Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive October PPM Analysis For Detroit, Miami, Seattle, Phoenix, Minneapolis

Markets #11-15

The third round of our exclusive analysis begins momentarily. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with our chums at XTRENDS, have spared no expense in bringing this your way. The OCTOBER survey covered the precise dates of SEPTEMBER 10th through OCTOBER 7th. There are two things of note concerning this book. First, it was the beginning of the NFL season and that did have a measurable impact in some markets. Second, it is the last survey before NIELSEN’s implementation of the enhanced CBET. We will explore more of that next month. But for now, on with the show …

DETROIT: Classic Hits And Scores

The hits just kept on coming – both on the air and on the field. CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOMC returned to the #1 spot 6+ it last visited in JUNE (6.7-7.2), which pushed cluster brother – and LIONS flagship – CBS RADIO Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET) back to #2 despite an up book (6.8-7.0). GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WCSX was flat (6.7-6.7) and slid back to #3. CBS RADIO News WWJ-A remained at #4 but posted its best number since APRIL (6.0-6.4). GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WRIF was still firmly rooted to the #5 position (5.7-5.8). It was a strong book for CUMULUS Talk WJR-A. The station had its highest share since FEBRUARY (4.3-5.0) as it advanced six places to #6.
For the fourth book in a row, WRIF was #1 25-54. The station also had its best book in over a year. WXYT-F was fueled by the promise of good professional football (since shattered) as it had a healthy increase to remain at #2. WCSX scored its best share since APRIL but had to be content with being a strong #3. CBS RADIO Country WYCD was off a bit but held on at #4 while WOMC advanced three squares to #5 as it bounced back from a down book. iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC saw its seven-book surge come to an end as it dropped from #5 to a tie at #9.

Though it was down for the second month in a row, WRIF racked up its fourth consecutive 18-34 win. The station maintained its full share lead over the new #2 in town – iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955), which was up slightly. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB fell back to #3 with its lowest score in over a year. WYCD had its best month since NOVEMBER as it moved forward two paces to #4. Football was bery, bery good to WXYT-F in this demo as well. The station made a crucial four-yard gain to claim the #5 spot. A couple of stations dropped out of the top five. CUMULUS Hot AC WDVD ended up at #6 with its lowest score since APRIL while WGPR INC Urban AC WGPR (HOT) slid three spots to #7 after losing a noticeable chunk of share.

It was a good month to be WRIF. The station was #1 18-49 for the fifth consecutive survey and, as a bonus, joined the double-digit share club. WXYT-F’s pigskin-fueled resurgence brought the station back to #2 while WCSX posted its largest share since APRIL to move up three places to #3. WKQI was off slightly but managed to inch up to #4 while WJLB fell three spots to #5 with its smallest share in over a year. WNIC dropped to #7 as it ended a four-book surge.

MIAMI-FT.LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD: Bright Lite, Big City

Wow. Someone certainly pumped up the wattage for ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE). That the station was #1 6+ for the sixth book in a row was no real surprise. However, the share increase was. The station easily had its best book in over a year (this will be a recurring theme), moving 6.2-8.3. COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT) remained a distant #2 (6.0-6.4) while UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) moved up to #3 with its highest total since APRIL (5.1-5.8). COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY) was down for the second month in a row (5.9-5.5) to drop back to #4. And then, there was everyone else. Compression was the order of the day for the rest of the market. COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99 JAMZ) was flat (4.5-4.5) yet moved up two spots to #5. ENTERCOM Classic Hits WMXJ (MAGIC) moved up four places to #6 with an ever-so-slight increase (4.2-4.3). SBS Tropical WXDJ (EL ZOL) slid three spots to a tie at #8 with its lowest share since MAY (4.7-4.0).

It was not exactly a “worst to first” scenario but WLYF certainly made some noise 25-54. The station moved to #1 for the first time since NOVEMBER with a huge increase in share. WHQT had its best book since APRIL but still dropped back to #2. UNIVISION Tropical WRTO (MIX) was off slightly and fell to #3. WXDJ dropped to #4 with a small decrease while WAMR advanced four spots to #5 with its best performance since MAY. WFEZ was off for the third book in a row and dropped two spots to #6. iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WMGE (MEGA) had its smallest share since MARCH and fell from #5 to #9. In its first full survey of existence, ENTERCOM Alternative WSFS (THE SHARK) moved up to #20.

