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

Markets #11-#15

They say good things come in threes, so here’s our next round of analysis you can only read right here in ALL ACCESS (except for those other sites that cut and paste our prose … but that’s more JOEL’s problem than ours). Who are we? The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. We work cheek by jowl with the numbers nerds from XTRENDS to bring you this pithy commentary every month. And what a month it was! JUNE was busting out all over. That is, if you consider JUNE to be the space between 5/19 and 6/15. Nielsen does and who are we to argue?

DETROIT: Sports Rocks

While the TIGERS may not be in first place in the AL CENTRAL, their flagship station was #1 6+ for the third book in a row. CBS RADIO Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET) was off a bit (7.3-7.2) but still held a commanding lead over the rest of the division … kind of like the INDIANS. The next four stations were separated by two-tenths of a share. GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WRIF jumped up to second place with a slight increase (5.6-5.7). CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOMC fell back to #3 with an equally slight decrease (5.7-5.6). GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WCSX had a less slight decrease, which dropped the station from a tie at #2 to a tie at #4 (5.7-5.5). That tie was with the fast-moving iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955), which used its huge increase (5.1-5.5) to move up from #9. Last month’s #5 duo went their separate ways … which was down. CBS RADIO Country WYCD was flat (5.3-5.3) but stepped back to #6 while CUMULUS Talk WJR-A ended up at #8 (5.3-5.1).

For the twelfth time in the last fourteen surveys (and sixth in a row), WRIF was #1 25-54. It continued to be the far-and-away market leader. WKQI had its best showing in over a year to move up to #2 but was still a share and a half off the pace. WXYT-F slid back to third place despite a slight increase. The next two stations also posted their highest shares in over a year. WYCD was content to remain at #4 while CUMULUS Hot AC WDVD earned “leap o’ the month” honors by moving from #10 to #5. WCSX was down for the fourth book in a row and dropped back to #6 where it was just ahead of seventh-place iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB, which had a slight increase.

After four straight double-digit 18-34 books (and a near miss last time), WRIF finally came back to Earth. Sure, the station was #1 for the sixth straight survey but it was now embroiled in an actual race. That’s because WKQI strengthened its #2 position with a very strong month and the gap between the two stations could not be narrower. WJLB was not far behind at #3 after posting its best score since SEPTEMBER. WYCD was off a bit but remained a solid #4 while WDVD moved up three slots to #5 as it ended a four-book slide. WXYT-F had its best outing since NOVEMBER to inch up to #6 while WGPR INC. Urban AC WGPR (HOT) fell two places to #7 with its lowest share since JULY.

WRIF had been on a four-book downtrend 18-49 but that ended with this book. Not to worry, the station has been a dominant #1 throughout. WKQI remained at #2 with its best performance in over a year while WJLB remained at #3 with a small increase. WDVD was the big mover as it climbed from #7 to #4 and ended a four-book slide. WYCD – which was tied at #12 in APRIL – remained at #5 but with its highest share in over a year. WCSX fell three slots to #7 with its smallest number since we were all joyful and triumphant.

MIAMI-FT.LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD: Surprisingly, It’s Hot

It’s summer in SOUTH BEACH, duh. However, we were not referring to the four-day forecast. This is all about the ratings, and it was a good month for COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT). The station was back to #1 6+ with its best book since JANUARY (7.7-8.2) which, coincidentally, was the last time the station was on top. ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE) saw its four-book winning streak come to an end. The station slipped back to #2 with its lowest share since FEBRUARY (8.2-7.9). COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY) was a distant but solid #3 (6.3-6.4) while UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) was up slightly at #4 (5.7-5.8). Returning to the top five after a three-book hiatus was SBS Tropical WCMQ (Z92.3), which was up from #7 (4.7-4.9). COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99JAMZ) slid back to #6 (5.0-4.5) where it was joined by a surging UNIVISION Tropical WRTO (MIX), which moved up from #9, thus ending a two-book slide (3.8-4.5).

