Nor’east Radio April 17, 2024
FEBRUARY NEW YORK, WASH DC, PHILADELPHIA, BOSTON and FCC HEBA Nighttime Approval
CLARK SMIDT, Broadcast Advisor www.broadcastideas.com 978 502 6633 clarkfmidt@gmail.com
On March 18, the FCC approved nighttime operation for the HEBA (High Efficiency Broadband Antenna) at its current site on 940 AM, Webster, MA. (www.loudandclean.com). The patented HEBA sits on a single-family-dwelling plot of land, with NO buried ground system, NO ground wires and NO lights necessary. This one is just 72 feet tall. Here’s added value to AM tower land. Please read April 15, Radio World https://www.radioworld.com/news-and business/headlines/ wqvram-is-granted-cp-to-use-heba-antenna-at-night
Welcome Back from The NAB. February 29 – March 27, 2024 PPM results show latest format trends. Understanding the numbers is essential for preparations to win without major investment. Here are the Big 4 in the Nor’east.
BOSTON (10) Population 4.413 million, 12% Hispanic, 8% Black MARCH ’24. JAN/FEB/MARCH ’24 CLUSTERS:
Beasley 25.8-24.2-25.3, iHeart 22.2-20.3-22.9, Audacy 18.0-18.6-18.5, WBUR 6.0-6.1-6.4, WGBH 7.4-7.1-6.2. Author/Advisor has lived in and participated with Greater Boston Radio since 1970.
1. WBZ/FM Beasley Sports 11.2-9.1-9.7, 429-438k #5 cume. Strong brand, 3 pro teams, built by CBS; great
Beasly enhancement and strong #1-2 BBGI combination with WROR.
2. WROR Beasley Classic Hits 5.2-6.0-6.5, 598-572k #3 cume; climbs back from #4 share with tight, safe playlist.
3. WBUR Boston University News/Talk 6.0-6.1-6.4, 376k #9 cume. Despite budget groans, there’s a very large
news department, very nice facilities. Non-comms shouldn’t have to be dependent on advertising. Go BU.
4. WWBX Audacy Hot A/C 4.5-4.9-5.9, 485k #4 cume; right demos, well done presentation, up from 6th share.
5. WMJX Audacy A/C 6.7-6.4-5.7, 757k #1 cume; quite a statement for both Mix & Magic. More listeners, but more tune-outs. Certainly, had the “Magic” with holidays and more over the years. Once was WBZ/FM.
6. iHeart TIE: WBZ-AM iHeart News/Talk 4.6-4.9-4.6, 351k #10 cume. Essential/Iconic “Go To” Radio Station. Consistent and always there with 50kw AM clear channel signal. Excellence by Dan Rae at night. TIE 6: WZLX iHeart Classic Rock 4.9-5.2-4.6, 400k #8 cume. Picked up the mantle for Boston personality rock. Nicely presented and has legs.
8. WXKS-FM iHeart CHR 4.3-4.2-4.4, 650k #2 cume; The KISS Brand last, but missing Matty & Sunny Joe.
9. TIE: WBGB Audacy Adult Hits 2.9-3.7-3.8, 409k #7 cume. Decent blend of automated music; nothing special. TIE 9: WGBH News/Talk 4.2-4.6-3.8, 285k #13 cume. ‘GBH has a larger staff, newsroom, and even more impressive facilities than #3 WBUR, with WGBH TV/2 and WCRB. Please stop complaining and deliver gains.
11. WKLB Beasley Country 4.1-4.0-3.7, 335k #11. Country’s heard stronger days; don’t discount American Music.
12. WRKO-AM iHeart Talk 2.8-3.2-3.4, 106k #22 cume; Hangs in with local AM talk, a credit to iHeart & Boston.
13. TIE: WBQT Beasley Hot A/C 3.2-2.9-3.0, 410k #6 cume; 96.9 has talent but seems to stay put. TIE 13: WEEI/FM Audacy Sports 3.9-3.3-3.0, 247k #17. Sox not scoring. Very tough competition vs. Sports Hub.
