NYC Metro Radio Ratings: September 2022

[mikerock]

September is out.

https://ratings.****************/content/arb001

New York

Nielsen Audio PPM Monthly Ratings New York City (Market #1) Population: 16,299,100 Black: 2,670,400 - Hispanic: 4,273,100 Average Quarter Hour Share for Persons

radioinsight.com

More of the same, some notable differences below.

- WBLS #1 with 6.6 up from 5.7.

- WNYL down to a 1.2. I do not remember them ever being that low. I wonder is it the morning show taking the ratings down or the format tweak away from new music in favor of classics.

- Big drop for WABC from last month. 3.0 from 4.3 last month.

 

[JoeBenjamin]

Time for 94.7 and 92.3 to go.

 

[TheBigA]

- WNYL down to a 1.2. I do not remember them ever being that low. I wonder is it the morning show taking the ratings down or the format tweak away from new music in favor of classics.

The elephant in the room is the station's PD Mike Kaplan. His portfolio has been shrinking lately, as the company hired back Kevin Weatherly to run KROQ in LA. They also hired John Allers to run several alternative stations from Dallas. KVIL has recently revived itself in the ratings. My expectation is that before they give up on alternative in NYC, they will replace Kaplan.

 

[AceBiscuits]

Time for 94.7 and 92.3 to go.

And switch to what? WNYL's performance isn't great, but WXBK is not nearly as bad as it looks.

 

[kevtronics]

I noticed that 92.3 is now using the phrase "Alternative Rock" again, after years of just calling it "Alternative". They've definitely shied away from the newer, poppier stuff and more towards '90s grunge rock.

 

[macattack]

The elephant in the room is the station's PD Mike Kaplan. His portfolio has been shrinking lately, as the company hired back Kevin Weatherly to run KROQ in LA. They also hired John Allers to run several alternative stations from Dallas. KVIL has recently revived itself in the ratings. My expectation is that before they give up on alternative in NYC, they will replace Kaplan.

Considering that most of the other Audacy Alternatives have seen rises in their ratings or at least a halt of their slides, I think Audacy is more likely to throw Kaplan under the bus than blame the format as well. I wonder if David Field is just waiting for Kaplan’s contract to reach a point where it won’t hurt the company to fire him.

 

[macattack]

- WNYL down to a 1.2. I do not remember them ever being that low. I wonder is it the morning show taking the ratings down or the format tweak away from new music in favor of classics.

Considering that most Audacy stations are employing a similar mix of music; my hypothesis is that the morning show is a total failure. It was Kaplan’s last ditch effort and like most of his initiatives on Alt except for breaking The Woody Show out it most likely has blown up in his face.

The thing is that Kaplan is good at finding hits. Let me count down the list of top 20 pop radio hits he played an instrumental role in discovering:

“Heat Waves” by Glass Animals. “A-OK” by Tai Verdes. “Monsters” by All Time Low. “my ex’s best friend” by Machine Gun Kelly. “Without You” by Kid LAROI. “Beggin’” by Maneskin. One of his last major decisions was pushing the revival of “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush which also went top 10 on pop radio.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it. Pop radio. Kaplan is an Alternative programmer. And outside of KYSR which he coasted on Woody having astronomically strong ratings, his Alt stations have always failed. They either get flipped or he gets fired and replaced.

At this point I think he’s spent his career in the wrong format. He likely would have been an astounding pop radio programmer. But on Alt he’s like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. He has always tried to push the format to lean pop and it has never worked. That’s not what the Alt audience wants. Finding or taking advantage of huge pop hits doesn’t mean a damn thing if your target audience doesn’t care for them.

 

[dcowboy7]

Z100 kickin it:
#1 18-49
#2 25-54
#2 18-34

 

[Theater of My Mind]

I noticed that 92.3 is now using the phrase "Alternative Rock" again, after years of just calling it "Alternative". They've definitely shied away from the newer, poppier stuff and more towards '90s grunge rock.

Alt 92.3 pulled an abrupt over-correction from the unfamiliar, juvenile new alt pop to burned-out old alternative gold. It seems like a clear-cut case of over-working the music strategy and then overreacting to the inevitable weak ratings that came from it instead of just putting together a well-rounded playlist and a good, local morning show. KPNT is a perfect template for how it should be done, it's not rocket science or brain surgery.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it. Pop radio. Kaplan is an Alternative programmer. And outside of KYSR which he coasted on Woody having astronomically strong ratings, his Alt stations have always failed.

It's called 'failing up', a chronic condition in the radio business.

 

[davideduardo]

I wonder if David Field is just waiting for Kaplan’s contract to reach a point where it won’t hurt the company to fire him.

The severance for such a person is not going to be significantly more than just waiting out the contract... and in any cases would hardly be noticeable in the total expenses of such a huge group.

 

[victorres43]

Alt 92.3 pulled an abrupt over-correction from the unfamiliar, juvenile new alt pop to burned-out old alternative gold. It seems like a clear-cut case of over-working the music strategy and then overreacting to the inevitable weak ratings that came from it instead of just putting together a well-rounded playlist and a good, local morning show. KPNT is a perfect template for how it should be done, it's not rocket science or brain surgery.

