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

Exclusive Analysis

Yes, we realize you are doing that last-minute shopping and cranking out music logs for five days. But, we invite you to take a few minutes to peruse the latest results from the DECEMBER survey. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in voluntary cooperation with Santa’s helpers from XTRENDS, have taken a deeper look at five more markets. 

The DECEMBER book covered 11/3 to 11/30 so it’s really just an extension of NOVEMBER. There were ratings versions of a Polar Vortex swirling through this book.  There was this election thing. Then you had that THANKSGIVING thing.  Plus, all those stations abandoning their formats in a race to the NORTH POLE.  Finally, there was this whole meter thing that led to the MRC pulling accreditation for the entire survey (read more here).  That’s a lot to deal with so close to the holidays.  Read on …

Detroit: So Close Santa

In the past, this was one of the markets that featured dueling holiday stations.  That did not happen this time.  The station that chose to go down Santa Claus Lane was iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC.  It flipped at the very beginning of the book and things worked out pretty well for the station (5.7-6.8) as it moved up from a tie at #4 to … #2.  Its path was blocked by the station that chose to keep its format – CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOMC.  That also worked out well as the station remained #1 6+ for the second book in a row with its best share in exactly a year (6.8-7.1).  Last year at this time WNIC was #1 with an 8.0 share while WOMC came in at #2 with a 7.2.

CUMULUS Talk WJR-A was fueled by a combination of election hype and LIONS football to remain flat (6.7-6.7) as it slipped back to #3.  CBS RADIO News WWJ-A jumped three places to #4 despite a slight loss (5.5-5.4).  BEASLEY Classic Rock WCSX slid back to #5 (5.7-5.2) as it ended a three-book surge.  CBS RADIO Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET) suffered from the lack of hometown NFL play-by-play.  The station dropped three places to #6 with its lowest score in over a year (6.0-4.9).  BEASLEY Active Rock WRIF also fell three spots – to #7 – with its smallest share in over a year (5.7-4.8).  Remember BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WMGC (THE BOUNCE), which blew into town in AUGUST with an 8 share and a #1 rank?  It was down for the fourth book in a row (3.3-3.0) and dropped to #16.

Santa didn’t make the grade 25-54, either, because WRIF remained #1 for the fourth book in a row, though with its lowest share in over a year.  WNIC did move up a spot to #2 with its fourth up book in a row.  WOMC advanced three places to #3 with its best book since it was last spinning those holiday records.  WXYT-F slid a couple of places to #4 with its lowest total since MARCH.

iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WMXD (MIX) was up to #5 with its highest share in over a year. IHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955) dropped to #6 as it gave back all of last month’s gain.  WCSX fell to a tie at #7 with a small decrease in share.

For the fourth book in a row, WRIF was not only #1 18-34 but topped the double-digit mark. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB had its best outing since JUNE to remain at #2 but was over two shares off the lead.  WNIC was up for the fifth consecutive survey as it advanced two places to #3. WKQI slid back to #4 with a small loss while WOMC moved up six slots to #5 with its highest total in over a year.  CBS RADIO Top 40/M WDZH (AMP) inched up to #6 with its best outing since APRIL while CBS RADIO Country WYCD dropped three places to #7 with a small decrease. WMGC continued to slide as it dropped from a tie at #5 to #11.

WRIF was #1 18-49 for the third straight survey but posted its lowest share since JULY.  Still, it had a share and a half lead over WNIC, which moved up to #2 with a solid increase.  WJLB was extremely close behind at #3 with its best outing since JUNE.  WOMC went from #11 to #4 with its highest mark since it was decking the halls and such.  WKQI dropped three places to #5 while WMXD was up four slots to #6 with its best book in over a year.  WXYT-F dropped from #5 to a tie at #10 with its lowest share since spring training.

Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-Hollywood: Easy Does It Again

Perhaps it is the allure of the sun, sand, and SOUTH BEACH, but this is a market that did not have a station playing the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA in power rotation this book.  COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY) was #1 6+ for the second book in a row (7.2-7.1).  UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) moved up to a close #2 (6.4-6.8) as it regained the share it lost last time.  ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE) slipped back to #3 with its lowest share in over a year (7.0-6.7).  COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT) also had its lowest total in over a year (6.4-6.3) to slip back to #4.  COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99JAMZ) moved up to #5 despite posting its lowest score since JULY (5.2-4.7).  Close behind at #6 was SBS Tropical WCMQ (Z923), which had its smallest share since the last HOLIDAY survey (5.5-4.6).  Just a small step behind at #7 was SBS Tropical WXDJ (EL ZOL), which had its best book since AUGUST (3.8-4.5).

