‘the ratings expert’
December 29, 2023
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a tight formation with the reindeer-driving wizards from XTRENDS – are taking a break from printing out our AMAZON return receipts to bring you our third installment of the DECEMBER survey. This one began on NOVEMBER 9TH and polished itself off on DECEMBER 6TH. It had a federally mandated three-day weekend, the annual feast of the fatted fowl and, of course, the reappearance of such renowned audio artists as THURL RAVENSCROFT and the duo ELMO AND PATSY. That these three are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a true miscarriage of justice. We will attempt to stifle our outrage as we bury you in the numbers…
SEATTLE-TACOMA: The Christmas Wars
This market is an outlier as five – count ‘em – five stations jumped into the icy waters of the NORTH POLE. Only three of them made our nice list, but none were strong enough to topple the apex predator. AUDACY Country KKWF (100.7 THE WOLF) was #1 6+ for the second book in a row – and sixth time in the last seven surveys (8.3-6.7). UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW was back at #2 (6.8-6.2). HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM 106.9) went all holly and jolly on the fifth day of the book. It leapt from #9 to #3 (4.2-6.0). Last year the station posted a 10.0 share. Also coming in at #3 was iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZOK (5.7-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJEB (95.7 THE JET) descended to #5 (5.0-5.3). AUDACY Soft Rock KSWD (94.1 THE SOUND) joined the Frosty fray on day four and advanced from #10 to #6 (3.8-4.9). It posted a 4.5 share a year ago. AUDACY Album Oriented Rock KISW slipped three places to #7 (5.0-4.8). CRISTA Christian AC KCMS (SPIRIT 105.3) got into the, uh, spirit towards the end of week number two of the book. It remained at #21 (1.6-2.0). The station had a 4.0 share last year. KRWM went from #3 to #1 in cume, thanks to a 24.7% increase (509,600-635,700). The market was off by 0.2%.
KKWF won the 25-54 demo for the fifth straight survey, though with its smallest share of the run. KISW repeated at #2 and just nipped KRWM, which moved from #5 to #3. KZOK was up two slots to #4 with its best performance in over a year. Two format competitors dropped into a tie at #5. HUBBARD CHR KQMV (MOViN’ 92.5) returned all of last month’s solid share increase, while iHEARTMEDIA CHRKBKS (HITS 106.1) had its first down book since JUNE. KSWD had a – ahem – sound showing as it leapt from #15 to #7. KCMS remained at #19.
KZOK had its best 18-34 book since FEBRUARY as it rose from #3 to #1. KRWM moved up four slots to #2 but remained about a share off the pace. KKWF not only saw its two-book winning streak come to a halt, it also fell out of double-digit land with its smallest share since JULY. It was resting at #3 along with KQMV, which ended a strong two-book surge. KISW and KBKS had been tied at #4. KISW was up but dipped to #5, while KBKS was down and dropped to #7. KSWD slid from #12 to #15.
KRWM was a leapin’ lord as it rose from #8 to #1 with the 18-49 crowd. This ended the four-book winning streak for KKWF, which dipped to #2. Also coming in at #2 was KZOK, which advanced from #5. KBKS slipped to #4 and was tied with KISW. Both stations had down books. KQMV fell four places to #6 with its lowest mark since AUGUST. KSWD moved from #13 to #9.
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