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.
V103 doesn't surprise me. I listened to it for a few days earlier last month. Sounded great. Good songs. Good airstaff. Listener interaction.
WLIT has been playing more Hot AC type stuff lately. That's probably making some listeners tune out, possibly to 87.7
B96 adjusted their lineup, morning show, and added some more new music into rotation again.
WSCR, it's not football season yet. The White Sox are playing terrible. Not really the best time for Sports radio.
890 runs a lot of infomercial type programming. The stopsets sound miserable. But it looks like the more conservative audience is listening again since they made programming changes.
The 2.2 share for 100.3 is average for 100.3. For decades the frequency averaged in the 2s. That's not bad at all. Better than the ratings they had been getting.
95.5 bit into Q101 when it launched, particularly older listeners who tuned in for some of the music that 95.5 plays, but not for the new music that Q101 plays. They have a loyal fanbase that keeps it flat around a 2. Before 95.5, there were a few 3s when people who wanted to hear anything newer than the 80s had no choice.
I noticed cume overall seems to be down in some spots and a lot of stations are dropping. Fewer people listening. Others flat. A few going up slightly.
For the Record WRME was 8th in 25-54 and has younger demos than all the bashers here believe. Yes it skews older, but so do traditional radio listeners. The station's numbers have been growing for months. Imagine if they had a full market signal on a frequency everyone could pick up. Oh, and check their 18-34's. You will be shocked.
How about the truth? No shock. There is no trend on ME TV numbers. It is a one month thing. Sit down and let's come back in a few months see what happens.
Its not the Oldies station people seem to think it is. They play a lot of 80s and have for awhile. It's similar to WLS-FM pre Cumulus figure 2009-2011.
I am an 80s veteran. I would listen to WLS-FM vs METV FM all day long, if they were the only 2 choices. As bad as WLS-FM is, yes, I stand by that statement.
When you bring in the 80s Channel WXXY, or SXM8, any other 80s variant not on terrestrial, etc, WLS-FM is in the same bed as METV FM, non existent.
This is roughly six hours of music programming on WLS-FM 94.7. It's a station which I would have on one of my FM presets. It's an interesting music mix with plenty of pop and rock songs.
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 Prince - I Would Die 4 U 22:20 Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger 22:15 Aerosmith - Dream On 22:12 Donna Summer - Hot Stuff 22:07 Goo Goo Dolls - Iris 22:03 Talk Talk - It's My Life 21:51 Reo Speedwagon - Take It On The Run 21:47 Whitney Houston - How Will I Know 21:44 Queen - Another One Bites The Dust 21:40 Soft Cell - Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go 21:34 Paul McCartney & Wings - Maybe I'm Amazed 21:30 Michael Jackson - Beat It 21:20 Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time 21:16 A-Ha - Take On Me 21:13 INXS - Need You Tonight 21:10 Men At Work - Down Under 21:06 R.E.M. - The One I Love 20:54 Genesis - That's All 20:49 Elton John - Bennie And The Jets 20:45 Michael Jackson - P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 20:41 Santana, Rob Thomas - Smooth 20:37 Fleetwood Mac - Dreams 20:34 Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) 20:24 David Bowie - Let's Dance 20:20 Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield 20:15 Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen 20:11 Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer 20:08 Dobie Gray - Drift Away 20:04 Madonna - Lucky Star 19:53 Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight 19:49 Wham! - Careless Whisper 19:43 Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight 19:41 Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride 19:30 Michael Jackson - Bad 19:25 Don Henley - The Boys Of Summer 19:14 When In Rome - The Promise 19:08 Elton John - Tiny Dancer 19:05 Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone 18:54 Billy Joel - It's Still Rock And Roll To Me 18:50 .38 Special - Caught Up In You 18:46 Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World 18:41 Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion 18:37 Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now 18:33 The Police - Every Breath You Take 18:22 The Bangles - Manic Monday 18:18 Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark 18:13 Roxette - Listen To Your Heart 18:09 Journey - Don't Stop Believin' 18:06 Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - I Won't Back Down 18:02 Daryl Hall & John Oates - Maneater 17:53 Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love 17:49 Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night 17:44 U2 - With Or Without You 17:41 Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf 17:37 The Cardigans - Lovefool 17:26 Prince - When Doves Cry 17:23 Bryan Adams - Summer Of '69 17:19 Pat Benatar - We Belong 17:14 Rod Stewart - Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? 17:09 Whitesnake - Here I Go Again 17:05 Michael Jackson - Billie Jean 16:55 John Mellencamp - Jack & Diane 16:50 Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again 16:47 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Love Rock 'N Roll 16:43 Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen 16:38 The Rolling Stones - Beast Of Burden 16:34 Paula Abdul - Straight Up 16:31 Hootie & The Blowfish - Only Wanna Be With You 16:27 Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger
I turned on METV FM tonight, 10PM hour. I gave it 2 songs too many:
Cascades - Rhythm of the Rain (1963) >>> The 18 year old in 1963 listening to that song is now 79 Box Tops - The Letter (1967) Joni Mitchell - Chelsea Morning (1969)
Jeremy, bro man, 3 moldy 60s songs in a row does not = an 80s based or 80s leaning station! If they were key artists like The Beach Boys, Beatles, Elvis.... I could make a case for it. There are very few 80s songs that were true pop hits to fit before or after Joni Mitchell. Most of the 80s titles they play are AC based or mid charters that have surpassed the 54 age group.
