July 2021 (6/24 – 7/21) Nielsen Audio PPM Ratings Day 1: WBLS Bests New York With 40 Year High

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 reclaims sole possession of the lead of the New York market with a 6.5 to 6.9 gain which Ratings Expert Chris Huff notes is the station’s largest share since 1981 and the first time the station has had sole possession of the New York market lead since Fall 1982.

iHeartMedia AC “106.7 Lite-FM” WLTW holds at a 6.6 to fall to second. SBS’s duo of Spanish Tropical “Mega 97.9” WSKQ (down 5.7 to 5.4) and Spanish AC “93.1 Amor” WPAT-FM (up 3.8 to 4.9 for what Huff notes is the station’s highest share since it was Soft AC in 1990) follow. Audacy Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM drops 5.5 to 4.7.

Audacy AC 102.7 WNEW rises 3.6 to 4.4 for what Huff notes is the station’s highest share since it was Rock in 1988, but co-owned Alternative “Alt 92.3” WNYL drops 1.8 to 1.6 to fall to its lowest share since April 2009 (the month it flipped from Rock “92.3 K-Rock” to CHR “92.3 Now“).

Audacy Classic Hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH rises 5.5 to 5.9 to extend its lead in Los Angeles. A pair of stations tie for second as Univision Spanish AC “107.5 K-Love” KLVE rises 4.2 to 4.8 (a PPM record for the station) and iHeartMedia AC 103.5 KOST slips 4.9 to 4.8. Audacy Rhythmic AC “94.7 The Wave” KTWV rises 3.9 to 4.3, while SBS Regional Mexican “97.9 La Raza” KLAX is up 3.6 to 4.1.

The Alternative battle in Los Angeles narrows as iHeart’s “Alt 98.7” KYSR drops 3.2 to 2.5, while Audacy’s 106.7 KROQ dips 2.3 to 2.2.

Audacy News 780 WBBM/105.9 WCFS takes the Chicago market lead with a 6.0 to 6.7 gain. iHeartMedia Adult R&B “V103” WVAZ falls 6.5 to 5.8. iHeartMedia AC “93.9 Lite-FM” WLIT (5.6 to 5.2) and Hubbard Classic Rock “97.1 The Drive” (steady at 5.2) tie for third. Univision Regional Mexican “Que Buena 105.1” WOJO rises 4.1 to 4.4.

Cumulus Classic Hits 94.7 WLS-FM trends up 3.1 – 3.5 – 4.1, while iHeartMedia’s “Rock 95.5” WCHI-FM starts to show signs of life as it trends up 1.5 – 1.9 – 2.4.

Public News/Talk 88.5 KQED-FM holds onto the San Francisco market lead despite sliding down 8.7 to 7.9. Audacy News 740 KCBS/106.9 KFRC rises 5.9 to 6.0. Cumulus Sports 680 KNBR/104.5 KNBR-FM falls down 6.3 to 5.1. iHeartMedia Soft AC “98.1 The Breeze” KISQ places fourth up 4.6 to 4.7. Bonneville AC 96.5 KOIT remains in fifth down 4.0 to 3.9.

Classical 90.3 KDFC/104.9 KXSC rises 2.6 – 2.7 – 3.0. iHeartMedia’s recently tweaked Classic Hits “80s Plus 103.7” KOSF jumps 2.1 to 3.0. Cumulus Classic Rock “107.7 The Bone” KSAN trends up 2.0 – 2.2 – 2.8. Alpha Media rimshot AC 101.7 KKIQ jumps 0.9 – 1.2 – 1.9.

Bonneville Adult R&B 102.9 KBLX falls 4.5 to 2.4.

Audacy Classic Hits 98.7 KLUV retains its Dallas market lead down 5.2 to 5.1, while sister Variety Hits “100.3 Jack-FM” KJKK moves up to second with a 4.4 to 4.7 gain. iHeartMedia Classic Rock “Lonestar 92.5” KZPS falls to third 4.7 to 4.6. iHeart AC “Star 102.1” KDGE follows 4.6 to 4.3, and CHR “106.1 Kiss-FM” KHKS rises 3.9 to 4.3.

Since leading the market in January with a 6.1 share, Salem Christian AC 94.9 KLTY has been in a free-fall moving (5.0 – 4.1 – 4.0 – 3.1 – 2.8) over the past five months.

iHeartMedia AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA remains on top of Houston down 7.5 to 7.3. Univision Regional Mexican “Que Buena 102.9” KLTN rises to second despite holding steady at a 5.9 share. Hope Media Christian AC 89.3 KSBJ trends down 6.6 – 6.3 – 5.8 for third. Cox Classic Rock “107.5/106.9 The Eagle” KGLK/KHPT (6.5 to 5.6) and Audacy Variety Hits “95.7 The Spot” KKHH (steady at 5.6) tie for fourth.

The usual suspects remain on top in Atlanta. Cox News/Talk 750 WSB/95.5 WSBB rises 8.1 to 8.3. Cox Classic Rock “97.1 The River” WSRV rebounds 6.7 to 6.9 and sister Adult R&B “Kiss 104.1” WALR trends up 6.0 – 6.4 – 6.6. Audacy Hip Hop/R&B “V103” WVEE slips 5.7 to 5.1. Cox AC “B98.5” WSB-FM rises up 4.5 – 4.8 – 5.0.

Cumulus CHR “Q99.7” WWWQ continues its summertime surge up 3.6 – 4.3 – 4.6 – 4.9. iHeartMedia’s crosstown CHR “Power 96.1” WWPW is off slightly 4.1 to 4.0. Salem Christian AC “104.7 The Fish” WFSH jumps up 3.9 to 4.7.

Both Country stations in Atlanta are on the upswing. iHeartMedia’s “94.9 The Bull” WUBL rises 3.0 to 3.5, while Cumulus’ “New Country 101.5” WKHX trends up 2.1 – 2.3 – 2.9.

iHeartMedia Adult R&B 105.3 WDAS-FM expands its Philadelphia lead to nearly two share points with a 7.8 to 8.6 gain. Beasley Rock 93.3 WMMR holds in second with a 6.6 to 6.7 rise. Audacy Sports 94.1 WIP rebounds 5.2 to 5.8, while co-owned AC “B101” WBEB trends up 4.4 – 4.8 – 5.6. Beasley Classic Rock 102.9 WMGK slips 6.3 to 5.6 to tie for fourth.

Audacy News 1060 KYW/103.9 WPHI rises 5.1 to 5.5. Beasley Variety Hits “95.7 Ben-FM” WBEN-FM rebounds 3.5 to 4.3. iHeartMedia Alternative “Alt 104.5” WRFF trends up 2.1 – 2.2 – 2.7. Beasley Country 92.5 WXTU slips 5.4 to 4.7, while iHeartMedia CHR “Q102” WIOQ goes on a see-saw 3.7 – 4.6 – 2.8.

iHeartMedia Classic Rock “Q104.3” WAXQ leads Long Island down 5.9 to 5.4. Connoisseur Media Soft AC “98.3 K-Joy” WKJY trends up 3.9 – 4.8 – 5.0. Audacy’s New York duo of Sports 660 WFAN/101.9 WFAN-FM (steady at 4.8) and Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM (5.1 to 4.7) follow. Cox Classic Rock 102.3 WBAB/95.3 WHFM trends down 6.2 – 5.9 – 4.5.

Connoisseur Oldies 1100 WHLI pulls off having a higher share for its stream than its over-the-air signal. WHLI’s stream rises 0.2 to 1.3, while its AM daytime only signal drops 1.2 to 1.0.