An In-Depth Look At Chicago's October 2014 Nielsen Radio Ratings
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Published on Tuesday, 28 October 2014 23:20
The Nielsen Audio ratings for the Chicago radio market for the "October" period (which only has eight days of October actually in it)-- covering the dates of 09/11/14 through 10/08/14 -- were released on Monday. The following is a study of the local radio ratings, including some important demographics, along with quick looks at some key stories.
First, a look at the all ages (6+) numbers and not any specific demographic...
It should come as no surprise that the most dominant station in the Chicago market remains WVAZ-FM/V103. For well over two years, except for the year-end holidays and an occasional "hiccups," V103 has consistently been #1 in the all ages ratings and near the top of the ratings in the demo of Adults 25-54. It slipped a bit in the ratings for this most recent period, falling to a 5.7 share -- it lowest since spring. However, that number was still good enough to remain king of the Chicago ratings hill.
WBBM-AM/Newsradio 780 & 105.9 remains at #2 with a 5.6 share -- very close behind WVAZ-FM. With the Chicago Bears games on WBBM-AM, an upcoming election, and with what could be another winter of poor weather conditions, WBBM-AM could potentially overtake the #1 spot in the coming weeks and months. Of course, WBBM-AM has to hope that happens soon. In about five months, its ratings from WCFS-FM, which simulcasts WBBM-AM's signal and has its ratings combined with WBBM-AM's, will become a separate entity. Chicago Cubs baseball games will be broadcast on WBBM-AM, while news broadcasts will continue on WCFS-FM, breaking the simulcast. Nielsen ratings will then report the individual ratings for both station and not one combined share.
The other station that can always be counted on as being consistently near the top of the all ages ratings is WTMX-FM/101.9 The Mix. The Adult CHR station stayed strong yet again and virtually the same, ratings-wise. In July, The Mix had a share of 4.9. In September, it had slipped slightly to a share of 4.6, but for the October period, it was back up to a share of 4.7. A dependable, strong ratings station.
Even with its ratings going up to a 4.7, WTMX-FM slipped down to #4. That is because of the resurgence of WOJO-FM/105.1 FM, which jumped up to #3. WOJO-FM increased .5 share from the September ratings period and 1.8 share from just six months ago.
Spanish language radio stations had been hurting in the ratings this year, especially in Chicago. Those mysteriously lost ratings caught the attention of many industry observers, even if the Spanish-language radio stations operators were uncomfortable talking about the rapid loss in ratings publicly. They quietly worked with Nielsen to insure the ratings data coming from Hispanic audiences was being fairly captured. As the year went on, some of the Spanish-language stations saw their ratings slowly begin to rise once again.
Even with the increase of ratings, only WOJO-FM is near the top of the ratings. No other Spanish-language radio station is in Chicago's Top 20 -- and that is in a market that has America's fifth largest Hispanic population, with over 21% of the population. There has been some ratings improvement, but it would appear Nielsen may still have some work to do in this area of its ratings data collection.
Other noticeable ratings increases for the October period include WUSN-FM/US99.5, which gained .4 share from September and is now sitting at #6. WLUP-FM/97.9 The Loop had Chicagoans checking out its new lineup, raising its ratings in one month by .2 share and in four months by a .5 share. While it still has a way to go, The Loop now moves up to a tie at #16 with a 2.6 share. The two main all-sports station in Chicago, WSCR-AM/670 The Score and WMVP-AM/ESPN Chicago 1000, each saw .3 share increases thanks largely to the start of the Chicago Bears and NFL seasons, which always brings increased sports fan audiences locally. WSCR-AM now has a 2.5 share and rising, while WMVP-AM has a 1.6 share and rising.
The third sports station in Chicago, WGWG-LP/The Game 87.7, the low-powered television station with the audio signal that can be heard on some radios, didn't see much of a bump like the other sports stations did. Even with a greatly increased local desire for sports talk radio at the start of each NFL season, WGWG-LP could only move from a lowly 04 share to a still-lowly 0.5 share. The station continues to get beat in the ratings by suburban college stations with a fraction of the transmitter and publicity. The station remains the lowest-rated commercial FM radio station in Chicago.
