Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive Holiday PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta, Bo

Markets #6-10

Another day, another round of untangling the CHRISTMAS lights and putting them back in the box. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. have, once again, joined forces with the elves from XTRENDS to divine meaning from the just-released HOLIDAY survey. As previously noted, this one was unusual because it provided 25% more data (it was five weeks long). Further, the last ten days of the survey covered the vast wasteland of time after the official holiday. Our focus here is on a couple things. First, did the extra week water down the ratings of the traditional holiday powers? Second, who seemed to suffer the most from the high rotation afforded on THURL RAVENSCROFT? Let’s see what the survey says …

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Santa’s Sunny Disposish

It’s always sunny in this part of TEXAS, and the sudden infusion of tinsel tunes only made the rich get richer. In this case we’re referring to iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY), which strengthened its 6+ lead (7.3-10.3). However, there were a few wispy clouds on the horizon, as this year the station fell short of last year’s lofty 11.9 share. The next three stations remained motionless from the last survey. RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) was #2 (6.9-7.0) while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN was #3 (6.7-6.5). COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) held on at #4, despite landing its lowest share since FEBRUARY (6.4-6.0). KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ was still at #5 (4.6-4.9) and was joined by RADIO ONE Top 40/M KBXX (THE BOX), which advanced from a tie at #7 with its best book since JUNE (4.3-4.9).

SANTAdid drive KODA to #1 25-54 for the first time since AUGUST. Though the station had a huge increase, it fell short of last year’s number by a little over a share. KLTN was off slightly and saw its four-book winning streak end as it slid back to #2. KMJQ moved up a spot to #3 with a slight increase while KGLK took a step back to #4 with its lowest total in over a year. CBS RADIO Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA) remained at #5 but ended a strong two-book run. Looking a bit farther down the list, it appeared that BOBBY HELMS was not kind to the Country format. CBS RADIO Country KILT (THE BULL) fell to a tie at #11 as it ended a four-book run and COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) slid to a tie at #13 with its lowest score in over a year.

Well, it would appear that the man from the north is not all powerful after all. KBXX had its best 18-34 share since JUNE and that propelled the station from #3 to #1. KODA had a strong showing, too. Enough to drive the station to #2 (from a tie at #8) though it was still about a share off last year’s total. Last month’s demo leader – KLTN – was flat and dropped back to #2, sharing space with KODA. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) was up a spot to #4 with a slight increase. UNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KOVE slid back to #5 while KLOL fell four places to #6. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) bounced back from a down book to move back up to #7.

For the first time since JUNE, thanks to a large push from a team of reindeer, KODA returned to the top spot 18-49. However, it was a full share lighter than last year. KLTN was down for the third straight survey and saw its six-book winning streak end as it slid back to #2. KBXX moved up a slot to #3 with its best performance in over a year while KMJQ remained alone at #4 with a slight decrease. KLOL fell two places to #5, ending its strong two-book run and putting it right back to where it was in OCTOBER. Last book there were four stations tied at #6. That trend did not continue. KQBT retained possession of the position by being flat. KOVE and KTBZ remained united, but at #7, while KGLK slipped to #9 with its smallest share since JUNE.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The WASHing Machine

For all of 2016 the 6+ ratings scene has been dominated by the spoken word. That changed this time as iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH jumped to the top spot thanks to the generous contributions from the elves and reindeer. Though the station saw a large increase in share (5.9-10.4), it could not quite match last year’s 12.0 share. The two-book run of double-digit shares ended for AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU as the station dropped back to #2 (11.5-9.2). HUBBARD News WTOP slipped back to #3 (9.4-8.7). These three stations were well clear of the rest of the field. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR remained at #4 (5.6-5.7) and RADIO ONE Gospel WPRS (PRAISE) held forth at #5 (5.1-5.0). The post-election season may have affected CUMULUS Talk WMAL as it dropped five places to #12 with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER (4.2-3.3).

For three of the last four surveys, WAMU was able to crack the double-digit barrier 25-54. The station fell well short this time as it posted its lowest number since JUNE to fall to #2. The new leader was wearing a red felt suit – WASH – and jumped three places to #1. It was still about two and a half shares off last year’s torrid pace. WTOP slipped to #3 with its lowest total since APRIL. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) has historically been adversely affected by all the holiday hoopla. Not this time. The station slid to #4 but actually increased its share slightly. WHUR remained at #5 with a small increase. Arch rivals RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) and CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC were knotted at #6. KISS moved up from a tie at #8 as it ended a two-book slide while WPGC remained in place with a small loss. RADIO ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) had its first up book since MAY and climbed from #15 to #10.

