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All-News KOMO-AM-FM Seattle Tied for #1

G

Gregg.

In the latest ratings, KOMO-AM-FM is tied for #1 with KISW. That's the first time it's been the top station in many years. Interesting to note Sinclair is selling KOMO-AM-FM as well as KVI and KPLZ. And it isn't strictly all-news these days. For some reason, management decided to put the syndicated Jim Bohannon Show on overnight for three hours.

KOMO's been doing well during the Pandemic, almost always in the Top 10. But I am guessing the crazy high temperatures of a few weeks ago brought a lot of listeners to a station that does weather every 10 minutes, as well as all-news.
 
Before everyone starts breaking out the champagne, here's a dose of reality:

While KOMO is tied with KISW in the 6+ numbers, things aren't so rosy when you drill down in the numbers:

KISW is #1 25-54 (5th month) #1 18-34 (8th month) and #1 18-49 (13th month).

Meanwhile, KOMO is #6 in 25-54. Meaning most of that audience is over 50.
 
The strange thing about KISW being number one in all of those demos is that I NEVER hear rock blasting from any car sound system anymore. Just hip-hop, and sometimes reggaeton (or a similar non-ranchero or banda Hispanic music). The only time I hear rock coming from a mobile stereo it's always a Boomer on a decked out motorcycle, and older classic rock at that. If I'm at the park and people have their sound cubes at a table or something, it's hip-hop. Never rock.

So all those rock fans must be in hiding. When I was young, and KISW was top rated, you heard it everywhere. Literally.
 
Gregg. said:
In the latest ratings, KOMO-AM-FM is tied for #1 with KISW. That's the first time it's been the top station in many years. Interesting to note Sinclair is selling KOMO-AM-FM as well as KVI and KPLZ.
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The main reason is because Sinclair isn't in the radio business. As BigA points out, again, 6+ numbers aren't a measure of success. Target demo's that advertisers want to reach is the goal, and they didn't do equally great in that sweet spot.
Gregg. said:
And it isn't strictly all-news these days. For some reason, management decided to put the syndicated Jim Bohannon Show on overnight for three hours.
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Because it costs money to repeat the same news over and over through overnights, which itself represents no revenue.
 
TheBigA said:
Yep, that's why anecdotal research isn't very useful.
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Yep! When sample size is n=1, the results are, to say the least, erratic.
 
semoochie said:
Isn't 18-49 "the new 18-34"?
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18-34 has been a limited sales demo for decades anyway. And 18-49 is the standard demo for Black and Hispanic buys.
 
TheBigA said:
Especially an AM station in Seattle. However KUOW is in the same format, and it's #2.
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But that is one book. No agency buys off a single book.

Multi-book average this year: 18-49 it is 21st and 25-54 it is 13th. 35-64 it is 6th. It is nearly all 50 and over.

Interesting how, market after market, the 25-54 share rank is also close to the market billing rank. KOMO is also 13th in revenue.
 
I'd love to know how much of KOMO's AQH share is contributed by AM 1000 versus 97.7.

Plenty of heritage stations with news/talk and all-news formats bill at impressive levels despite the audience being lopsidedly age 50 and older.

Look at cable TV. The so-called news networks are among the largest revenue generators on cable despite having a median viewer age well north of age 60.
 
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MarkW said:
I'd love to know how much of KOMO's AQH share is contributed by AM 1000 versus 97.7.
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In instances where I've been able to see a breakout, FMs account today for more than 80% of all AQH listening where both bands have reasonably good market coverage. 97.7 is not a full signal, though... the 5 mV/m of AM covers about 40% more than the 60 dbu of the FM.
 
DavidEduardo said:
In instances where I've been able to see a breakout, FMs account today for more than 80% of all AQH listening where both bands have reasonably good market coverage. 97.7 is not a full signal, though... the 5 mV/m of AM covers about 40% more than the 60 dbu of the FM.
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From what I understand, it's an unusual situation where the Olympic rimshots cover downtown Seattle and other areas of Seattle proper better than most of the locals can. It's more about covering other stations' signal gaps than taking advantage of people's preference for FM.
 
TheBigA said:
Yep, that's why anecdotal research isn't very useful.
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Sure, but it's curious that a station that has such high ratings is so low profile compared to the last time it was consistently #1, and the style of music is just as low profile in this area.
 
While KOMO's billing might currently be around 13th now, it's likely to improve because the ratings have been improving. After all, since the pandemic hit in Spring 2020, KOMO has been consistently a top 10 station for more than a year. I'd imagine tying for first place during a once-in-a-lifetime heat wave is also a boost for sales.

WCBS, WINS, KNX, and other all-news stations might not have the best demographics. But they are among Audacy's best earnings stations.

I read someplace recently that News/Talk outlet WBT-AM-FM is the #2 station in revenue in Charlotte. Its ratings are not great. It is rarely in the top 10. There are plenty of FM stations that get better ratings and have better demos. But I think advertisers place a value on a foreground station with heritage as a vehicle for their message.

.
 
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