Research Director, Inc.'s Exclusive April PPM Analysis For Detroit, Miami, Seattle, Phoenix, Minneapolis

Markets #11-15

We were thinking about putting together a playlist of APRIL songs but being this is about radio and we have to play the hits, we were left with few choices. So, we moved on to what we do best – ratings analysis. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the numbers crunchers from XTRENDS, bring you this version of APRIL. A time when life began anew with opening day and covered the four-week period of 3/30 through 4/26. To quote Simon & Garfunkel: “APRIL come she will …”

DETROIT: A CBS Foursome

This month worked out well for one cluster as the top four positions 6+ were held by stations soon to be owned by another company. Leading the charge was CBS RADIO News WWJ-A, which won for the fourth straight survey (7.4-6.5). Close behind was the TIGERS flagship – CBS RADIO Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET). It advanced seven places in the standings with its best outing since OCTOBER (4.4-6.3). CBS RADIO Country WYCD had its highest share in over a year to move up two slots to #3 (5.3-6.0). The triumvirate of stations previously slotted at #2 all had down books and moved back. CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOMC lost the least and only dropped to #4 (5.6-5.4). iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC moved back to #5 (5.6-5.2). CUMULUS Talk WJR-A took the biggest hit (5.6-4.7) and fell to a tie at #8.

The 25-54 race suddenly got a lot tighter. BEASLEY Active Rock WRIF remained #1 but with its lowest total since the bells were caroling. WXYT-F moved up to #2 and was percentage points behind the leader. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WMGC (THE BOUNCE) was up a little but still stepped back to #3. WYCD moved up to #4 – its first appearance in the top five since AUGUST. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955) dropped a couple of slots to #5 just by being flat. BEASLEY Classic Rock WCSX slipped to #6 with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER.

For eight consecutive surveys WRIF was above the double-digit threshold 18-34. That streak came to an end this time. The station remained #1 but was forced into a tie with WMGC, which got back a small portion of last month’s loss. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB remained a distant #3 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase. WKQI was unmovable at #4 though it was off a bit while WYCD advanced three places to #5 with its best book since NOVEMBER. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WDZH (AMP) slipped to #6 with a slight decrease.

The top-three stations from last month were repeated in 18-49, but this time WRIF had company at #1 as WMGC moved up a spot. This sharing of the spotlight was made possible because WRIF had its lowest share in over a year while BOUNCE regained a bit of last month’s decrease. WKQI was flat and motionless at #3 while WXYT-F moved up to #4 with its best performance since OCTOBER. WYCD jumped two places to #5 with its fourth up book in a row. WJLB slipped back to #6 with a slight decrease while WCSX fell three spots to a tie at #8 with its lowest total in over a year.

MIAMI-FT.LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD: More L-Amor

The 6+ arena remained pretty much a two-team race. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) repeated at #1 (7.3-7.0) and slightly widened its lead over #2 COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT), which ended a two-book surge (7.2-6.7). The two AC stations swapped places. ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE) was up to #3 as it got back some of last month’s loss (5.6-5.9). COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY) slid back to #4 with its lowest mark in over a year (6.1-5.8). The move of the month belonged to COX RADIO Top 40/M WFLC (HITS). The station had its highest share since SEPTEMBER (3.7-4.7) to advance seven places to #5. It was sharing the moment with SBS Tropical WCMQ (Z92.3), which was motionless (4.9-4.7). As stated previously, we only go 20 stations deep in any demo and the MARLINS flagship was not in that group.

With no royalties paid to PAT RILEY, it was a 25-54 three-peat for WHQT. The station was down a bit but maintained a small lead over its two closest pursuers. WAMR remained at #2 with a flat performance but was joined by WFLC, which made a four-spot jump with its best book in over a year. WLYF got back about half of what it lost last month to remain at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WZTU (TU 94.9) was up four slots to #5 with its highest total in over a year. A couple of stations fell from the top five and landed in unison at #6. COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99JAMZ) dropped from #3 with its lowest total in over a year while CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPOW (POWER) slipped from #5 despite landing its largest share in over a year.

