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Research Director, Inc. Presents Exclusive June PPM Analysis For Detroit, Miami, Seattle, Phoenix, And Minneapolis
July 10, 2014
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. DETROIT: Four For Five
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As promised, we fulfill our obligation for a return engagement by presenting five more markets for your consideration. The Ratings Experts at RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. in cahoots with the folks at XTRENDS, bring you this exclusive analysis for ALL ACCESS. For those new to the game, we go four demos deep into each market. While we are only permitted to share the 6+ data, a careful reading between the lines will give you a good picture as to what is transpiring in the real world. This analysis covers the JUNE 2014 survey and, for scorekeeping purposes, that covered 5/22 through 6/18. Now, on with the show …
DETROIT: Four For FiveThat would be a great day at the plate and an even better outcome in the ratings. CBS captured four of the top five positions for the third straight month. The leadoff hitter was CBS RADIO Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET), which rode the TIGERS to a second consecutive first-place prize (7.9-7.3). CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOMC, which is still wearing stirrup socks, remained at #2 with its best book since FEBRUARY (6.7-7.0). The interloper was CCM+E Urban AC WMXD (MIX), which remained in the three hole with a slight increase (6.5-6.6). The two other cluster-mates switched positions this time. CBS RADIO Country WYCD – which had been in a ratings slump this year – broke out with its best book since the HOLIDAY survey (5.5-6.2) to round up #4. Meanwhile, no news was no news for #5 CBS RADIO News WWJ-A, which was down for the fifth consecutive month (6.3-5.6) with its lowest batting average in over a year. Making a run for the top five was GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WCSX. The station easily had its highest RBI total in over a year (4.4-5.3) to move up two places to #6. With WYCD’s rebound, you may wonder how the other country is doing. CUMULUS Country WDRQ (NASH) had its best number since the flip (2.1-2.4) but remained in the second division at #18.
Last month, WXYT-F hit a tape-measure home run in leading the way 25-54. This time, the station was still #1 but its shot was just a routine blast. WYCD moved up a spot to #2 with a blast of its own – the best book since DECEMBER. WMXD landed its lowest share since OCTOBER and was forced to take a step back to #3. The WCSX juggernaut rolled on. Yes, this was its highest share in over a year, and it moved up three spots to #4. As recently as MARCH the station was sitting at #15. Its younger and more pierced brother – GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WRIF – was flat and fell back to #5. CCM+E Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955) was up slightly but still took a step back to #6 where it forced a draw with WOMC.
Things looked a bit different 18-34. WKQI was in its customary position at #1 – something it has done all year – but its once seemingly insurmountable lead shrank to its lowest point since FEBRUARY. That’s because WYCD moved up to #2 from #4 with its best book since that very same month. CCM+E Urban WJLB held on at #3 but suffered its third consecutive down book. WRIF was flat and remained at #4 where it was joined by WXYT-F, which fell from #2. WOMC remained at #6 but the station has more than doubled its share since the beginning of the year. Considering the format and the demo, that’s pretty impressive.
So far this year, three different stations have spent time in the #1 18-49 position. Returning for the first time since FEBRUARY was WYCD. WKQI was up slightly to hang in at #2 while WXYT-F dropped a couple of places to #3. WRIF was down slightly but did not budge from #4. WJLB was up slightly to retain its #5 title but was forced to share it with WMXD, which ended a two-book slide and inched up from #6. WCSX made a nice move from #9 to #8 but considering the station was languishing at #16 in MARCH, this is bigger than it appears.
MIAMI-FT.LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD: Five For FightingFor the third straight book, the same five stations occupied spots in the top five. Though a couple of the chairs were rearranged, the natural order of the universe was relatively settled. COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT) was its normal, dominant #1 self (8.0-7.9) while UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) was still #2 – though it did land its best book of the year (6.3-6.5). LINCOLN AC WLYF (LITE) took over sole possession of the #3 spot (5.4-5.8) while CCM+E Top 40/M WHYI (Y100) moved up to #4 despite a down book (5.3-4.8). If you’re keeping track, that leaves one more station. That would be COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY), which dropped two places to #5 with its lowest share in over a year (5.4-4.7).
