio, there's a good chance it's the country station. Which makes sense, since WXTU plays a higher percentage of currents than Q102.

 

[Miguelito]

From Research Director:



They did better in 18-34 than 18-49. So that tells me that when Philadelphians in their 20s listen to the radio, there's a good chance it's the country station. Which makes sense, since WXTU plays a higher percentage of currents than Q102.

I don't really listen to Q102, and I may have lost the thread on what constitutes a "current" (especially since some artists now release so many "singles" in such rapid succession). But from looking at the playlist on their website, it's not the age of the songs that would bother me; it's the claustrophobia-inducing repetition. If I were in a work situation where I had to hear the station for 8 hours a day, I might have to quit the job!

 

[TheBigA]

it's not the age of the songs that would bother me; it's the claustrophobia-inducing repetition.

At one time Top 40 stations had even more repetition than they do now. That's what "Top 40" means. You play the same 40 songs over & over.

What we see when we look at streaming charts is when people have the power to make their own playlists, most will play the same small number of songs over & over.

 

[Gregg.]

• A shift to harder-edged currents: Could just be cyclical, but feels like more of their currents are leaning a bit heavier. That could have shifted some of the more classic rock-leaning listeners over to 'MGK.

It must be really hard to program two similar rock stations in the same market, both often at the top of the ratings. WMMR is harder edged but they both have a big fan base. Recently, Active Rock/Mainstream Rock was playing so much library material, many Classic Rock songs overlap both stations.

Maybe in an effort to find its own path, WMMR is now playing more currents, which might not be satisfactory to older listeners? After his fans tuned in more to hear tributes to DJ Pierre Robert who died last October, that has now tapered off?

Or maybe it's just a wobble.

 

[andygradel]

Since I'm procrastinating on an analysis I have to do for my actual job, I just had Gemini do a quick analysis of 'MMR and 'MGK's playlists over the past day. Surprisingly, only 14 songs were played by both stations during the past day.

Based on the roughly 135 songs logged for WMMR and the roughly 145 songs logged for WMGK, here is the overlap:

• Artist Overlap: ~30% to 33% Out of the ~85 unique artists played on WMMR and the ~95 unique artists played on WMGK, 28 artists were played on both stations.
• Song Overlap: ~10% Out of all the tracks played, exactly 14 specific songs were played on both stations within the captured timeframe.
• Repeat Factor: Out of approximately 145 total spins over the 24 hours, WMGK only repeated 6 tracks, playing each of them exactly twice. In contrast, out of roughly 139 total spins, WMMR played 20 different tracks multiple times, taking up nearly 50 spots on their daily schedule.
• WMMR Is Almost 30% Newer Music: Based on the playlist, roughly 28% of 'MMR's otal spins (about 39 out of 139 plays) were dedicated to tracks recorded or released in the current decade (the 2020s).
  

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The Exact Song Overlap (The 10%)​

Despite having distinctly different target formats (Active Rock vs. Classic Rock), the two stations aligned to play these 14 exact tracks over the 24-hour period:

• AC/DC – "Highway To Hell" (WMMR at 1:55 AM, WMGK at 4:03 AM).
• Alice Cooper – "Elected" (WMMR at 4:55 PM, WMGK at 3:03 PM).
• Alice Cooper – "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (WMMR at 4:52 PM, WMGK at 3:00 PM).
• Black Sabbath – "Paranoid" (WMMR at 3:01 AM, WMGK at 2:21 PM).
• Green Day – "When I Come Around" (WMMR at 3:00 PM, WMGK at 12:32 AM).
• Guns N' Roses – "Welcome To The Jungle" (WMMR at 5:10 PM, WMGK at 11:27 AM).
• Joan Jett – "I Love Rock-N-Roll" (WMMR at 2:47 PM, WMGK at 4:39 AM).
• Led Zeppelin – "Black Dog" (WMMR at 4:17 PM, WMGK at 1:21 PM).
• Led Zeppelin – "Rock And Roll" (WMMR at 2:22 PM, WMGK at 12:09 AM).
• Peter Frampton – "Baby I Love Your Way" (WMMR at 12:29 PM, WMGK at 11:14 PM).
• Queen – "Another One Bites The Dust" (WMMR at 10:56 AM, WMGK at 4:14 AM).
• R.E.M. – "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" (WMMR at 3:53 AM, WMGK at 2:56 AM).
• Scorpions – "Rock You Like A Hurricane" (WMMR at 5:19 PM, WMGK at 11:19 PM).
• Tom Petty – "I Won't Back Down" (WMMR at 11:52 AM, WMGK at 11:31 PM).