WEDR extended its 18-34 winning streak to eight but was down for the second straight survey with its lowest score since AUGUST. Its lead was now under a share as returning #2 iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT) had its best outing in exactly a year. WLYF inched up to #3, ending a two-book slide while WPOW slipped back to #4 as it returned a portion of last month’s big gain. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #5. WZTU took two steps forward with its best outing since NOVEMBER while ENTERCOM Alternative WSFS (THE SHARK) swam upstream from a tie at #10 with a huge increase. Two previous occupants of that position moved farther down the chart. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHYI (Y100) dropped to a tie at #7 despite ending a two-book slide while WHQT fell to a tie at #9 with its lowest number in over a year.

The 18-49 #1 streak for WEDR reached eight though the station was down and was hearing footsteps from WFLC, which moved up to #2 with its highest score since SEPTEMBER. WZTU was up for the second book in a row to remain at #3 while WLYF inched up to #4 as it had a partial comeback from last month’s big hit. WMIB fell three places to #5 despite a slight increase and WPOW dropped to #6 despite a flat performance.

SEATTLE-TACOMA: Keep Movin’

The trend continues as HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) was #1 6+ for the thirteenth time in the last fourteen surveys. However, the station was down (7.8-6.9), which lessened its lead to under a share. #2 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW narrowed the gap as it bounced back a bit from last month’s loss (5.6-6.3). CBS RADIO Classic Rock KZOK was motionless at #3 (5.3-5.3) while HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM) accomplished the same feat at #4 (5.1-5.1). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR-F (THE JET) became the lone occupant of the #5 hole (4.8-5.0) because BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F posted its lowest share in over a year (4.8-4.3) and fell to #7. BONNEVILLE Sports KIRO-A is the home for MARINERS baseball and the station landed its largest share since OCTOBER (2.5-3.2) to move up to a tie at #14.

After three consecutive up books 25-54, KQMV finally hit a pothole. This did not cause the station to desert the #1 position, but it did lessen its lead over second-place ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW to under two shares. CBS RADIO Adult Hits KJAQ (JACK) was up three places to #3 with its best outing in over a year. KJR-F remained in place at #4 but was off a bit. ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END) held steady at #5 with its best performance since AUGUST. Meanwhile, ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT) dropped to #6 as it lost a noticeable chunk of share.

Last month both KQMV and KHTP were able to crash through the 18-34 double-digit barrier. Neither were able to repeat that feat though KQMV was #1 again. KHTP slipped to #3 where it was matched with KNDD -– THE END moved up from #4 with a small increase. In between was KISW, which was up to #2 with its best book in over a year. KRWM took a step up to #5 with a slight increase. A couple of cluster mates were moving in opposite directions at a rapid pace. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KPWK (POWER) was up four slots to #6 as it rebounded from a couple of down books. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBKS (KISS) slipped three places to #8 with its lowest share since Grandma was road kill.

Once again KQMV completed the demo sweep as it continued to dominate 18-49. Though the station ended a three-book surge, it led #2 KISW – which was up slightly – by over two shares. KHTP took a bit of a hit but remained #3 though it was tied with KNDD, which moved up a spot with a small increase. KJAQ had its largest share in over a year to climb three places to #5. The two previous occupants of that slot split up and moved back. KJR-F slid to #6 with a slight loss while KBKS landed in a tie at #7 with a slightly less slight loss.

PHOENIX: Nice And Easy

We were shocked –- shocked, I tell ya’ -– last month when iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (99.9KEZ) was not #1 6+. Well, the natural order of things was re-established as the station was on top again as it bounced back from its lowest share in over a year (6.2-6.6). HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX dropped back to #2 as its three-book run came to an end (6.5-6.1). HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD remained at #3 but gave back all of last month’s increase (5.3-4.8). It was joined by CBS RADIO Classic Hits KOOL, which was up a slot with its fourth up book in a row (4.7-4.8). BONNEVILLE Talk KTAR-F held steady at #5 (4.6-4.5) while its former partner at the position – CBS RADIO Country KMLE – dropped to #8 with its lowest mark since DECEMBER (4.6-4.1). Neither of the D-BACKS stations managed to crack the top twenty.

