The heat of summer is a tough time for sports radio, but the Astros’ recent success and the addition of “Hard Knocks” to the year-round Texans agenda have contributed to some noteworthy ebbs and flows this year.
Accordingly, here’s the monthly rundown on the Nielsen Audio ratings for Houston sports radio, this time covering the period June 18-July 15.
As always, we start with 6 a.m. to midnight (Monday through Sunday) among men 25-54, which is the key demographic for sports radio. The Astros played sub-.500 ball during this time frame, which included the All-Star Game break, so it’s not much of a surprise that KILT (610 AM) regained the weeklong lead over KBME (790 AM)
Station July June July 2014
KILT (610 AM) 2.5 (T18th) 2.3 (21st) 2.6 (15th)
KBME (790 AM) 2.2 (21st) 2.5 (T18th) 1.7 (23rd)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 1.8 (23rd) 1.4 (T23rd) 1.3 (T25th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.1 (T39th) 0.2 (T37th) N/A
KBME continues to lead in morning drive (6-10 a.m.), but KILT narrowed the gap considerably as football talk and Texans programming began to pick up.
Station July June July 2014
KBME (790 AM) 2.9 (14th) 3.3 (T12th) 3.0 (T10th)
KILT (610 AM) 2.8 (15th) 2.1 (17th) 2.9 (12th)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 2.1 (T18th) 1.8 (21st) 1.9 (20th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.1 (T39th) 0.2 (36th) N/A
KILT still leads in middays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.), and KFNC (97.5 FM), despite the personnel changeovers on the ESPN national radio shows, pulled into second.
Station July June July 2014
KILT (610 AM) 3.3 (13th) 2.8 (13th) 3.3 (11th)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 2.2 (16th) 1.6 (23rd) 1.5 (24th)
KBME (790 AM) 1.8 (T21st) 2.3 (17th) 2.3 (T17th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.1 (T39th) 0.2 (T36th) N/A
KILT still leads in afternoon drive time (3-7 p.m.), and numbers are starting to inch back up as football approaches.
Station July June July 2014
KILT (610 AM) 2.8 (T16th) 2.6 (17th) 3.5 (11th)
KBME (790 AM) 2.3 (21st) 1.5 (24th) 1.2 (26th)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 1.7 (24th) 1.6 (23rd) 1.5 (24th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.3 (T34th) 0.5 (T30th) N/A
The Astros continue to give KBME a significant boost from 7 p.m. until midnight weekdays.
Station July June July 2014
KBME (790 AM) 4.4 (9th) 5.0 (6th) 1.2 (T22nd)
KILT (610 AM) 2.3 (T21st) 2.4 (T20th) 2.1 (19th)
KFNC (97.5 FM) 1.3 (T25th) 1.0 (T25th) 1.0 (T24th)
KGOW (1560 AM) 0.0 (T40th) 0.0 (T39th) N/A
Let’s now turn to show-by-show comparisons.
Hosts (time slots/stations) July June May
Mike Meltser/Seth Payne/Texans (10 a.m.-2 p.m., KILT) 3.4 2.9 4.3
Adam Clanton/Lance Zierlein (6-9 a.m., KBME) 2.9 3.5 4.2
Rich Lord/Sean Pendergast/Ted Johnson (2-7 p.m., KILT) 2.9 2.6 4.0
Nick Wright/John Lopez (6-10 a.m., KILT) 2.8 2.1 3.3
Fred Faour/A.J. Hoffman (4-7 p.m., KFNC) 2.6 1.8 1.6
Greg Koch/N.D. Kalu (9-11 a.m., KBME) 2.5 2.3 2.8
Paul Gallant/Brien Straw/Texans (7-11 p.m., KILT) 2.4 2.5 3.1
Steve Bunin/Sean Salisbury (Noon-2 p.m., KFNC) 2.4 1.5 1.4
Charlie Pallilo (2-6 p.m., KBME) 2.0 2.3 2.0
Matt Thomas (11 a.m.-2 p.m., KBME) 1.4 1.7 1.3
John Granato/Sean Salisbury (4-7 p.m., KGOW) 0.3 0.5 0.6
Credit to the Houston Chronicle who originally published this article
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
