Research Director Inc., Exclusive March PPM Analysis For New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas

PPM Analysis March 2021

Time marches on. This time the actual dates of the MARCH survey actually fall completely within the designated namesake month. Enjoy the moment, kids, as this does not happen often. The official dates were the 4^th through the 31^st and featured no federally mandated holidays that can have a deleterious effect on weekend listening. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with our fellow travelers from XTRENDS, do have one note worth mentioning. When viewing year-over-year ratings, we no longer compare “now” with “pre-pandemic” levels as the previous MARCH was when the world changed. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

NEW YORK: A Lotta Lite

For the fifth straight survey, iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM) ruled the 6+ roost. The station had its best Frosty-free share in over a year (6.8-7.1) and continued as the cume leader (2,961,100-3,174,800) – an increase of 7.2%. As a whole, the market was up by 5.9%. MEDIACO Urban AC WBLS repeated at #2 though it ended a two-book surge (6.4-5.8). This opened up a window for AUDACY Classic Hits WCBS-F, which also considered itself a #2 station by posting its best share since NOVEMBER (4.8-5.8). SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9) dipped to #4 with its lowest mark since NOVEMBER (6.1-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) stood alone at #5 with its third straight up book (4.5-4.7). Its former partner in that space – NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO N/T WNYC – stepped down to #6 (4.5-4.3).

WLTW was #1 25-54 by almost a full share over #2 WSKQ, positions this duo has maintained for seven straight surveys. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) stepped up to #3 with its third up book in a row. This pushed WBLS – which was off slightly – down to #4. WCBS-F advanced two squares to #5 with a large share increase. WNYC dipped to #6 with a slight decrease.

WSKQ continued to run unabated through the 18-34 demo but its massive lead was shaved a bit. The station had a small loss while WHTZ moved up to #2 with its best outing in over a year. The net result was that the gap between the two was about a share. WLTW had a slight increase but still slipped to #3. MEDIACO Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) moved up to #4 with its strongest performance in over a year. WCBS-F also had its largest share in over a year as it leapt two places to #5. WBLS dropped to #6 as it returned most of last month’s huge increase.

18-49 continued to be the private fiefdom of WLTW. The station was #1 for the fifth book in a row, garnered a large share increase and led #2 WSKQ – which was up slightly – by almost two shares. WHTZ moved up to #3 with a small gain while two stations were idling together at #4. WBLS dipped from #3 with its first down book since NOVEMBER while WCBS-F advanced from #9 with its best outing since OCTOBER. Not far behind at #6 was WQHT, which had its best book since JUNE. SBS Spanish Contemporary WPAT (93.1 AMOR) slid to #7 with a slight loss.

LOS ANGELES: The Book The Earth Stood Still

For the second book in a row, AUDACY Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101) was nestled comfortably atop the 6+ leaderboard. Though the station posted its best share since SEPTEMBER (5.9-6.1), its lead over the rest of the field shrank. That’s because iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFI-A stepped up to #2 with its best performance in over a year (5.0-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST slipped to #3 with its third straight down book (5.6-5.3). It remained the cume leader (2,275,400-2,196,200) – a decrease of 3.5%. The market was up by 1.0%. AUDACY Urban AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) repeated at #4 (4.4-4.5) while AUDACY Adult Hits KCBS-F (93.1 JACK FM) stood alone at #5 (4.0-4.0). Its former partner in that space – UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE 107.5) – stepped down to #6 (4.0-3.9). It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MY FM), which stepped up from #7 (3.8-3.9).

The top four 25-54 stations were the same as before. KRTH finished first for the third straight survey with its highest share since AUGUST. KCBS-F remained #2 and was up for the third book in a row. However, it was about a share behind the leader. KOST was again #3 while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS was #4. Both stations had slight increases. KLVE moved up to #5 as it rebounded from a down book. KBIG took two steps upward to #6 with a small gain. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KYSR (ALT 98.7) slid to #7 with a slight loss.

