Houston may not a hotbed for sports radio ratings, but that doesn’t make the competitive battle between the market’s top three brands any less important. In the winter book, Audacy-owned SportsRadio 610 came out on top across numerous categories. The results are based on the latest Nielsen Xtrends data from the market.

Beginning in weekday prime (M-F, 6a-7p), SportsRadio 610 attained a 2.0 share to rank 21st among Men 25-54. While the number helped the station beat its local competitors, it was down from a 3.0 share, 14th-place tie in the winter book of 2023.

Mornings with Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast finished with a 1.4 share to earn a tie for 22nd place. The program previously placed 19th in the Nielsen Houston fall ratings book, and dropped from a 3.3 share year-over-year.

The outlet’s midday programming block, which includes In The Loop with John Lopez, Landry Locker and Figgy Fig, along with an hour of the afternoon drive program, The Drive with Stoerner and Hughley from 10a-3p CST, generated a 20th-place finish with a 2.4 share. Their share was the best on the radio station for the quarter. Year-over-year, the programming stretch lost one-tenth of a share.

The final three hours of the afternoon drive show with Clint Stoerner and Ron Hughley, along with Texans All Access from 6 to 7 p.m. CST, garnered a 2.2 share, 20th-place finish for the quarter. The result was down 1.1 shares from the fall when it finished 16th place and also represented a 1.2-share year-over-year decline. This four-hour daypart previously placed 14th in the last winter ratings book with a 3.4 share among Men 25-54.

During the quarter, Sports Radio 610 underwent a full tower site change, which resulted in a significant decrease in power from February 1st through April 15th. That may have created a few issues considering the station’s full week audience was nearly cut in half. The spring book’s final two months will paint a better picture of whether or not that’s a continuing issue.

iHeartMedia’s SportsTalk 790 meanwhile also suffered a loss in weekday prime (M-F, 6a-7p). The station accrued a 1.2 share, 22nd-place outcome among Men 25-54 in the Houston winter ratings book. On a positive note, the outlet garnered year-over-year improvement. SportsTalk 790 finished the 2023 winter book with a 0.9 share, 24th-place tie, meaning it added three tenths of a share year-over-year.

Morning drive was anchored by Sean Salisbury, and led the book for 790 with a 1.4 share, 22nd-place tie among Men 25-54. That placed 790 in a dead heat with 610 in morning drive for the quarter. The show gained one share on the year, propelling it from a 26th-place tie in 2023.

Akin to SportsRadio 610, the midday programming stretch contained two programs – Next Up with Stan Norfleet & Chris Gordy (10a-12p CST) and The Matt Thomas Show (12p-3p CST). The two programs combined to generate a 1.1 share in the winter book, finishing 22nd in the market. Last winter, the five-hour daypart had a 0.6 share, thus representing growth of five tenths of a share, and three ranking positions.

Afternoons featured The A-Team with Adam Wexler and Adam Clanton, followed by the one-hour program, The Nightcap, featuring Michael Connor and Ross Villarreal. Both shows collectively produced a 1.2 share for the quarter and marked the only daypart at SportsTalk 790 that didn’t result in a year-over-year gain. The two programs lost six-tenths of a share and one ratings position from 2023.

For Gow Media-owned ESPN 97.5 Houston, the station lost nine-tenths of a share from its outcome in weekday prime (M-F, 6a-7p) last year. The station recorded a 0.3 share, 27th-place tie for the quarter. The station was ranked 22nd in the marketplace among Men 25-54 in 2023’s winter book.

Mornings with John Granato and Lance Zierlein, which is preceded by one hour of ESPN Radio programming, resulted in a 0.2 share for the quarter. That placed the show in 27th-place, down 1.5 shares year-over-year. The program also lost six ranking positions during that time period.

ESPN 97.5 Houston introduced two new midday shows as part of changes instituted at the outlet, the first of which is hosted by Del Olaleye from 10a-12p CST. The second show features Paul Gallant, along with ESPN 97.5 Houston assistant program director Joe George from 12p-3p. Both shows started in their new timeslots on Monday, February 26th, meaning they didn’t occupy their dayparts for the full quarter. Nonetheless, the station generated a 0.3 share, 27th-place tie for the book during the five-hour block. That was 1.1 share lower from last year when the station was tied for 21st.