This was the ninth book in a row that WHQT was #1 25-54. The only blemish on that hot streak (see what we did there?) was last month’s tie with WLYF. That changed because HOT was up slightly and #2 LITE ended a three-book surge. WRTO moved from #7 to #3 as it ended a dramatic two-book slide. Two stations moving in opposite directions met at #4. WEDR slid from #3 with its lowest share since the book where no one really went full-time CHRISTMAS, like in just about every other market. WAMR moved up from #5 with its best outing since FEBRUARY. SBS Tropical WXDJ (EL ZOL) fell three places to #7 with its least productive outing in over a year.

Sadly for WEDR it was not able to hit double digits 18-34 for a fourth consecutive survey. Happily, the station was #1 for the bazillionth (look it up) book in a row. WLYF had its lowest share since DECEMBER but managed to hold on to second place. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT) had its lowest score since JULY but did not budge from the #3 slot. However, that was threatened as WRTO moved up to a close #4 with its best performance in over a year. WHQT was flat and slipped to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHYI (Y100) took a step back to #6 despite landing its largest share since JANUARY.

Though WLYF saw its three-book run come to an end, the station was still #1 18-49 by a comfortable margin. WHQT moved up to #2 but remained a safe distance away from the top. WEDR dropped back to #3 after losing a chunk of share. WRTO enjoyed a very nice increase, which allowed the station to jump two spots to #4. WXDJ ended a three-book run as it dropped a spot to #5. WMIB fell three places to #7 with its smallest share since JANUARY.

SEATTLE-TACOMA: Bust A Movin’

Get it? Instead of bustin’ a move we … never mind. If we have to explain it … For the sixth straight survey, HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) was #1 6+ (6.2-6.1). BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F made a run for it by posting its best share since DECEMBER (4.9-5.8) as it moved up to #2. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR-F (THE JET) came in for a landing with its lowest score since JANUARY (6.1-5.3) and taxied back to #3.  ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW had its best performance since FEBRUARY (4.4-4.7) to move up a spot to fourth place. HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM) ended a four-book slide (4.4-4.6) to remain tied at #5. This time it had a new partner – CBS RADIO Classic Rock KZOK – which dropped back from #4 with its lowest share since we were pretending a pile of snow was a man of the cloth (give it a sec) (4.8-4.6). UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW dropped to #7 (4.4-4.2).

All of a sudden the 25-54 race became quite testy. KQMV was still #1 with a small increase but #2 KISW used its best performance since OCTOBER to narrow the gap considerably. ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT) was a flat and distant #3. KJR-F held on at #4 but was down for the third book in a row. KRWM ended a three-book slide as it climbed five slots to #5. BONNEVILLE Sports KIRO-A fell two places to #7 as it saw its three-book winning streak come to an end. It was joined by the rapidly rising CBS RADIO Adult Hits KJAQ (JACK), which came in all the way from #19. Also enjoying the comfy digs at #7 was ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END), which dropped a spot since last month.

Though KQMV had been #1 18-34 since JANUARY, the station was on a three-book downtrend. That ended with this survey and the station remained on top. KHTP moved up to a relatively close #2 with its hottest book in over a year. KNDD had its best outing since NOVEMBER, which allowed the station to rise two spots to #3. KISW had its lowest share in over a year but remained a fixture at #4. KJR-F fell three places to #5 as it lost a painfully large chunk of share.

Both KQMV and KISW had strong books 18-49. They remained #1 and #2, respectively, but were still a share and a half apart. KHTP was off slightly but still #3 while KNDD moved up to #4 with its best performance since NOVEMBER. KJR-F had its lowest total since JANUARY and dropped two places to #5. A couple of stations had strong outings and moved up and into a tie at #6. KIRO-F moved up from a tie at #8 with its highest share since OCTOBER while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBKS (KISS) used its best book since NOVEMBER to jump from #11.

