April numbers are here

[Mediafrog+]

April numbers: Houston/Galveston - RadioInsight

KSBJ #1 in AQH share, but several others have much higher cume.

Sunny drops a bit in share, but leads in cume.

Not much else of note. Gotta wonder how long Gow Media will put up with their FM sportstalker badly trailing its AM competitors.

A pulse for what was the HD-only Praise format might have planted the idea in Radio One's heads to give it another try on 92.1.

 

[HTX]

I wonder why KSBJ is so high. They beat their Christmas numbers.

 

[Mrtejano]

What’s going on with KLOL? How can a rimshot like KQQK have better numbers??

 

[stan]

What’s going on with KLOL? How can a rimshot like KQQK have better numbers??

Getting ready for a format change.

 

[Mrtejano]

Getting ready for a format change.

View attachment 1880

They need to do something, cause if not KAMA will win the war.

 

[davideduardo]

What’s going on with KLOL? How can a rimshot like KQQK have better numbers??

KLOL is the #2 Spanish language station in 18-49; that is the key demo for Spanish language and Hispanic buys. KQQK is 17th, and KTJM is 18th in that demo in the April book.

The Houston sample has been erratic since early Fall of last year, and there is bounciness with even the leading stations.

KLOL tranditionally falls between around 8th and 12th in 18-49 in the market.

 

[davideduardo]

They need to do something, cause if not KAMA will win the war.

KAMA, in 18-49, is about 35% behind KLOL in AQH persons.

 

[davideduardo]

Getting ready for a format change.

View attachment 1880

Very unlikely. KLOL is in a four-way tie for 10th in market billing. It's ahead of Audacy's KKHH and KILT (AM) and tied with KHMX in revenue.

Given the cost of a format change and the current state of advertising coming out of the pandemic, this is not the time to change format. And a rock format in a market that is now only 35% non-Hispanic white (and even less in the sales demos) is an unlikely and improbable choice for any format change in the market.

 

[BamaTX]

Very unlikely. KLOL is in a four-way tie for 10th in market billing. It's ahead of Audacy's KKHH and KILT (AM) and tied with KHMX in revenue.

Tied for 10th when there are only 12 commercial FM stations that cover the entire Houston market isn't very impressive.

 

[Ryan Williams]

Tied for 10th when there are only 12 commercial FM stations that cover the entire Houston market isn't very impressive.

Not sure how you are counting, but for this purpose, 106.9 and 107.5 should count at least once.

 

[davideduardo]

Tied for 10th when there are only 12 commercial FM stations that cover the entire Houston market isn't very impressive.

Again, it is second among Spanish language stations. Those stations are generally part of separate buys against just that portion of the market. And it bills exceedingly well on reasonable expenses.

Remember, in larger clusters part of the strategy is to cover unduplicated segments of the audience. If several of your stations have duplicated cume, smarter agencies and buying services will skip the ones that duplicate each other. iHeart's Black targeted station and KLOL both serve a strong purpose in cluster strategies.

 

[BamaTX]

Not sure how you are counting, but for this purpose, 106.9 and 107.5 should count at least once.

I didn't. Those are two separate licenses at the end of the day.

 

[BamaTX]

Again, it is second among Spanish language stations. Those stations are generally part of separate buys against just that portion of the market. And it bills exceedingly well on reasonable expenses.

Separate buy or not, it is still tenth overall.

Remember, in larger clusters part of the strategy is to cover unduplicated segments of the audience.

Sure, but it's still 10th. The point of avoiding overlapping segments is to increase billing on all of your stations without cannibalizing one or the other.

But obviously that's not the end result here. You said it yourself; KHMX and KKHH are hovering right alongside KLOL. That's three full powered, local sticks performing relatively poorly when you consider the number of full market signals in Houston.

If several of your stations have duplicated cume, smarter agencies and buying services will skip the ones that duplicate each other. iHeart's Black targeted station and KLOL both serve a strong purpose in cluster strategies.

Everything you're saying makes sense. But at the end of the day KLOL is 10th place in billing. The strategy is not flawed. It's just seems like it is being incorrectly implemented by Audacy/Entercom.

While Audacy could be happy with the current results, you can't deny that they could be doing better. There's definitely A LOT of room for improvement.

 

[davideduardo]

Tied for 10th when there are only 12 commercial FM stations that cover the entire Houston market isn't very impressive.

Again, it is second among Spanish language stations. Those stations are generally part of separate buys against just that portion of the market. And it bills exceedingly well on reasonable expenses.

Separate buy or not, it is still tenth overall.

It is 5th in 18-34 and 7th in 18-34 in the total market.

Sure, but it's still 10th. The point of avoiding overlapping segments is to increase billing on all of your stations without cannibalizing one or the other.

Rank on 6+ is irrelevant, which is why that data is given away for free. Ad buys are made based on demographics.

