With three sports radio stations vying for listeners in one market, the Houston ratings book is always interesting to look at.
Traditionally, Houston’s numbers are lower than most of the Top 10 sports radio markets, but that doesn’t make the local competition any less pressure packed. For the winter book, according to Nielsen Audio, there was a clear picture of who shined during 2020’s first quarter, and it was Sports Radio 610. Program director Armen Williams made lineup changes last year, and the latest results have to give him and his team confidence that they’re on the right track. Though SportsTalk 790 and 97.5 ESPN Houston had quarterly declines, they remain formidable competition and could turn things around quickly, so nobody in the market should feel comfortable.
Beginning with the weekday shows, 610’s morning show with Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast cracked the top-10 with a 3.1 share between 6a-10a. The station’s morning show was ranked 22nd at the same time last year, a big jump for Payne and Pendergast. ESPN Houston produced a 1 share, while 790 did a 0.7. It’s important to note that ESPN Houston breaks up the 4-hour window by offering a combination of Golic & Wingo, The Bench with John Granato and Lance Zierlein (7 – 9a), followed by John & Raheel with Del (9 – 11a). SportsTalk 790’s morning show with Sean Salisbury fills the full 6 – 10a window.
In middays between 10a-2p, John Lopez and Landry Locker produced a 3 share, good enough to lead 610’s In the Loop to an 11th place tie. Similar to the morning show, the middday crew enjoyed a massive jump year-over-year rising up from 23rd place. SportsTalk 790 finished the 10a-3p daypart in 24th place. 790 features a combination of In The Trenches with ND Kalu and The Matt Thomas Show during that 5-hour block. 97.5 finished in 27th in the 10a-3p daypart. Their on-air programming during that time includes John & Raheel with Del, Charlie Pallilo and The Usual Suspects with Joel Blank and Barry Laminack.
In afternoons, Clint Stoerner won the quarter by generating a 2.9 share to earn a tie for 15th place. ESPN Houston’s performance in the traditional PM drive daypart (M-F 3p-7p) was a 1.2 share. The station aired 1-hour of The Usual Suspects and The Blitz with Fred Faour and AJ Hoffman during the full daypart. SportsTalk 790 was third among the sports stations in afternoons. The A-Team w/ Wexler and Clanton (M-F 3p-6p) and The Nightcap (M-F 6p-7p) delivered a 0.7 which placed 790 in 25th place.
In weekday prime (M-F 6a – 7p), 610 was 14th with a 2.9 share, doubling their year-over-year performance. ESPN Houston and SportsTalk 790 finished 24th and 25th respectively, both earning below a 1 share.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