WGWG-LP's sister station, WGN-AM had one of the biggest ratings losses of the October period compared with the month before. WGN-AM is now down to a 3.2 share and has completely fallen out of the Top 10, residing at a tie at #12 -- its lowest rating in recent memory. Six months ago, WGN-AM had a 4.6 share and was Chicago's #4 radio station. Then it made some extremely unpopular programming moves, including removing its highly-rated, highly-popular afternoon star Garry Meier and then being sarcastic towards Meier's upset fans. Ratings for WGN-AM have slowly dropped since then. Ratings should improve somewhat on WGN-AM thanks to the mighty Chicago Blackhawks boosting its evening listening (and to a degree, its morning ratings by those who had WGN-AM on their radios the night before to hear the game). The station is clearly not what it once was or what it should be, though.
Besides WGN-AM, other notable ratings decreases for the October period include WDRV-FM/97.1 The Drive, which surprisingly lost .5 share after two months of small increases. The classic rocker is now down to #10 with a 3.4 share. It would appear increased interest in Chicago's other classic rock station, WLUP-FM, may be partially to blame. WGCI-FM/107.5WGCI lost .4 share in one month and is now at #14 with a 3.0 share. It's too soon to call it a trend, but WKQX-FM/101WKQX is seeing its ratings slowly drop, if only slightly. Two months ago, the alternative rock station peaked at a tie for tenth place and a 3.6 share. After a little drop in September and another in October, 101WKQX-FM is now at a 3.3 share -- it's lowest since much earlier in the year. (WKQX-FM remains high in its target demographic of 18-34, though.)
Here is how the top of the Persons ages 6+ rankings looked for the October 2014 ratings period...
Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight:
1. WVAZ-FM
2. WBBM-AM
3. WOJO-FM
4. WTMX-FM
5. WKSC-FM
6. WUSN-FM
7t. WBBM-FM
7t. WLS-FM
9. WLIT-FM
10. WDRV-FM
11. WKQX-FM
12t. WXRT-FM
12t. WGN-AM
14. WGCI-FM
15. WILV-FM
16t. WJMK-FM
16t. WLUP-FM
18. WSCR-AM
19. WPWX-FM
20. WBEZ-FM
In the somewhat less important ranking of overall cume, WKSC-FM remains #1 with 2,341,900, closely followed as always by WBBM-FM with 2,161,600 and WTMX-FM with 2,114,500. Well behind these three leaders is WLIT-FM at #4 with 1,810,900 and WBBM-AM at #5 with 1,715,000.
For the Morning Drive time of 6:00am-10:00am, WBBM-AM continues to be #1, this time with a giant 7.8 share. WTMX-FM continues to be strong in mornings coming in at #2 with a 6.2 share -- its largest rating in a very long time. WVAZ-FM and WOJO-FM tie at #3, each with a 4.9 share. Onetime morning leader WGN-AM continues to trend downward and now has the #5 morning show, with a 4.4 share. WBBM-FM comes in at #6 with a 3.6 share. Making its return to the Top 10 in mornings for the first time in six months is WSCR-AM, which is #7 with a 3.5 share. #8 is WXRT-FM with a 3.4 share, #9 is WKSC-FM with a 3.3, and #10 is WLIT-FM with a 3.2 share.
For the Midday shift's hours of 10:00am-3:00pm, the new leader is WOJO-FM, which is #1 with a 6.9 share. Even though it greatly increased its ratings, WVAZ-FM slips down to a #2 ranking with a 5.6 share. WLS-FM has its strongest ratings of the weekday during this daypart, coming in at #3 with a 4.9 share. WUSN-FM jumps up to #4 with a 4.5 share. WBBM-AM moves down to #5 with a 4.4 share.