Afternoon drive featured The Killer B’s with Joel Blank and Jeremy Branham from 3p-6p CST, along with a variety of different programs in the ensuing 6p-7p CST hour. The four-hour stretch had a 0.3 share, resulting in a 28th-place outcome for ESPN 97.5. Year-over-year, the metric was down six-tenths of a share and four ranking positions.

For the full week (M-SU, 6a-12a), SportsRadio 610 completed the quarter with a 1.9 share, 21st-place result. That represented a loss from the 2.5 share, 16th-place finish the station recorded in 2023.

SportsTalk 790 garnered a 1.0 share in the same category, placing it in a 22nd-place tie for the book. Year-over-year, the iHeartMedia-owned outlet improved by two-tenths of a share when it was previously tied for 25th overall.

ESPN 97.5 Houston collected a 0.3 share in the full week category, placing the station in a 27th-place tie. The station declined six-tenths of a share from last year when it possessed a 0.9 share, 24th-place result.

WWE legend Booker T, whose real name is Booker T. Huffman Jr., announced today that he and his partner, Brad Gilmore, will be hosting a one-hour weekend show on 102.5 The Game in Nashville. The pair hosts shows Tuesday through Friday on ESPN Houston and also airs a podcast.

The Hall of Fame will air in Nashville from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturdays beginning May 4.

“Exciting news! I’m thrilled to announce that The Hall of Fame radio show, which I host alongside Brad Gilmore, will be making its debut this Saturday in Nashville on 102.5 The Game at 8 a.m.,” Booker said. “We want to thank [station Director of Operations and Sports Program Director] Chase McCabe and The Game team for helping expand the reach of The Hall of Fame.”

In describing the show to the new audience, Booker T said, “Join us every Saturday as we bring the best of pro wrestling, combat sports, and entertainment to the fantastic folks of Nashville, Tennessee.”

Huffman, a two-time WWE Hall of Famer, is a color analyst for WWE’s NXT brand and also is the owner and founder of the Reality of Wrestling independent promotion.

Huffman and Gilmore hosted Heated Conversations on SportsRadio 610 in Houston from 2015 to 2019 before moving the show to ESPN 97.5.

An attorney who previously represented former Dallas sports talk radio hosts Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp says he had tried to engage iHeartMedia in talks to buy or lease 97.1 ‘The Freak’ before it shut down last week.

Attorney Philip Kingston, a former Dallas City Council representative, posted the following on his X account:

“I guess I’m allowed to talk about this now. I have been trying to engage [iHeartRadio] since October to sell The Freak or at least lease us the signal. I was working for a group of investors. I know the [General Council] but he, a lawyer, refused to return my calls.

“We had multiple Freak employees approach corporate about the idea, and on multiple occasions were promised an audience with these solons of radio. Never got a single meeting. For the last year, it has been obvious that the problem was that iHeart didn’t spend enough money to really launch the station. Now they spent a lot – I estimate at least $3.5 million – to get absolutely nothing, but they didn’t really commit. They needed at least one more big show to get to the ad sales they needed.

“I know [Mike] Rhyner is blaming poor management, and I know that their salespeople are used to national advertising that you can’t sell with a local talk format, but management was just not the problem. It was lack of investment. With a little more talent and another year, The Freak could have been a $10 million per year station…”

A post replied to Kingston’s asking if it is “still l possible for you to buy another frequency, retain all these guys, add the other show you are talking about and resurrect this thing quickly to build it into exactly what you are talking about?”

Kingston replied, “Lots of people talking about lots of things this week. I should probably shut up for a bit.”

Kingston represented McDowell and Kemp last year when they had a contract dispute with The Ticket owner Cumulus Media (and previous station owner Susquehanna Radio) over wanting to do a podcast outside of their sports talk radio hosting duties.

BSM will monitor the situation and keep you updated when more information becomes available about where the hosts from ‘The Freak’ may end up.