by Steve Allan
All Access
April 23, 2022
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in lock step with the algorithm aces from XTRENDS – have been given our marching orders, which is better than being given our marching papers. We are here to focus on another round of radio ratings as they relate to the MARCH survey. While we would love to march to the beat of a different drummer, we also know that time marches on, and this bit has marched to its logical conclusion. The survey ran from MARCH 3rd through MARCH 30th.
SEATTLE-TACOMA: The Talk Of The Town
For the third straight survey, BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO was the leading 6+ station and by a noticeable margin (7.4-7.4). HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM 106.9) heated up with its best Frosty-free share in over a year (5.5-6.3) as it stepped up to #2. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW posted its largest share since MAY (5.3-5.9) as it advanced two spaces to #3. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZOK dipped to #4 (5.5-5.5), while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR (95.7 THE JET) glided up to #5 with its third up book in a row (5.0-5.4). LOTUS News KNWN (NORTHWEST NEWSRADIO) had its smallest share since NOVEMBER (5.7-5.0) as it dropped four places to #6. KRWM remained the cume leader with a 5.5% increase (586,700-618,700). The market was up by 1.8%.
Last month a couple of spoken word stations – KIRO and KUOW – were tied at #2 25-54. That agreement proved to be unsustainable. KIRO stepped up to #1 with its best book in over a year, while KUOW remained alone at #2 despite a small share increase. HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOViN’ 92.5) had its best showing since OCTOBER as it moved from #5 to #3. AUDACY Active Rock KISW (THE ROCK) ended a two-book run at #1 and slid to #4. This was the station’s lowest rank – and smallest share – in over a year. KJR inched up to #5 with its highest score in over a year. KRWM dropped from a tie at #2 into a tie at #6 with AUDACY Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT 103.7), which moved up from #12 with its best outing in over a year.
Speaking of which, KHTP was on fire 18-34. The station leapt from a tie at #7 to #1 with, naturally, its highest mark in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KBKS (HITS 106.1) was up two places to #2 with its strongest showing since JULY. KQMV dipped to #3 with a small decrease and was paired with KZOK, which posted a small increase. KJR’s flight path was impressive as it soared from a tie at #12 to #5 with its best book in over a year. KRWM slipped from a tie at #4 into a tie at #6 with iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KJAQ (96.5 JACK FM), which arrived from a tie at #10. KISW fell from #1 to #8. AUDACY Alternative KNDD (107.7 THE END) gave back most of last month’s strong share increase and dropped from a tie at #4 to #9. It was tied in that space with KUOW, which advanced from a tie at #15 with its highest total since MAY.
The 18-49 rankings were in complete turmoil. KQMV took control of the demo thanks to its highest share in over a year. A flat KIRO repeated at #2, while KUOW moved up to #3 as it regained most of last month’s big share loss. KJR was up two places to #4 with its fourth straight up book, while KHTP leapt from a tie at #10 to #5. KISW fell from #1 to #6, while KRWM dropped from #5 to #9.