Were 6+ (or 12+) important, for decades WFAN would have been 15th in billings in NYC instead of in the top 2 or three in revenue. What is important is that it is very strong in 25-54 men and very efficient in delivering only men.

KLOL is very efficient in delivering Hispanics who are not cumers of KLTN. It is a perfect complement to buying that leading station, and needed to reach listeners who are not "grupera" music fans.

Agencies buy ratings, not shares. And they buy specific demos, not 12+.

In 18-49 there are two stations with a 0.4 rating. There are 7 with a 0.3 rating. There are 9 with a 0.2 rating. So, KTBZ and KLTN are tied for #1. KBXX, KQBT, KLOL, KRBE, KSBJ, KODA, KKHH are all "second". And so on. That is how buyers evaluate stations. Of course, if they are buying a different demo, the ranks are different.

But obviously that's not the end result here. You said it yourself; KHMX and KKHH are hovering right alongside KLOL. That's three full powered, local sticks performing relatively poorly when you consider the number of full market signals in Houston.

They are billing huge amounts of money, and have reasonable programming expenses. Together with their sister stations, they offer a spectrum to advertisers and can get many multi-station buys due to non-duplication.

In the 60's I owned 6 stations in a major market, and I tried to make each one overlap the others as little as possible so that advertisers could, if their product matched individual station profiles, buy two, three or more. Obviously, each station could not be #1, but each could be at or near the top in individual demographic profiles.

Everything you're saying makes sense. But at the end of the day KLOL is 10th place in billing. The strategy is not flawed. It's just seems like it is being incorrectly implemented by Audacy/Entercom.

This is not an election, it is a business. Look at corners that have two or three gas stations. If they all make money, it is a good business.

In a market with so many signals, you are going to be nicely profitable if you are in the top 15 or so, and if you have a strong niche, such as African American or Hispanic or Sports, you may even outperform on revenue.

Remember, too, that in many markets the revenue differences from the very top stations and the ones around 10th or so can be minimal. Just like the Kentucky Derby, there may be 8 or 10 horses all within 20 feet of each other at the finish. This is not a win/lose situation... it is a win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, place, place, place, place, place, place... etc. situation.

While Audacy could be happy with the current results, you can't deny that they could be doing better. There's definitely A LOT of room for improvement.

Audacy is horribly manged and run. They are hoist on their own petard.

 

[davideduardo]

I didn't. Those are two separate licenses at the end of the day.

But they are run as one. Agencies and clients don't buy "licences" they buy "stations" and they appear in Nielsen as one "station".

 

[BamaTX]

But they are run as one. Agencies and clients don't buy "licences" they buy "stations" and they appear in Nielsen as one "station".

Right, but you also have to consider if any money is being left on the table by running two decent signals as one station.

Could two, well programmed stations that cover *most* of the market bill better separately? Maybe. Can't say so for certain.

That's why I didn't count two semi-rimshots as one full-powered station.

 

[BamaTX]

Again, it is second among Spanish language stations. Those stations are generally part of separate buys against just that portion of the market. And it bills exceedingly well on reasonable expenses.

Second or not, it's still 10th.

My point isn't whether it bills well or not given the circumstances. It's that it could be doing a lot better. While you may see a successful station at 10th, I see a station that is settling and leaving money on the table.

It is 5th in 18-34 and 7th in 18-34 in the total market.

It could be 1st in those demos. But that wouldn't matter if it is still 10th in billing.

Were 6+ (or 12+) important, for decades WFAN would have been 15th in billings in NYC instead of in the top 2 or three in revenue. What is important is that it is very strong in 25-54 men and very efficient in delivering only men.

I'm not arguing their 6+ ratings.

KLOL is very efficient in delivering Hispanics who are not cumers of KLTN. It is a perfect complement to buying that leading station, and needed to reach listeners who are not "grupera" music fans.

Efficient or not, it's 10th in billing. You can justify their numbers all you want. But it could be doing a lot better given its signal and facilities.

In 18-49 there are two stations with a 0.4 rating. There are 7 with a 0.3 rating. There are 9 with a 0.2 rating. So, KTBZ and KLTN are tied for #1. KBXX, KQBT, KLOL, KRBE, KSBJ, KODA, KKHH are all "second". And so on. That is how buyers evaluate stations. Of course, if they are buying a different demo, the ranks are different.

So you're saying that there are more buyers in other demographics that KLOL isn't pursuing? Because that's my point.

Could you make good money by doing what KLOL is doing? Sure. Could you be making more? Yes.

They are billing huge amounts of money, and have reasonable programming expenses. Together with their sister stations, they offer a spectrum to advertisers and can get many multi-station buys due to non-duplication.

They could do that.

But they're not. KLOL, KKHH, and KHMX are all ranked in the teens in billing.