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The Shared Artist Roster (The 30-33%)​

Beyond the exact song matches, the stations leaned heavily on a shared roster of legacy rock acts. The 28 artists that received airplay on both stations include:

• AC/DC
• Aerosmith
• Alice Cooper
• Alice in Chains
• Black Sabbath
• David Bowie
• Def Leppard
• Green Day
• Guns N' Roses
• Joan Jett
• Led Zeppelin
• Metallica
• Nirvana
• Pearl Jam
• Peter Frampton
• Pink Floyd
• Queen
• R.E.M.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Rolling Stones
• Scorpions
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Talking Heads
• Tom Petty
• U2
• Van Halen
• ZZ Top

 

[TheBigA]

• WMMR Is Almost 30% Newer Music: Based on the playlist, roughly 28% of 'MMR's otal spins (about 39 out of 139 plays) were dedicated to tracks recorded or released in the current decade (the 2020s).

FYI, the percentage of new music is a requirement in order to qualify as a chart reporter in the active rock format. That's why they do it.

 

[davideduardo]

FYI, the percentage of new music is a requirement in order to qualify as a chart reporter in the active rock format. That's why they do it.

But if a station has to decide between a best music mix that excludes being a reporter and reporting, the better mix will win. Reporting does not enhance sales, and, today, only gives marginal promotional benefits. On the other hand, not reporting reduces the amount of time wasted dealing with record promoters.

 

[TheBigA]

On the other hand, not reporting reduces the amount of time wasted dealing with record promoters.

From what I can tell, this is station values its credibility with music, and the way to do that is to maintain strong relations with the labels.

On the other hand, that relationship isn't really needed at WMGK. There is no chart for classic hits, so there's no need to be a reporter.

 

[radiophiler]

Question about the analysis: Is this a 24-hour period? At 135 spins on MMR, that would be 5.625 songs per hour. On MGK 145 spins would be 6 songs per hour. Also: Was this based on Gemini gathering the songs, or were the songs manually fed into Gemini from elsewhere? Wondering if Gemini missed some spins. AI hallucination that these stations are only playing six songs per hour?

 

[davideduardo]

From what I can tell, this is station values its credibility with music, and the way to do that is to maintain strong relations with the labels.

I programmed what can be shown to be the most listened to rock station in the Western Hemisphere, and we avoided the record promoters as much as we could. On the other hand, we created deep relationships with the artists.

Among many things that we did was to do a live acoustic show at 11 AM twice a week called "Megacústicos" where artists and bands came and did a half hour show live in our studio. We also did "rock the block" neighborhood parties where one or two bands put on a show on a truck bed we had made up as a stage, with assemblable sound and lighting. We also had thousands of artist drops, which we would constantly refresh each time an artist came by the station.

On the other hand, that relationship isn't really needed at WMGK. There is no chart for classic hits, so there's no need to be a reporter.

Mega's market had various playlist monitors and the local trades had charts for different kinds of music.

 

[davideduardo]

Question about the analysis: Is this a 24-hour period? At 135 spins on MMR, that would be 5.625 songs per hour. On MGK 145 spins would be 6 songs per hour. Also: Was this based on Gemini gathering the songs, or were the songs manually fed into Gemini from elsewhere? Wondering if Gemini missed some spins. AI hallucination that these stations are only playing six songs per hour?

Maybe this is because quite a few songs are played more than once a day. So we had 135 spins and 145 spins of different songs, some of which played multiple times a day.