Exclusive March PPM Analysis For N.Y. And L.A.

Exclusive Analysis From MusicCrunch

RADIOCRUNCH/MUSICRUNCH principals KEVIN McCABE and ANTHONY ACAMPORA take us through the demo results for NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES TODAY. The duo will continue to to analyze stations by cluster. Also, in their MARCH installment, special emphasis will be paid to the Top 40 results in NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES as this is the first full month for KLSX (AMP RADIO)/LOS ANGELES with partial monthly results for WXRK (92-3 NOW)/NEW YORK.

New York: Clear Channel, Emmis, WBLS Post Growth; WXRK Has Yet to Impact

CLEAR CHANNEL scored another very good PPM monthly in the MARCH results with four of the top-10 stations 18-34 and five of the top-10 stations 18-49. CLEAR CHANNEL also nabbed four of the top 10 25-54 in the MARCH 2009 PPM results.

Top 40 WHTZ (Z100) hung on to the top spot 18-34 and 18-49. It's important to note that for approximately half of the measured month, new CBS Top 40 rival WXRK (92-3 NOW) was on (WXRK's sign-on was WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11th at 5p EDT). Z100 remained steady in its core demo 18-34 throughout the month and does not lose its rank at the top of the demo due to the partial month of 92-3 NOW.

What's different in MARCH versus FEBRUARY was Z100 slipping from a first-place tie with CLEAR CHANNEL AC sister WLTW (LITE-FM) to #4 25-54. WLTW was the clear winner 25-54 in MARCH.

Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) held 3rd place 25-54. WAXQ was steady in MARCH and didn't appear to have gotten any boost out of WXRK's switch to Top 40 in the 25-54 cell. WAXQ did improve its ranking 18-34, moving 14th to 12th -- ironically in a tie with WXRK.

In the 18-34 cell, Urban WWPR (POWER 105) ranked #3, holding its position from FEBRUARY to MARCH. WWPR improved 25-54 by advancing from 12th to 11th 25-54. POWER 105 pulled a 5th place tie with EMMIS Rhythmic WQHT (HOT 97).

Rhythmic AC WKTU bounced back 25-54 with a 6th-place finish in MARCH, tied with EMMIS Urban AC WRKS. WKTU ranked 8th in the FEBRUARY PPM results. In the 18-34 cell, WKTU slipped from a 5th-place tie with WLTW to 7th and tied for 5th place with HOT 97 in MARCH.

EMMIS: HOT 97 was steady at #2 18-34, having ranked 2nd in the demo for four consecutive months (DECEMBER-MARCH) and in the Holiday period. The station continued to adjust programming in the monthly with powers rotating 100+ spins per week. In addition, HOT 97 moved up 18-49 and 25-54 by finishing 12th, an improvement over its 13th place tie with CBS Sports outlet WFAN-A.

Meanwhile, WRKS finished 6th 25-54, tied with WKTU -- although not as big as INNER CITY format rival WBLS (see below).

WXRK's format flip to Top 40 was certain to have some impact on AAA WRXP and the MARCH results lend some indication that WRXP is reaping some benefit. In the 18-34 demo, WRXP climbed from a 23rd-place tie with three additional stations to 21st. The most notable improvement was evident 25-54 as WRXP moved from 20th to a 16th place tie with CITADEL Talk outlet WABC-A. Climbing four positions in rank 25-54 in the MARCH results leads us to believe that some of WXRK's adults turned to WRXP following the format change.

CBS: AC WWFS (FRESH) ranked 10th 18-34, moving up from 11th in FEBRUARY. WWFS tied for #10 25-54 with Classic Hits sister WCBS-F. WWFS also climbed to 11th 18-49, which improved upon its 12th place ranking in FEBRUARY.

WXRK actually slipped from an 11th place tie 18-34 in FEBRUARY with WWFS to a 12th-place tie with WAXQ in MARCH. WXRK did not move up 18-34 as a result of the format flip, but again we're dealing with a partial month for WXRK as a Top 40 station. WXRK held on to 16th 18-49 and got into an 18th-place tie 25-54 with UNIVISION Tropical WCAA. WXRK did see a slight cume jump in the weeklies.