15. WCRB ‘GBH Public Classical 3.2-2.5-2.4, 197k #19 cume. Boston deserves stronger classical service & presentation; ‘CRB needs radio folks to run & program rather than academic “music majors.”
16. TIE: WBWL iHeart Country 1.6-1.7-2.1, 215k #18. Tough being #2 Country vs. WKLB. Room for two or adjust? 16. TIE: WBOS 1.9-2.0-2.1, 282k #14 cume; Trying but nuttin’ honey. Uses morning from Detroit.
18. TIE: WJMN iHeart Rhythmic CHR 2.2-2.4-1.9 (down from #16), 328k #121 cume; Great signal as WCOZ and but not jammin’ no more. 18. TIE: WXRV Northeast Broadcasting Adult Alternative 1.7-2.1-1.9. 260k #15. Big signal in Boston/New Hampshire; simply needs stronger branding & better music curation.
20. TIE: WZRM iHeart Spanish Tropical 1.1-1.1-1.5, 148k #20. Many attempts for 101.7. Taking time to connect. 20. TIE: WERS Emerson College 1.7-1.4-1.5, 146k #21 cume. Nice job making their student presence known.
21. WXLO Cumulus Hot A/C. 1.1-1.3-1.4, 249k #16. Big MetroWest signal; ordinary. CMLS is Providence strong.
22. WXKS-AM iHeart Talk, 0.4, 26k #25 cume. Mostly syndicated; could use an enhanced local talk format.
23. TIE @ 0.3: WNNW-AM Costa Eagle Spanish 45k #24 & WRCA-AM Beasley Bloomberg News 13k #28 cume.
25. TIE @ 0.2: WCTK Hall Country, 57k #23 cume; stays Top 3 in Providence. 25. TIE: WWFX Cumulus Classic Rock Worcester, 25k 26 cume; needs more distinction. 27. WBGB Audacy Stream, 12k #29 cume. 4-WAY 28 TIE @ 0.0: WUMB Univ. Massachusetts Variety 22k #27; huge support potential from 9 signal network; 28. WMVX Costa- Eagle Classic Hits, 19k #28; 28. WEEI-AM Audacy Sports 50kw, 10k #30 cume; sad waste of a big AM; 28. WCCM-AM Costa-Eagle Spanish CHR 8k, #31. Beasley is 3.9-2.4 ahead of iHeart; 5.8-6.8 over Audacy. Boston is a Great Radio Market.
NEW YORK (1) MARCH ’24 CLUSTERS January-February-March: iHeart 27.2-28.5-28.0, Audacy 22.2-20.0-20.6,
Spanish Broadcasting System 7.7-7.2-7.5, WNYC Public 7.8-6.7-7.0, Media Holding Inc. 6.4-6.5-6.4. NYC Live 25: iHeart repeats with the Top 3 spots: 1. WLTW A/C 7.7-8.4-8.6 3.66 million, #1 cume. 2. WAXQ Classic Rock 6.6-6.9-6.9, 1.77mil #6 cume. 3. WHTZ CHR 5.5-5.6-5.2, 2.38mil #2-3 cume. 4. WCBS-FM Audacy Classic Hits 6.2-4.6-4.0, 2.41mil up from 3rd to #2 cume. 5. WINS-FM Audacy News 4.7-4.5-4.6 (+0.4 stream), 1.5mil #8 cume. 6. WBLS Media Holding Urban A/C 4.8-4.6-4.5, 1.39mil #9 cume. 7. WSKQ SBS Spanish Tropical 4.3-4.1-4.2, 1.59mil #7 cume. 8. WNEW-FM Audacy Hot A/C 3.7-4.1-4.1, 2.3mil #5 cume. 3-WAY TIE 9: WKTU iHeart RhymCHR 4.0-4.2-4.0, 2.35mil #4 cume; Down from 4th to TIE 9: WNYC Public N/T 4.5-4.7-4.9, 569k #17; Up from #11 to TIE 9: WABC-AM Red Apple Talk 3.5-3.8-4.0, 477k #19 cume; nicely done with local belief. 