Things might start to get interesting 25-54. While WHQT was still the #1 station, it matched its lowest share of the last year and seems to be coming back to the pack of late. Unfortunately for the pack, they have not been quite up to the task. Two stations drew the #2 card this book. SBS Tropical WXDJ (EL NUEVO ZOL) remained in place but lost share while WHYI moved up a spot with its best showing since DECEMBER. WAMR was off slightly as it moved back down to #4. We had another draw – this time at #5. COX RADIO Urban WEDR moved up a spot despite the fact it posted its lowest share in over a year. BEASLEY Top 40/R WPOW (POWER) came in from #7 with a modest increase. WFEZ ended a three-month stay in the top five and landed in a tie at #8.
For the second time in the last three books, WPOW was #1 18-34 as it matched its best performance of the year. Perennial #1, WEDR, posted its lowest number in over a year – for the second month in a row – but held on at #2. Last month’s leader, WHYI, could not duplicate the awesomeness of shares it had and dropped two spots to #3. CCM+E Urban WMIB (THE BEAT) – which has been the chief culprit in WEDR’s rating decline – was up slightly to stay at #4 while WXDJ held the #5 fort with a slight increase.
Make it back-to-back #1 18-49 books for WHYI. Though its share was off slightly, it maintained a healthy lead over the dual #2 stations. WPOW moved up from #4 with a slight increase while WXDJ advanced from #3 with a slight decrease. WEDR had its fourth straight down book and slid two places to #4 while WAMR remained at #5 with a very slight decrease in share.
SEATTLE-TACOMA: Hubba Hubba Hubbard
For the second book in a row, the top two stations share the same parking garage. This time, however, they switched spaces. HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM) had its best frost-free book in over a year (5.8-6.3) to return to the top for the third time this year. HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) busted a move back to #2 (6.2-5.9). There was a noticeable gap between the two leaders and the rest of the market. CRISTA Christian Contemporary KCMS (SPIRIT) moved up two places to #3 despite losing some share (4.9-4.8). Two stations coming from opposite directions met at #4. ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW fell from #3 (5.5-4.5) with its lowest number since SANTA was in town. ENTERCOM Country KKWF (THE WOLF) moved up from #6 despite shedding some of its number (4.7-4.5). CBS RADIO Classic Rock KZOK took on its smallest share in over a year (5.2-4.1) and fell three places to #7.
Ties were forged and ties were broken this survey 25-54. Last month’s #1 draw ended as KQMV claimed the top spot all by its lonesome despite a slight decrease. KISW stepped back to #2 with its lowest share since JANUARY. Two stations moved forward to lay siege to the #3 position. KCMS rose one spot despite a down book while KKWF loped ahead three with its highest number since OCTOBER. There was also unity at #5. KRWM remained in place with a slight loss of share while CBS RADIO Adult Hits KJAQ (JACK) moved up from #6 with its best showing in over a year. KZOK was off two shares from this point a year ago and dropped from #3 to #7.
As we saw in the previous demo, 18-34 had a tie atop the leaderboard last survey and it featured the same two stations as above. This time, the results left KQMV in place while KISW took a step back with its lowest share since JANUARY. KKWF was down but steady at #3 while CCM+E Top 40/M KBKS (KISS) bounced back from its lowest book of the year to rise four spots to #4. There was a three-way at #5. ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT) has cooled considerably since its debut last fall. This time the station slipped from #4 with its lowest share since the flip. CCM+E Top 40/R KUBE moved up from #6 with a slight increase while KJAQ had a big book in moving up from #9. The station has doubled its share in two months. Finally, there was KZOK. It literally lost more than half its share from the previous survey and fell from #5 to #16.
Last month there were seven stations in the top five 18-49. The natural mathematical order was returned this time. KQMV was off slightly but remained at #1. The station saw its lead grow dramatically as #2 KISW had its lowest number since JANUARY. KKWF moved up a spot to #3 with a slight increase while KBKS had its best showing since FEBRUARY to move up to #4. KCMS remained at #5 by being flat. The two dropouts were KZOK, which fell from #3, and KRWM which dropped from a tie at #5.