After reaching a 25-54 nadir at #3 last month, KESZ was back in the saddle again as it regained most of last month’s loss. The previous leader – KUPD – ended its three-book surge and dropped back into a tie at #2 with its cluster brother KSLX, which had its first down book since DECEMBER. KOOL remained at #4 with a slight decrease while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX) held firm at #5 with a slight increase. There was a baseball sighting. BONNEVILLE Sports KMVP-F (ARIZONA SPORTS) was up seven slots to a tie at #17.

While four stations were in a virtual tie atop the 18-34 leaderboard, only one could truly claim to be #1. That was KUPD, which won for the third month in a row but lost a bit of share. Three stations were this close behind at #2. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) remained in place but returned most of last month’s big gain. KMXP moved up two slots just by being flat while CBS RADIO Top 40/M KALV (LIVE 101.5) was up from #5 with its highest share since MAY. The two country stations were neck and neck. KMLE slid to #5 while iHEARTMEDIA Country KNIX jumped nine places to #6 with its best book since AUGUST.

KUPD saw its three-book 18-49 surge come to an end but the station managed to cling to its hold on first place. KESZ was flat but moved up to #2 and was less than a half share off the lead. KSLX dropped back to #3 as it ended a two-book run while KMXP remained at #4 but with its best performance since AUGUST. The tie at #5 was no more. KOOL retained its portion of the position with a slight increase while KZZP stepped back to #6 with a small loss.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL: A Lineup Change

It certainly looked like HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) was going to be the dominant 6+ player for a while. Then this happened. The station had its lowest non-Santa-influenced share in over a year (7.3-6.7) to fall just behind iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB, which surged to a razor-thin lead (6.9-6.8). CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS moved up to #3 despite a slight loss (6.1-6.0) and there were four – count ‘em – four stations close behind at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (KFAN) remained in place but with its smallest score since AUGUST (6.2-5.8). MPR N/T KNOW dropped back a spot as it returned all of last month’s big increase (6.5-5.8). iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K102) was up from #6 even though it ended a three-book surge (5.9-5.8). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) was flat (5.8-5.8) but still managed to advance three squares. The TWINS flagship did not crack the top twenty this time.

The top three 25-54 positions were unaltered from a month ago and the trio was separated by half a share. KSTP was #1 for the fourth straight survey with a small loss. KFXN again finished second with a slightly smaller loss while KDWB repeated at #3 with an even smaller small loss. CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) moved up a spot to #4 with its highest share since NOVEMBER. CBS RADIO Adult Hits KZJK (JACK) was up two places to #5 as it ended a two-book slide. KQRS dropped to #6 with its least productive outing in over a year.

There were layers in the 18-34 ranks. KDWB was #1 again in double digits (again) and even though it was down, it led the market by close to three shares. KXXR ended a two-book slide to strengthen its already tight grip on #2. KEEY moved up to #3 with its best showing since JUNE and led the two stations moving in opposite directions who met up at #4 by close to two shares. KSTP slipped back a slot with its lowest total in over a year while KFXN moved up one despite landing its lowest share since JULY. The next closest competitor was over a share behind this duo.

Another double-digit performance equaled another #1 18-49 book for KDWB. KXXR moved up to #2 as it recovered from last month’s hit but was still about two shares off the lead. KFXN dropped back to #3 with its lowest score since JULY and was tied with KSTP, which remained in place despite a moderate loss of share. KZJK held steady at #5 but with its best book since DECEMBER.

Thank you for enduring our three rounds of analysis. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will return next month for more of this nonsense. In the meantime, we have to get back to work … looking at ratings … ’cause that’s what we do.

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