PHOENIX: Mixing Things Up

While the usual story is that iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (99.9KEZ) was #1 6+ – again – there was more lurking below the surface. But, you’ll have to wait for that. KESZ did, by the way, have its lowest share since FEBRUARY (8.1-7.5). HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX remained at #2 as it ended a nice five-book run (6.9-6.4). CBS RADIO Classic Hits KOOL was down but held on to its share of the #3 slot (6.0-5.5). It was joined by iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX), which moved up from #5 with its best book in over a year (spoiler alert) (5.1-5.5). CBS RADIO Country KMLE was up for the fourth book in a row (4.9-5.0) and cracked the top five for the first time in over a year. HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD had its lowest share since caroling was a thing (5.6-4.8) and fell two places to #6.

And now for the reveal. KMXP had a heck of a book. The station posted its biggest 25-54 number in over a year and moved up to #1. This ended KUPD’s five-book run at the top as it fell to #2 with its smallest share since DECEMBER. KMLE was up to #3 with its best performance in over a year. KSLX dropped two slots to #4 with a small decrease. KESZ also had a small loss as it dropped back to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) was up to #6 as it bounced back from last month’s loss.

There was quite a bit of churn in the 18-34 arena. First, KMXP rocketed from #4 to #1. It wasn’t the station’s best share of the year, but it was enough to propel it into the lead. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) moved up to #2 with a slight increase. One of last month’s co-leaders – KESZ – dropped back to #3 with a small decrease. KSLX moved up two spots to #4 with its best share in over a year.  KMLE also jumped two spots and landed at #5 with its best book since AUGUST. The other co-leader from last book – CBS RADIO Top 40/M KALV (LIVE 101.5) – fell all the way to #6 after scoring its lowest number since AUGUST. It was partnered with RIVIERA Top 40/R KKFR (POWER), which had its smallest share since OCTOBBER.

If you’ve been paying attention to this point, you could likely guess the next reveal. Yes, KMXP moved up to #1 18-49 with its best book in over a year. This dropped KUPD back to #2 as the station had its lowest mark since DECEMBER. KESZ also took one step back – to #3 – thanks to a medium-sized decrease. KSLX remained at #4 with a small increase and was joined by KMLE, which moved up from a tie at #6 with its fourth up book in a row. KZZP took one step back to #6 despite a small increase. KYOT made a six-spot leap to #7 as it bounced back from last month’s rock slide.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL: Two For Two

Appropriately enough for the TWIN CITIES, this is all about two stations each dominating two demos. We begin with 6+ where HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) was #1 for the sixth book in a row and held a strong lead over the rest of the field (9.8-9.1). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) was up for the second month in a row (7.3-8.0) to remain at #2. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB was still #3 but with its highest share since SEPTEMBER (6.9-7.6). CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS had its best outing since NOVEMBER (6.3-7.1) but had to be content with being #4 for the third straight survey. iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K-102) was in the #5 slot for the sixth book in a row (6.0-6.3).

Things got a little more interesting 25-54 but KSTP was still #1. However, the station posted its lowest number of its six-book stay at the top and, since KDWB moved up to #2 with its biggest book in exactly a year, things got relatively cozy. KQRS moved up to a confident #3 with its second straight positive performance. KEEY fell two places to #4 just by being flat. CBS RADIO Adult Hits KZJK (JACK) was up to #5 as it ended a two-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (KFAN) fell three places to #8 with its lowest score in over a year.

This is where things turn. KDWB was – once again – the dominant player 18-34. The station had its best book since OCTOBER. Even though KEEY moved up to #2 with a strong showing, the chasm between the two stations exceeded three shares. CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) could not sustain its double-digit pace from last month and slipped back to #3. KSTP was a solid #4, though with its lowest share since JANUARY. CBS RADIO Country KMNB (BUZ’N) remained a distant #5 with a small increase.

For the first time since OCTOBER, KDWB crossed the double-digit threshold 18-49. It was this close the last two surveys. KSTP was down for the third book in a row but remained comfortably nestled at #2. KXXR was still tied at #3 with a small decrease but had a new partner. That partner, KEEY, moved up from #5 with a small increase. This dropped KFXN back to #5 as the station posted its lowest point total since JULY.

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