PHOENIX: A Country Surprise
Sometimes the Ratings Experts at Research Director, Inc., after careful analysis and meticulous inspection, are forced to utter the scientific phrase: “What’s up with that?” Case in point: CCM+E Country KNIX. The station has been a solid performer and experienced some growth of late. But this time, it exploded and became the new #1 station (5.0-6.2) – vaulting forward from a tie at #4. Cluster sister CCM+E AC KESZ (99.9KEZ) was its normal, stellar self (6.1-6.0) but had to step back to #2. CCM+E Hot AC KMXP (MIX) – which also surprised the market in FEBRUARY – ended a three-book slide (5.4-5.8) as it moved back a step to #3. CBS RADIO Classic Hits KOOL had its highest share since NOVEMBER (5.2-5.7) yet also took a step back – to #4. HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX dropped to #5 with its smallest number since SEPTEMBER (5.0-4.5).We had several “say what” moments when looking at 25-54. First, the two stations that were tied at #1 last month were neither tied nor #1 this time. Your new market leader was KMXP, which moved up from a tie at #3. This marks the station’s third #1 book this year. KNIX – which was #1 two books ago – rebounded nicely to move forward three places to #2. One of last book’s co-leaders – KSLX – fell to #3 with a slight decrease. Then, we had a threesome at #4. HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD dropped from its share of last month’s lead with its lowest share since DECEMBER. KESZ slid back from #3 with a slight decrease. The Hound’s brother – CCM+E Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) – had its best book since the flip to move up from #7.
There was minimal head scratching when we looked at 18-34. KUPD was #1 for the third straight month. However, KNIX was dangerously close to an upset as it moved from a tie at #7 to a very close #2 with its best book in over a year. KMXP moved up a spot to #3 despite some share loss while KESZ did the same in moving forward to #4. CCM+E Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) had its most meager output in over a year to slide from #2 to #5. RIVIERA Top 40/R KKFR (POWER) slid three places to #6 with its smallest number since SEPTEMBER.
Numbers are funny. Well, not by themselves, but in how we look at them. Two months ago KNIX was #2 18-49. It dropped to #5 last month and this time it made it to the top – though its share was lower than when it was #2. Hey, data people find humor in the strangest of places. KUPD had its lowest share of the year as it slipped back to #2 while KMXP moved up to #3 with its highest share since FEBRUARY. The co-tenants of the #2 position last survey broke apart and fell. KESZ ended up at #4 while KZZP dropped to #5.
NOTE: KKFR's PPM Encoding equipment was down for signficant portions of four days during this survey period.
MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL: Back On TopLast month press releases were issued, alarms were sounded, dogs and cats were living together because CCM+E Top 40/M KDWB was NOT #1. Call off the dogs (and cats) because normalcy returned as the station bounced back (8.3-8.9). It also had a new challenger from within its own cluster. CCM+E Country KEEY (K-102) had its highest total since SEPTEMBER (6.9-7.8) to mount a charge up from #5. Last month’s market champion – CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS – fell to #3 (8.4-7.7). The #4 position had a pair of contenders. HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) dropped a spot by being flat (7.3-7.3) while CCM+E Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) had its best elf-free showing since JULY (6.0-7.3) to advance from #6. CBS RADIO Adult Hits KZJK (JACK) had its best book in over a year for the second month in a row (7.1-7.2) and still dropped two places to #6.
Last month, it appeared there could be an actual race 25-54 between KDWB and KQRS. Well, the former was off slightly to remain at #1 while the latter ended a five-book run to fall a little farther back at #2. There was no longer a two-way at #3 as KZJK took control with its best performance in over a year while KSTP dropped to #4 with its fourth straight down book. Two stations improved their lot and ended up parking in the same spot at #5. CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) moved up from #6 with its best share since JANUARY while KQQL advanced from #7. Without the wind from the WILD, CCM+E Sports KFXN (K-FAN) fell from #5 to #12. 18-34 is a two-team race with both stations logging in with double-digit shares again. That is par for the course for #1 KDWB but was only the second time this year #2 KXXR accomplished that feat. CBS RADIO Country KMNB (BUZ’N) had its highest share since DECEMBER to move up a spot to #3 while its direct competitor – KEEY – had its best showing since JULY to move ahead two squares to #4. This is as close as the stations have been since they were tied in JANUARY. KZJK has been flat or up for seven books in a row and remained at #5 with its best share since AUGUST. KSTP had its lowest number since FEBRUARY to drop three places to #6.
This was the third book in a row that KDWB lost share 18-49 but it was still in double digits and still held a commanding lead over station #2. In this case, that was KZJK, which did inch a little closer. KXXR moved up to #3 with its best performance in over a year while KSTP dropped back to #4 with its smallest share since JANUARY. KEEY and KQRS traded places. The former moved up to #5 with its highest share since SEPTEMBER while the latter moved down to #7 with its lowest total since FEBRUARY.
This concludes our test of the ratings analysis system. We will return again next month with different numbers and better jokes. In the meantime, if you wish to weigh in or would like the Ratings Experts to look at your numbers – feel free to reach out to us via the platforms conveniently listed at the end of this article.
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