On Monday, August 5, the July PPM ratings were released. Some thoughts...

1. WDRV-FM 97.1 seems to be in a horse race with WVAZ-FM 102.7.

2. WLIT-FM 93.9 lost a little ground. Some listeners may have gone to WRME-LD 87.7. I believe their huge rise from 2.9 to 3.9 might be a one-month fluke. The issue is their programming attracts largely listeners who are 60 and older. Advertisers shun this demographic. 87.7 is a forum to sell Me-TV and related media.

3. WXRT-FM 93.1 continues to blaze a rocking trail. As a Chicago institution, it's remarkable. Even more so because Audacy owns it.

4. Was there a bad crop of country music for WUSN-FM 99.5 to drop slightly more than one point to 4.0 from 5.1? I have friends who listen to country along with classic hits. This isn't scientific sample by any means.

5. WTMX-FM 101.9 used to be a Top 5 station. It's no longer the case. Keep in mind, these 6+ ratings are almost meaningless. Advertisers ignore them.

6. WBBM-FM 96.3 seems to be slowly recovering. They aren't too far behind competitor WKSC-FM 103.5.

7. WSCR-AM 670 is suffering from Chicago sports playing how shall I say it...rather poorly overall. There could be other issues as well.

8. WTBC-FM 100.3, new call letters on a so-so radio station is stuck with a 2.2 share. If they get too high, a programming change will result to protect sister station, WTMX-FM.

9. WLS-AM 890. At a 1.2 share, how much revenue is this station bringing in? I know...these free ratings are not a true picture of a station's performance. It's all about revenue.

10. WCHI-FM 95.5 is largely holding steady. The playlist has been given more attention. I don't see this station ever rising to the level of WDRV-FM or WXRT-FM as far as ratings go. I see 95.5 as someone's third or fourth preset. Related...WKQX-FM 101.1 with their Alternative format cannot seem to gain any real traction. What's going on over there?

11. Finally, WLS-FM seems to be performing well enough. A slight dip from 4.2 to a 3.9. Someone with a PPM meter must have gone on vacation.

WERV-FM 95.9, a suburban station with a weak signal into Chicago proper, changed formats to classic Alternative. How is that working out? They garner revenue from selling ads to local businesses. If 95.9 had a translator, it may be a real competitor to WKQX. I think the issue is channel spacing. 95.5 and 96.3 are Chicago signals.

That is my report. I encourage all commentary whether it be positive or negative. Corrections, if needed, are encouraged. Thank you.