WLIT-FM 93.9 is gradually rising to a 5.2 from 5.0. WGN-AM 720 is doing well due to sports not being shown on TV? When the season is over, so will their higher ratings. WUSN-FM 99.5 is really catching on. I didn't realize Country music was so big in Chicago. A 3.7 to a 4.7 is impressive. WXRT-FM 93.1 remains fairly steady. They have a loyal audience and are one of the few success stations in Chicago. WLS-FM 94.7 remains at a 4.0. It looks like Todd's research is paying off. What kills me is half of the time, this station is automated, and the commercial load is quite high. WKSC-FM 103.5 took a slight dip which means very little. The crop of new music may not be listenable and therefore, older music might be played more frequently. I doubt WBBM-FM will ever become a player in this city again. Hello WSCR-AM 670. This is your new FM home, 96.3 FM. WKQX-FM 101.1 is finding an audience. They continue to improve with each ratings survey. 3.1 is the latest figure. WCHI-FM 95.5 is never going to be a player in Chicago. They have been around for too long. You can't please all people, all the time. Choose a musical lane and focus on it. Both WWBZ-FM/The Blaze and WRCX-FM/Rock 103-5 crashed and burned after a few years, respectively. I would not be shocked if iHeartMedia blew up 95.5 at some point. The question is, what would replace the current format? Another Spanish station? Does anyone have enough juice to take on WDRV-FM/97.1? WSCR-AM 670 is way down with a 1.7 ranking. WLS-AM 890 is barely registering with a 1.1.
Many of us know these **free* monthly ratings are simply a snapshot. The real ratings are not published, and advertisers don't look at 6+.
What we can do is look at trends. Take a station like WLS-AM as an example. They may have a show which attracts a huge audience. The rest of their schedule may indeed drag the rest of the station down. How much revenue is coming in is the key, and we know it.
WLS-AM suffers from the AM syndrome we discuss on here often. Alos, they are not local, so people are not that interested. WGN is local and it pays off. WLS-AM is there to clear national feeds which lead to national ads. Sad state of affairs for a great set of call letters.
Country has its up and downs. WUSN has no direct competition and musically sounding, it is much closer to CHR than it has ever been in its existence.
WXRT is a nothing like it used to be, but, it has its own unique sound. I have been exposed to it the past few weeks, secondhand. The amount of "oh wow" titles are gone. The jocks are very brief background noise. Again, that is a major change from the past. I am from the period where you heard Clapton into Shalamar into Costello and the jock had something interesting to talk about concerning each one, with NO Internet to consult for such discussion. That was WXRT!
Somewhat surprised V103 took such a tumble. The question is where did that audience go? WSRB and WBMX didn't gain anything. 95.1 doesn't even register. Is the adult urban audie following the younger generation away from terrestrial radio? Or is V103-s product getting stale?
on April 23, 2025, 6:10 pm