Houston Radio: Baseball A Hit For KBME-AM

After years of being as much of a blip on the radio dial as they were on the field, the Astros are now a determining factor in the daily chase for sports radio listeners in Houston, according to The Houston Chronicle.

iHeartMedia's KBME 790 AM, the Astros' flagship station, doubled its audience share from a month ago in the most recent Nielsen Audio ratings book, tying KILT 610 AM for first place among the four all-sports stations in men 25-54, the key advertising demographic for sports radio. KBME has a narrow lead over KILT in persons 12-plus.

None of the three sports stations that draw ratings are doing great shakes. They have a combined 3.9 percent of the men 25-54 weekly audience, less than the number for each of the top 10 stations in town. But competition is competition, regardless of the weight class, and KBME is on the upswing with the arrival of baseball season and the Astros' team-record fast start.

KBME and KILT are tied for 22nd among all Houston stations in men 25-54, with KFNC 97.5 FM one spot back. KFNC is top-rated among the three in morning drive, KBME and KILT are tied in middays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.), and KILT has a more substantial lead over KBME and KFNC in afternoon drive time (3-7 p.m.), but, interestingly enough, KBME leads in men 18-49 in that same time slot.
From 7 p.m. to midnight, KBME outrates KILT and KFNC combined with room to spare, which offsets KILT's edge in afternoon drive and produces the weeklong tie.