News WINS-A lost over a half share and dipped from 6th to 8th 25-54. Sister News WCBS-A rose from 15th to 13th in the same cell, but was off in share.

Sports WFAN-A scored its lowest ratings to date, ranking 15th 25-54.

CITADEL: Hot AC WPLJ vaulted from 13th to 9th 18-34 in MARCH. Has WPLJ already received a boost as a result of the heavily-Rhythmic Top 40 landscape in NEW YORK? WPLJ's Hot AC format -- with its emphasis on artists such as FRAY, COLDPLAY, LIFEHOUSE, and NICKELBACK -- may be providing a respite for the upper end of the 18-34 demo. In the 18-49 cell, WPLJ climbed 11th to 8th and 25-54 moved to #9 following its FEBRUARY ranking of a 10th-place tie with WWFS.

WABC-A continued to climb, moving to 16th 25-54 in FEBRUARY, its highest ranking yet in the demo since the PPM became currency in the FALL of 2008.

Others: SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA) remained a solid perfomer, ranking 5th 25-54. Sister Spanish Contemporary WPAT rose from 16th to 14th 25-54.

A best-ever PPM result for INNER CITY Urban AC WBLS, which vaulted into 2nd place 25-54. EMMIS format rival WRKS finished 6th 25-54.

Los Angeles: 'AMP' Soars; KIIS, KPWR Stay Strong

CBS Top 40 KLSX (AMP RADIO) made a major impact in the MARCH PPM data released YESTERDAY. However, CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 rival KIIS and EMMIS Rhythmic KPWR (POWER 106) were still strong. Meanwhile, EMMIS saw '80s-based AC KMVN (MOVIN') get its highest numbers in history prior to its LMA and format flip in APRIL, and CLEAR CHANNEL's cluster performed strong with 25-54 adults.

CLEAR CHANNEL: Top 40 KIIS, despite the attack from KLSX, held the top spot again among adults 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54 in MARCH -- although its lead did shrink in all three cells. KIIS had its lowest shares in all three cells since the advent of PPM.

Hot AC KBIG (104-3 MYFM) had its best numbers yet to date -- soaring from 9th to 2nd 25-54. KBIG also moved from 9th to 7th 18-49 and 7th to 5th 18-34.

AC KOST was one of three stations tied for 3rd place. In essence, CLEAR CHANNEL had stations that either owned or tied for the top-three spots 25-54 in LOS ANGELES. KOST moved up from 5th place 25-54 in FEBRUARY.

Talk KFI-A ranked 11th 25-54, tying for its best share and rank yet in PPM.

Alternative KYSR (98-7) was off slightly in each demo; however they are closer in share to CBS rival KROQ in some of the younger demos. KYSR went from 6th to 8th 18-34, 7th to 12th 18-49, and 10th to 13th 25-54. Again, shares are very compressed, and 98-7 was just two-tenths behind KROQ 18-34.

Rhythmic AC KHHT (HOT 92-3) slid back to its poorest PPM numbers to date. However, the recent flip of KMVN to Spanish Contemporary may benefit HOT. Meanwhile, HOT has made some musical adjustments in the last week, incorporating more freestyle and disco as a more regular part of its mix.

CBS: The big news out of CBS is the solid first month for KLSX (AMP RADIO). AMP debuted at #5 18-34, #10 18-49, and #17 25-54. To give you an idea, AMP had 67% of KIIS's 18-34 share, 60% of its 18-49, and 57% of its 25-54. Not bad for a first month.

AMP had an effect on several stations -- notably sister Alternative KROQ -- which it actually beat 18-34 (more on that in a moment). AMP is pulling from a plethora of stations. While KIIS and KPWR are the two obvious ones, there is some sharing going on with KROQ. AMP also has a larger Hispanic composition than both KIIS and KPWR -- a segment of the audience critical to their success.