For the Afternoon Drive hours of 3:00pm-7:00pm, WVAZ-FM is again #1 with 5.8 share. WUSN-FM has its strongest ratings in afternoons, coming in at #2 with a 5.1 share. #3 is WKSC-FM with a 4.9 share. WTMX-FM is #4 with a 4.8 share, while WOJO-FM is right behind at #5 with a 4.7 share.
In the Evening hours of 7:00pm-Midnight, WVAZ-FM, which normally comes in at #1 month after month, saw its share drop by 1.2 share from September and by 2.2 share from last July. It's possible that the forced exit of nighttime co-host Ramonski Luv earlier in the summer may be playing a role in these decreased ratings. WVAZ-FM is now #6 in the evenings with a 4.7 share. Moving up to claim #1 is WKSC-FM with a big 6.2 share. #2 is WBBM-AM with a 5.6 share. WGCI-FM has its best ratings of the day at nights, coming in at #3 with a 5.4 share. WUSN-FM is #4 with a 5.0 share and WBBM-FM is #5 and a 4.8 share.
For the weekends (Saturday and Sunday, 6:00am-Midnight), WVAZ-FM is #1 with a 6.8 share. WBBM-AM is in second place with a 6.0 share. WKSC-FM moves to #3 with a 5.6 share. Fourth place is a two-way tie between WUSN-FM and WBBM-FM, each with a 4.4 share.
For whatever reason, there is always incredible interest in how WGN-AM's ratings rise and fall and how each daypart does individually. Here is a quick look at the all ages ratings for each daypart during the October period for WGN-AM: Mornings - #5, 4.4 share; Middays - #9, 3.8 share; Afternoons - #18, 2.3 share; Evenings - #18, 2.2 share; and Weekends - #15, 2.9 share.
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Looking now at the highly-desired demographic (by many advertisers, and therefore by station owners) of Persons 25-54...
For this demo, one radio station stands head and shoulders above the rest: WTMX-FM/101.9 The Mix. In almost every single daypart, the station is #1. The dayparts it is not #1 in, it is right behind the top spot.
In the overall numbers (Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight), WTMX-FM is #1, of course, with a 5.9 share -- .4 share higher than the previous month. WVAZ-FM, which has often battled WTMX-FM for the #1 spot, slips down to #2 with a 5.3 share. However, coming up fast right behind is WOJO-FM at #3 with a 5.2 share. WOJO-FM improved by 1 full share over September's ratings.
Other big increases in the 25-54 demo include WUSN-FM, which went from a 3.7 share in September to a 4.4 share in October. WLEY-FM increased by .5 share to improve to a 2.5 share and #17. Thanks to football talk, WSCR-AM improved .4 share from the previous month and WMVP-AM improved .3 share.
When it comes to radio stations on the AM frequency, one one Chicago station has a decent showing: WBBM-AM, which is tied for seventh place with a 3.6 share. WSCR-AM is trending upward, now at #16 with a 2.7 share and should continue to increase throughout the winter. WMVP-AM is at #19 with a 2.2 share and should also increase as the winter rolls on. The once-strong WGN-AM is out of the Top 20, down to a tie at #23 with a 1.6 share. WLS-AM is at #29 with a 1.1 share. WGRB-AM is at a tie for #36 with a 0.5 share. WCPT-AM and WIND-AM are among the stations tied at #40 with a 0.3 share. Outside of news and sports talk, AM radio is not on most 25-54 year olds' radar.
Here is how the top of the Persons ages 25-54 rankings looked for the October 2014 ratings period...
Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight:
1. WTMX-FM
2. WVAZ-FM
3. WOJO-FM
4. WKSC-FM
5. WUSN-FM
6. WBBM-FM
7t. WDRV-FM
7t. WBBM-AM
7t. WILV-FM
7t. WKQX-FM
11. WLIT-FM
12. WLS-FM
13. WGCI-FM
14t. WXRT-FM
14t. WLUP-FM
16. WSCR-AM
17. WLEY-FM
18. WPWX-FM
19. WMVP-AM
20. WJMK-FM
For Women 25-54 in the overall numbers (Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight), WTMX-FM/101.9 The Mix is #1 with an impressive 9.2 share. WVAZ-FM is the closest competitor, coming in at #2 with a 6.8 share. WKSC-FM is #3 with a 6.5 share. WBBM-FM is #4 with a 5.4 share, followed by WUSN-FM with a 5.2 share.
For Men 25-54 in the overall numbers (Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight), the new #1 is WOJO-FM with a 5.7 share. The former #1, WDRV-FM is now #2 with a 4.8 share. WSCR-AM has jumped up to #3 with a 4.4 share. WBBM-AM and WVAZ-FM are tied at #4, each with a 4.1 share.
For the Morning Drive time of 6:00am-10:00am for Persons 25-54, the winner, as always, is WTMX-FM. "The Eric & Kathy Morning Show" remains a dream show for Hubbard Radio, this time pulling in its largest ratings in six months, a 7.9 share. WOJO-FM jumps up to #2 with a 5.8 share. WBBM-AM comes in third place with 4.9 share. WVAZ-FM is #4 with a 4.7 share and WKSC-FM is #5 with a 4.4 rating. The rest of the Top 10 in mornings are (in order): WILV-FM, WBBM-FM, WSCR-AM, WUSN-FM, and WKQX-FM. For Women 25-54, the #1 morning show belongs to WTMX-FM. The Mix's mornings have an incredible 12.9 share from women. However, for Men 25-54, the #1 station in mornings is WOJO-FM with a 7.1 share.
For the Middays' hours of 10:00am-3:00pm, WOJO-FM takes over at #1 with a huge 7.3 share. WTMX-FM is in second place with a 5.3 share. WVAZ-FM is now #3 with a 5.3 share. WLS-FM is #4 with a 4.6 share. WDRV-FM remains at #5 with a 4.2 share. For Women 25-54, the #1 radio station in middays is WTMX-FM (no surprise there) with a 8.8 share. For Men 25-54, the #1 station is WOJO-FM with a 7.7 share.
For the Afternoon Drive hours of 3:00pm-7:00pm, WTMX-FM is #1 with a 5.7 share, followed closely by WKSC-FM at #2 with a 5.6 share. Tied at #3, each with a 5.0 share are WOJO-FM and WUSN-FM. WBBM-FM is #5 with a 4.8 share. For Women 25-54, the #1 radio station in afternoons is again WTMX-FM with a 9.2 share. For Men 25-54, the #1 station is WSCR-AM with a 5.9 share.
For Evenings (7:00pm-Midnight), WKSC-FM moves up to #1 with a 6.7 share. WGCI-FM is #2 with a 5.6 share, WTMX-FM is #3 with a 5.2 share, and WBBM-FM is #4 with a 5.1 share. WVAZ-FM, which was #1 last month and for almost very month for years, falls down to #5 with a 5.0 share. For Women 25-54, the #1 station is WKSC-FM with an 8.6 share. For Men 25-54, the #1 station for this time period is WKQX-FM with an 5.2 share.
For Weekends (Saturday and Sunday, 6:00am-Midnight) in this important demographic, WVAZ-FM remains #1, even though it lost share. The station currently has a 6.7 share for weekends, but that number is 1.5 share less than where it was just four months ago. WKSC-FM is #2 with a 6.2 share. WTMX-FM is #3 with a 5.2 share. #4 is a tie between WUSN-FM and WBBM-FM with a 4.9 share each. For Women 25-54, the #1 station on weekends is WVAZ-FM with an 8.5. For Men 25-54, the most listened to station is WKSC-FM with a 5.5 share.
