From August to September, there are few changes at the top in the eight markets reported on Day 1 of Nielsen's 6+ PPMs. Adult contemporary stations remain top-rated in New York, Houston and Los Angeles, where iHeartMedia's KOST moves out of a tie for number one in August to take the prize by itself. News/talk stations also claim the top rank in three markets: San Francisco and Atlanta, where pubcaster KQED and Cox Media'a WSB-AM are longtime leaders, and Chicago, where Audacy's WBBM-AM moves back into first place. Meanwhile, CHR and Adult R&B stations continue their dominance in Dallas and Philadelphia, respectively.
In NYC, ‘Lite’ Is Even Brighter
iHeart AC “106.7 Lite FM” WLTW (Jul-Sep market rank: 2-1-1; Jul-Sep AQH share: 6.6-7.4-8.3) breaks into 8-share territory in The Big Apple, while MediaCo adult R&B WBLS (1-2-2; 6.9-6.3-6.5) upticks a little as it stays in second. Pushing into the top three is Audacy classic hits WCBS-FM (5-4-3; 4.7-4.9-5.0), switching spots with Spanish Broadcasting System’s Spanish tropical “Mega 97.9” WSKQ (3-3-4; 5.4-5.1-4.7) as its Spanish hits sister “93.1 Amor” WPAT-FM (4-6(tie)-5; 4.9-4.3.4.3) returns to the top five.
iHeart ACs conquer both coasts, as KOST (2(tie)-1(tie)-1; 4.8-5.3-5.5) now owns the top spot in L.A. after tying with former champ, Audacy classic hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH (1-1(tie)-2; 5.9-5.3-5.3), in August. Audacy's rhythmic AC sister “The Wave” KTWV (4-4-3; 4.3-4.6-4.6) steps up to third, as Univision Radio Spanish contemporary/romantica “K-Love” KLVE (2(tie)-3-4(tie); 4.8-4.7-4.5) now ties for fourth with iHeart hot AC “104.3 MYFM” KBIG-FM (6(tie)-5-4(tie); 4.0-4.4-4.5).
Good News In Chicago
In the back-and-forth battle for first in the Windy City, Audacy all news WBBM/WCFS (1-2-1; 6.7-5.7-6.6) surges back to the top, as iHeart adult R&B “V103” WVAZ (2-1-2; 5.8-6.3-6.3) is close behind in second. iHeart's AC and “Lite FM” sister WLIT (3(tie)-3-3; 5.2-5.4-4.8) holds at third place, as news/talk pubcaster WBEZ (8-7-4; 3.4-3.9-4.3) jumps into the top five, a tenth of a point above the market's 25-54 champ, Univision Mexican Regional “Qué Buena 105.1” WOJO (5-6-5; 4.4-4.2-4.2). Right outside the top five, there's continued notable share growth for Hubbard hot AC “The Mix” WTMX (7-8-6(tie); 3.5-3.8-4.1), currently the center of media attention in Chicago due to sexual misconduct allegations lobbed at morning host Eric Ferguson.
San Francisco's top five stations stay in the same order as in August, with news/talk pubcaster KQED (1-1-1; 7.9-7.6-7.9) ahead of Cumulus sports KNBR (3-2-2; 5.1-6.0-7.0) and Audacy all news KCBS/KFRC (2-3-3; 6.0-5.7-6.5), with iHeart soft AC “The Breeze” KISQ (4-4-4; 4.7-4.9-4.7) and Bonneville AC KOIT (5-5-5; 3.9-4.0-3.8) just below. Moving into the top 10 is iHeart hip-hop/R&B KMEL (14-11-8(tie); 2.5-2.8-3.2).
Everything – Including AC – Is Bigger In Texas
Also no change in Houston's top three, as iHeart AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA (1-1-1; 7.3-6.3-6.6) leads by a larger margin over Hope Media Group contemporary Christian KSBJ (3-2-2; 5.8-6.2-5.8) and Univision Mexican regional “Qué Buena” KLTN (2-3-3; 5.9-6.1-5.6). In Dallas, iHeart CHR “Kiss FM” KHKS (4(tie)-1-1; 4.3-5.2-4.6) digs in for a second month at number one, as Univision Mexican regional “Qué Buena 94.1” WLNO (9(tie)-8(tie)-2; 3.7-3.8-4.4) bounds from eighth to runner-up in a too-close-for-comfort top 10, with every station separated by a 0.1-0.2 margin.
In The Big Peach, Cox Media news/talk WSB/WSBB (1-1-1; 8.3-9.0-9.7) gains share for a third straight month as it leads classic hits sister “The River” WSRV (2-3-2; 6.9-6.7-7.1) by a comfortable margin, with adult R&B sister “Kiss 104.1” WALR (3-2-3; 6.6-7.0-6.8) slipping to third. Atlanta's a market with one of those classic CHR battles going on, where iHeart's “Power 96.1” WWPW (8-8-4; 4.0-4.1-5.1) jumps into the top five, passing Cumulus' “Q99.7” WWWQ (6-8-7; 4.9-4.9-4.1).
And in Philly, iHeart adult R&B WDAS-FM (1-1-1; 8.6-8.3-8.3) stays at the top, while Beasley Media Group rocker WMMR (2-2(tie)-2; 6.7-6.6-7.1) is a point up on classic rock sister WMGK (5-2(tie)-3; 5.6-6.6-6.1). Just below, both Audacy all news KYW (6-6-4; 5.5-5.0-5.4) and news-talk pubcaster WHYY (9-7-5; 4.1-4.7-5.1) break into the top five.
All numbers quoted are 6+ AQH shares, Mon-Sun, 6am-12midnight.
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