Adult contemporary stations jingled all the way to (or remained at) the top in six – as did one soft AC in a seventh – of the eight non-embedded markets reporting on Day 1 of Nielsen's December PPMs, based on activity from Nov. 9-Dec. 6.
The lone Day 1 market without an all-Christmas-formatted station in the lead was Atlanta, where Salem Media Group contemporary Christian “104.7 The Fish” WFSH settled for a very close third, just three-tenths of a share point behind the repeating champion, Cox Media Group news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM.
The holiday lights were bright at “Lite FM” WLTW, as iHeart's AC-gone-Christmas jumped back to double-digit delivery in December, up 33% from November's and 49% from last December's book. By the way, it was Lite's 14th consecutive win in the Apple, with a 4.6-share-point lead over classic rock sister “Q104.3” WAXQ. iHeart claimed four of December's top five, with CHR sister “Z100” WHTZ tying Audacy classic hits WCBS-FM for third, and its rhythmic CHR WKTU moving from 10th to fifth.
For the first time since February, iHeart AC KOST led in L.A., having moved to Christmas music five days into December's book on Nov. 13. KOST's 10.1 share put it up 91% from November, while off two share points from December 2022, but still five full share points up on news/talk sister KFI and Audacy classic hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH, which tied for second.
iHeart soft AC “93.9 Lite FM” WLIT benefited from a complete measurement period of all Christmas music, having flipped on Nov. 3, its 12.3 share just a tenth of a share point off from last December, while up 69% from November's 7.3. Lite took a 6.5-point lead over Hubbard Radio classic rock “The Drive” WDRV, while iHeart urban AC sister “V103” WVAZ and Audacy news WBBM-AM swapped places just below.
With its format flip for the holidays, Bonneville AC KOIT widened its lead over news/talk pubcaster KQED to 3.5 points, with a 10.1 share just 0.4 shy of last December, although up 37% from November. While the bay city's third- and fourth-ranked stations stayed the same, bounding from 11th to fifth was classical pubcaster KDFC.
The star atop Dallas' December ratings was none other than iHeart AC “Star 102.1” KDGE, dashing from a tie for 11th to first with its Nov. 13 flip to holiday hits, up a whopping 145% from November and 21% from last December. November's leader, Cumulus Media sports “The Ticket” KTCK-AM-FM, finished second, 3.4 behind Star, while Audacy classic hits “98.7 The Spot” KSPF moved from second to third.
iHeart AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA jingle-bell-rocked back to No. 1, its first time on top since September, with a double-digit share just 0.5 shy of December 2022's delivery, while up an impressive 77% from November. KODA took a 5.9-point lead over November champ, Urban One classic rock “The Eagle” KGLK, as Christmas competitor Hope Media Group contemporary Christian KSBJ finished third.
While Cox Media Group news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM and classic hits sister “97.1 The River” WSRV held onto the top two positions, separated by just a tenth of a share point, Salem Media Group contemporary Christian “104.7 The Fish” WFSH, with its Christmas flip, placed a strong third, 0.2 behind The River. The Fish's 8.0 share was up 40% from November, while off 13% from last December.
Audacy AC “B101.1” WBEB made a reindeer-like leap from seventh-ranked to the top, as its switching on the Christmas lights pushed it just 0.1 ahead of iHeart urban AC WDAS-FM, which led in October and November. For B101.1 it was an 86% rise from November, although 11% short of its double-digit delivery last December. Beasley Media Group classic rock WMGK, meantime, held onto third with the same share as in November's book.
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