Milwaukee Radio: Country WMIL Remains Tops

Bolstered by another No. 1 finish in March, iHeartMedia's country-music mainstay WMIL 106.1 FM retained the top spot (6+ AQH Total Week) in the Nielsen PPM ratings among Milwaukee radio stations during the winter ratings book, which includes the month of March.

But news-talk-sports station WTMJ 620 AM showed some significant year-to-year gains as it solidified its No. 2 ranking overall.

In Nielsen Audio's trend report covering January through March, WMIL had an average 10.4 share of the overall listening audience, down 0.5 of a share point from the same period a year earlier. WTMJ-AM had a 10.1 share, up nearly 63% from the 6.2 share the station had in the winter 2014 ratings book.

"We've done much work to separate ourselves from the radio and TV pack by moving beyond 'cops and robbers' stories in our news coverage — to reporting on things that affect people throughout the Milwaukee area and Wisconsin," Tom Langmyer, vice president and general manager for Milwaukee radio operations for WTMJ-AM parent E.W. Scripps Co., said in an email to jsonline.com. "The response has been very positive."