December 2021 PPM Data – Information for the December 2021 ratings period has been released for Portland; Charlotte; San Antonio; Sacramento; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; Las Vegas; Orlando; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Kansas City; and Columbus.
Nielsen Audio’s December 2021 sweep covered November 11 – December 8.
Managing editor Mike Kinosian provides “Takeaways” for spoken-word stations finishing in their respective markets’ top twenty.
Cited as well are each particular city’s #1 station (6+) and loftiest (6+) upticks and drop-offs.
All comparisons noted are November 2021 – December 2021 (6+).
PORTLAND
News/Talk: Alpha Media’s KXL “FM 101 News” flat at 7.1, second to fourth
iHeartMedia-owned KEX “News Radio 1190” 3.1 – 2.5, -.6, unchanged at #16
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: None in the top twenty
Public Radio News/Talk: Oregon Public Broadcasting’s KOPB 6.9 – 7.2, +.3, fourth to third and KOPB’s internet stream steady at 2.2, #19 to #17
Number One 6+: iHeartMedia adult contemporary KKCW, first month, 7.1 – 12.4, +5.3
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary KKCW (+5.3)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: hot AC KRSK (-.8)
CHARLOTTE
News/Talk: Radio One-owned WBT AM & WBT-FM “Charlotte’s News Talk” (Carolina Panthers) 4.5 – 3.8, -.7, #8 to #11
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: Audacy’s WFNZ “Sports Radio The Fan” (Hornets) 1.0 – 1.1, +.1, remains at #18
Public Radio News/Talk: University Radio Foundation-owned WFAE 4.1 – 4.3, +.2, tenth to ninth
South Carolina Educational Television Commission’s WNSC steady at .5, locked at #20
Number One 6+: Beasley Media Group adult contemporary WKQC, first month, 5.0 – 8.8, +3.8
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary WKQC (+3.8)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: classical WDAV (-.8)
SAN ANTONIO
News/Talk: iHeartMedia’s WOAI “News Radio 1200” (Spurs) 4.3 – 4.2, -.1, tenth to eighth
Alpha Media-owned KTSA “Stay Connected” 2.1 – 2.2, +.1, #16 to #14
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: None in the top twenty
Public Radio News/Talk: Texas Public Radio’s KSTX 3.3 – 3.1, -.2, #13 to #12
Number One 6+: iHeartMedia adult contemporary KQXT, first month, 5.9 – 10.8, +4.9
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary KQXT (+4.9)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: classic hits-oldies KONO-FM (-1.8)
SACRAMENTO
News/Talk: iHeartMedia-owned KFBK-AM & KFBK-FM “News 1530 AM & 93.1 FM” 9.1 – 7.3, -1.8, first to third and cluster-mate KSTE “Talk 650” 2.7 – 2.9, +.2, #14 to #12
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: Audacy’s KIFM-AM “ESPN 1320” 1.0 – .9, -.1, #18 to #19
Public Radio News/Talk: Capital Public Radio’s KXJZ 4.9 – 4.5, -.4, seventh to eighth
Number One 6+: Audacy classic rock KSEG, first month, 8.3 – 10.2, +1.9
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary KYMX (+3.1)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: adult contemporary KBEB (-2.2)*
*Represents the largest November 2021 – December 2021 decrease (6+) of any station from these 12 PPM-markets
PITTSBURGH
News/Talk: Audacy’s KDKA-AM “News Radio 1020 AM” 4.1 – 3.7, -.4, remains in ninth-place
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: Audacy-owned KDKA-FM “93.7 The Fan All Sports All The Time” 8.7 – 7.8, -.9, stays at #4
Public Radio News/Talk: Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting’s WESA 3.3 – 2.7, -.6, #11 to #13
Number One 6+: iHeartMedia classic hits-oldies WWSW, first month, 8.9 – 11.1, +2.2
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary WSHH (+2.5)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: sports talk KDKA-FM (-.9)
SALT LAKE CITY
News/Talk: iHeartMedia’s KNRS-AM & KNRS-FM “Talk Radio” 7.2 – 7.1, -.1, anchored in second-place
Bonneville-owned KSL “News Radio 102.7 FM & 1160 AM” 7.5 – 6.0, -1.5, first to fifth
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: None in the top twenty
Public Radio News/Talk: University of Utah’s KUER steady at 4.1, repeats at #8
Number One 6+: Bonneville adult contemporary KSFI, first month, 5.5 – 10.9, +5.4