The KYSR picture was quite a bit different 18-34. The station topped the demo for the second straight survey and landed its largest share in over a year. KRTH moved up to #2 as it bounced back from a down book though it was a share off the lead. KBIG advanced three squares to a somewhat distant #3 with its best outing since OCTOBER. KOST slipped to #4 with its lowest share since OCTOBER. It ran headlong into SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA 96.3), which moved up from #7 with a slight increase. KCBS-F fell from #2 to #6 as it returned most of last month’s massive increase. KIIS dipped to #7 with a small loss.

Last month KRTH and KOST were tied for first 18-49. This month KRTH stood alone after landing its largest share in over a year. KOST was flat as it dipped to #2. KCBS-F repeated at #3 with a small loss while KYSR remained at #4 with a slight gain. KBIG stepped up to #5 with a small increase. This pushed KIIS – which was up slightly – down to #6. It was tied with KLVE, which had its best book since OCTOBER.

CHICAGO: Vaulting Into The Lead

This paragraph is brought to you by the letter V. As in iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103). The station jumped to #1 6+ for the first time since NOVEMBER (6.0-6.3). It just edged out AUDACY News WBBM-A, which slipped to #2 with its lowest share in over a year (7.1-6.2). iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM) was up to #3 with its best Frosty-free share since AUGUST (5.3-5.7). The station also retained the cume crown (1,153,700-1,227,900) – a gain of 6.4%. The market rose by 4.5%. Two stations moving in opposite directions met up at #4. WBEZ ALLIANCE N/T WBEZ dropped from #2 (6.4-4.7) while HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (97.1 THE DRIVE) motored up from a tie at #7 (4.0-4.7). HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 THE MIX) dipped to #6 (4.5-4.4).

UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA 105.1) kept its 25-54 mojo working as it remained the demo leader with a slight increase. A flat WTMX repeated at #2 but was a share and a half behind. WVAZ inched up to #3 with a slight decrease while two stations moved up and into a tie at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) stepped up from #5 with a slight loss while WDRV advanced from #8 as it got back about half of last month’s big loss. WBEZ slid to #6 and was tied with a flat WLIT.

WKSC continued its stranglehold of the 18-34 demo. The station repeated at #1 with a slight increase – leading to its largest share in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI leapt from #8 to #2 with its best outing since SEPTEMBER but was still about a share and a half off the lead. WVAZ slipped to #3 with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER. It was paired with WDRV, which raced up from #13 with its highest mark since AUGUST. WOJO stepped up to #5 with a small increase. AUDACY Top 40/M WBBM-F (B96) slipped to #6 with a small loss while WBEZ dropped from #3 to #8. HUBBARD AC WSHE (SHE 100.3) fell from #5 to a tie at #11 as it gave back most of last month’s huge increase.

WOJO was the far-and-away 18-49 leader for the second book in a row. It was up slightly while #2 WVAZ had a small loss. The gap between the two stations widened to more than a share and a half. WKSC stood alone at #3 with a slight loss. Its former partner in that space – WBEZ – dropped to a tie at #8. WTMX inched up to #4 with a small gain. It was just ahead of cluster bruh WDRV, which shifted from a tie at #10 to #5. WGCI jumped from a tie at #14 to #6 with its highest share since SEPTEMBER. AUDACY AAA WXRT fell from a tie at #5 to a tie at #12.

SAN FRANCISCO: Less Talk

Though spoken-word programming continued to dominate 6+, it was a little less robust this survey. KQED INC. N/T KQED did see its two-book double-digit streak come to an end (10.6-9.8). AUDACY News KCBS-A repeated at #2 but with its lowest share in over a year (7.5-6.8). Once again, BONNEVILLE AC KOIT was the leading music station at #3 overall (5.1-4.6). It also topped the million mark in cume without the help of Santa (876,900-1,001,600) – an increase of 14.2%. The market was up by a more modest 1.3%. There was a three-way at #4. iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) remained in place as it ended a two-book surge (4.5-3.8). BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW) stepped up from #5 (4.0-3.8) while UNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KBRG (AMOR 100.3) advanced from #6 with its highest share in over a year (3.5-3.8).

