News/Talk Sees Nationwide Growth and It’s Not All Politics.

Story by Inside Radio

Many news and news/talk stations punched higher in Nielsen’s October ratings survey with the fiery election and its multitude of story lines often credited with the increase. But programmers at news/talk stations says there’s more to their rising numbers than just the over-the-top political campaign.

“The election—and the craziness of the campaign and coverage, from the news networks to late-night shows—is most definitely top of mind,” says Bill Hess, VP of News Talk at Cumulus Media. “This campaign, especially, is providing fresh content each and every day.”

Hess also programs talk WMAL AM&FM Washington (630, 105.9), which jumped 3.1-4.0 in the new numbers. While some programmers credit October survey increases to election-fueled Time Spent Listening spikes, Hess says both TSL and cume are up. Cume increased year-over-year almost every month in 2016 for WMAL and TSL expanded as listeners resumed regular habits after returning from summer vacations. Hess expects the growth to continue in the November ratings survey, which covers Oct.6-Nov. 2. “November is actually October and, anecdotally, the conversation is on fire,” Hess says.

Ratings are also on the rise at Tribune Media talk WGN Chicago (720), which shot up 3.7-4.3 for its biggest share since April, putting it in the top five. But Todd Manley, VP of Content & Programming, attributes very little of the bump to the campaign. “I think there’s some fatigue on the topic that has actually popped the cume on the music FMs,” Manley says. “Here in Chicago the biggest chatter is around the Cubs right now.” An outdoor campaign helped WGN add 60,000 cume persons in the October survey, which covered the period from Sept. 8-Oct. 5. “If we can grow that more, November will be even better since our overall TSL is 1:45 daily, which leads the market,” Manley says.

Kevin LaRue, program director at Bonneville’s “NewsRadio” KSL-FM Salt Lake City (102.7), says the news/talker struggled with how to cover the national election. “It’s very difficult with someone like Donald Trump who doubles down on scandalous reports,” LaRue told Inside Radio. “He kick-starts even more negative coverage and creates a media monster that he can go out and slay for his followers.”

KSL-FM notched a two-share increase during the October survey, moving from a 6.1 to an 8.1. The station changed 9.5 hours of weekday programming this year, relaunching and expanding its midday show in April and introducing new hosts in afternoons and nights in August. That 2-share pop reflects growing cume and stable TSL. “In prime, our adult 25-54 audience grew 35% from September to October—and TSL didn’t drop a minute,” LaRue says. “So was some of it sampling? Show appeal and the KSL brand? Panel? I guess we’ll see in four weeks but our new hosts sound great.”

News/talk’s fall ratings bump is predictable, even if it may be larger this year due to the election. The challenge is maintaining the momentum after the campaign rhetoric ends. “The election may be Topic A right now, but the exhilarating aspect of news/talk is that topic A can change on a dime…a big local story erupts, terrorism flares up, and then there’s the presidential transition, which is a local story here in DC,” Hess says. “Continuing to focus on the big stories in each of our markets, and remembering that we must be compelling, passionate and entertaining each time we crack the microphone, are the keys to our continued success as we build upon the listenership increases this fall.” At WGN, Manley says he’ll focus on “really compelling Chicago stories” and the conversation surrounding the new administration’s transition teams. And for KSL-FM’s LaRue, the watchwords are “improved human connection,” which he defines as hosts that tell stories, are real and talk to the audience instead of just reporting. That’s reflected in some station imaging pieces, such as a promo that candidly admits, “We wouldn’t be truthful if we told you we know where our country is headed.” KSL-FM aims to offer a touch of comfort as it discusses all the events that made 2016 a tumultuous year. “This is a safe place for you, this is your home,” LaRue says of the station.