February 2022 (2/3 – 3/2) Nielsen Audio Ratings Day 1: New Records Set Atop Dallas & Atlanta

Nielsen begins its monthly release of PPM ratings with today’s Day 1 update including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston/Galveston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Long Island, Riverside/San Bernardino, San Jose, and Middlesex/Somerset/Union.

All the numbers can be found at RadioInsight.com/Ratings.


Mediaco Adult R&B 107.5 WBLS continues to lead New York as it slips 6.6 to 5.9. iHeartMedia AC “106.7 Lite-FM” WLTW drops 6.0 to 5.5 to hold onto second place. Audacy Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM nudges up 5.3 to 5.4. SBS Spanish Tropical “Mega 97.9” WSKQ holds steady at 4.6. iHeartMedia CHR “Z100” WHTZ dips 4.7 to 4.5.

iHeartMedia AC 103.5 KOST leads Los Angeles slipping 6.3 to 5.8. Audacy Classic Hits “K-Earth 101.1” KRTH is second 5.6 to 5.3. iHeart Hot AC “104.3 My-FM” KBIG rises 4.6 to 4.8. Audacy Rhythmic AC “94.7 The Wave” KTWV trends up 3.9 – 4.2 – 4.7. Univision Spanish AC “107.5 K-Love” KLVE is fifth 4.4 to 4.6.

iHeartMedia News/Talk 640 KFI trends up 3.0 – 3.7 – 4.0, which CHR 102.7 KIIS-FM rises 3.6 – 3.8 – 4.2. Univision Spanish Adult Hits “Recuerdo 98.3/103.9” KRCD/KRCV is up 2.9 – 3.3 – 3.5, while Audacy Variety Hits “93.1 Jack-FM” KCBS-FM rises 2.5 – 3.0 – 3.4 and News 1070 KNX/97.1 KNX-FM moves 2.8 – 3.1 – 3.3. Audacy Alternative 106.7 KROQ trends down 1.5 – 1.4 – 1.3.

The Rams Super Bowl win did nothing to boost flagship “710 ESPN” KSPN, which held steady at a 0.7 (games also air on KCBS-FM), while iHeartMedia’s competing “AM 570 Sports” KLAC dipped 1.6 to 1.4.

Public News/Talk 91.5 WBEZ trends up 4.8 – 5.4 – 5.7 to tie for first in Chicago with iHeartMedia Adult R&B “V103” WVAZ (steady at 5.7). Ratings Expert Chris Huff notes this is the first time ever WBEZ has held a share of the Chicago market lead. Audacy News 780 WBBM/105.9 WCFS dips 5.7 to 5.1 to fall to third. iHeartMedia AC “93.9 Lite-FM” WLIT is fourth 5.1 to 5.0. Hubbard Classic Rock “97.1 The Drive” WDRV (4.8 to 4.6) and Nexstar News/Talk 720 WGN (5.2 to 4.6) tie for fifth.

Audacy AAA 93.1 WXRT trends up 2.8 – 3.2 – 3.7. Weigel Soft Oldies “87.7 MeTV-FM” WRME-LD rises 2.5 – 2.6 – 3.3. Also rising is Cumulus Conservative Talk 890 WLS (0.9 – 1.0 – 1.4).

Public News/Talk 88.5 KQED-FM leads San Francisco 8.5 to 7.9. Audacy News 740 KCBS/106.9 KFRC rises 7.1 to 7.3. Bonneville AC 96.5 KOIT rises 5.9 to 6.6. iHeartMedia Hot AC “Star 101.3” KIOI holds steady at a 4.6 share, while sister Soft AC “98.1 The Breeze” KISQ rises 3.6 to 3.8.

After not being listed last month Classical 90.3 KDFC reappears rising 3.1 to 3.3. Empire Broadcast Country 95.3 KRTY San Jose trends up 1.1 – 1.4 – 1.8, while Cumulus Sports 680 KNBR/104.5 KNBR-FM plummets 4.6 to 2.2.

Univision Regional Mexican “Que Buena 94.1” KLNO surges up two shares 5.2 to 7.2. Huff notes this is the largest share ever for the station and its first #1 showing since November 2010. iHeartMedia Classic Rock “Lonestar 92.5” KZPS holds at a 5.3 share to fall to second, while sister CHR “106.1 Kiss-FM” KHKS dips 4.8 to 4.6. Service Broadcasting’s combo of Adult R&B “Smooth 105.7” KRNB (4.5 to 4.3) and Hip Hop “K104” KKDA-FM (4.3 to 4.2) take fourth and fifth place respectively.

Ahead of its shift to a gold based playlist, Cumulus Country “99.5 The Wolf” KPLX rises 3.3 to 3.7, while sister “New Country 96.3” KSCS dips 3.7 to 3.5.

Trending up in Dallas are Audacy News 1080 KRLD (1.6 – 2.1 – 2.5) and First Dallas Media Christian 90.9 KCBI (0.8 – 1.3 – 1.9). Moving downward are Salem Christian AC 94.9 KLTY (4.0 – 2.9 – 2.4) and Audacy Sports “105.3 The Fan” KRLD-FM (2.6 to 1.6)

iHeartMedia AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA jumps up 7.4 to 8.1 to retain its Houston market lead. Hope Media Group Christian AC 89.3 KSBJ (6.1 to 6.0) and Univision Regional Mexican “Que Buena 102.9” KLTN (steady at 6.0) tie for second. Radio One Adult R&B “Majic 102.1” KMJQ rises 4.6 to 5.1. Cumulus CHR 104.1 KRBE (down 5.9 to 5.0) and Audacy Adult Hits “95.7 The Spot” KKHH (5.1 to 5.0) tie for fifth.