For the first time since JUNE, WLYF was not the #1 25-54 station.  It slipped back to #2 with its least productive outing since FEBRUARY.  It was replaced at the top by WAMR, which had its highest grade in over a year.  WHQT inched up to #3 as it ended a five-book slide.  WEDR dropped two places to #4 as it ended a five-book surge.  WXDJ jumped from a tie at #11 to #5 with its best showing since AUGUST.  COX RADIO Top 40/M WFLC (HITS) advanced four squares to #6, thus ending a two-book slide.  iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WZTU (TU 94.9) dropped from #5 to #10 despite merely a modest loss.  This part of the chart is so compressed that the station is less than half a share out of the top five.

WEDR saw its string of double digit 18-34 books end at two – but by the smallest of recordable margins.  Still, the station was #1 for the third book in a row and led #2 iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT) – which was down slightly – by over two and a half shares.  WLYF slid back to #3 with its lowest score in exactly one year.  CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPOW (POWER 96) was also off slightly but managed to move up to #4 anyway.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHYI (Y100) dropped back to #5 with its lowest score since SEPTEMBER.  WXDJ bounced back from two soft books in a row to advance four places to #6.

Though WEDR ended a five-book surge 18-49, it continued to own the demo, but its lead over #2 WLYF was now under a share.  WAMR was up to #3 with a solid increase while the two stations formerly known as number six (a very obscure reference to an old British TV series) split and moved up.  WFLC landed at #4, ending a two-book slide, while WPOW settled in at #5 with its fourth up book in a row.  WHYI dropped from #3 to a tie at #7 as it returned all of last month’s big gain.  WZTU fell six places to #10 but was still in the hunt.

Seattle: Getting Warmer

This one should be fun to watch as three separate stations – think of them as radio Magi – made the Frosty flip.  The first was HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM), which went at the beginning of week three.  It worked out quite well as the station moved up three slots to #2 (4.4-6.7).  (Last year it recorded a 6.5.)  However, it was not able to unseat the leader.  HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) was #1 6+ for the twelfth book in a row (8.0-7.1).  That streak should end in the next survey.  BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F dropped back to #3 (5.5-5.5) while UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW fell to #4 (5.2-5.3).  iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR-F (THE JET) was up for the third book in a row (4.7-4.8) but still fell back to #5.  And what of our other holiday entrants?  SINCLAIR Hot AC KPLZ (STAR but not SANTA 101.5) flipped the day after WARM.  It didn’t move much (3.3-3.4) as it went from #13 to #12.  CRISTA Christian Contemporary KCMS (SPIRIT) went in the last week of the survey.  It also recorded a slight increase (3.0-3.1) and moved up to a tie at #13.  Watch this space.

It was the twelfth straight 25-54 win for KQMV though it gave back all of last month’s big gain.  KRWM moved up five places to #2 and was just a share behind the leader.  ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW stepped back to #3 with its fourth down book in a row.  KJR-F had its highest share since JULY but still had to move back to #4.  KIRO-F moved up to #5 with a flat performance and was partnered with iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBKS (KISS), which slipped back from #4.  ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT) had its lowest share since JANUARY and fell from #5 to a tie at #9.  The other holiday participants – KPLZ and KCMS – were tied at #12.

This was the third straight survey with a double-digit 18-34 share for KQMV.  And, it ran its #1 streak to eleven out of the last twelve surveys.  ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END) moved up to #2 with its best book since AUGUST but in the end (see what we did there?) was over three and a half shares off the lead.  KHTP stepped back to #3 with its smallest share since FEBRUARY while KBKS remained moored at #4 with a slight increase.  KRWM had its best outing since JANUARY to advance ten paces to #5.  KISW dropped to a tie at #7 with its lowest share in over a year.  KPLZ was off a bit as it dropped to #12 while KCMS was up slightly as it advanced to a tie at #13.

KQMV ended a three-book 18-49 surge but was still strong enough to remain #1.  Cluster sister KRWM moved up to #2 thanks to an early CHRISTMAS present but was still over two shares in arrears.  The three stations previously known as #2 went their separate ways.  KISW stepped back to #3 with its fourth straight down book while KBKS landed at #4 with its first down book since AUGUST.  KHTP dropped to #7 with its smallest share since FEBRUARY.  KNDD was flat and happy at #5.  KPLZ remained at #13 while KCMS moved up three places to a tie at #14.

Phoenix: Easy Like Christmas Morning

iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (99.9KEZ) has long been credited with inventing the holiday format.  Not that the station needs any kind of artificial stimulus.  It switched during week two and appeared to suck a lot of the ratings air out of the room.  KESZ was – naturally – #1 6+ (6.3-9.8) as it eclipsed last year’s 9.5 mark.  The next three stations remained in place but all lost share.  HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX was #2 but with its lowest score in over a year (6.0-5.2).  HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD remained at #3 but with its least productive outing since AUGUST (5.1-4.7).  CBS RADIO Classic Hits KOOL also had its lowest grade in over a year (4.7-4.4) but held steady at #4.  iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX ) was up (4.2-4.3) as it moved to #5.  CBS RADIO Top 40/M KALV (LIVE 101.5) dropped four places to a tie at #9 (4.4-3.8) as it returned almost all of last month’s gain.

