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Research Director, Inc. Presents Exclusive March PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston
April 16, 2013
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Box And One
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ALL ACCESS presents MARCH PPM market highlights, compiled by the Ratings Experts at RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. and powered by XTRENDS, radio's #1 PPM and diary analysis tool. All numbers reflect subscriber only data.
HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Box And One
Welcome to Day Two of our analysis of the ratings battles in America’s largest markets. We begin with HOUSTON-GALVESTON and for the tenth time in the last 14 surveys, RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) was the #1 station after posting its second straight up book (7.7-8.0). While the station was a solid #2 a year ago, it had to settle for a measly 6.9 share, so it has certainly been on an upswing. Cluster teammate RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) had its second consecutive down book (6.6-6.5) to remain at #2 but it is hearing footsteps from a couple of stations that are now tied at #3. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (ESTEREO LATINO) was in sole possession of the #3 slot last month after its second straight down book (6.5-6.3) to open the door for CCM+E AC KODA (SUNNY), which seemed to be faring quite well in the three months since the elimination of its jingle bell playlist (6.0-6.3). Exactly one year ago, COX RADIO Country KKBQ was sitting at #9 with a 4.2 share. This time, the station was up for the third straight survey and just happened to post its best number in over a year (5.3-5.6).
For the first time since DECEMBER, KBXX was on top of the world 25-54 as the station posted a monster score -- its best in over a year. This forced KLTN to take a step backwards to #2 as it was down for the second straight book. KMJQ also slipped a little although it remained at #3, but it was definitely checking its rearview mirror as this month’s hottie -- KKBQ -- rode a three-book surge with its best number in over a year to climb a spot to #4. A year ago the station was sitting in a tie at #7. CCM+E Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) fell for the second straight month to slip one spot to #5.
KBXX was down 18-34 for the third straight book. We did go back as far as we could, and since DECEMBER 2010, THE BOX was always #1, though there have been rare times when other stations have been in reasonable proximity to the top spot. KLTN had its lowest share since AUGUST but remained at #2 while KTBZ was up for the second straight month to stay at #3. During the HOLIDAY survey, KKBQ was sitting at #13. Well, it is currently riding a three-book explosion, and this time moved from #7 to #4. CBS RADIO Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA) was up slightly but was forced to take a step back to #5.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The News Capital
For the third straight month, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU topped the 9-share plateau (9.4-9.4) to remain the most-heard radio station in the Nation’s Capital. While the shares were rather impressive, being #1 was something the station achieved in 10 of the last 14 surveys. Down books can be a relative thing as HUBBARD News WTOP remained at #2 with a rather lofty share (8.9-8.0), and for the third month in a row, posted something that looks strikingly familiar to a snowman. CCM+E Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) had its best showing since NOVEMBER (6.3-6.7) to hold steady at #3 while cluster sister CCM+E AC WASH leveled off from its CHRISTMAS run (5.6-5.6) to remain at #4 -- exactly where it ranked a year ago. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR, which lost its afternoon icon in MICHAEL BAISDEN during the survey, also suffered its sixth straight down book (5.4-5.3) yet remained at #5.
For the last three months, WIHT had the exact same share and was ranked in the exact same spot -- #2. This month, its share slipped ever so slightly but it managed to move up into a tie at #1 with WTOP, which ended a three-book surge. A year ago, HOT was #1 while WTOP was languishing at #4. WAMU secured its best performance in over a year to remain at #3 but was ever so close to making this a three-way tie. Last year, WASH’s third month out from the HOLIDAY book had the station at #2. The station held forth at #4 for the third month in a row. RADIO ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) was off slightly but broke a tie at #5 to now hold the position by itself while WHUR was forced to step down to #6.
It is now six months and counting that RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) threw down double-digit shares 18-34, and it is the fifth month in a row that the station has been #1. Meanwhile, WIHT closed the gap by posting its best shares since NOVEMBER. These two stations are the clear, dominant listening choices for this demo. CCM+E Alternative WWDC (DC101) took up its customary position at #3 with another solid book, while CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC had its best book since NOVEMBER to remain at #4. WASH followed its lowest book in over a year with its best non-CHRISTMAS-influenced score since OCTOBER to jump from a tie at #7 to #5.
For the third month in a row, and thirteenth out of the last 14, WIHT topped the charts 18-49 though its lead over #2 WKYS has shrunk to just about a point. The post-Kringle recovery resumed for WASH as the station rose from #4 into a tie at #3 with WAMU, which had its highest number since OCTOBER. WTOP slipped a bit as the station tumbled from #3 to #5.
PHILADELPHIA: ‘MMR Rocks!
Over the last nine months, the only thing that has prevented CBS RADIO News KYW-A from being #1 was the persistent sounds of the little drummer boy. Last we checked, the adolescent percussionist was on hiatus so that means KYW-A is still #1 (8.6-7.8). During that aforementioned nine-month span, the station that reaped the benefit from all those drummers drumming was WEAZ-FM RADIO AC WBEB (B101) as the station was often #2, as it was again this survey (7.2-6.9). For the fifth month in a row, CCM+E Urban AC WDAS was #3 (6.4-6.3). CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL was up for the third straight month (5.5-5.6) to remain at #4. However, it now had to share the space with GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WMMR, which scored its best book since JUNE (4.9-5.6) to move up from #5.
Since falling off the CHRISTMAS wagon in JANUARY, WBEB has increased its 25-54 shares in each of the last two months -- both times posting its best non-drummer-boy-influenced numbers in over a year. So, it is safe to say the station was #1. WMMR was up for the third straight month and posted its best book since MAY to close the gap at #2. WDAS had a bounce-back performance to rise a spot to #3 while CCM+E Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) was also up -- for the third book in a row -- yet fell from a tie at #2 to #4. WOGL was flat yet managed to rise from #6 into a tie at #5 with CCM+E Urban WUSL (POWER), which had its best book in over a year (for the second straight month) to move up from a tie at #7 to a tie at #5.
