Not to be redundant, but it’s another winning month for WLTW/Lite-FM.

The Clear Channel number one mainstay kept residence in its familiar spot with a 7.6 in the overall Arbitron ratings. That’s a .4 boost from January.

By contrast, WCBS-FM slipped to a 6.2 in the current PPM.

• Related: FishbowlNY, Radio Ratings Status Quo: WLTW Remains Number One Overall

WBLS also dropped by .2 to 5.5, while WHTZ/Z100 lost .3 to 5.1.

WINS was next with 4.7, a .2 gain. Sister station WCBS 880 also saw a .2 upgrade to 3.8.

The big news is tracking NASH-FM/WNSH, the city’s first Country station in more than 15 years. NASH in its first full ratings survey notched a 1.6. Just below NASH was ESPN’s WEPN-FM at 1.3, a drop from 1.6. More dramatically, ESPN has lost a point since November.

• Related: FishbowlNY, NASH-FM 94.7 Welcomes First Air Personalities

WFAN-FM kept its distance from its rival. But the ‘FAN, which simulcasts on 660 AM and 101.9 FM, had an uncharacteristic drop of 1.2 to 2.5 for February.

There’s more from the monthly ratings after the jump.

Read more

The tree is now mulch and the lights are back in the attic. But the holidays aren’t over until Arbitron releases its seasonal ratings… and it has!.

Lite-FM/WLTW got a big boost from its annual Christmas programming. The Clear Channel perennial number one had an 11.3 for the holidays, up from an 8.4 in December.

By contrast, number two remains WCBS-FM, which slipped .2 to 6.6.

WBLS is still a powerhouse with new YMF owners. The Urban station stands at number three with a 5.9, although losing .2 for the book.

But Z100/WHTZ had a .5 drop to 4.6.

Spanish station WSKQ was next at 4.5, off .3 from December’s figures. Rival WXNY was also on the negative side of the ledger (.1) at 4.2.

WINS saw gains, jumping .5 to 4.2. WCBS 880 slipped .1 to 3.5.

In the sports on FM battle, WFAN is the clear winner! The original all-sports station registered a 3.1, off .1, while WEPN (ESPN)/98.7, is still trying to find its footing on FM. It scored no gains at 1.8.

Also of note, the final rating for WOR under the ownership of Buckley Radio, was 1.1, down .4.

Cumulus made waves this week with the flip to Country at 94.7. That station hasn’t made the survey yet, but the company’s WPLJ was 2.3, off .3. WABC dropped .6 to 2.2.

WSKQ, the radio station known as Mega 97.9 among its Spanish faithful, got nailed with a $16,000 fine by the FCC. At issue, the station called a woman on the air with a made up story about her husband being killed.

This incident took place nearly five years to the day of the ruling, August 23, 2007. Parent company Spanish Broadcasting System is also named in the FCC’s order.

As stated in the FCC forfeiture order, “WSKQ broadcast over the radio a prank call made by one of its employees to a member of the public.”

But that is only part of the problem. The station employee called a woman pretending to be someone from of a local hospital, telling the woman that her husband had been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. The phony hospital worker said the husband died.

“Further, according to the complaint, the call recipient could be heard over the radio distraught when she received this information, at which point the station employee informed her that the call was a ‘joke,’” the FCC ruled.

Read more

It’s WLTW in familiar territory. Clear Channel’s Lite FM is number one in the July PPM ratings, released yesterday by Arbitron.

But in a rare spot for the A/C station, WLTW lost .8 from June. Thus, opening the door for sister station WHTZ. Z100 actually gave back .2, but finds just a .6 deficit from being the city’s top station.

Then there’s WCBS-FM, which commemorated it’s 40th anniversary in July. Overall, there’s not as much to celebrate at the home of Classic Hits. The usual number two to Lite-FM slipped .3 to 5.9. WCBS-FM, which officially ended its association with veteran jock Bob Shannon, tied for third.

The station joining WCBS-FM in third place is WBLS. The Urban station saw a .3 jump to 5.9. WBLS added KISS FM programming in late April, after the mega deal brought ESPN to 98.7.

As for ESPN/WEPN, it was a less promising month. The overall rating dropped .3 to a 21st-place showing of 1.3.

Rival WFAN, which started July with its 25th anniversary, fell slightly to 3.2.

The month’s big winner, WKTU. The Rhythmic A/C made a .7 leap to 5.5 in fifth place.

More from Top 10 after the jump

Read more

Chalk up another victory for WLTW/Lite FM. The Adult Contemporary powerhouse ranked first again in the monthly PPM Arbitron ratings.

WLTW kept its huge audience with a 7.5 rating, a .2 increase from the previous month.