WASH jumped three places and landed in the lead 18-34. Still, it was two and a half shares behind last year’s number. WIHT slipped back to #2 but had a nice increase. WPGC remained steady at #3 with its highest share in over a year while WKYS moved up to #4 as it began to recover from last survey’s decline. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC-101) had its best share since JUNE to inch up to #5. WAMU dropped four places to #6 with its lowest score since JANUARY.

One of the least kept secrets in the city was that WASH moved up to #1 18-49 – a three-spot jump. In this demo it trailed last year’s total by nearly two and a half shares. WIHT remained at #2 with a small increase while WAMU fell to #3 with its lowest score since APRIL. WTOP stepped back to #4 with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER while WKYS was up two slots to #5 as it ended a two-book slide. WPGC slipped back to #6 with a slight decrease. Further down the list was CUMULUS Hot AC WRQX (MIX), which was up to #9 with its best outing since MARCH. It was tied with format competitor CBS RADIO Hot AC WIAD (FRESH), which remained in place but with its lowest total in over a year.

PHILADELPHIA: More Yule For You

The big story was that the top six stations 6+ remained unaltered from last survey. No, wait, that’s not it. The big story is that this is one of those markets that has two mainstream stations playing the crap out of BING CROSBY. The biggest beneficiary of this altered universe was JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE). The station remained #1 (11.1-17.9) and easily outdistanced not only the rest of the field but last year’s 16.3 share. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS was off a bit at #2 (7.0-6.8). The other station featuring Der Bingle was CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL. It remained at #3 (5.7-5.5) but was under last year’s 6.2 number. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was #4 but with its lowest share in exactly a year (5.4-4.9). At #5, CBS RADIO News KYW-A was feeling the post-election deflation as it produced its smallest number since OCTOBER (5.3-4.7). BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR was #6 but it, too, had its lowest mark in exactly a year (5.0-4.4). It would seem that Bing-o had an effect on the rock arena as iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) had its least productive outing in over a year as it fell to a tie at #13 (3.5-2.7).

Wow. Demo leader WBEB had quite the book 25-54. While we cannot reveal the number, it was almost triple what #2 WDAS had. And, it beat last year’s total by almost two shares. WMMR again had its lowest score in a year but remained at #3 while cluster brother WMGK held on at #4 with its lowest mark since APRIL. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) came in at #5 again with only a slight decrease. WOGL moved forward two paces to #6 and was about a half share short of last year’s total.

WBEB absolutely torched the 18-34 demo. We’re talking carpet-bombing levels of destruction. The station was #1 with a monster share and eclipsed last year’s total by over six shares! WUSL was actually up a little but remained at #2 while WDAS advanced five places to #3 with its highest score since JUNE. WMGK also moved up five places – to #4 – with a small increase. Then, the carnage began. CBS RADIO Country WXTU moved up a spot to #5 but with its lowest share in over a year. WRFF fell four places to #6 as it, too, had its smallest number in over a year. It was joined at #6 by WMMR, which had its fourth consecutive down book and its smallest number in over a year as well. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) dropped to #8 with its smallest output in over a year. The station now known as TODAY’S 96.5 – CBS RADIO Top 40/M WZMP (AMP) – fell to #9 with – yup – its least productive outing in over a year. WOGL moved up to #10 but was over a share short of last year’s number.

It should come as no surprise that WBEB also laid waste to 18-49. The station nearly doubled its total from DECEMBER and beat last year’s mark by over three shares. WDAS was down for the second straight survey but remained #2 while WUSL took control of the #3 position despite a slight decrease. WMMR stepped back to #4 while WIOQ – despite a down book – moved up to #5. WRFF was down for the third straight survey and fell to #7. WOGL moved up to #10 but was a share and a half shy of last year’s pace.

