Classic Rock And Classic Hits Heat Up In May PPMs.

Story by Inside Radio

Day One of Nielsen’s May 2020 PPM ratings show news and news/talk stations still dominating in Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta. But classic rock and classic hits are heating up for another battle for the Format of Summer, with Philly’s WMGK and Atlanta’s WSRV posting record-breaking shares, while KRTH takes first in L.A. and KGLK ties for first in Houston.

In New York, Spanish Broadcasting System tropical WSKQ remains first, adding a share month over month (6.5-7.7-8.7). The station posted the second-largest share in New York PPM history. Only WLTW had a higher number, according to ratings historian Chris Huff. WSKQ’s cume was up 20% from April to May (1,341,300-1,622,200). Entercom classic hits WCBS-FM moves from fourth to second (6.2-5.3-5.8) with a 16% increase in cume (1,602,700-1,861,800). iHeartMedia AC WLTW drops a rank (6.7-6.1-5.7) but registers a 16% increase in cume. Classic rock sister WAXQ is fourth (4.0-5.3-4.9) with a cume increase of 24%. Entercom news WINS drops from third to fifth (4.7-5.7-4.9) and also loses cume (-7%).

iHeartMedia talk KFI Los Angeles moves from first to second (4.2-5.5-4.6), but enjoys a slight bump in cume (+2%). Moving from second to first is Entercom classic hits KRTH (5.2-5.2-5.6). KRTH also leads the market in cume, rising 17% (1,605,700-1,891,300) month-over-month. iHeartMedia hot AC KBIG is third (4.4.-4.1-4.5) thanks to a 25% boost in cume, followed by Entercom soft AC KTWV (4.9-4.5-4.3), with cume up 19%. iHeartMedia AC KOST drops from third to fifth (5.1-4.5-4.2) but regains some of its cume, which rises 15% from April.

News remains tops in Chicago as Entercom’s WBBM sits at No. 1 again in May (7.7-8.4-7.0), but sees a 2% dip in cume. Remaining in second, while flat, is Hubbard classic rock WDRV (5.1-6.4-6.4). “The Drive” enjoys a 10% rise in cume (884,400-980,300). Nexstar talk WGN is tied for third (4.5-5.6-5.2), while also experiencing a 2% decline in cume. Joining WGN in third place is iHeartMedia AC WLIT-FM, advancing 4.3-3.7-5.2 and urban AC sister WVAZ (5.3-5.0-5.2). Cume at WLIT is up 27%, while WVAZ posts an 8% increase month-over-month.

News stations continue to dominate the San Francisco ratings, as public radio outlet KQED-FM takes the top spot (8.1-9.9-8.7), swapping positions with Entercom news KCBS (9.9-9.9-8.5). Bucking the trend, KQED-FM cume was flat month-over-month, while KCBS was up 2%. iHeartMedia soft AC KISQ remains in third (4.5-5.1-5.2), growing cume by 22% (577,500-710,000), followed by urban contemporary sister KMEL (4.0-3.5-3.9) and Bonneville AC KOIT (4.4-4.0-3.9). KMEL’s cume was up 18%, while KOIT saw a whopping 30% surge.

The top two stations in Dallas swap positions as iHeartMedia CHR KHKS adds more than a share (6.0-5.3-6.6) to wrangle first place from Salem Media Group contemporary Christian KLTY (7.0-6.7-6.0). KHKS’ cume was up 27% (903,600-1,156,200), while KLTY expands 12% from April. Classic rock and classic hits traditionally do better in the warm weather months and it’s already heating up in Texas as iHeartMedia classic rock KZPS ascends to third and tacks on a share-and-a-half, month-over-month (3.8-3.9-5.1) along with a 33% cume increase. It is followed by Entercom classic hits KLUV (5.1-4.1-5.0), which boasts a 22% cume increase.

Further south in Houston, Cox Media Group classic rock KGLK (5.8-7.0-7.0) moves up a rank into a first-place tie with Univision regional Mexican KLTN (6.7-8.4-7.0). KGLK’s cume has increased 24% since April, while KLTN was relatively flat, with a 0.4% uptick. Radio One urban AC KMJQ moves up a rank to third (5.8-6.2-6.5), followed by iHeartMedia AC KODA (6.2-5.5-6.2) and news/talk sister KTRH (4.6-6.3-6.0). KMJQ’s cume was up 13%, while KODA saw a 26% increase since April and KTRH was up 1.4% month-over-month.

Like San Francisco, Atlanta is another market where news and news/talk stations traditionally perform well. That holds true with the new May 2020 numbers as Cox Media Group news/talk WSB-WSBB-FM remains in first (12.9-13.9-11.1) and amplifies cume by 24% (564,300-700,400). The rest of the Atlanta Top 5 remain unchanged with urban AC sister WALR-FM (5.9-9.3-8.4) in second, followed by classic hits cluster mate WSRV (6.4-7.4-8.0), Entercom urban contemporary WVEE (6.4-6.0-6.9) and Radio One urban AC WAMJ (4.8-4.8-4.7). Each station saw double-digit cume improvements, while WSRV’s share was its largest in the PPM era.

iHeartMedia urban AC WDAS-FM remains first (6.3-9.2-8.9) in Philadelphia, while Beasley Media Group classic rock WMGK – posting its largest share in PPM history, according to Huff – holds onto second, rising 7.3-7.3-8.0. WMGK’s cume is up 25% month-over-month (585,700-733,300). Rock sister WMMR moves from fourth to third (7.0-6.8-7.3); followed by Entercom sports WIP-FM (5.7-5.6-5.9), which boosts cume by 17%. Entercom news KYW Philadelphia falls from a second-place tie in April to fifth in May (6.6-7.3-5.8), thanks to a 5% month-over-month drop in cume.

Nielsen’s May 2020 PPM survey covers the period from April 23 to May 20. All shares quoted are for Persons 6+, Monday-Sunday 6am-Midnight. – Jay Gleason