Estrella Media Norteño “El Norte 107.9” KQQK trends up 2.6 – 3.0 – 3.6.

Cox Media Group takes the top four spots in Atlanta. Classic Rock “97.1 The River” WSRV surges up 7.1 to 8.8 for what Huff notes is its largest share ever. News/Talk 750 WSB/95.5 WSBB is second trending up 5.8 – 6.9 – 7.4. Adult R&B “Kiss 104.1” WALR drops to third down 7.1 to 6.5. AC “B98.5” WSB-FM rises 5.6 to 5.8. Cumulus CHR “Q99.7” WWWQ (6.1 to 5.4) and Radio One Adult R&B “Majic 107.5/97.5” WAMJ/WUMJ (5.5 to 5.4) tie for fifth.

The “goodbye” stunting and subsequent free gas giveaway helps Cumulus’ “New Country 101.5” WKHX jump up 2.8 to 3.8. iHeartMedia’s competing “94.9 The Bull” WUBL slips 2.5 to 2.1.

Following the move of its morning show to afternoons, Cumulus Classic Rock “Rock 100.5” WNNX jumps up 1.3 to 2.2. Trending downward are Radio One Gospel “Praise 102.5” WPZE (4.2 to 3.2) and Audacy Sports “92.9 The Game” WZGC (2.4 to 1.6).

iHeartMedia Adult R&B 105.3 WDAS-FM reclaims the Philadelphia market lead rising 7.3 to 8.0. Beasley’s duo of Rock 93.3 WMMR (7.6 to 7.4) and Classic Rock 102.9 WMGK (5.3 to 6.2) follow in second and third. Public News/Talk 90.9 WHYY-FM drops 7.4 to 6.1. Audacy AC “B101” WBEB rises 4.8 to 5.1.

At first glance the Sports battle in Philadelphia tightens up as close as it has ever been. Audacy’s 94.1 WIP dips 3.9 to 3.7, while Beasley’s “97.5 The Fanatic” WPEN-FM trends up 1.6 – 3.1 – 3.6 for what Huff notes is its highest share since October 2013. WIP’s stream adds an additional 2.0 share though to pull away.

In a rare occurrence, Audacy Conservative Talk 1210 WPHT generates more listening from its stream than AM signal. WPHT’s over the air signal dips 1.3 to 0.9, while its stream was down just 1.3 to 1.2.

In what will be its final monthly before its flip to Spanish RhythmicRumba 106.1” WUMR, iHeartMedia Soft AC “106.1 The Breeze” WISX falls 3.3 to 3.0.

Audacy Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM New York leads Nassau/Suffolk down 7.4 to 6.5. iHeartMedia Classic Rock “Q104.3” WAXQ trends up 4.1 – 5.3 – 6.1. Connoisseur Media Hot AC 97.5 WALK-FM dips 5.1 to 4.8, while Cox Classic Rock 102.3 WBAB rises 3.8 to 4.8 to tie for third. iHeartMedia CHR “Z100” WHTZ falls 5.9 to 4.5 for fifth.

Trending up on Long Island are Connoisseur Media’s trio of Classic Hits “103.1 Max-FM” WBZO (3.0 to 3.8), Oldies 1100/104.7 WHLI (2.0 – 2.7 – 3.4) and Rock “94.3 The Shark” WWSK (0.9 – 1.9 – 2.5). Cox CHR 106.1 WBLI is up 2.9 – 3.4 – 3.7.

Anaheim Broadcasting Classic Hits 99.9 KOLA-FM leads Riverside/San Bernardino up 6.6 – 8.4 – 9.5. Entravision Spanish Adult Hits “José 97.5” KLYY is second 5.2 to 5.4. Estrella Media Regional Mexican “Que Buena 96.1” KRQB dips 4.5 to 4.0. Audacy Country “95.1 K-Frog” KFRG rises 3.5 to 3.9. Univision Regional Mexican “La 101.9” KSCA dips 4.3 to 3.5.

Empire Broadcasting Country 95.3 KRTY surges to the top of San Jose 4.0 – 5.4 – 7.5. Bonneville AC 96.5 KOIT is second 5.9 to 5.6. Univision Spanish AC “Amor 100.3” KBRG dips 5.7 to 5.4. Bonneville Classic Rock “98.5 K-Fox” KUFX drops 6.0 to 5.4, while Audacy News 740 KCBS/106.9 KFRC dips 5.4 to 5.0.

Usual market leader 88.5 KQED-FM San Francisco is missing from this month’s public numbers.

Townsquare Media Talk/Classic Hits “New Jersey 101.5” WKXW (4.9 – 5.9 – 6.3) and SBS Spanish Tropical “Mega 97.9” WSKQ (6.0 to 6.3) tie atop Middlesex/Somerset/Union. iHeartMedia CHR “Z100” WHTZ falls to third 7.7 to 5.8. Audacy Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM rises 5.2 to 5.3. iHeartMedia Classic Rock “Q104.3” WAXQ dips 5.0 to 4.8.

Pillar of Fire Christian AC “Star 99.1” WAWZ-FM falls 5.9 to 4.1.

This story first appeared on radioinsight.com