Nielsen’s August PPM survey period, which ran from July 18 to Aug. 14, was packed with big news stories: the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Trump; President Biden’s decision to drop out of the Presidential race, and Vice President Harris’ quick acceptance as the Democratic candidate; plus the Paris Summer Olympics, further complications during both the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars, and hurricanes and heat waves across the U.S.
It’s no surprise, then, that the news/talk format scored a rare three wins in the eight non-embedded markets reporting on Day 1 — in San Francisco, Dallas, and Atlanta. Across the eight markets, news/talk stations gained a best-among-formats 2.6 share points from July’s to August’s survey.
A wider view of news/talk’s ratings, based on Nielsen’s PPM cross-market average quarter-hour share data, shows a similar trend, with the format up from a 9.8 to a 10.4 persons 6+ share July to August.
For Day 1, the leaderboard shows news/talk with three crowns, classic hits with two, and one each for adult contemporary, classic rock, contemporary Christian, and urban AC.
For a seventh consecutive survey, iHeartMedia claims the Apple’s top three. Leading the pack for its 23rd straight win is adult contemporary “Lite FM” WLTW, back in 8-share territory for the sixth time this year. Making a rare second-place finish is CHR “Z100” WHTZ, which has gained share in every book since March, up 25% from March’s 5.2 to August’s 6.5. Classic rock sister “Q104.3” WAXQ places third, following 18 surveys as the runner-up, while Audacy classic hits WCBS-FM and MediaCo urban AC 107.5 WBLS stay at fourth and fifth — the latter up steadily since May.
It’s seven wins in a row for Audacy classic hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH, as it now leads iHeart AC KOST, runner-up for the past six surveys, by 1.4. Making a big move back into the top five is Univision Spanish contemporary “K-Love 107.5” KLVE, up 27% from July, when it ranked sixth. Just below, iHeart’s hot AC “104.3 MyFM” KBIG and CHR KIIS-FM tie for fourth.
No change in the Windy City’s top two, except that Hubbard Radio classic rock “The Drive” WDRV and iHeart urban AC “V103” WVAZ are now separated by 0.4 vs. July’s 0.1. Audacy news WBBM-AM/WCFS is up from fifth to third, as iHeart soft AC sister “93.9 Lite FM” WLIT and Audacy adult alternative WXRT move down a rung to fourth and fifth, respectively.
News/talk pubcaster KQED digs in at No. 1, grabbing another eight-tenths of a point to widen its lead over Bonneville AC KOIT to 1.2 from July’s 0.4. Audacy news KCBS-AM/KFRC-FM and iHeart hot AC “Star 101.3” KIOI switch places, although both see share gains, the former like KQED also up 0.8. Bonneville CHR sister “99.7 Now” KMVQ moves back into the top five with a 0.7 lift from July.
Audacy classic hits “98.7 The Spot” KSPF makes it three straight months at No. 1, only this time it shares the honors with news/talk pubcaster KERA, which leaps from a tie for 14th in July to tie for first, with a 66% share gain. KERA was last in Dallas’ top five in March, when it tied for fifth. There’s another tie at third, between Audacy adult hits sister “100.3 Jack-FM” KJKK and Univision Spanish regional Mexican “Que Buena 94.1” KLNO, both just 0.2 behind the two leaders, while Service Broadcasting urban AC “Smooth R&B 105.7” KRNB returns to the top five, up from ninth to fifth.
For the fourth consecutive survey and fifth time in 2024, Hope Media Group contemporary Christian KSBJ leads in Houston — but not by much, as iHeart AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA adds 1.1 share points from July to move to second, behind KSBJ by just 0.2. Urban One urban AC “Majic 102.1” KMJQ slips from second to third, while both iHeart modern/alternative rock sister “94.5 The Buzz” KTBZ and Urban One country sister “93Q” KKBQ return to the top five, at positions 4 and 5.
For a third straight survey, Cox Media Group news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM sees a share lift, with a 39% increase since May. Classic hits sister and five-time champ this year “97.1 The River” WSRV is up nearly a share point as it moves from third to second, trading places with AC sister “B98.5” WSB-FM. CMG’s urban AC “Majic 107.5/97.5” WAMJ comes in fourth, leaving Salem Media Group contemporary Christian “104.7 The Fish” WFSH as the only non-CMG station in Atlanta’s top five, making its first appearance in the region since January.
It’s the third consecutive win for iHeart urban AC WDAS-FM, delivering a 9.0 share for the second time during its reign. WDAS has a 0.9 lead over Beasley Media Group rocker WMMR, which swaps spots with Audacy sports and Phillies flagship WIP-FM, while Beasley classic rock sister WMGK and Audacy news KYW hold at fourth and fifth.
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