Research Director Inc., Exclusive June PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston

Exclusive Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in a socially distant appropriate cooperation with the numbers crunchers from XTRENDS – attempt to make sense out of yet another survey. The JUNE in question ran from 5/21-6/17. While radio was slowly on the rebound from the pandemic-related shutdowns, there was another societal event to factor into the numbers. The murder of GEORGE FLOYD and the BLM protests all occurred during this “month.” There is also deeper data that explains each market. Points like PUMM and the increase in away-from-home listening. These are things we cannot explore in this space but (shameless plug) something we do for our clients on a regular basis. Now, on with the show …

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Sunny Will Come Out …

Way back in the month of FEBRUARY, a time we used to refer to as “normal,” iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) was the market’s leading station in the 6+ arena. Well, perhaps this is some sort of harbinger (or omen) but the station was back at #1 this month with its best Frosty-free share in exactly a year (6.2-7.1). The station continued to lead the pack in cume (1,346,500-1,689,400). This was a 25.5% increase. The market was up 3.9%. In the previous survey, COX MEDIA Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) and UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA 102.9) were sharing the glow of being in first place. Alas, that was but a fleeting emotion as KGLK stepped down to #2 (7.0-6.9) and KLTN slipped to #3 (7.0-6.7). iHEARTMEDIA N/T KRTH-A regained last month’s share loss (6.0-6.3) and moved up a spot to #4. URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) slipped to #5 with its lowest total since JANUARY (6.5-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) stepped up to #6 (5.0-5.4).

What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happenin’… KTBZ posted its largest 25-54 share in over a year as it moved up to #1. This ended the five-book winning streak for KLTN, which slipped to #2 with a slight loss. KGLK also stepped down – to #3 – as it ended a two-book surge. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) remained at #4 but with its smallest share since FEBRUARY. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) was off a bit as it repeated at #5. It was forced to share the space with KODA, which stepped up from a tie at #6.

KTBZ was all the buzz 18-34 as the station moved up to #1 with its third up book in a row. KBXX stepped down to #2 as its three-book winning streak came to an end. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) stepped up to #3 despite a slight loss. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KAMA (LATINO MIX 104.9 & 93.3) slipped to #4 with its least productive outing since DECEMBER. It was partnered with KLTN, which moved up from #5 despite a noticeable loss of share. This duo was just inches ahead of another pair of competitors. ENTERCOM Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101FM) remained in place but with its lowest total in over a year. CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE was up from #8 with a solid increase.

Wringing out the clichés to the best of our ability, KTBZ caught a buzz 18-49 as it moved up to #1, bouncing back from a down book. For the first time in five books, KLTN was not in first place. It slipped to #2 despite a slight increase. KBXX repeated at #3 though it ended a three-book surge. KKHH was back as the #4 station but with its lowest total since we were simply having a wonderful time. KODA stepped up to #5 with a solid increase while KGLK slipped to #7 with a solid decrease.

WASHINGTON, DC: Everybody’s Talkin’ At Me

From the city that specializes in hot air, the top stations 6+ are again devoid of any music. CUMULUS Talk WMAL-F was #1 for the third straight survey but has seen its shares decline during that period (9.3-8.2). HUBBARD News WTOP repeated at #2 though with its lowest share since JANUARY (8.0-7.6). The station remained the cume leader (654,900-737,000) with an increase of 12.5%. The market gained 7.6% in cume. The Urban AC race got a lot tighter. URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3 & 92.7) moved up to #3 (7.0-7.1). Meanwhile, HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR stepped up to #4 with its best book in over a year (6.1-7.0). AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU slipped to #5 with its lowest total since we were hanging hosiery (7.4-6.8). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH was up to #6 (5.3-5.5) while GWET Classical WETA fell to #7 (6.3-5.2).

WASH had its best 25-54 share since MARCH, which pushed the station to #1 for the first time since it was going all holly and jolly. After two books on top, WTOP stepped down to #2 with a slight decrease. For the first time in over a year, WHUR bested WMMJ in this demo. WHUR was up to #3 with its highest share in over a year while WMMJ slipped to #4 with its lowest mark over that same time period. WAMU repeated at #5 with a slight increase. It was just ahead of iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101), which was up for the third straight survey.