For Men 25-54, the hotly contested contest with the most interest is the battle between WSCR-AM/670 The Score and WMVP-AM/ESPN Chicago 1000. WSCR-AM is winning that ratings battle once again, but not in all dayparts. Overall, WSCR-AM is #3 for Men 25-54, while WMVP-AM is #10. Mornings belong to WSCR-AM, with The Score being #2 with a 5.6 share and WMVP-AM at #4 with a 4.6 share. When comparing morning show vs morning show, whose times do not fit perfectly inside of Nielsen's morning drive daypart, WSCR-AM's Mully & Hanley beat WMVP-AM's Mike & Mike by a 5.6 share to a 4.9 share. For middays, WSCR-AM is #5 with a 4.2 share, while WMVP-AM is #6 with a 4.1 share. However, once again, the station's two midday shows do not quite fit perfectly within Nielsen's midday daypart. When comparing show to show, WMVP-AM's Carmen & Jurko are #4 with a 4.0 share, while WSCR-AM's Spiegel & Mannelly are #7 with a 3.8 share. This ratings period was Patrick Mannelly's first full one as the station's new midday host, replacing the highly-rated Dan McNeil. In afternoons, WSCR-FM is #1 with a 5.9 share and WMVP-AM is #10 with a 3.7 share. Comparing show to show, WSCR-AM's Boers & Bernstein are #2 with a 5.8 and WMVP-AM's Waddle & Silvy are #4 with a 4.0 share. In evenings, ratings drop greatly for both stations. WMVP-AM takes the lead as #16 and 2.6 share, with WSCR-AM coming in at #17 with a 2.6 share.
For the third sports station in town, WGWG-LP/The Game 87.7, the only daypart to achieve any ratings higher than a 1.0 was its non-sports morning show, which jumped up to 1.6 share for Men 25-54 (tied at #25). None of the sports programming on the station for the rest of its day or night could gain a share higher than half its morning show, which explains why its ratings are as low as they are -- even in its target demographic.
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Taking a quick look at the older demographic of Persons 35-64 now...
This demo belongs entirely to WVAZ-FM, with the exception of mornings where it comes in third.
In the overall numbers (Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight), WVAZ-FM is still #1 with a 6.5 share, but is trending downward. WBBM-AM is #2 with a 5.2 share and WTMX-FM is #3 with a 5.1 share. WDRV-FM is #4 with a 4.4 share. WLS-FM and WUSN-FM are tied at #5, each with a 4.3 share. WKSC-FM and WXRT-FM are tied at #7 with a 3.9 share each. WOJO-FM is #9 with a 3.9 share and WLIT-FM is #10 with a 3.6 share.
WBBM-AM easily has the #1 morning show in this demo, with a 7.1 share -- the only part of the day not dominated by WVAZ-FM. WVAZ-FM is the #1 station in middays with a 6.4 share. Afternoons belong to WVAZ-FM, with a 6.6 share. WVAZ-FM remains #1 in evening, but with only a 6.0 share. That evening daypart rating is a full 2.2 share less than just one month ago 3.5 share less than just three months ago. Weekends also belong to WVAZ-FM, which has a huge 7.7 share -- a 2.35 share lead over the nearest station in the weekend ratings.
Now for Women 35-64, the #1 station is WTMX-FM with an 8.6 share. WVAZ-FM slips down to #2 with a 7.6 share. For Men 35-64, the #1 station is WBBM-AM with a 5.7 share. The #2 station is a tie between WVAZ-FM and WDRV-FM, each with a 5.6 share. WVAZ-FM was the #1 station for Men 35-64 for the past few months.
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Taking an even quicker demographic look, this one leaning younger: Persons 18-34...
In the overall numbers (Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight), WKQX-FM is #1 for the third month in a row and the fifth time in the last seven months. (WBBM-FM was #1 for two of those months.) Following WKQX-FM is WKSC-FM, WBBM-FM, WOJO-FM, WGCI-FM, and WUSN-FM.
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The next ratings released will be for the "November" period, which covers October 9th through November 5th (containing only five days of the actual month of November). The all ages ratings data for the Chicago market for that "November" period will be released on November 24th.
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