12. WXNY Univision Spanish Tropical 2.8-3.1-2.9, 1.12mil #12 cume. 13. WPAT SBS Spanish A/C 2.2-2.2-2.2, 987k #13. Up from #19, 14. WCBS-AM Audacy News 1.7-1.7-2.0 (+0.1 stream), 445k #18. 3-WAY TIE 15: WPLJ K-Love Contemp. Christian 2.1-2.2-1.9, 724k #16 cume; TIE 15: WFAN-FM Audacy Sports 2.3-2.7-2.0 (+0.6 stream), 785k #15 cume; TIE 15: WQHT Media Holding RhymCHR 1.6-1.9-1.9, 1.13mil #10. 18. WQXR-FM WNYC Classical 1.9-1.8-1.8, 359k #21 cume. 19. WWPR iHeart Urban Contemporary 1.8-1.7-1.8, 1.12mil #12 cume. 20. WOR-AM iHeart Talk 1.7-1.6-1.6, 307k #22 cume. 21. WXBK Audacy Classic Hip Hop 1.4, 865k #14 cume. 22. WSKQ stream 1.1. TIE 23 @ 0.1: WKXW Talk Townsquare 1.0, 243k #25 cume; TIE 23: WNYC-AM Public News/Talk 1.1, 134k #31. 25. WBGO Public Jazz 0.7 304k #23 cume. 4-WAY TIE at 26 @0.1: WHUD Pamal A/C; WFUV Fordham Univ. Adult Alternative; WAWZ Christian & WFAN Sports Stream. iHeart cluster lead is 5.0-8.5-7.4 over Audacy; 12 stations have million+ cumes. 57 stations subscribe, 26 below the line.
WASHINGTON DC (8) MARCH ‘24 CLUSTERS JAN/FEB/MARCH: iHeart 18.1-18.1-18.7, Audacy 12.8-13.8-13.6, Urban One 12.6-12.6-12.4, American University 12.8-13.0-11.1, Hubbard 8.5-7.9-8.0, Howard Univ. 7.2-7.6-7.6. DC Top 20: 1. WAMU American U. News/ Talk 12.7-13.0-11.0 535k #5 cume. 2. WTOP-FM Hubbard News
8.3.7.6-7.9, 686k #2 cume. 3. WHUR Howard Univ. Urban A/C 7.2-7.4-7.5, 552k #5 cume up from 7. 4. WASH iHeart A/C 11.0-6.5-5.9, 839k #1 cume. Up from 7 to 5. WMAL Cumulus N/T 4.5-4.5-4.8, 199k #17. 6. WKYS Urban One Contemporary 4.2-3.8-4.7, 374k #11. 7. WMMJ Urban One A/C 5.0-5.2-4.5, 385k #10. TIE 8: WETA Public Classical 4.6-5.0-4.2, 278k #13 cume; Up from 11 to TIE 8: WZMQ iHeart Country 3.1-3.5-4.2, 338k #12 cume. TIE 10: WWDC iHeart Modern Alternative Rock 3.5-3.7-3.8, 498k #8 cume; TIE 10: WIAD Audacy Classic Hits 3.5-3.7-3.8, 630k #3 cume. 12. WGTS Contemporary Christian 3.3-3.5-3.3, 271k #14 cume; TIE 13: WPGC Audacy RhymCHR 3.1-3.4-3.1, 434k #9 cume; TIE 13: WPRS Urban One Gospel 3.0-3.1-3.1, 229k #15 cume. 15. WIBG iHeart Classic Rock 2.2-2.1-2.8, 592k #4 cume up from 9th. 16. WIHT iHeart CHR 2.7-2.8-2.6, 531-540k #6 cume. 17. WJFK Audacy Sports 2.8-2.3-2.4 (+0.9 stream), 193k #18; 18. WLZL Audacy Spanish Tropical 2.2-2.1-2.3, 212k #16. 19. WDCN-LP La Nueva Spanish CHR 1.1, 85k #22. 20. WAFY Manning Hot A/C 1.0, 82k #23. iHeart over Audacy by 4.1. Cumes that rank higher than share rank indicates strong brand & signal with tune-outs.
