Rebel Radio Ratings

The entire world has been stood on its proverbial ear during this pandemic. Here in NYC we can see a lot of it in front of us: the people wearing masks, the empty streets, the signs for COVID-19 related messages and directions and warning signs everywhere, everyone staying and working at home (if they're lucky enough still to have jobs), and all sorts of other changes. 

One thing I'm quite sure none of us thought would be radically changed by the pandemic is something we can't see at all but can all hear: the radio. Specifically, the radio ratings.

In normal times, here in NYC, there's a basic pattern to the radio ratings: Lite-FM, the soft rock station, is far ahead all others at Number 1, and CBS-FM and WSKQ (Spanish language) compete for Number 2. Then the other talk, pop and rap music, Spanish-language, and all-news station round up the Top Ten.

Not now.

Now WSKQ is way ahead in the ratings and Lite-FM and CBS-FM are competing for second place. What's interesting is what's rounding out the Top Ten now: while all-news and Spanish language are holding steady, the pop and talk stations have absolutely crashed in the ratings. Even more shocking? Public radio and classical music are now in the Top Ten! Even more bizarre? The huge music station Z-100 is almost tied in the ratings with WQXR (classical music). 

A few months ago that would have been unthinkable -- and now it's for real, now it's normal ...

I suspect Spanish speaking people who are in quarantine are enjoying listening to Spanish radio, boosting the ratings significantly. Since people are not spending a lot of time in waiting rooms and stores and other public places, the ratings for the stations most usually played in the background of them (i.e. "lite" music and oldies) have clearly seen drops. Classical music can very soothing, especially in the house, so that might explain the ratings rise there. And people want intelligent news and information, hence the boost for public radio.

But why the big declines for pop and talk radio? Well, most people can stream pop music these days and, for talk, people don't want to hear other people blither about the horror we're all living through. And talk radio is an exhausted, old-school, boring format anyway -- especially the ugly Republican politics always being discussed. If anything should scare Republicans about their prospects in November, perhaps the crash in talk radio ratings is one of the most prescient -- people are literally voting with their ears. 

The new normal of 2020 in NYC continues to surprise.