In the 60's I owned 6 stations in a major market, and I tried to make each one overlap the others as little as possible so that advertisers could, if their product matched individual station profiles, buy two, three or more. Obviously, each station could not be #1, but each could be at or near the top in individual demographic profiles.

Being at the top or near the top of a certain demographic is meaningless if it isn't selling well.

I'm not saying your strategy is flawed. But it's not a strategy that is maximizing Audacy's potential at the moment. Even if you argue that they're making good money, I would argue that they're leaving money on the table. 10th, 11th, and 12th place is underwhelming considering the facilities these stations have.

This is not an election, it is a business. Look at corners that have two or three gas stations. If they all make money, it is a good business.

But what if one of those gas stations could make even more money by simply changing the customer base they target? Staying complacent in an industry that is facing new emerging competition seems a bit irresponsible IMO.

In a market with so many signals, you are going to be nicely profitable if you are in the top 15 or so, and if you have a strong niche, such as African American or Hispanic or Sports, you may even outperform on revenue.

But that's the thing. This isn't a market with a lot of local, full powered signals. Only 12 FM licenses cover the entire market. Everyone else only partially covers the entire market.

Cracking the top 15 with a local, 100kw FM facility shouldn't be considered an achievement IMO.

Remember, too, that in many markets the revenue differences from the very top stations and the ones around 10th or so can be minimal. Just like the Kentucky Derby, there may be 8 or 10 horses all within 20 feet of each other at the finish. This is not a win/lose situation... it is a win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, place, place, place, place, place, place... etc. situation.

Fair point. But last I checked, that really wasn't the case this far down the list in Houston.

But of course, things can change.

Audacy is horribly manged and run. They are hoist on their own petard.

No argument here.

 

[davideduardo]

Right, but you also have to consider if any money is being left on the table by running two decent signals as one station.

Could two, well programmed stations that cover *most* of the market bill better separately? Maybe. Can't say so for certain.

That's why I didn't count two semi-rimshots as one full-powered station.

Remember, 95% of the in home and at work listening is inside the 65 dbu contour. Those two do not overlap there.

 

[davideduardo]

Second or not, it's still 10th.

In 12+. No advertiser looks at 12+ or 6+ or even 18+.

My point isn't whether it bills well or not given the circumstances. It's that it could be doing a lot better. While you may see a successful station at 10th, I see a station that is settling and leaving money on the table.

Only one top biller exists in every market. If you have 5 FMs, and several big competitors, you'd want them all to be in the "buying" range... in Houston, in the top 12 to 15.

It could be 1st in those demos. But that wouldn't matter if it is still 10th in billing.

There are about 5 or 6 stations nearly tied for 5th in billing. So in this case the difference from 4th to 10th is minimal.

I'm not arguing their 6+ ratings Efficient or not, it's 10th in billing. You can justify their numbers all you want. But it could be doing a lot better given its signal and facilities.

As I said, after the first two stations, nearly all the next group of comparably rated 25-54 or 18-49 stations bill nearly the same.

So you're saying that there are more buyers in other demographics that KLOL isn't pursuing? Because that's my point.

Hispanic buys are nearly all 18-49. Period. They don't get on buys that don't target Hispanics and they do exceedingly well with ones that do. That is their "universe".

Could you make good money by doing what KLOL is doing? Sure. Could you be making more? Yes.

No, you could not. They are tied at 2nd with the stations that all get 0.3 ratings.

But they're not. KLOL, KKHH, and KHMX are all ranked in the teens in billing.

And they are within a tiny percentage of stations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8th and 9th all of which have the same identical rating.

Being at the top or near the top of a certain demographic is meaningless if it isn't selling well.

But it is. Exceedingly well.

I'm not saying your strategy is flawed. But it's not a strategy that is maximizing Audacy's potential at the moment. Even if you argue that they're making good money, I would argue that they're leaving money on the table. 10th, 11th, and 12th place is underwhelming considering the facilities these stations have.

Again, station #3 and #10 are very, very close in revenue. They all have the same rating. The differences are in specific demos within 18 and 54 range.

But what if one of those gas stations could make even more money by simply changing the customer base they target? Staying complacent in an industry that is facing new emerging competition seems a bit irresponsible IMO.

But they don't.

But that's the thing. This isn't a market with a lot of local, full powered signals. Only 12 FM licenses cover the entire market. Everyone else only partially covers the entire market.

Or they combine signals. And many cover their target audience well with more limited signals.

Cracking the top 15 with a local, 100kw FM facility shouldn't be considered an achievement IMO.

Sure it is: the billing potential is almost identical.

 

[Ryan Williams]

I didn't. Those are two separate licenses at the end of the day.

Sure, that's true, but they operate as one station that is is competing for ad dollars and between the two of them, have the best FM coverage in the market. So for this exercise in ranking commercials FMs chasing ratings and ad dollars that have full market signals, shouldn't they count for at least one station?