Yes, we’ve procrastinated again on the radio front, but only for a few days. So let’s move quickly to the February ratings for Houston sports radio as determined by Nielsen Audio for the February book, which covers the period Jan. 29-Feb. 25.
All four sports stations were down in most dayparts from the January book, which is to be expected with the transition from football to basketball season. All four, however, continue to show growth from a year ago.
As always, we start with 6 a.m. to midnight) among men 25-54, the key demographic for sports radio. KILT had the sharpest decline from January but remains on top among the four sports stations.
February January February 2014
KILT (610 AM) 3.4 (12th) 4.3 (T7th) 2.4 (T14th)
KBME (790 AM) 2.0 (2nd) 2.2 (19th) 1.9 (T19th)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 1.3 (24th) 1.6 (22nd) 0.9 (26th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.5 (31st) 0.6 (29th) N/A
KBME dropped a few tenths, as did KILT, and remains the leader in morning drive time (6-10 a.m.)
February January February 2014
KBME (610 AM) 3.7 (7th) 4.1 (8th) 3.7 (8th)
KILT (790 AM) 2.8 (16th) 3.3 (13th) 2.4 (14th)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 1.3 (24th) 1.3 (22nd) 0.8 (29th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.5 (T32nd) 0.5 (T31st) N/A
Middays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) continue to be a bright spot for KILT, which outpaced its three competitors combined in this time slot.
February January February 2014
KILT (610 AM) 4.0 (7th) 5.0 (6th) 3.3 (1th)
KBME (790 AM) 2.0 (19th) 2.4 (17th) 1.8 (19st)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 1.1 (25th) 1.5 (22nd) 1.0 (27th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.8 (T29th) 0.9 (26th) N/A
Nothing new in afternoon drive (3-7 p.m.).
February January February 2014
KILT (610 AM) 4.1 (T9th) 4.9 (7th) 2.8 (T14th)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 2.0 (20th) 2.3 (19th) 1.3 (24th)
KBME (790 AM) 1.6 (T23rd) 1.9 (20th) 2.0 (20th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.7 (T29th) 0.6 (29th) N/A
Year-to-year growth continues to be the most noteworthy element of the 7 p.m. until midnight weekday time slot.
February January February 2014
KILT (610 AM) 3.9 (T10th) 3.9 (T12th) 1.6 (T21st)
KBME (790 AM) 1.9 (20th) 2.1 (T19th) 1.9 (13th)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 1.7 (T21st) 2.0 (21st) 0.7 (29th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.0 (T42nd) 0.2 (T34th) N/A
Let’s now turn to show-by-show comparisons. Nights continue to be strong for KILT, which is interesting given the end of football season. Then again, does football season really ever end in Texas?
Feb. Jan.
Paul Gallant/Brien Straw/Texans (7-11 p.m., KILT) 4.3 4.2
Rich Lord/Sean Pendergast/Ted Johnson (2-7 p.m., KILT) 4.1 5.0
Mike Meltser/Seth Payne/Texans (10 a.m.-2 p.m., KILT) 4.0 4.9
Adam Clanton/Lance Zierlein (6-9 a.m., KBME) 3.8 4.1
Greg Koch/N.D. Kalu (9-11 a.m., KBME) 3.1 3.5
Nick Wright/John Lopez (6-10 a.m., KILT) 2.8 3.3
Charlie Pallilo (2-6 p.m., KBME) 2.3 2.3
Fred Faour/A.J. Hoffman (4-7 p.m., KFNC) 1.9 2.0
Matt Thomas (11 a.m.-2 p.m., KBME) 1.2 1.9
Sean Salisbury/Dave Tepper (Noon-2 p.m., KFNC) 0.9 1.1
John Granato/Sean Salisbury (4-7 p.m., KGOW) 0.7 0.6
Credit to the Houston Chronicle who originally published this story
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