Last month KESZ and KUPD were tied atop the 25-54 leaderboard.  Thanks to Santa’s influence, KESZ had a large increase to take the lead for itself.  KUPD dropped back to #2 with its third down book in a row.  KSLX had its lowest total since AUGUST but managed to hold on to third place.  KMXP took two steps forward to #4 just by being flat.  UNIVISION Regional Mexican KHOT (QUE BUENA) moved up three places to tie MIX at #4 as it bounced back from last month’s loss.  iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) stepped back to #6 with a small decrease while KOOL dropped to a tie at #7 with its lowest mark since APRIL.

There was all sorts of commotion 18-34.  First, KESZ went from #10 to #1.  What is worth noting is that for the three months prior to NOVEMBER, the station had also been #1.  RIVIERA Top 40/R KKFR (POWER) had its best book since APRIL to move from a tie at #7 to #2.  KUPD slipped back to #3 despite posting its best number in over a year.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) inched up to #4 with its highest score since JUNE.  KALV took two steps forward to #5 despite a slight decrease.  Three stations were locked in battle at #6.  This included last month’s demo leader – CBS RADIO Country KMLE – which gave back all of last month’s big gain plus a little more.  KHOT moved up from #9 in spite of a slight decrease while KMXP dropped back from a tie at #5 with its lowest total since JANUARY.  The two stations that were sharing the #3 spot last month did not fare as well this time.  KSLX fell to #12 with its lowest grade in over a year while FARMWORKER Regional Mexican KNAI (CAMPESINA) dropped to #17 as it, too, had its least productive outing in over a year.

There was no coal in KESZ’s 18-49 stocking.  The station rose to #1 and led last month’s leader – the now #2 KUPD – by two shares.  KHOT moved up three slots to #3 as it got back last month’s share loss.  KALV was off slightly but stable at #4 while KSLX dropped three places to #5 with its smallest share since JANUARY.  KOOL fell back to #7 as it ended a two-book surge.  KKFR had its best showing since JUNE to move up five spots to #8.

Minneapolis-St.Paul: Kool Yule

The folks at iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) are having anything but a blue CHRISTMAS (except when they step outdoors).  The station flipped during week three and that drove it to #1 6+ (6.3-7.6).  Last year it recorded an 8.5 share.  This knocked cluster brother iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (KFAN) back to #2, ending its two-book winning streak (8.5-7.4).  HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) was flat and steady at #3 (7.1-7.1).  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB fell back to #4 with its third down book in a row (7.3-7.0).  CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS stepped back to #5 (7.0-6.9).  The election buzz may have aided MPR N/T KNOW, which moved up to #6 with its best book in over a year (5.2-5.9).

Make it four 25-54 wins in a row for KFXN.  Though the station did not repeat its double-digit share from the previous two surveys, it still had enough juice to hold a nearly two-share lead.  KSTP took two steps upward to #2 with a slight increase.  CBS RADIO Adult Hits KZJK (JACK) slid back to #3 with its lowest total since SEPTEMBER.  KDWB moved back to #4 with its smallest share since MARCH while KQRS remained in place at #5 with a small decrease.  iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K102) also had its highest score since SEPTEMBER but could not move out of seventh place.  KQQL took three steps forward to #6 and was a tad stronger than last year.  KNOW only moved up to #9 but again had its best showing in over a year.  By comparison, last DECEMBER it was #13.

Last month the top three stations 18-34 all passed the double-digit share mark.  Only one was able to maintain that lofty status and it was the usual suspect – KDWB.  CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) got as close as is mathematically possible as it remained at #2.  KFXN held on at #3 but with its lowest score since AUGUST.  KEEY was flat and happy at #4 while KSTP maintained an even keel at #5.  KQQL moved up to #7 with its highest mark since JULY.

This just in – KDWB was flat 18-49.  That’s not really a problem as it was the seventh double-digit book in a row and pushed the station back to #1 after a two-month break.  KFXN had its fourth straight double-digit experience but still fell back to #2.  KSTP bounced back from last month’s down book to move up to #3 while KXXR slipped back to #4 with its smallest share since JUNE.  KZJK was down but steady at #5.  KQQL moved up three places to #6 with its best showing since the last time it played BURL IVES.

On that note, we conclude our look at the DECEMBER survey.  We’ll be back next year to examine the HOLIDAY book.  In the meantime, from all of us at RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., please have a safe and happy holiday.

Email: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com
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