PHILADELPHIA (9) MARCH ‘24 CLUSTERS JAN/FEB/MARCH: Audacy 30.9-30.5-27.7, Beasley 25.5-27.6-25.8, iHeart 15.1-15.5-16.8, Public Radio 7.4-7.0-7.2. Urban One 4.7-5.4-6.0. PHILLY TOP 20: 1. WMGK Classic Rock 8.2-9.1-8.5, 855k #2 cume. 2. WDAS iHeart Urban A/C 7.3-6.8-7.5, 538 #8 cume. 3. WMMR Rock 7.5-8.0-7.3, 685k #5 cume. TIE 4: WBEB Audacy A/C 5.5-6.3-5.8, 981k #1 cume; TIE 4: KYW-AM Audacy News 6.2-6.0-5.8 (+0.2 stream), 507k #10. 6. WIP-FM Audacy Sports 7.0-5.7-5.5 (+3.2 stream = 8.7), 481k #11 cume. 7. WXTU
Beasley Country 5.2-5.0-4.7, 602k #7 cume. 8. WBEN Beasley Adult Hits 3.1-4.2-4.0, 726k #4 cume. 9. WOGL Audacy Classic Hits 3.8-4.2-3.8, 811k #3 cume. 10. WPPZ Urban One R&B Oldies 2.9-3.4-3.7, 348k #15. 11. WUSL iHeart Urban 3.8-3.6-3.5, 416k #14 cume. 12. WIP-FM Stream Audacy Sports 2.3-2.0-3.2, 92k #26. 13. WHYY Public N/T 3.1-3.3-3.1, 269k #17. 14. WTDY Audacy Hot A/C 3.1-3.1-2.7, 551k #9 cume down from 6. 3-WAY 15 TIE: WRNB Urban One Contemporary 1.8-2.0-2.3, 341k #16 cume; TIE 15: WPHT-AM Audacy Talk 2.2-2.0-2.3, 161k #25; TIE 15: WXPN U. Penn Adult Alternative 1.9-1.8-2.3, 209k #22. 18. WRFF iHeart Adult Alternative 2.1-2.2-2.2, 452k #13. 3-WAY 19 TIE @ 1.8: WRTI Temple University Classical 165k #23 cume with iHeart’s 19.
WIOD CHR 457k #12 & 19. WUMR Spanish CHR 211k #21. 22. WPST Townsquare CHR 1.3, 220k #20. 23. WPEN Beasley Sports. 24. WKXK Townsquare Talk 170ki #24. 25. WSTW Forever Hot A/C 0.8, 226k #19 cume. Audacy Cluster now protects a 2.9-1.9 lead over Beasley.
JANUARY-FEBRUARY-MARCH 2024 NORTHEAST CLUSTER RACE:
NEW YORK iHeart 27.2-28.5-28.0 Audacy 22.2-20.0-20.6 Spanish Broadcasting 7.7-7.2-7.5
WASHINGTON DC iHeart 18.1-18.1-18.7 Audacy 13.8- 17.5-13.6 Urban One 12.7-12.6-12.4
PHILADELPHIA Audacy 30.9-30.5-27.7 Beasley 25.5-27.6-25.8 iHeart 15.1-15.5-16.8
BOSTON Beasley 25.7-24.2-25.3 iHeart 22.2-20.3-22.9 Audacy 18.0-20.3-18.5
More Nor’East Markets Next Week including Long Island, Baltimore, Providence, Hartford. When you settle in from the Great NAB, let’s talk about your market. Thank you.
Clark Smidt, Broadcast Advisor 978 502 6633 www.broadcastideas.com clarkfsmidt@gmail.com
Please hear cost-efficient: 1220watx.com Digital Classics from AM Stereo 1220 WATX Hamden/New Haven, CT.
April 17, 2024