Chicago Radio Ratings

The latest monthly numbers are out, and Tom Taylor's NOW column gives us the highlights...

Last month’s actual tie at the top turns into a virtual tie, with urban AC “V103” (iHeart’s WVAZ) leading by a tenth of a share (5.7-5.8-6.0). Next is CBS Radio’s all-news/Cubs baseball WBBM-AM (5.7-5.8-5.9) and then Hubbard’s hot AC “Mix” 5.4-5.3-5.4. There’s a quite a gap between Mix WTMX and the fourth place stations, but look at the growth of alternative WKQX. Merlin-owned/Cumulus-managed alternative WKQX is up to that tie for fourth place, 3.2-3.5-3.7. That’s its best PPM number ever. It’s tied with Univision’s regional Mexican WOJO (3.2-3.7-3.7). Tribune talker WGN is #6, 3.6-3.3-3.6. While we’re on talk-based formats, most of the time WBBM simulcasts with WCFS/105.9, but the FM carries on with the news while 780 breaks for play-by-play. Once the baseball season’s over they’ll be comboed again by Nielsen, but this month we can glimpse WCFS by itself (2.3-2.3-2.2). Cumulus talk WLS holds (1.2-1.9-1.8). A spike for Disney-owned/ESPN-run all-sports WMVP (1.6-2.1-2.5), putting it above CBS Radio’s all-sports “Score” WSCR with a third straight 2.2. The country war is between CBS-owned WUSN (a third straight 2.8 share) and iHeart’s new “Big” WEBG (2.4-2.0-2.0). In seventh place overall is iHeart CHR “Kiss” WKSC (4.0-3.6-3.5) – the Windy City’s leading cume station at just over 2.1 million.