Top competitor WCBS-FM remained a consistent number two in the overall ratings for March. The Classic Hits station, though, lost .3 for the month to 6.3.

Clear Channel’s Z100/WHTZ held third place, and maintained a 5.2 rating for the second straight survey. Sister station WKTU got a .3 boost to 4.7 for March.

Popular Tropical station WSKQ has a slight increase to 3.9. The city’s other Spanish formatted station, WXNY, registered a 3.5 again.

WRKS/KISS FM made a slight gain to 3.8, while Classic Rocker WAXQ slipped to a 3.8.

More from the monthly ratings after the jump

Read more

WLTW/Lite FM keeps a tight grip on number one in the overall Arbitron PPM ratings. WLTW increased its lead over perennial number two WCBS-FM in December. WLTW edged WCBS-FM by just .3 in November, but WLTW had a 8.2 this month, gaining a 2.3 advantage over CBS-FM.  

Clear Channel’s WHTZ/Z100 maintains number three with a 5.1 for the second straight month. WKTU slipped from 5.0 to 4.8, while sister station WAXQ also lost .2 to 4.1.

CBS’ WWFS/Fresh 102.7 saw gains, jumping .3 to 3.9.

Tropical station WSKQ had a minimal improvement to 3.9.

Cumulus’ WABC had .2 increase to 3.7.

WINS saw a slight drop to 3.4, while WCBS-AM lost .2 to 2.8.

FM Newser 101.9/WEMP had no gains from the previous rating survey, holding steady at .6.

More ratings highlights after the jump.

Read more

Chalk up another winning month for Clear Channel’s WLTW/Lite FM. The Soft Adult Contemporary juggernaut maintains its big lead in the Arbitron May PPM (6+) ratings.

WLTW did fall slightly from the previous month to a 6.6 (down from 7.0). But the cume (measure of overall audience) increased to 5.7 million listeners.

WCBS-FM, a constant number two, took a step back in May–forging a third-place tie with WKTU at 4.9 (CBS-FM is down from 5.3).

Moving into the number two slot is WHTZ/Z 100 at 5.0 (up from 4.8 in April).

Also going in positive territory was Tropical sensation WSKQ at 4.4 in fifth place (up from 4.1).

More from the Top 10 after the jump

Read more

WLTW/Lite FM maintained its large lead over WCBS-FM in the April PPM ratings released Monday by Arbitron.

The Clear Channel powerhouse dropped to a 7.0 (from 7.6 in March), while Classic Hits WCBS-FM slipped to 5.3 (5.4 in March).

Status quo also at number three, although WHTZ/Z100 lost .3 to 4.8.

With baseball season in full swing, the Mets and Yankees flagships saw impressive gains. WFAN increased .4 to 2.9, while WCBS 880 rocketed up 1.1 to 4.8 and fourth place.

WKTU fell slightly to fifth place with a 4.6.

More ratings results after the jump

Read more

It’s still WLTW/Lite FM looking down at the other radio stations. While the January Arbitron ratings show Clear Channel’s Lite FM keeping its number one position, the station did lose some of its gusto from the Christmas survey.

Lite FM scored a 6.8, although not as impressive as the 12.3 during the holiday period.

WCBS-FM, kept at arm’s length, registered a 5.2 (up from 4.8) for second place.

Perennial number three, WHTZ/Z100 jumped slightly to 4.7.

All-news sister stations WCBS-AM and WINS make big gains. WCBS went from a 3.5 to 4.4 in this ratings book, while WINS saw positive improvements from a 3.2 to 4.2.

WKTU wedged between the newsers, slipping to a 4.3.

Citadel-owned WABC also saw nice gains (3.7 from 3.0).

Tropical WSKQ dropped off to 3.3 from a 4.0 the previous month. However, Univision’s WXNY edged up .4 to 2.9.

Read more

It was a Merry Christmas for Lite-FM/WLTW as the Holiday ratings show another win for the perennial number one, according to Arbitron.

WLTW, which goes with a Christmas music format from Thanksgiving to Christmas, was rewarded big time.

The Clear Channel Soft AC for 11 months of the year proved that the holiday hits are a winning combination. It scored a huge 12.3 for the Holiday period from December 9 to January 5, while traditional second-best WCBS-FM was well-distanced at 4.8. (For some comparison, in the December ratings book, WLTW beat WCBS-FM, 8.4 to 5.7.)

Following that, much of the survey was without change.

WHTZ/Z100 kept hold of number three, dropping slightly to 4.5.

Another Clear Channel station, WKTU also slipped .1. The Rhythmic AC had a 4.4.

Tropical WSKQ stayed put at number five with a 4.0.

WCBS-AM did see some modest gains with a 3.5 (up .4). Sister station WINS moved ahead .1 to 3.2.

Read more