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary KSFI (+5.4)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: news/talk KSL (-1.5)
LAS VEGAS
News/Talk: Audacy’s KXNT “News Talk 840” 1.9 – 1.8, -.1, #21 to #16
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: None in the top twenty
Public Radio News/Talk: None in the top twenty
Number One 6+: iHeartMedia adult contemporary KSNE, first month, 6.0 – 13.1, +7.1
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary KSNE (+7.1)**
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: contemporary Christian KSOS (-2.1)
**Represents the largest November 2021 – December 2021 increase (6+) of any station from these 12 PPM-markets
ORLANDO
News/Talk: iHeartMedia’s WTKS “Real Radio 104.1” 5.6 – 5.3, -.3, seventh to eighth
Cox Media Group-owned WDBO “Orlando’s News Talk” 2.1 – 1.9, -.2, flat at #16
iHeartMedia’s WFLF “Orlando News Radio” 1.8 – 1.3, -.5, #18 to #19
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: iHeartMedia-owned WYGM “96.9 The Game” (Magic) 2.3 – 2.2, -.1, #15 to #14
Public Radio News/Talk: Community Connections’ WMFE 2.5 – 1.7, -.8, #13 to #17
Number One 6+: iHeartMedia adult contemporary WMGF, first month, 6.1 – 12.0, +5.9
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary WMGF (+5.9)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: rock WJRR (-1.5)
CINCINNATI
News/Talk: iHeartMedia-owned WLW “700 Cincinnati’s News Radio” 11.8 – 10.2, -1.6, flat at #2 and cluster-mate WKRC “55 KRC The Talk Station” 5.8 – 5.2, -.6, fourth to sixth
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: iHeartMedia’s WCKY “ESPN 1530” (Bengals) locked at 1.4, repeats at #17
Public Radio News/Talk: Cincinnati Public Radio-owned WVXU steady at 3.9, tenth to eighth
Number One 6+: Cumulus Media classic hits-oldies WGRR second month in a row, 12.3 – 11.0, -1.3
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary WRRM (+1.8)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: news/talk WLW (-1.6)
CLEVELAND
News/Talk: iHeartMedia’s WTAM “News Radio 1100” (Cavaliers) 4.7 – 4.0, -.7, stays in ninth-place
News: iHeartMedia-owned WMMS-HD2 “BIN 99.1 Because Truth Matters” unchanged at .2, #18 to #20
Sports Talk: Audacy’s WKRK “Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan” (Browns) 5.5 – 4.6, -.9, seventh to eighth and WKRK’s internet steam debuts with a 1.5, #14
Public Radio News/Talk: Ideastream-owned WCPN steady at 2.6, #13 to #12
Kent State University’s WKSU 1.3 – 1.1, -.2, #15 to #17
Number One 6+: Audacy adult contemporary WDOK first month, 9.8 – 10.4, +.6
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: iHeartMedia classic hits-oldies WMJI (+1.4)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: sports talk WKRK (-.9)
KANSAS CITY
News/Talk: Audacy’s KMBZ-FM “98.1 FM News, Traffic, Weather” 5.0 – 4.6, -.4, seventh to sixth
News: None in the top twenty
Sports Talk: Audacy’s KCSP “Sports Radio 610 Our Teams, Our Town” 2.1 – 2.3, +.2, remains at #16
Public Radio News/Talk: University of Missouri-owned KCUR 6.6 – 6.1, -.5, continues in third-place
Number One 6+: Cumulus Media classic rock KCFX, third consecutive month, 8.9 – 9.7, +.8
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult contemporary KCKC (+3.4)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: country WDAF (-1.6)
COLUMBUS
News/Talk: iHeartMedia-owned WTVN “News Radio 610” 6.7 – 6.5, -.2, remains in fourth-place
News: iHeartMedia’s WYTS “Columbus’ BIN 1230” .2 – .1, -.1, locked at #19
Sports Talk: Tegna-owned WBNS-FM “97.1 FM The Fan” (Blue Jackets) 9.6 – 10.3, +.7, #1 and cluster-mate WBNS-AM “ESPN 1460 AM” .6 – .5, -.1, #16 to #18
Public Radio News/Talk: Ohio State University’s WOSU 6.2 – 6.5, +.3, sixth to fourth
Number One 6+: sports talk WBNS-FM, fourth successive month, 9.6 – 10.3, +.7
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Increase: adult hits WODC (+2.1)
Largest 6+ November 2021 – December 2021 Decrease: classic rock WLVQ (-1.2)
Up next: December 2021 overviews for Austin; Raleigh; Indianapolis; Milwaukee; Nashville; Providence; Norfolk; Jacksonville; West Palm Beach; Greensboro; Memphis; and Hartford.
Email Mike Kinosian at Mike.Kinosian@gmail.com.