ATLANTA: Fish Gotta Swim

One could surmise that the election had a hand in the 6+ ratings success of COX RADIO Talk WSB-A. The station was #1 for the thirteenth book in a row. However, after flirting with and eclipsing the double-digit mark the last three books, it came back closer to earth this time (10.2-7.9). The designated purveyor of the holiday hits was SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (THE FISH) and it did not disappoint. The station had its best book in over a year (4.6-7.1) as it advanced five places to #2. CBS RADIO Urban AC WVEE (V-103) had its best showing since SEPTEMBER (6.3-6.7) but was forced to step down to #3. COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) also took a step back – to #4 – despite posting its best mark since AUGUST (5.5-5.8). RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) slipped to #5 (5.4-4.9) while COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) dropped to #8 with its lowest total since JULY (4.8-4.4).

That cold north wind could not prevent WVEE from leading the 25-54 demo again. The station also had its best book since APRIL. The rosy-cheeked WFSH moved up four places to #2 with its best showing in over a year while WSB-A slipped back to #3 with its lowest share since JULY. WHTA dropped to #4 with its lowest share in over a year and was tied with the stationary CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100), which was off slightly. COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) slipped to #6 with its first down book since JULY.

WHTA was #1 18-34 for the fourth straight survey but saw its double-digit string end at two books. WVEE remained a strong contender at #2 with its second up book in a row while WWWQ, though remaining at #3, drifted a little further off the pace with a small decrease. ENTERCOM Hot AC WSTR (STAR) held steady at #4. WFSH had its best outing since JUNE to advance four places to #5. WSB-F had its highest mark since FEBRUARY but had to be content with staying at #6 . iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) had its lowest share in over a year as it fell back to #7.

For the second book in a row, WVEE was #1 18-49 and the station accomplished that feat with its best book since APRIL. WHTA was down for the second straight survey. It remained at #2 but was joined by WFSH, which swam up from #8 with its highest score in over a year. The two stations formerly known as #4 were broken apart. WSTR dropped to #5 with a slight decrease while WSB-F ended up at #6 as its two-book run came to an end. And who ended up at #4 this time? That would be WWWQ, which vacated the #3 spot with a small decrease.

BOSTON: The Magic Of Christmas

In another CHRISTMAS miracle, BEASLEY AC WMJX (MAGIC) remained #1 6+ thanks to a very large gift from the elves (7.8-13.4). As lofty as that share is, it was not quite as generous as last year’s 14.8. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR remained at #2 but with its lowest share in exactly one year (7.7-6.3). CBS RADIO News WBZ-A was flat and stable at #3 (6.2-6.2) while CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) remained at #4 (5.4-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) was steady at #5 but with its smallest share in over a year (5.2-5.0). The other sports station – ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F – also fared well. It ended a two-book slide to capture its third straight #6 finish (4.5-4.8).

The rank order of the top six stations 25-54 remained unaltered from the previous survey. WMJX was #1 and actually eclipsed last year’s total by a small amount. WBZ-F was flat and steady at #2 while WROR came in at #3 again with a modest decrease. WXKS was #4 with a slight decrease while BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) stayed at #5 as it returned some of last survey’s modest gain. WEEI-F completed the sextet with a slight decrease. The next closest station was almost a share behind and that was WBZ-A, which moved up to #7 with its highest share since APRIL.

When the magic dust had cleared (see what we did there?), WMJX was #1 18-34. The station advanced from #3 with a number that was a half share off last year’s final tally. WBQT was flat but moved back to #2 while WXKS dropped to #3 with its second down book in a row. WBZ-F had its highest score in over a year as it moved up two places in the standings to #4. Meanwhile, iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) remained at #5 but with its lowest share since AUGUST. WROR dropped three places to a tie at #7 with its least productive outing since JANUARY.

The 18-49 top five was in the exact same order as last time. WMJX was #1 with a share that was just under last year’s number. WBZ-F regained some of what it lost last survey to remain at #2. WXKS was #3 but with its smallest number in over a year. WBQT was flat but held on to the #4 position. WROR came in at #5 again but gave back almost all of last book’s big gain. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #6. WJMN was up for the second straight survey as it advanced from a tie at #9. WEEI-F moved up five slots as it ended a rather dramatic two-book slide.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. are givers, not takers. So, with the holiday spirit still in our hearts we give you another round of ratings analysis. Not right now. We’re good but not that good. Coming up shortly will be the holiday celebrations to be found in DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL. Stay tuned.

E-mail: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com
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