The 18-34 arena was in complete and utter flux. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) landed a huge increase, which yielded its best share in over a year. Oh, and it placed the station at #1. WASH was up to #2 with its best outing since FEBRUARY yet trailed its cluster sister by a share and a half. ENTERCOM Top 40/R WPGC repeated at #3 with a slight loss while URBAN ONE Urban WKYS ended its two-book run at #1. The station fell into a three-way tie at #4. Joining that triad were WAMU – which was up slightly – and WWDC, which advanced from #8 with its best outing since DECEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) dropped to #8 with its lowest score in over a year.

Last month WWDC and WAMU were tied at #2 on the 18-49 leaderboard. WWDC ascended the throne with a small increase while WAMU remained in place with a slightly smaller small increase. WIHT advanced from #6 to #3 with its highest share in exactly a year. WASH was up five slots to #4 with a strong increase. WMMJ and WPGC had been tied at #4 but slid to #5 and #6, respectively. WKYS took a big hit, which caused the station to fall from #1 to #7.

ATLANTA: More Double Speak

For the sixth straight survey, COX MEDIA Talk WSB-A was in double digits 6+ (11.1-10.4). The station was also #1 for the twelfth book in a row. COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) crested to #2 (8.0-7.9) while COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1 FM) stepped back to #3 (8.4-7.0). ENTERCOM Urban WVEE (V-103) repeated at #4 (6.9-6.6) while COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) stood alone at #5 (4.7-5.1). The station also assumed the cume lead (700,400-822,900) – an increase of 17.5%. The market cume was up by 5.4%. URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) slipped to #6 (4.7-4.6). We could not resist this one. Two animal/fauna-themed stations – iHEARTMEDIA Country WUBL (94.9 THE BULL) and SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (104.7 THE FISH) moved from a tie at #8 to a tie at #7. Both stations went 3.8-4.3.

Though WVEE could not repeat last month’s double-digit feat, the station remained a dominant #1 25-54. WSRV was back as the #2 station though it ended a five-book surge and was about two shares off the lead. WSB-A stepped up to #3 with a solid increase while WAMJ repeated at #4 with a small loss. WALR slid to #5 with a large decrease. Taking this two-by-two thing to another level, WUBL and WFSH

moved up to tie at #6. WUBL had its best showing since SEPTEMBER while WFSH swam to its highest depth since it was wrapped up under the tree.

For the last two books, WVEE posted double-digit scores 18-34. That did not happen this month but the station remained solidly in control of the demo. WSB-F had a noticeably large share increase, which propelled the station from a tie at #7 to #2. WSRV had its highest water mark since AUGUST as it rose three places to #3. It was tied with URBAN ONE Urban WHTA (HOT 107.9), which slipped from #2 with a small loss. A flat ENTERCOM Sports WZGC (THE GAME 92.9) stepped down to #5. WAMJ and WALR had been paired at #4 but fell to #6 and #7, respectively.

WVEE hit double digits 18-49 for the third book in a row as it ran away with the demo. WSRV repeated at #2 with a modest loss and trailed the leader by more than four shares. WSB-A remained at #3 with a small gain while its similarly named cluster mate WSB-F advanced from #7 to #4 with another solid increase. WALR was again at #5 with a slight increase while WAMJ slipped to #6 with a small loss.

PHILADELPHIA: Three-peat

This was the third straight survey that iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS led the 6+ competition. Its margin over the rest of the contenders widened even further (8.9-9.1). BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK repeated at #2 but with its first down book since Grandma was roadkill (8.0-6.8). However, the station remained the market’s cume leader (733,300-813,000) – an increase of 10.9%. The market increase was 7.6%. BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR was again the #3 station but with its smallest share since JANUARY (7.3-6.5). ENTERCOM News KYW-A stepped up to #4 (5.8-6.1) while ENTERCOM Classic Hits WOGL moved up to #5 with its highest share since NOVEMBER (5.2-5.6). ENTERCOM Sports WIP-F slipped to #6 (5.9-4.7) and was tied with BEASLEY Country WXTU (4.5-4.7).

