Being Persons 12+ there's not much meat in the soup, but it's fun to taste the broth and speculate.
WYRK. Number 1. Again. And despite being down Persons 12+, it would be no surprise if WYRK remains #1 in all the key demos. Buffalo's only country FM is unchallenged (and probably won't be for quite some time, if at all), but a full share loss seems unusual. The station is trending down from a Fall '14 high of 12.8. Sure, most Buffalo stations would kill for a down book at 10.1. WYRK's annual Taste Of Country was in full bore through the book, and that promotion usually drives strong ratings. Maybe the 12.8 for Fall 2014 was as much of a kiss as the 10.1 in Spring '15 was a wobble. It would be of interest to know if the syndicated night show was the weak link and adversely affected morning drive.
WBEN is trending up. More suburban gray and blue hairs, listening longer. As long as the median age of Western New York residents continues to rise, WBEN will remain competitive.
The price of Cumulus stock is circling the drain, but their Buffalo radio stations are in the game. Although, it's some surprise the Edge isn't stronger 12+. When you hear Zeppelin on the Edge, you can't help but wonder if the station is spinning it's wheels. Sister station 97 Rock owns that franchise. When there's a dearth of new rock music that fits the station's image, it could be that playing 40 year old classic rock is one way to fill the slots. Hey, isn't there any 20 year old rock music that's good?
Kiss, Star and Mix appear to be in a cat fight. And the winner is? Probably WYRK. Considering the number of Taylor Swift billboards for Mix, you'd think it would be further along 12+, but it could be the station is doing just fine shedding the 55+ ladies who want to hear Carole King and Elton John, while picking up more 25-44s who want to hear Photograph by Ed Sheeran and Swift's latest, Bad Blood (not Elton John, who's a staple on classic hits). No, 12+ doesn't tell much, here, and although it's anecdotal, Mix seems to be on in more places these days, especially places where the radio was once glued to 102.5.
Jack takes a full step up the hill. Where the listeners came from and what demo they fall into is anybody's guess. Jack seems more classic at times. Hearing Born To be Wild, cold-seg'd into an 80s rock-based song a few weekends ago seemed like a flanking attack on 97 Rock and WHTT, but all bets were off when a song that sounded like a 2009 hit from Kings Of Leon followed. Huh?
Lake level remains flat: 1.3-1.2-1.4-1.5. OK, going up a tenth is better than going down a tenth... maybe. But most of the radio geeks I know thought Alt 107.7 would be better than a 1.5 at this point. The station plays some good stuff and has been getting good press. Can't blame the signal which now is on 107.7 and 104.7 ... and the 107.7 audio is processed hot enough that it comes in at Dave and Busters in the Eastern Hills Mall, which is in the zip code that 107.7 has to reach to get ratings. Maybe the format is more Rochester than Buffalo. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened to 107.7.
WGR being down and is something of a surprise. Sure, the Sabres tanked. But with all the talk about the Sabres first round draft pick, you'd think the 12+ would be at least a half to a full share better. It could be the demos are robust. Maybe next year when the Sabres are in the playoffs WGR will have Bills-like Spring ratings.