by Joel Denver
May 17, 2022
APRIL is a time of hope and renewal. Baseball fans across the nation believe in the possibility of their teams’ success (sit down, ORIOLES fans). The EASTER BUNNY spreads her bounty for children of all ages to discover and devour. And radio stations soldier on with the hope that this latest survey will be the one that makes all the difference. It is a LUCY/CHARLIE BROWN/football situation that is repeated 13 times a year. Why does APRIL stand out? Frankly, it doesn’t. This is just another 28-day period (this time MARCH 31st to APRIL 27th) that determines our collective fates and fortunes. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the wizards from XTRENDS – are here to present the (mostly) silver linings from yet another ratings cloud.
SEATTLE-TACOMA: Warm & Toasty
Despite the relative darkness of the opening paragraph, the APRIL survey did make a huge difference for one station. We are accustomed to seeing HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM 106.9) atop the 6+ leaderboard when its airwaves are thick with the stench that is BURL IVES. However, this time the station landed its largest IVES-free share in over a year (6.3-7.8) to move up to #1. This ended the three-book winning streak for BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F, which slipped to #2 with its smallest share since JUNE (7.4-6.3). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJEB (95.7 THE JET) – the artist formerly known as KJR – was up for the fourth book in a row (5.4-5.7) as it moved up to #3. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW dipped to #4 (5.9-5.4), while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZOK stepped down to #5 (5.5-5.3). After posting its largest share in over a year, HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOViN’ 92.5) moved up to #6 (4.4-5.0). Despite a 1.5% decline, KJEB won the cume challenge for the first time since NOVEMBER (601,300-592,300). The market declined by 0.7%.
Both KRWM and KQMV had their best 25-54 books in over a year. KRWM leapt from a tie at #6 to #1, while KQMV stepped up to #2. AUDACY Active Rock KISW (THE ROCK) got back some of last month’s large share loss to move up to #3. KUOW had its smallest share since that IVES fellow was in town as it slid from #2 to #4. KJEB repeated at #5 with a small decrease in share, while KIRO ended a strong three-book surge as it dropped from #1 to #6.
As with the previous demo, KRWM jumped from a tie at #6 to #1 18-34 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. Last month’s ratings darling was AUDACY Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT 103.7). It had jumped from a tie at #7 to #1. This time it slipped to #2 as it returned some of last survey’s massive share increase. A flat KQMV stood alone at #3, while KUOW soared from a tie at #9 to #4 with its best performance in over a year. The station has more than doubled its share over the last two books. KZOK slipped from the tie at #3 to #5 with its lowest mark since DECEMBER, while KJEB fell three places and into a tie at #8 with AUDACY Alternative KNDD (107.7 THE END). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KBKS (HITS 106.1) dropped from #2 to #10 as it ended a three-book surge.
KRWM completed the demo sweep in style. It more than doubled its previous share, posted its largest number in over a year, and advanced from #9 to #1 18-49. KQMV also had its best book in over a year, though it stepped down to #2. This pair of cluster buddies led the rest of the market by better than two shares. KISW rebounded from a down book to move from #6 to #3, while KUOW slipped to #4 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase. KJEB stepped down to #5, thus ending a four-book surge, while KIRO dropped from #2 to #6. KHTP slid to #7 as it gave back some of last month’s rather large increase.
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