As the old adage goes – you can’t stop them, you can only hope to contain them. This applies to WMMR, which reached double digits 25-54 for the fifth book in a row. It held a three-share lead over its older cluster bro – WMGK – which repeated at #2 but with its lowest total since JANUARY. WDAS returned as the #3 station but with a modest decrease. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN had a huge increase as it leapt from #8 to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99FM) stepped down to #5 with a small loss. The newly rebranded iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5) had its best book in over a year as it advanced from #9 to #6. WIP-F dropped to #8 with its smallest share in over a year.

WXTU continued its 18-34 roll as it captured the demo for the fourth straight survey. However, WUSL repeated at #2 with its best showing since SEPTEMBER to cut the lead to under a half share. ENTERCOM AC WBEB (B101.1) posted its best Frosty-free share since OCTOBER as it jumped from a tie at #6 to #3. WRFF stepped up to #4 with its largest share in over a year while WMMR slipped to #5 with a small loss. WMGK stepped down to #6 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase. It was tied with WDAS, which moved up from a tie at #8 with a slight increase.

WMMR was off slightly 18-49 but still won the demo for the sixth straight survey. WUSL repeated at #2 but fell farther off the pace thanks to a modest decrease. WDAS stepped up to #3 despite losing a chunk of share while WMGK slid to #4 as it ended a five-book surge. WBEB advanced five spaces to #5 with its best outing since JANUARY. WXTU stepped down to #6 with its lowest score since the maids were a-milking. WRFF had its highest share in over a year yet moved down a peg to #7.

BOSTON: The Exes

This was the third straight 6+ win for iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX (7.6-7.7). It was also the third consecutive second-place finish for iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) (7.5-7.2). WXKS led the cume race for the fourth book in a row (672,900-815,800) with an increase of 21.2%. The market grew by 5.6%. iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A had its best book in over a year (5.9-6.6) as it stepped up to #3. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR slipped to #4 though it ended a three-book slide (6.1-6.3). ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) had its best showing since FEBRUARY (4.9-6.1) as it moved up to #5. BEASLEY Country WKLB slid to #6 despite posting its largest share in over a year (5.6-5.9).

Though it was off a bit, WXKS remained a strong #1 25-54 for the second book in a row. WZLX moved up to #2 with its fourth straight up book. The stations were separated by a half share. WROR remained at #3 with a slight increase while BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) slipped to #4 with its lowest score since we were snowin’ and blowin’ up bushels of fun. WKLB stepped up to #5 with a solid increase while WMJX regained all of last month’s share loss as it moved up to #6. BEASLEY Classic Rock WBOS (BOSTON’S ROCK 92.9) slid to #7 with a slight loss.

There were some massive 18-34 share increases for the stations that landed in the top three. WKLB repeated as the market leader with what was easily its best book in over a year. WZLX was up to #2 while accomplishing the same feat but was about a half share behind. WXKS took two steps upward to #3 with its best outing since NOVEMBER but was over a share out of second place. WBZ-F dropped to #4 with its least productive outing since JANUARY. WBOS stepped down to #5 and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Country WBWL (101.7 THE BULL), which doubled its share as it advanced from a tie at #13.

Last month WXKS and WBZ-F were tied at #1 18-49. WXKS was flat and remained in first while WBZ-F slipped to #3 with a rather large loss of share. In between was WZLX, which moved up to #2 with its best book in over a year. WKLB inched up to #4 with a rather large increase, which pushed WBOS – which was down – back to #5. WROR remained at #6 but with its best performance since FEBRUARY.

Thus ends our second look at NIELSEN’s version of reality for JUNE. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will re-don our collective masks as we dive into the fates and fortunes of MIAMI, SEATTLE, DETROIT, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS.

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About RESEARCH DIRECTOR, Inc.: RESEARCH DIRECTOR, Inc. is based in ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND. We help radio stations’ programming and sales departments maximize the value of their research. 

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