For the third book in a row, KQED was the dominant 25-54 player. Though the station had a noticeable loss of share, it led #2 KMVQ – which was also down – by a share and a half. KOIT had its lowest total since OCTOBER as it became a distant #3. KCBS-A remained at #4 with a small loss and was joined by AUDACY Hot AC KLLC (ALICE @97.3), which advanced from #7 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL dipped to #6 with a small loss. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3) went from a tie at #10 to #7 with its best outing since SEPTEMBER.

There was quite the logjam atop the 18-34 leaderboard as the top three stations were within a half share of each other. KQED was #1 for the second book in a row with a slight increase. KIOI leapt from #6 to #2 thanks to a massive infusion of share. KMEL slipped to #3 despite a slight increase. KMVQ bounced back from a down book to remain at #4. It was about a share off the lead but about a share clear of the rest of the field. CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (107.7 THE BONE) and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD 94.9) had good books as they moved up and into a tie at #5. KOIT slid from #3 to a tie at #7 with its smallest share in over a year. KBRG dropped from a tie at #4 to a tie at #14, shedding more than half its previous share in the process.

The top four 18-49 stations were in the exact same spots as last survey. KMVQ was #1 for the third book in a row. It just edged out KQED, which was #2, also for the third straight survey. KOIT repeated at #3 though with its smallest share since OCTOBER. KMEL was at #4 again with a small loss. KIOI advanced five spaces to #5 with a rather large share increase. KBRG dropped from #5 to a tie at #9.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: Waiting For The Star To Fall

The 6+ “hoss” race was very tight as the top four stations were separated by under a half share. iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR 102.1) was the market leader for the second straight survey (5.2-5.3). Coming in at a very close #2 – and up from #4 – was UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA 94.1), which posted its largest share in over a year (4.6-5.2). SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY dipped to #3 (4.8-5.0). Both Country stations fared well. CUMULUS Country KSCS and CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF) had been tied at #6. KSCS was up to #4 (4.3-4.9) while KPLX stepped up to #5 (4.3-4.7). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) dropped from a tie at #2 to #6 (4.8-4.6). This was the first time in over a year the station was outside the top five. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW 102.9) fell to a tie at #8 (4.4-4.1). However, the station became the cume leader (967,700-1,314,500) – an increase of 35.8%! The market grew by 7.9%.

Things could not be tighter 25-54 as AUDACY Adult Hits KJKK (100.3 JACK FM) and KLNO were tied at #1. KJKK landed there for the third book in a row and, oddly, was flat for the second consecutive survey. KLNO advanced from #6 with its highest score in over a year. KHKS dipped to #3 with a small loss and was paired with KSCS, which rose from a tie at #9 as it rebounded from a down book. KDMX stepped down to #5 with a small loss. iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (97.1 THE EAGLE) landed in a tie at #10. It had been at #5.

KHKS was #1 18-34 for the second book in a row but returned last month’s massive increase in its entirety. KSCS advanced to #2 with its highest share since NOVEMBER and was about a half share off the lead. KLNO leapt from #10 to #3 with a monster share gain – easily its best book in over a year. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) dipped to #4 with a small loss. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KDXX (107.9 & 107.1 LATINO MIX) turned it up from #11 to land at #5 with its best outing in over a year. KDMX dropped four places to #6 and was tied with KPLX. Once again, KEGL dropped from #5 to a tie at #10.

It was quite the 18-49 book for KLNO as it went from a tie at #5 to #1 with a huge share increase. It was over a share clear of the two stations residing at #2. KHKS was one of those as it dropped from the lead with a solid decrease. KJKK stepped up from #3 with a small loss. Last month KPLX and KSCS were brothers in arms at #8. This time they landed at #4 and #5, respectively. KDMX and KKDA exited the top five and landed at #6. KDGE made it a trio as it moved up from a tie at #10.

Hope you enjoyed the ride. We’ll crank up the ratings machine for round two but for now The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will take a pause that refreshes. We will be back with HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON.

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