V-103 for most of the past 35 years was a dominant force in Atlanta radio ratings, dubbing itself “The Big Station” for good reason.
But in recent years, that hasn’t been the case. And the numbers have only gotten worse this fall.
In the latest monthly Nielsen radio ratings covering Oct. 14 to Nov. 10, V-103 finished in ninth place, one of its lowest rankings since people meters began tracking usage in 2009. The station’s share was 3.7, well behind rivals Kiss (third place at 6.5) and Majic (4.5 in a tie for seventh place).
The weekday morning show numbers are even worse for V-103. Big Tigger’s morning show with Christina “Miss Basketball” Granville and Tyler Chronicles dropped to a 2.1 share, or 13th place. Tigger is behind even the syndicated Breakfast Club show on 105.3/The Beat (2.2), which is on a weaker signal. The situation is no better in the 25-54 demographic, where Tigger’s 2.2 share places his show in a tie for 16th place with country station 94.9/The Bull, which just dropped Spencer Graves as a morning co-host.
Steve Harvey’s syndicated show on Majic 107.5/97.5 drew a 6.0 share, ranking fourth place overall behind only Scott Slade at news/talk WSB (a commanding 12.2), the Bert Show on top 40 station Q99.7 (8.5) and Kevin and Taylor at Christian contemporary station Fish 104.7 (7.8).
Frank Ski, who left mornings at V-103 last year over contract issues, moved to Kiss 104.1 and is doing well there with Nina Brown. He drew a 4.9 share, good for sixth place overall. Ski is also in sixth place (4.6) among 25-to 54-year-olds.
V-103′s stronger dayparts are with Kenny Burns in the afternoons (3.7, ninth place) and evenings with Greg Street (4.3, sixth place).
The strongest afternoon shows among stations targeting a Black audience are Monie Love on Kiss (6.6, third place) and Ryan Cameron on Majic (5.1, fifth place).
The hip-hop portion of the market has gotten splintered in recent years. Besides all the streaming options, there is Streetz 94.5, O.G. 97.9 and 105.3/The Beat all pecking away at Hot 107.9 on the FM dial. Hot, the market’s first hip-hop station when it launched in 1995, was once a solid top 10 ranker but is now in 17th place with a 2.3 share and barely cracks the top 10 among 18 to 34-year-olds.
Four stations owned by Apollo’s Cox Media are in the top four: WSB, rock station 97.1/The River, Kiss and pop station B98.5, with WSB staying on top as usual by a wide margin.
Q99.7′s syndicated Atlanta-based Bert Show was by far the No. 1 show among 25- to 54-year-olds with a 12.2 share on weekdays. The show also drew a whopping 15.5 share among women 25 to 54 and a 16.6 share among 18- to 34-year-olds.
The Atlanta Braves playoff run boosted the ratings for 93.7/680 The Fan, which beat 92.9/The Game 3.0 to 2.5. Typically, the Game, on a much stronger signal, easily beats the Fan.
Both country stations are in the doldrums with New Country 101.5 and 94.9/The Bull both at a 2.4, tied for 15th.
Gospel station Praise 102.5 has benefited strongly from more in-home listening since the pandemic began and has been a solid top 10 station all year. It’s tied for 7th at 4.5 in overall ratings.
Rock 100.5, which let go one of its morning hosts Jason Bailey during this ratings period, remains far behind the River, ranked 19th with a 1.7 share overall and a 2.5 share (a tie for 12th) among 25 to 54 year olds. That is far below the morning show’s peak numbers a few years ago.
Radio listening has not fully recovered since the pandemic began last year with cumulative listening down around 20% as more people use on-demand options like podcasts.
The top 20 stations overall
1. WSB (news/talk) 9.3
2. 97.1/The River (rock) 7.5 (streaming adds another 0.3)
3. Kiss (R&B) 6.5 (streaming adds another 0.7)
4. B98.5 (pop) 5.3 (streaming adds another 0.2)
5. 104.7/The Fish (Christian pop) 5.0
6. Q99.7 (top 40) 4.6
7. (tie) Majic 107.5/97.5 (R&B), Praise 102.5 (gospel) 4.5
9. V-103 (R&B/hip-hop) 3.7
10. Power 96.1 (top 40) 3.5
11. 93.7/680 The Fan (sports) 3.0
12. Star 94 (dance top 40) 2.8
13. 90.1/WABE-FM (news/talk) 2.7
14. 92.9/The Game (sports) 2.5
15. (tie) 94.9/The Bull, New Country (country) 101.5
17. Hot 107.9 (hip hop) 2.3
18. Joy 93.3 (Christian pop) 1.9
19. (tie) Classic 101.9 (R&B oldies), Rock 100.5 (classic rock) 1.8
Top 10 morning shows (weekday ratings)
1. Scott Slade, WSB 12.2
2. Bert Show, Q99.7 8.5
3. Kevin & Taylor, Fish 7.8
4. Steve Harvey, Majic 6.0
5. Steve Craig, River 5.7
6. Frank Ski, Kiss 4.9
7. Erica Campbell, Praise 4.0
8. (tie) Morning Edition from WABE, Tad & Drex on B98.5 3.9
10. The Jubal Show, Power 96.1 2.5
Top 10 stations, 25-54 (weekdays)
1. WSB 8.3
2. Q99.7 6.6
3. River 6.4
4. B98.5 5.5
5. (tie) Kiss, Majic 5.4
7. Fish 5.1
8. Power 4.0
9. Fan 3.9
10. V-103 3.8
Top 10 morning shows (weekdays), 25-54
1. Bert Show Q99.7 12.2
2. Scott Slade, WSB 8.4
3. Kevin & Taylor, Fish 7.4
4. Steve Harvey, Majic, 6.2
5. Morning Edition, WABE 5.0
6. Frank Ski. Kiss 4.6
7. Tad & Drex, B98.5. 4.5
8. Steve Craig, River 3.7
9. The Jubal Show, Power 3.3
10. The Breakfast Club, the Beat 2.7
Top 10 stations (weekdays), 18-34
1. Q99.7 8.2
2. B98.5 6.0
3. V-103 5.8
4. Praise 5.5
5. Fish 5.2
6. (tie) WSB, Majic, Power 4.9
9. (tie) Kiss, Star, Hot 4.1
Top 10 morning shows (weekdays) 18-34
1. Bert Show Q99.7 16.6
2. Kevin & Taylor Fish 10.0
3. Erica Campbell, Praise 7.1
4. Morning Edition, WABE 6.6
5. Steve Harvey, Majic 3.9
6. (tie) The Jubal Show on Power, The Big Tigger Show on V-103 3.6
8. Scott Slade, WSB 3.4
9. Tad & Drex, B98.5 3.2
10. John Fricke & Hugh Douglas, the Game 2.7
SOURCE: Nielsen
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