With three sports radio stations, Houston remains a crowded market. In the summer ratings period, SportsRadio 610 and SportsTalk 790 went back and forth winning dayparts in the coveted Men 25-54 demographic.
Beginning with weekday prime (M-F, 6A-7P), SportsRadio 610 edged SportsTalk 790 by a 2.7 to 2.5 share margin. That placed the two stations 17th and tied for 18th for the quarter. The market’s third local sports station, ESPN 97.5 garnered a 1.0 to finish 26th.
Morning drive was where the closest battle took place. The Sean Salisbury Show registered a 2.1 for SportsTalk 790, a big leap from an 0.7 in the spring. By tripling the share, Salisbury ranked 20th, edging SportsRadio 610’s Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast, which finished with a 1.8 and tied for 21st. Payne and Pendergast were higher in the spring with a 3.0. For ESPN 97.5, The Bench with John Granato and Lance Zierlein finished 25th with a 1.0 share.
Middays from 10 AM -2PM saw the widest gap in the race for the top sports show in the market. SportsRadio 610’s In The Loop, featuring John Lopez, Landry Locker, and Figgy Fig, took the format’s top spot, finishing 12th with a 3.3 share. The show grew from a 2.7 share in the previous quarter. SportsTalk 790 splits the daypart between a pair of shows — Next Up with Stan Norfleet & Chris Gordy and The Matt Thomas Show — and finished 22nd with a 1.6 share. Previously, the show was 23rd with a 0.9.
ESPN 97.5 also aired two shows in the daypart during the summer book but a change took place to the later part of their midday schedule in August. The Paul Gallant Show was featured regularly this book from 10 AM-12 PM. The 12 PM -3PM slot belonged mostly this book to The Killer B’s with Joel Blank and Jeremy Branham. The show moved into afternoon drive on August 22nd meaning they owned 2 months of the 3-month performance. The other month was a reflection of Josh Beard’s work alongside Michael Conner. For the quarter, the midday combo delivered a 1.3 share, good for 23rd overall.
In afternoons from 2 PM -6 PM, SportsRadio 610’s Clint Stoerner and Ron Hughley led the format with a 3.2 share. That was good for 12th overall, up from a 2.9, 16th place finish in the spring. The A-Team with Adam Wexler and Adam Clanton and an hour of Matt Thomas took SportsTalk 790 to a 17th place tie from 2-6 with a 2.8, up slightly from 2.4 in the spring.
For ESPN 97.5, the book included two months of The Wheelhouse with Brad Kellner, Cody Stoots, and Jake Asman, and one month of The Killer B’s with Jeremy Branham and Joel Blank. Altogether the drive time slot was tied for 25th this book with a 0.9 share, down slightly from a 1.0 in the last ratings period.
The full-week ratings saw SportsTalk 790 top the format with a 2.7 share, good for 19th overall. SportsRadio 610 finished with a 2.4 (21st), while ESPN 97.5 grabbed an 0.8 share, finishing 26th.
Worth noting, the numbers above for each brand include their Over The Air performance and Streaming performance. They are representative of Nielsen’s measurement in the Houston Metro area.
