by Steve Allan
Research Director Inc.
September 9, 2022
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. — in a mutually agreeable arrangement with the math mavens from XTRENDS — continue to slave over a hot keyboard to bring you the latest thrilling installment from the front lines of the ratings skirmishes. We go boldly forward into the past to parse the events and circumstances of the AUGUST survey. This was a time period that began on 7/21 and ended on 8/17. It was an era of heat, humidity, and vacations but devoid of any long holiday weekends. How that affected the usage of the meters is what we are here to determine.
SEATTLE-TACOMA: The Major Was A Lady Suffragette!
Oh, have we been holding on to that headline for a long, long time. Lyric fun aside, the 6+ leaderboard experienced quite a bit of tumult this month. The top two stations each posted their best numbers in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJEB (95.7 THE JET) soared from #4 to #1 (5.7-6.6), while AUDACY AC KSWD (94.1 THE SOUND) eased its way up from #6 to #2 (4.8-6.3). BONNEVILLE Sports KIRO-A (710 AM ESPN) also had its best outing in over a year but slipped to #3 (5.8-6.2). BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F dropped from first to fourth with its lowest total in over a year (6.7-6.1). AUDACY Active Rock KISW was up four places to #5 with its largest share since FEBRUARY (4.3-5.0). UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON News-Talk KUOW dipped to #6 with its lowest score since Alvin was a little flat (5.4-4.9). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZOK fell from a tie at #2 to #7 with its least productive outing in over a year (5.8-4.6). KJEB continued to control the cume board with a 4.3% increase (589,300-614,600). The market was off by 1.2%.
Not surprisingly, KJEB had its best 25-54 book in over a year as it rose to #1. KISW had its largest share in exactly a year but was forced to step down to #2. The stations were separated by the slimmest of possible margins. HUBBARD Top 40 KQMV (MOViN’ 92.5) moved up to #3 with a slight increase, while FRIENDS OF KEXP Alternative KEXP dipped to #4 with a slight share loss. KIRO-A leapt from a tie at #10 to #5. Just three books ago, it was at #14 and has more than doubled its share since then. KUOW dipped to #6 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase. AUDACY Alternative KNDD (107.7 THE END) rebounded from a down book as it rose from a tie at #13 into a tie at #7 with KIRO-F.
KQMV matched its 14-book share high as it rose to #1 18-34. Meanwhile, AUDACY Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT 103.7) slipped to #2 as it returned all of last month’s huge share increase — plus a little extra. KISW hit its lowest mark since APRIL as it dipped to #3. KNDD regained all of last month’s large share loss to move from a tie at #9 to #4. KEXP remained in a tie a #5 but with a new partner. KZOK dropped down a spot as it ended a two-book surge. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40 KBKS (HITS 106.1) dropped from a tie at #5 into a tie at #7 with KUOW.
Last month, KISW and KQMV were tied at #1 18-49. KISW had its best book since SEPTEMBER to claim sole possession of first place, while KQMV slid to #3 with only a slight increase. In between was KJEB, which rose from a tie at #3 as it ended a two-book slide. KHTP dropped from a tie at #3 into a tie at #4 with KEXP. KIRO-F slipped from a tie at #5 into a tie at #6 with KUOW.
For Other US Markets, Click HERE