Okay, so this one was a bit closer to the “worst to first” genre. WLYF went from #11 to #1 – more than doubling its 18-34 shares over the previous month. And, to the best of our knowledge, the station was not playing CHRISTMAS music … The one flaw in this fairy tale was that LITE had to share the spotlight with WEDR, which notched its seventh straight stay on top of the demo. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT) ended a two-book surge and dropped back to #3 while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHYI (Y100) moved up to #4 with a modest increase. CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPOW (POWER) fell two places to #5 with its lowest share since APRIL. WXDJ also dropped two, ending up at #6 with its smallest number since JUNE. WSFS was up handsomely from the previous survey and moved up to #18.

WLYF made it a clean sweep by capturing the 18-49 crown – advancing from #11 to do so. The two stations who shared that spot last month were neither in that spot nor sharing this time. WEDR had its highest share in over a year yet stepped back to #2. WRTO dropped to #3 with its smallest share since JUNE. WHQT had been flat for three books but added just enough this time to move up to #4. WXDJ slipped to #5 while WPOW dropped four spots to a tie at #7 with its least productive outing since APRIL. WMGE ended up in a tie at #9 thanks to its lowest total since MARCH.

SEATTLE-TACOMA: 12th Man Radio

One of the beauties of sports is that hope springs eternal for every fan at the beginning of each season. By now, SEAHAWKS fans have forgotten the inventive play calling in the SUPER BOWL and stand ready to cheer on this year’s underachieving squad. That is certainly one explanation for the recent performance of BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F. The station moved to #1 6+ with its best book in over a year (6.2-6.8). It is not technically the NFL flagship. That goes to BONNEVILLE Sports KIRO-A, which was up slightly at #8 (4.1-4.3). But it seems like the simulcast helped. HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) had its best book since JUNE (6.3-6.6) to remain at #2. Last month’s surprise story – iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR-F (THE JET) – lost some altitude. The station saw its four-book surge come to an end (6.5-5.4) as it fell from the top to #3. CBS RADIO Classic Rock KZOK was down for the second consecutive survey as it remained at #4 (5.6-5.3). ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW was motionless at #5 (4.7-5.0) but was joined by CBS RADIO Country KMPS, which moved up from #6 with its best showing in over a year (4.5-5.0).

KQMV was #1 25-54 for the second month in a row with its best share since MARCH. KISW bounced back from last month’s downturn to remain at #2 while KIRO-F moved up two places in the standings to #3 with its highest total since NOVEMBER. KJR-F ended a strong five-book run and dropped back to #4. ENTERCOM Country KKWF (THE WOLF) posted its lowest score in over a year but remained at #5. It was tied with KZOK, which took one step back with its smallest number since JANUARY. A little farther down the list was SINCLAIR Hot AC KPLZ (STAR). The station had its best book since DECEMBER and moved up five places to #8 – its highest rank since NOVEMBER.

KISW popped a big one 18-34 as it moved back to #1 with its best performance since APRIL. Last month’s leader – KQMV – dropped back to #2 with just a slight loss of share. It shared the stage with ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END), which moved up a spot thanks to its highest score in over a year. These three stations were well clear of the rest of the pack. Speaking of which, KKWF remained curled up at #4 despite landing its lowest number since JANUARY. KZOK took a step forward to #5 with a small increase while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KUBE stepped back to a tie at #6 with its least productive outing since APRIL. KMPS moved up six places to #8 with its best book in over a year. Could a rootin’ tootin’ country battle be looming?

Both KQMV and KISW continued to dominate 18-49. The former was #1 for the second month in a row while the latter remained at #2. For the last fourteen books, these two have taken turns at the top spot and have never been below #2. KNDD moved up to a distant #3 with its best book in over a year. KKWF again had its lowest share in over a year. It remained at #4 but was tied by KIRO-F, which moved up from a tie at #8 thanks to its highest score in over a year. KJR-F did not sustain last month’s monster book and dropped three places to #6 while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KBKS (KISS) fell to #7 from a tie at #5. KMPS again had its best performance in over a year to move up five slots to #8.

