March PPMs: Q101 maintains hot streak

Best ranking since the return to 101.1 frequency

The March PPMs were released on Tuesday and showed an interesting trend: the resurgence of Q101. 

The Cumulus-owned Alternative station is on a hot streak. WKQX scored an overall ratings increase for the fourth consecutive month and finished in a tie for eleventh place with WBEZ – the highest overall ranking since the format returned to the 101.1 frequency in January 2014.  The station also showed an increase in key demos, with Q101 finishing fourth among 18-49s for its highest share in over a year and a tie with Hip-Hop WGCI-FM for fourth in the 25-54s – its fourth straight increase in the demo, and moved from eighth place in February. However, Q101 did not make the top ten in 18-34s, suggesting younger fans of the format are tuning in on other platforms. 

Q101 is a well-recognized name dating back to the 1980s, as it had a “Pop Adult” format (and, of course, those commercials with Robert Murphy in a straitjacket). The station flipped to Modern Rock in 1992 and had an amazing two-decade run in Chicago radio, connecting young listeners with the growing format, later renamed Alternative. After a short detour as an all-news station and a Hot AC outlet, WKQX returned to the Alternative music format and reunited with the Q101 brand in 2022. 

This space looked at the Alternative music format in July 2011 at a time when several stations were dropping the format, including Q101. While Alternative still lacks pop-culture relevance as opposed to other music genres, it still delivers a reliable, now somewhat aging audience to stations – especially Q101, KROQ Los Angeles, and KITS-FM San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Audacy’s all-news WBBM Newsradio stayed on top in the Nielsen PPMs in March, despite declining slightly from February, as the topsy-turvy world of the Trump administration kept listeners tuned in as they also sought out Nexstar’s WGN-AM, which tied for fifth place with Audacy’s WXRT, giving Chicago two non-music stations in the top ten. WBBM also drew a 1.2 streaming rating, topping all Chicago stations in that metric. WBEZ-FM finished in a tie for eleventh place with Q101, bouncing back from low numbers last year. 

iHeartMedia’s 93.9 The Lite finished second overall but topped the market in cume with an average of 1.3 million listeners. The station recently launched a new ad campaign, which rolled out on local TV stations this week. 

Hubbard’s The Drive (WDRV) finished third overall, reversing a two-survey decline. Rounding out the top five was Audacy’s WUSN, as the country station finished fourth. 

iHeart’s V103 (WVAZ) took a tumble to tie 101.9 The Mix (WTMX) for eighth place, while one-time top-five occupant WLS-FM was flat in ninth. Rounding out the top ten was a tie between iHeart Top 40 outlet Kiss FM (WKSC-FM) and Regional Mexican WOJO-FM, owned by TelevisaUnivision.  

In the demo department, 101.9 The Mix took home honors in the adults 25-54s for the third straight time but was barely ahead of WUSN. WTMX also finished first in the 18-49 demo, ahead of Kiss, WUSN, and Q101, as reflected in its strong overall numbers, finished with its best numbers in the demo in over a year, and cracked the top ten in 25-54s with an eighth-place finish.

Kiss finished first in the 18-34 demo for the third straight time, ahead of sister station Lite 93.9 FM.

Even though 670 The Score finished 22nd overall (keep in mind the “overall” numbers are not used for ad sales purposes), the Audacy sports talk station did better in the traditional winter book (yes, the old “books” still exist, with the winter edition running from January through April) with their midday show and Matt Speigel’s and Laurence Homes’ show finishing first in the key men 25-54 demo, with Dan Bernstein’s departure taking place March 14. Overall, 670 The Score topped the demo ahead of WBBM Newsradio and The Drive, and those numbers in all metrics should rise as the Cubs’ season gets into full swing.

Good Karma Brands does not subscribe to Nielsen for any of its stations; thus, there are no numbers for competitor ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM).