Research Director Inc., Exclusive October 2021 PPM Analysis For Houston-Galveston, Atlanta, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Boston

October '21 PPM Ratings

Since everything in the known universe has a pumpkin spice version, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the data geeks from XTRENDS – figure we should add that seasoning to this edition of the monthly ratings roundup. Like a spoonful of sugar, a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg will make the numbers easier to swallow. We are talking the OCTOBER survey, after all – a time frame that began on SEPTEMBER 16th and ended on OCTOBER 13th. It featured a minor federal holiday, the continuation of the return to typical commuting patterns, and plenty of football. Let’s see how it all worked out.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Eternal Number 1

Another survey, another #1 6+ finish for iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1). This marked the 12th time in the last 14 books that the station had the largest share (6.6-6.5). UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUÉ BUENA 102.9) made things interesting as it stepped up to #2 with its best outing since MAY (5.6-6.2). AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) was spot on with its highest share in over a year (5.5-5.8) as it moved up to #3. KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ was off ever so slightly (5.8-5.7) but was forced to drop down two slots to #4. COX MEDIA Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) moved up to #5 just by showing up (5.2-5.2), while URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) dipped to #6 with it lowest mark since MAY (5.4-4.9). KODA retained the cume command (1,537,700-1,644,800) – a 7.0% increase. The market was up by 2.6%.

After taking the last book off, KLTN was back on top of the 25-54 leaderboard, thanks to a slight increase. KKHH again had its highest share in over a year, which elevated the station from #4 to #2. Last month’s leader was iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ). It dropped to #3 with its least buzzy book in over a year. A flat KODA dipped to #4, while KSBJ repeated at #5 with a small increase. This quintet of stations was better than a share ahead of their next closest pursuers. All tied at #6 were CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE, KMJQ, and iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT).

KTBZ caught a nice 18-34 buzz as it bounced back from a down book and returned to the #1 spot. KQBT had a slight increase as it advanced from #4 to #2, while KODA repeated at #3 but with its lowest share in a year. Last month’s demo winner was AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101FM). It dropped to #4 after returning all of last month’s huge increase. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #5. KRBE took one step upward as it regained most of last month’s share loss, while UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KAMA (104.9 & 93.3 LATINO MIX) came in from #7 with its best effort in over a year. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) slipped to #7 with a small loss and was paired with KKHH, which advanced from #12 as it got back a portion of last month’s big decrease.

For the third book in a row, KLTN was #1 18-49. It had a share and a half lead over a pair of stations occupying the #2 position. KTBZ remained in place with a slight loss, while KODA stepped up from #3 with a modest increase. KKHH stood alone at #4 with a small increase, while its former partner in that space – KLOL – slid to #7. KSBJ moved up to #5 with a slight increase.

ATLANTA: Cluster Control

The top four 6+ station share the same e-mail suffix. COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A was the runaway #1 leader once again (9.7-9.6). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) repeated as a distant #2, even with its best book since APRIL (7.1-7.3). COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) remained #3 despite posting its lowest share since JANUARY (6.8-5.7). COX MEDIA AC WSB (B98.5) stepped up to #4 with its best outing since MARCH (4.9-5.2). SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (104.7 THE FISH) swam its way up to #5 (4.8-5.0), while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER 96.1) dropped from #4 to #9 as it surrendered all of last month’s big increase – plus a little extra (5.1-3.9). WSB continued to lead the cume crowd (843,300-795,800) – a 5.6% drop. The market grew by 0.5%.

WSB-A had its best 25-54 book since FEBRUARY as it moved back up to #1. This dislodged WSRV, which ebbed to #2 despite posting its best number since NOVEMBER. WSB worked its way up to #3 with its largest share in over a year, while CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7) dipped to #4 with its lowest total since APRIL. A flat WALR stepped up to #5, while WWPW fell from #5 to #9.

WWWQ continued to dominate the 18-34 arena. The station was #1 for the sixth straight survey, hit the double-digit mark, and led the rest of the pack by nearly three shares. WWPW repeated at #2 with a small share loss, while WSB jumped from a tie at #8 to #3 as it halted a two-book slide. AUDACY Urban AC WVEE (V103) was off slightly but remained the #4 station. A flat WFSH was still tied at #5 but with a new partner as WSRV moved up from #7 with a small increase. WALR dropped from #3 to a four-way tie at #9, while WSB-A exited the tie at #5 to land at #13 with its first down book since MARCH.

Last month, WSB-A and WSRV were tied at #2 18-49. That arrangement ceased to be as WSB-A moved up to the top slot, while WSRV remained in place. Both stations had up books. WSB-F inched up to #3 with its highest share in over a year, while WWWQ advanced two squares to #4 as it regained all of last month’s lost share. WWPW dropped from #1 to #5 as it returned most of last survey’s massive increase. WALR stepped down to #6 as it returned the nice chunk of share it was awarded in the last book.

WASHINGTON DC: The Big 3

Three stations separated themselves by a considerable margin from the rest of the 6+ field. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU vaulted into the #1 position for the first time since MAY (7.4-8.7). Last month’s leader – URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3 & 92.7) stepped down to #2 (8.8-8.5), while HUBBARD News WTOP dipped to #3 (8.5-8.3). The next closest pursuer was HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR, which repeated at #4 (6.7-6.6). It just edged out iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH, which remained at #5 (6.1-6.5). The next closest station to cracking the top five was GWET Classical WETAas it posted its largest share since FEBRUARY (5.0-5.4). WASH retained the cume crown (915,600-1,015,900) – a 11.0% increase. The market was up by 3.6%.

The 25-54 contest was dominated by two stations. WAMU had a huge share increase – just missing double-digits – as it jumped up to #1. It was about a half share ahead of a flat WMMJ, which dipped to #2. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) was about a share and a half distant as it slipped to #3 with its lowest mark since APRIL. It, in turn, was about two shares in front of a flat WASH, which stood alone at #4. WHUR stepped up to #5 despite its fourth down book in a row. It had a small lead over WTOP, which moved up to #6 with a slight increase. AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) slid to #7, posting its smallest share since grandma was roadkill, and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5).

As with the previous demo, two stations stood out from the rest of the 18-34 pack. WIHT was #1 for the third book in a row and came dangerously close to hitting double digits. WAMU had a massive influx of share as it stood alone at #2. It was at least three shares in front of WTOP, which dipped to #3 as it lost a large chunk of share. Three stations were huddled together at #4. AUDACY Top 40/R WPGC remained in place as it returned most of last month’s big increase. WWDC was up from #7 as it regained all of last month’s large share loss, while URBAN ONE Urban WKYS stepped up from #5 with a small loss. 

Once again, two stations ran away with the 18-49 arena. WAMU had a massive share increase as it crashed through the double-digit barrier on its way to #1. It was the fourth time in the last year the station was in that rarefied air. WWDC left the double-digit zone as it stepped down to #2. This also ended the station’s four-book winning streak. WIHT had a slight increase as it stepped up from #4 though it was about three shares out of second place. WASH dipped to #4 with a slight loss. WMMJ advanced from a tie at #9 to #5 with its best outing since JANUARY, while WTOP stood alone at #6 with a slight decrease. WPGC fell from #5 to a tie at #8 with ATLANTIC GATEWAY Christian Contemporary WGTS, which was up from #14.

PHILADELPHIA: 10 For 10

If our math is correct – and it usually is – this was the 10th book of 2021. That means for the entire year iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS has been #1 6+. The station made it 10-in-a-row by posting its best number in exactly a year (8.3-8.7). BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR finished in second place for the ninth consecutive survey and landed its best book since FEBRUARY (7.1-7.3). BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK repeated at #3 (6.1-6.3), while WHYY INC. Public Radio WHYY stepped up to #4 with its best performance since JANUARY (5.1-5.6). AUDACY Sports WIP regained almost all of last month’s noticeable share loss (4.8-5.5) to move up two places in the standings to #5. AUDACY News KYW-A slipped to #6 (5.4-5.3), while AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) slipped to #7 (4.9-4.9). It continued as the cume champion (913,700-991,200) – a 8.5% increase. The market was up by 4.9%.

WMMR has been the 25-54 winner for every 2021 survey. The station made it 10 for 10 by posting its largest share in over a year. Oh, BTW, this was the ninth straight survey that had the station in double digits. WDAS repeated at #2 with its best outing in over a year yet trailed the leader by four shares. WMGK remained at a distant #3 with a slight increase. It was three shares out of second place. WHYY moved up to a very close #4 with its highest total in over a year. WIP rebounded from a down book to move up to #5, while WBEB slipped to #6 with its smallest share in over a year.

As recently as APRIL, BEASLEY Country WXTU was sitting at #11 18-34. This time the station had its best book in over a year as it rose from a tie at #3 to #1. This ended the four-book winning streak for WBEB as it dipped to #2 with its lowest score since FEBRUARY. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99FM) landed its largest share since JANUARY as it climbed out of a tie at #6 to #3. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) also had its best outing in over a year as it leapt from #8 to #4. AUDACY Top 40/M WTDY ended a strong two-book surge as it slipped from a tie at #3 into a tie at #5 with WIP, which advanced from #9 with a slight increase. Two stations dropped out of the top five and landed in unison at #10. WMMR fell from #2 with its lowest mark in over a year, while WMGK dropped from #5 with its smallest share since MARCH.

WMMR continued to excel 18-49. The station was #1 for the ninth book in a row, cracked the double-digit barrier for the third time in that span, and beat its next closest pursuer by better than three shares. That station would be WDAS, which sat at #2 for the fourth book in a row. WHYY had its best score since JANUARY as it stepped up to #3, while WXTU was up one slot to #4 with its first up book since JUNE. WIP moved from a tie at #6 to #5 with a strong increase, while WMGK had its smallest share since JANUARY as it fell from #3 to #6.

BOSTON: The Constant Variety Of Sport

Despite the fact that the RED SOX fizzled in the playoffs and the PATRIOTS are a 500 team, the appetite for sports programming remained very strong. For the second book in a row, BEASLEY Sports WBZ (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) was #1 6+ as it landed its largest share in over a year (7.4-8.0). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR repeated at #2 as it ended a two-book slide (7.2-7.4). iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A remained in third place as it halted a three-book surge (6.6-6.2). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) stood alone at #4 (5.8-5.9), while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX ended a three-book slide as it stepped up to #5 (5.7-5.8). BEASLEY Country WKLB slipped from the tie at #4 to #6 (5.8-5.7). After a two-book hiatus, WXKS was back on top of the cume leaderboard (839,400-918,200) – an increase of 9.4%. The market grew by 5.0%.

WBZ continued its torrid pace 25-54. The station was #1 for the fourth book in a row, and for the sixth time in the last 10 surveys it landed in double digits. WXKS repeated at #2 with a slight increase but trailed the leader by better than four shares. WROR was up two places to #3 with its first up book since MAY, while a flat WKLB remained at #4. WZLX slipped to #5 with a small decrease.

For the third consecutive survey, WXKS and WROR have been #1 and #2, respectively, with the 18-34 crowd. In each book, the gap between the two stations stood at about a share and a half. WXKS had its best outing since JUNE, while WROR landed its largest number in over a year. WBZ repeated at #3 with its third up book in a row, while WKLB stepped up to #4 despite being down for the third straight survey. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9) dipped to #5 as it ended a very strong two-book surge. It was not too far in front of WZLX, which advanced two squares to #6 despite a slight decrease.

The top four 18-49 stations were the same as before. WBZ was #1 for the fourth book in a row and hit double digits for the 11th time in the last 14 surveys. That’s a pretty good batting average. WXKS was off slightly at #2 and was nearly five shares off the lead. WROR repeated at #3 as it rebounded nicely from a down book, while WKLB was at #4 again, though with its smallest share since APRIL. WZLX had the #5 position all to itself as its former partner in that space – WBQT – slipped to #7. In between – with visions of sugar plums dancing in its head – was AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7), which moved up to #6 despite a slight loss.

We will now take a brief respite before returning with the conclusion of this OCTOBER rant. You can be sure we will be avoiding all things pumpkin spice.

In final episode of the month, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will focus on MIAMI, SEATTLE, DETROIT, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS. It will be a must-read. 

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About RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC..: RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC.. is based in ANNAPOLIS, MD. We help radio stations’ programming and sales departments maximize the value of their research. For more information, visit www.ResearchDirectorInc.com, call (410) 295-6619, or e-mail info@ResearchDirectorInc.com or sallan@ResearchDirectorInc.com.

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