PHOENIX: EZ Doez It Again

This one made it an even dozen. For the twelfth book in a row, iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (99.9KEZ) was #1 6+. The station’s shares have not varied much during that time but are enough to keep it on top (6.5-6.6). If it can just weather the rocky month of NOVEMBER, it has Santa’s embrace to look forward to. HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX took sole control of the #2 position with its best showing since JUNE (5.9-6.1). CBS RADIO Classic Hits KOOL slipped back to #3 (5.9-5.6) while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX) moved up two slots to #4 with its highest score in over a year (4.9-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFYI-A had its lowest share since the cacti had tinsel as it fell back to #5 (5.4-5.1). HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD had its lowest total in over a year (5.0-4.4) to move back one step to #6.

KUPD landed its lowest 25-54 share in over a year yet still managed to win the demo for the sixth straight survey. However, its loss allowed two other stations to get into the race. iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) moved up to #2 and was just inches away from the leader. KESZ fell back to #3 with its lowest share since FEBRUARY but was also very close to the top. KOOL was at its highest point in over a year as it moved up to #4 while KSLX stepped back to #5 with its smallest share since APRIL. The country horse race was very close. CBS RADIO Country KMLE moved up to a tie at #7 while iHEARTMEDIA Country KNIX was just behind at #9. Both stations had modest increases.

CBS RADIO Top 40/M KZON (LIVE 101.5) has been on quite the two-book tear 18-34. Both books have been its best in over a year but this one took the station to #1. KESZ moved up to #2 with its best showing since APRIL while last month’s leader – KUPD – fell to #3 thus ending its six-book winning streak. KMXP advanced two squares to #4 with its best performance in over a year. iHEATMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) dropped two places to #5 despite having an up book. RIVIERA Hot AC KMVA (HOT) moved up three spots to #6 with its best book in over a year. The country battle raged on. Both stations were up, with KNIX at #8 and KMLE at #9.

As it happened 25-54, so it replicated 18-49. KUPD had its lowest share in over a year yet captured the flag for the sixth month in a row. KESZ was also down but remained at #2 while KYOT was flat and happy at #3. KMXP again had its highest share in over a year but did not budge from #4. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #5 with their best books in over a year. KOOL was up from #6 and KZON advanced from a tie at #7. KSLX dropped three places to #7.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL: It Hit The Fan

Behold the power of radio … and the NFL. We find it worth noting that despite the fact that pretty much every NFL game is available for viewing (on any device) and that so many fans have HD TVs with instant replay and cheaper beer – radio is still a strong place for football play-by-play. More on that in a minute … but first – there was a tie atop the 6+ leaderboard. HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) remained in place (8.4-8.3) but was joined by iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL), which was flat (8.3-8.3). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB posted its lowest share in over a year but remained at #3. Are you ready for some football? VIKINGS flagship iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (K-FAN) moved up to #4 with easily its best book in over a year (5.2-7.2). iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K-102) had its lowest share since FEBRUARY (7.3-6.7) to slip back to #5. Though CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS remained at #6, the station did have its biggest share since APRIL (5.7-6.6). CBS RADIO Country KMNB (BUZ’N) dropped two places to #7 with its lowest share since JUNE (6.5-5.4).

Kick-off was very good to KFXN. The station beefed up by over two shares and moved to #1 25-54 with easily its best book in over a year. KSTP stepped back to #2 with a slight decrease. Both stations were well clear of the rest of the players. KEEY dropped back to #3 as it lost a chunk of share and was tied with KDWB, which was off slightly and motionless. KQRS moved up to #5 with its highest score since JUNE while KQQL stepped back to #6 with its smallest number since NOVEMBER.

Football, Santa songs, whatever. None of that matters 18-34 as KDWB continued to dominate the demo with another double-digit performance. CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) was alone at #2 but trailed the leader by over four shares. KSTP stepped up to #3 despite a down book while KEEY dropped two slots to #4 as it ended a two-book surge. KFXN was off slightly but moved up to #5 while MPR AAA KCMP (THE CURRENT) fell two places to #7. KMNB was off slightly but up to #6.

After spending two books slumming in the single digits, KDWB finally crossed the double-digit threshold 18-49 for its tenth win in a row. KFXN parlayed a huge share increase into a two-step move to #2. KSTP stepped back to #3 with a small decrease while two stations claimed to be #4 – and they were right. KEEY came down from #3 with its lowest share since JULY while KXXR moved up from #5 – ending a three-book slide.

Thank you for slogging through this with us. As always, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. stand ready to help you win in the ratings. Contact us to find out how. In the meantime, we’ll be back again next month for our dissection of NOVEMBER.

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