For the first time since NOVEMBER, WRFF returned to the top spot 18-34 with its best book since OCTOBER. This ended WUSL’s brief two-book tenure at #1 as the station slid back to #2. WMMR had its best showing since NOVEMBER to move up a spot to #3, which forced WBEB to move back one to #4 -- still a far cry better than the tie at #7 it occupied a year ago. Watch out for BEASLEY Country WXTU as the station popped a huge number to climb from #8 to #5 – as compared with the #11 it had as recently as DECEMBER.
Back in NOVEMBER, before all that holiday hoopla began, WBEB was sitting at #7 18-49. Well, for the second month in a row, the station was atop the leader board in this demo. However, it felt the heat from WMMR as that station charged up from #4 to #2 with its best performance since MAY. WRFF was up for the third straight month but had to settle for staying at #3 while WUSL slid from #2 to #4. WDAS bounced back a bit to remain at #5.
ATLANTA: V Is For Consistency
Every time we go to analyze ATLANTA, we had to start with CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V103) and, frankly, it was difficult finding superlatives for a station that was always #1. True to form, it was there again (8.3-8.3) but, to quote a song, how long has this been going on? So, after performing a thorough background check, we founded that the last time WVEE was not #1 was in the HOLIDAY 2011 book. And now you know the rest of the story. Despite suffering the loss of its afternoon show in MICHAEL BAISDEN, RADIO ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) remained a solid #2 (7.7-7.7). COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B 98.5) slipped a bit (7.5-7.0) to remain at #3, though that was way better than the 4.7 share and #9 rank it had a year ago. Cluster brother COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) was up a bit (6.2-6.5) and moved from #5 to #4, displacing yet another cluster mate - COX RADIO Talk WSB-A, which moved down one to #5 (6.9-6.1).
The top four spots remained unchanged 25-54 as WVEE hit double-digits again to remain at #1. WAMJ and WSB-F both slipped a bit to remain at #2 and #3, respectively. COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) was flat at #4 but that was a far superior position than the tie at #10 it had last year. RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) had its best book since JULY to move up from #6 to #5 while last month’s ratings darling -- LINCOLN Hot AC WSTR (STAR) -- tumbled from #5 to #8.
The folks at WVEE might be getting nervous because their market lead 18-34 shrunk to under two share points over #2 WHTA. That hadn’t happened since DECEMBER. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) had its best book since OCTOBER to remain at #3 while CCM+E Regional Mexican WBZY (EL PATRON) moved up from #5 to #4. WSB-F was off for the second straight month and fell from #4 into a tie at #5 with WAMJ, which moved up from #6. A year ago at this point, the station was ranked well back of the pack at #13.
Oh, horrors! WVEE’S 18-49 numbers were down for the second straight book and its lead over #2 WAMJ (on a three-book surge) has shrunk to less than three shares. How can they sleep at night? WHTA was flat yet moved from #4 to #3 while WSB-F had its lowest share since NOVEMBER to slip from #3 to #4. WSRV was up for the third straight month to break out of a tie at #5 into sole possession of that spot. WSTR tumbled a bit from that #5 tie to #7.
BOSTON: A Kiss Is Just A Kiss
Our thoughts are with those affected by MONDAY’s tragic events at the BOSTON MARATHON. CCM+E Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) continued its post-jingle bell recovery by increasing its share for the second book in a row (7.7-7.9) to remain as the #1 station. On the other hand, GREATER MEDIA AC WMJX (MAGIC) continued its post-pine-scented malaise (7.2-6.6) yet managed to move from a tie at #2 to sole ownership of that position. Its brother-from-the-same-cluster, GREATER MEDIA Classic Hits WROR, bounced back from last month’s performance (5.8-6.3) to move back up the charts from #6 to #3. One of their other bunk mates, GREATER MEDIA Country WKLB, was off enough (6.3-6.2) to now find itself tied at #4 with CBS RADIO News WBZ-A (7.2-6.2), which slipped from a tie at #2. And what of the new kid in town -- GREATER MEDIA Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT)? Its second full book in its new format saw the station rise from #16 to #13 (2.4-2.7).
WXKS scored its best book since OCTOBER to remain the undisputed 25-54 champion and, in the process, extended its lead over two stations now locked at #2. WKLB was there last time but was joined by WMJX, which moved in from #3. GREATER MEDIA Alternative WBOS (RADIO 92.9) had its best showing in over a year to rocket from #7 to #4, just ahead of cluster-mate WROR, which jumped from #8 to #5. This did force a couple of stations to drop out of the top 5. CBS RADIO Classic Rock WZLX slipped from #4 to #8 while BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR dropped from #5 to #9. WBQT continued to climb the charts, moving from #15 to #12.
While WXKS continued to dominate 18-34, the station was on a five-book slide, though it still led #2 CCM+E Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) by one-and-a-half points. WBOS was up for the third straight month with its best number in over a year to remain at #3. What have we here? That new kid -- WBQT -- did wicked good as it jumped from a tie at #8 into a tie at #4! The station is sharing the spot with cluster brother WKLB, which had the spot all to itself last month.
After a two-month hiatus, WXKS returned to the land of double-digit shares 18-49 to widen its lead over #2 WMJX, which was down for the third consecutive book. WKLB was down a bit but remained at #3, though it was now tied with fellow cluster member WBOS, which jumped up from #5 with its highest score in over a year. WJMN bounced back from its lowest book in over a year but it wasn’t enough to keep the station from dropping from #4 to #5. To complete your scorecard, WBQT went from #13 to #11.
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