This Boise radio station shot to No. 1 with a huge ratings number. Others took a dive

Country is king again on the Treasure Valley airwaves.

Spinning tunes from acts like Garth Brooks, Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen, FM station 101.9 The Bull trounced the competition to win the Boise area’s spring 2022 Nielsen Audio ratings, which were released Monday.

“Boise’s Best Country” dominated the “12-plus” category, which includes all listeners 12 and older tuned in between 6 a.m. and midnight. The Bull earned a massive 8.3 share. That’s the biggest 12-plus number in this market since the station drew a jaw-dropping 8.7 in spring 2020.

Released twice a year, Nielsen ratings drill down to near-endless demographics. For advertising sales purposes, stations consider many of them just as important, if not more so, than the overall 12-plus number, which is mostly about bragging rights.

Still, it’s a return to form for the raging Bull, which has won four of the past six Nielsen ratings periods. Last fall, the station tied for second place in 12-plus.

Second in the spring 2022 book went to last fall’s top finisher, news-talk station KBOI-AM. It finished nearly two points behind The Bull at 6.6. Tied for third were Boise State’s 91.5 KBSX-FM and Hot AC station My 102.7 — with a 4.9 share.

And while those stations are feeling good about themselves, others probably aren’t. It was a disappointing book for Mix 106 and 100.3 The X, for example. Both stations pulled 12-plus listener numbers that were roughly half what they did six months earlier.

Below is the Treasure Valley ratings breakdown. Again, these are quarter-hour share ratings for stations among listeners 12 and older between 6 a.m. and midnight.

▪ KQBL-FM 101.9 (The Bull, country): 8.3

▪ KBOI-AM 670 (news/talk): 6.6

▪ KBSX-FM 91.5 (Boise State; news/talk): 4.9

▪ KZMG-FM 102.7 (My 102.7, Hot AC): 4.9

▪ KSAS-FM 103.5 (Kiss FM, contemporary hits): 4.3

▪ KSRV-FM 96.1 (Bob, variety hits): 4.1

▪ KAWO-FM 104.3 (Wow country): 4.1

▪ KWYD-FM 101.1 (Wild 101.1, rhythmic contemporary hits): 3.9

▪ KKGL-FM 96.9 (The Eagle, classic rock): 3.7

▪ KKOO-AM 1260 (Kool Oldies): 3.5

▪ KIZN-FM 92.3 (Kissin’ 92.3, country): 3.3

▪ KBSU-FM 90.3 (Boise State, classical): 3.3

▪ KRVB-FM 94.9 (The River, adult album alternative): 2.9

▪ KTHI-FM 107.1 (K-Hits, classic hits): 2.9

▪ KTSY-FM 89.5 (Christian contemporary): 2.7

▪ KIDO-AM 580 (news/talk): 2.7

▪ KXLT-FM 107.9 (Lite FM, adult contemporary): 2.3

▪ KQXR-FM 100.3 (The X, active rock): 2.1

▪ KJOT-FM 105.1 (Jack, variety hits): 1.9

▪ KQBL-FM HD3 96.5 (alternative rock): 1.7

▪ KQFC-FM 97.9 (Magic 97.9, adult contemporary): 1.7

▪ KCIX-FM 105.9 (Mix 106, Hot AC): 1.6

▪ KFXD-AM 630 (Power 105.5, urban contemporary): 1.2

▪ KQBL-FM HD2 99.1 (I-Rock): 1.2

▪ KTIK-AM 1350 (sports): 1.0

▪ KOAY-FM 88.7 (Christian contemporary): 0.8

▪ KBSU-FM HD2 90.3: (jazz): 0.2

▪ KSRV-FM HD2 99.9 (Fox Sports Boise): 0.2

Explaining the numbers: “Share” is the percentage of listeners tuned in to a station at a given time. KQBL-FM’s 8.3 means 8.3% of everyone 12 and older in the market listening to the radio at that time was tuned in to that station. These are quarter-hour share, or AQH, numbers — the average number of people listening to a particular station for at least 5 minutes during a 15-minute period. “Rating,” the percentage of potential listeners in the market actually tuning in, is a different thing. Find out more here.