People looking to get their 80s fix, are *NOT* listening to METV FM for long periods of time, or at all.
It's actually 70s leaning, but they have played 80s music for awhile now and yes, 60s.
I compared it to 94.7 2009-2011 when they played 60s, 70s, 80s and a small amount of 50s. It was cut to 70s and 80s after that.
Here's what they just played off their website JAYNETTS Sally, Go 'Round the Roses (1963) CARS Drive (1984) BARBARA LEWIS Baby I'm Yours (1965) YOUNG RASCALS Good Lovin' (1966) RICKIE LEE JONES Chuck E.'s In Love (1979) THREE DOG NIGHT Shambala (1973) Play More Play Less MARK LINDSAY Silver Bird (1970) MELISSA MANCHESTER You Should Hear How She Talks About You (1982) BEATLES Help! (1965) HUES CORPORATION Rock The Boat (1974)
There's plenty of room for 87.7. It fits the demo above 94.7. People in their 60s and 70s. There are plenty of them around and they are guaranteed to still use radio.
Low overhead. Good promotion for the TV side of Weigel. Make a little extra money on the side.
These were not one hit wonders. But they are missing. It is a 6 hour span, it is glaring they do not show up even, once. Furthermore the format is moving toward the end of the decade which most of those artists are from due to the audience aging out of the 54 age group.
Milli Vanilli Rick Astley Debbie Gibson Rick Springfield Lionel Richie (5 #1 and 21 weeks spent @ #1) Stevie Wonder (4 #1 and 15 weeks @ #1) The Bangles Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine Huey Lewis Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam Pet Shop Boys
Yet, notice the boner over rock based White artists being played more often?
Rod Stewart Aerosmith Elton John (2x within 1 hour and 40 min) Survivor (same song within 6 hours) Pat Benatar Eurythmics
WLS-FM is feeding you the same ol songs, over and over, mostly by the same artists. It is a really outdated notion that White PDs and MDs will swear by due to research (for the record I am White, I am not closed minded as they are). It is not wise to put one hit wonders or novelty songs in High rotation, but for cripes sake.... stand out a little bit, make people say OH WOW! There will be a good chunk of artists and songs to be skipped over and when they move into the 90s, the excuse will be "they did not test well". The biggest BS excuse. They are not even trying to cover it up or to make up for it with specialty programming. What specialty programming is WLS-FM airing? Classic American Top40 countdowns? (no) Alternative shows like WXXY The 80s Channel ran the "Deep End"? (no) Freestyle/House/Dance which Todd rode hard @ his previous gig on B96? (no). Rock/AOR/Hair show? (no)..... I give up. Radio doesn't care, nor do listeners outside of us geeks here.
The Smelly Sox are on WMBP, AM 1000. The Luvable Cubs are on WSCR, AM 670. It will be interesting to see how the ratings go for these stations during the upcoming Sox-Cubs Series.
I for one will continue to listen to the Cubs on the Score as long as Pat Hughes is at the helm.
on August 6, 2024, 1:01 pm