Over at KROQ, the station takes a pretty sizable hit in the younger demos -- while holding in the older cells. KROQ drops all the way from 3rd to 7th 18-34, falling to its lowest 18-34 PPM ratings to date and actually being beaten by AMP. KROQ lost just slightly less than KIIS did 18-34. With adults 18-49, KROQ remained 2nd, and held in a tie for 3rd 25-54. KROQ was also down 18-34 women for a 5th straight month.

After several months downtrending, Adult Hits KCBS-F (JACK-FM) moved from 11th to 8th and scored its best shares since SEPTEMBER. Could this have to do with the recent departure of Talk KLSX, which skewed male? JACK was up 34% with Men 25-54 this month.

Classic Hits KRTH remained a solid performer, tying for 9th 25-54, while Smooth AC KTWV moved from 15th to 11th in the same cell.

News KNX-A remained 20th 25-54 -- tying for its best 25-54 share to date in PPM, while sister News KFWB-A ranked 31st.

EMMIS: Rhythmic KPWR (POWER 106) was off slightly for the month, but rebounded nicely in week 4 after AMP began airing commercials. POWER remained 2nd 18-34 and was closer to KIIS in share than ever before in PPM. POWER also rose from 4th to 3rd 18-49, and remained flat in 15th place 25-54. However, with KROQ sliding in the younger demos, POWER is now closer to KROQ in the lucrative 18-49 cell.

In its final book, '80s-based AC KMVN (MOVIN' 93-9) scored its highest ratings to date across the board. KMVN actually beat KHHT among adults 25-54 in MARCH and saw its weekly TSL increase -- among the longest of any FM English language music station.

CITADEL: Not much movement for Classic Rock KLOS, as the station ranked 16th 25-54. KLOS remains challenged in the music dayparts. MARK & BRIAN ranked 3rd in mornings, but then the station dropped to 14th in middays, 19th in afternoons, and 22nd at night.

Talk KABC-A ranked 34th 25-54, but the station will have the addition of DODGERS baseball in APRIL.

UNIVISION: The company remained the leading Spanish-language operator, although it don't own the most-listened-to Spanish-language station. Spanish Adult Hits KRCD (RECUERDO) and Spanish Contemporary KLVE tied for 6th 25-54 in MARCH, but keep in mind only a tenth of a share separated 6th place from 3rd place 25-54 in L.A. in MARCH.

Regional Mexican KSCA had been really hurt the last few months since the sign-on of ENTRAVISION's KDLD (EL GATO). KSCA remained 13th 25-54. KSCA has a similar problem to KLOS. It's strong in the mornings with PIOLIN (tied for 5th), but then slid to 12th in middays, and 22nd in both afternoons and nights.

SBS: It was a mixed bag for SBS once again in MARCH. Both Regional Mexican KLAX (LA RAZA) and Latin Urban KXOL (LATINO 96-3) took hits in MARCH, but KLAX continued as the markets leading Spanish-language station.

KLAX tied for 3rd 25-54, while ranking 4th 18-49, and 3rd 18-34.

KXOL has really fallen on hard times -- and the launch of AMP sure hasn't helped, as AMP pulled in a large number of Hispanics, which is the bulk of KXOL's listenership. LATINO dropped all the way to 12th in its 18-34 cell and 20th 18-49.

ENTRAVISION: The company has gained some traction with Regional Mexican KDLD (EL GATO), the former INDIE 103.1. EL GATO ranked 18th in its best cell -- Adults 18-34 -- more than tripling the ratings of INDIE 103.1.

ENTRAVISION's two other stations, however, appear stagnant. Spanish Contemporary KSSE ranked 23rd 25-54, while Spanish Adult Hits KLYY ranked 18th.

LIBERMAN: Regional Mexican KBUE (QUE BUENA) dipped from 5th to 9th 25-54, 5th to 7th 18-49, but rose 5th to 4th 18-34.

Others: BONNEVILLE AAA KSWD (THE SOUND) inched up a tenth of a share 25-54, although it ranked 28th. MT. WILSON Country KKGO (GO COUNTRY 105) slid from 21st to 23rd 25-54.

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