Could it be that alternative rock is just not resonating strong enough among the general population? (Also, the 90s grunge and the like have found their place in even the most 70s-friendly classic rock radio stations.)

KPNT is a success, but it's St Louis. Hard-rocking stations won't resonate in a place like NYC or even most of the suburbs. Even WAXQ has to play more pop-friendly rock tunes to be relevant in demos.

 

[MVB13]

They have been playing a lot of 90s cuts and following Q104.3. They play Gin Blossoms almost every afternoon which is more pop alternative. They need a name change. I can see 1010 WINS or 880 moving to FM. I like Alt, but they aren't doing well. Elliot is horrible I nthe morning. NYC is a rhythmic friendly city and doesn't take kindly to rock. The only reason KRock was successful originally was because they had Stern.

 

[AceBiscuits]

They have been playing a lot of 90s cuts and following Q104.3. They play Gin Blossoms almost every afternoon which is more pop alternative. They need a name change. I can see 1010 WINS or 880 moving to FM. I like Alt, but they aren't doing well. Elliot is horrible I nthe morning. NYC is a rhythmic friendly city and doesn't take kindly to rock. The only reason KRock was successful originally was because they had Stern.

I think a rebranding could suit them well but I also just think that Q104.3 has the 90's rock bases covered. With that said, I do not think moving WINS (I think 880 will slowly die off, IMHO) to 92.3 or wherever else will be viable long term. I think they're better off with music at this time.

 

[Don CT]

Could it be that alternative rock is just not resonating strong enough among the general population? (Also, the 90s grunge and the like have found their place in even the most 70s-friendly classic rock radio stations.)

KPNT is a success, but it's St Louis. Hard-rocking stations won't resonate in a place like NYC or even most of the suburbs. Even WAXQ has to play more pop-friendly rock tunes to be relevant in demos.

Would a station like SXM Lithuim survive on traditional radio. 90's Alt and Grunge.

 

[TheBigA]

Would a station like SXM Lithuim survive on traditional radio. 90's Alt and Grunge.

Not in NY. Grunge was never a hit in NY.

 

[Barry]

I recall reading on this board that WNYL 92.3 has been billing quite well.

 

[kevtronics]

Not in NY. Grunge was never a hit in NY.

But Z-100 definitely leaned towards alternative rock in the mid-'90s.

 

[MVB13]

Z100 became alternative for a hot minute. I think they need to change their name though. A lot of news stations are moving to FM. I still find it odd that Audacy owns 2 news stations. Not sure what they'd do with the other one if they merged. What else could one put on the AM dial? I doubt they'll do any station swaps with IHM.

 

[macattack]

They have been playing a lot of 90s cuts and following Q104.3. They play Gin Blossoms almost every afternoon which is more pop alternative. They need a name change. I can see 1010 WINS or 880 moving to FM. I like Alt, but they aren't doing well. Elliot is horrible I nthe morning. NYC is a rhythmic friendly city and doesn't take kindly to rock. The only reason KRock was successful originally was because they had Stern.

This in a way is making the exact same mistake they were making with the heavy lean to alternative pop. But now instead of playing Z100’s sloppy seconds they’re playing Q104.3’s sloppy seconds! A small amount of crossover is inevitable and to be honest perfectly fine but being a carbon copy is never going to lure listeners away. They’ll stick with the more consistent station.

I have been analyzing the WNYL playlist and they actually play significantly more 90’s gold than the average Audacy. WNYL tends to almost completely ignore the 00’s like they never happened outside of a few stray songs like “Mr. Brightside” or “Float On”. This is the polar opposite approach of the most successful Alts in the country including Audacy’s best performing Alts. The 2000’s and early 10’s are taking up more and more of the gold slots on these Alts, whether KPNT, KVIL, WXDX, WBUZ and so on, with the 90’s retreating to speciality programming. Some 90’s songs still relevant to 18-34 listeners such as “Everlong”, “Friday I’m In Love”, “Shimmer”, or “The Distance” remain on the standard playlist though.

I am reminded of Cane and Corey’s airing of dirty laundry when they got fired, where they accused Kaplan of being extremely dismissive of 00’s Alt product, letting his personal (poppy) taste dictate programming over research, and giving up on currents instead of considering that he’s simply choosing the wrong currents. There are many Alts in the country doing good numbers with many currents in rotation. KPNT has approximately 35 currents on their list right now for example. Regardless of their skill as morning hosts I wonder if they were onto something.

 

[TheBigA]

I am reminded of Cane and Corey’s airing of dirty laundry when they got fired, where they accused Kaplan of being extremely dismissive of 00’s Alt product, letting his personal (poppy) taste dictate programming over research, and giving up on currents instead of considering that he’s simply choosing the wrong currents. There are many Alts in the country doing good numbers with many currents in rotation. KPNT has approximately 35 currents on their list right now for example.

Once again, KPNT wouldn't get those good numbers without Rizzuto in the Morning. The music isn't the attraction. It's Rizzuto.

Also, as far as "the wrong currents," that wouldn't happen if you had record label promotion staffs prioritizing the songs so radio would have more information in picking songs. Otherwise it's all based on personal taste, which is not how it's supposed to work. Since the record labels no longer promote rock or alt to radio, those stations have little guidance or information about what to play. That doesn't happen in other formats.