Chicago radio ratings: Another clean sweep for V103

Bioncé Foxx

WVAZ 102.7-FM, the iHeartMedia R&B powerhouse, widened its first-place lead overall and held onto the top spots in mornings, middays, afternoons and evenings in the latest Nielsen Audio survey.

Ratings released Monday showed V103's weekday lineup of Steve Harvey, Bioncé Foxx, Joe Soto and Keith Sweat as popular as ever among Chicago radio listeners.

The run-up to the November 3 presidential election proved a boon to Chicago Public Media news/talk WBEZ 91.5-FM, which boosted its overall share nearly 25 percent and finished second in mornings.

The latest survey period ran through November 4 — two days before iHeartMedia adult contemporary WLIT 93.9-FM flipped to all-Christmas music for the 20th straight year. If history holds, 93.9 Lite FM will likely dominate the market through the end of the year.

Here are Chicago’s top 30 radio stations from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Sunday, as measured by Nielsen Audio from October 8 to November 4, followed by format and average quarter-hour share of listeners age 6 and older (with previous month’s share in parentheses):

1. WVAZ 102.7-FM R&B, 8.9 (8.4)
2. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM all news, 6.5 (6.9)
3. WTMX 101.9-FM hot adult contemporary, 5.1 (4.6)
4. WDRV 97.1-FM classic rock, 5.0 (5.1)
5. WBEZ 91.5-FM public radio news talk, 4.7 (3.8)
6. WLIT 93.9-FM adult contemporary, 4.6 (4.3)
7. WOJO 105.1-FM Mexican regional, 3.8 (4.2)
8. WLS 94.7-FM classic hits, 3.7 (4.0)
9. WXRT 93.1-FM adult album alternative, 3.3 (3.9)
10. WRME 87.7-FM soft rock oldies, 3.1 (2.9)
11. WGN 720-AM news talk, 2.9 (3.0)
12. WKSC 103.5-FM Top 40, 2.6 (2.6)
13. WLS 890-AM news talk, 2.5 (2.2)
14. (tie) WUSN 99.5-FM country, 2.4 (2.3); WBMX 104.3-FM classic hip hop, 2.4 (2.4)
16. WPPN 106.7-FM Spanish adult contemporary, 2.3 (2.5)
17. (tie) WKQX 101.1-FM alternative rock, 2.2 (1.9); WLEY 107.9-FM Mexican regional, 2.2 (2.7)
19. (tie) WBBM 96.3-FM Top 40, 2.1 (2.0); WSCR 670-AM sports talk, 2.1 (3.2); WCHI 95.5-FM rock, 2.1 (2.2); WSHE 100.3-FM adult contemporary, 2.1 (2.4)
23. WGCI 107.5-FM hip-hop, 1.7 (2.0)
24. WPWX 92.3-FM hip-hop, 1.4 (1.4)
25. WCPT 820-AM progressive talk, 1.2 (1.6)
26. WFMT 98.7-FM classical 1.0 (0.9)
27. (tie) WMVP 1000-AM sports talk, 0.9 (0.8); WVIV 93.5-FM Spanish contemporary, 0.9 (0.9)
29. WCCQ 98.3-FM country, 0.8 (0.4)
30. (tie) WGRB 1390-AM gospel, 0.7 (0.4); WSRB 106.3-FM R&B, 0.7 (0.6)

Here are Chicago radio’s top 10 morning shows from 6 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, as measured by Nielsen Audio:

1. WVAZ 102.7-FM Steve Harvey
2. WBEZ 91.5-FM “Morning Edition”; “BBC Newshour”
3. WTMX 101.9-FM Eric Ferguson, Melissa McGurren and Brian “Whip” Paruch
4. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM Pat Cassidy
5. WDRV 97.1-FM Brian Sherman and Steve Tingle
6. WGN 720-AM Bob Sirott
7. WOJO 105.1-FM Raúl Molinar, Carla Medrano and Andrés Maldonado
8. WLIT 93.9-FM Melissa Forman
9. WLS 94.7-FM Dave Fogel and Kim Berk
10. WRME 87.7-FM

Here are Chicago radio’s top 10 midday shows from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, as measured by Nielsen Audio:

1. WVAZ 102.7-FM Bioncé Foxx
2. WDRV 97.1-FM Bob Stroud
3. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM Cisco Cotto
4. WTMX 101.9-FM Nikki Chuminatto
5. WLIT 93.9-FM Robin Rock
6. WLS 890-AM Chris Plante; Rush Limbaugh
7. (tie) WBEZ 91.5-FM “1A”; “Reset”; “Fresh Air”; “Here and Now”; WOJO 105.1-FM Rafael “El Primo Rafa” Bautista
9. WLS 94.7-FM Greg Brown
10. WRME 87.7-FM

Here are Chicago radio’s top 10 afternoon shows from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, as measured by Nielsen Audio:

1. WVAZ 102.7-FM Joe Soto
2. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM Keith Johnson and Lisa Fielding
3. WTMX 101.9-FM Chris Petlak and Lisa Allen
4. WDRV 97.1-FM Steve Seaver and Janda Lane
5. WBEZ 91.5-FM “All Things Considered”; “Marketplace”
6. (tie) WLIT 93.9-FM Mick Lee; WOJO 105.1-FM Sylvia del Valle
8. WLS 94.7-FM Erin Carman
9. WKSC 103.5-FM Brady Broski
10. WXRT 93.1-FM Marty Lennartz

Here are Chicago radio’s top 10 evening shows from 7 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, as measured by Nielsen Audio:

1. WVAZ 102.7-FM Keith Sweat
2. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM Bob Conway; Andy Dahn
3. WLIT 93.9-FM Delilah Rene
4. WBEZ 91.5-FM "Marketplace"; "The Daily"; "Fresh Air"; "1A"; "BBC World Service"
5. WBMX 104.3-FM Sean “Sonic” Leckie
6. WLS 94.7-FM
7. WXRT 93.1-FM Ryan Arnold
8. WRME 87.7-FM
9. WOJO 105.1-FM Jesus “Chuy” Gonzalez
10. (tie) WLS 890-AM Mark Levin; WTMX 101.9-FM Jordan “Dash” Orman-Weiss

(Copyright © 2020 The Nielsen Company.)

Monday’s comment of the day: Edward M. Bury: The Great Lakes are a natural resource that needs to be managed more effectively in the uncertain times (I know, a cliche these days) ahead. Looking forward to the series from Cheryl Scott and National Geographic.