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Research Director, Inc. Presents Exclusive Sept. PPM Analysis: Houston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta
September 30, 2014
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Suddenly, There’s Magic
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Welcome back as we pay our second visit to the AUGTEMBER survey, as the so-called SEPTEMBER book actually spent more time in the previous month. For note-taking purposes, this book covered 8/14 through 9/10 and also featured the LABOR DAY holiday somewhere during week #3. That makes this the third in the last four books to be affected by a holiday weekend.
As always, The Ratings Experts at RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. could not provide you with this wealth of information and deep insight without the amazing team at XTRENDS. The sarcasm we throw in for free.
Here we go …
HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Suddenly, There’s Magic
RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) has been on quite the roll over the last six months – increasing share nearly every time. When the surge began, the station was sitting in a tie at #3 with a 5.7 share. It slowly inched its way forward and this time was rewarded with a share of first place (6.4-6.7) thanks to its best book in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY) claimed at least a share of the top spot for the third straight survey (6.8-6.7). COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) was flat (6.1-6.1) – which matched its lowest share of the year – but still managed to move up a spot to #3. RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) was also flat (5.6-5.6) and also managed to move up one place to #4. COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) captured its lowest number since FEBRUARY (6.2-5.2) to slide two spaces to #5. Look out below! iHEARTMEDIA N/T KTRH-A had its best book since MARCH (3.1-4.4) to advance from #16 into a tie at #9.
Things remained sunny 25-54 as KODA captured its fourth straight #1 book despite a slight loss of share. KMJQ was flat but that was fine as it matched its best share of the year and moved up a spot to #2. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (ESTEREO LATINO) couldn’t quite match last month’s large share and dipped to #3. Last month’s three-way draw at #4 was dissolved. KBXX remained in place with a slight share loss. KKBQ dropped back to #5 with a slightlier share loss (no, that’s not a real word). And, iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) had the slightliest loss of the three and ended up at #6.
How incredibly dominant is KBXX 18-34? Consider this: The station got a direct competitor at the beginning of the year yet still managed to land double-digit shares in almost every book. Oh, and remain #1. The competitor is iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) and it just had its second best book since its birth to move up three spots to #2. Alas, it still trails the leader by almost two shares. KKBQ held on at #3 despite a down book while KLTN did the same at #4. Last month, KTBZ had a monster book. This time, it crashed a bit in falling three spots to #5.
KBXX had its lowest 18-49 share since MAY but held on to the top spot for the fourth straight book. KKBQ was flat but managed to climb two rungs to #2 while KLTN remained at #3 despite a small share loss. KODA remained at #4 with a down book while KTBZ had its lowest number since MAY to fall three places to #5.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A Slow News Month
With a mild summer and no major stories, it was a soft month for HUBBARD News WTOP (8.5-7.8). Still, even though the station had its lowest number since sleigh bells were ringing down Constitution Avenue, it remained at #1 for the ninth straight survey. It was a great month for HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR (5.4-6.5) – its best in over a year. That drove the station forward two spots to #2. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU dropped a slot to #3 despite a slight increase (6.2-6.3). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) accomplished the same feat in sliding to #4 (6.0-6.1). RADIO ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) was up for the third consecutive survey (4.6-4.8) to move back into the top five for the first time since MARCH. There is a battle brewing between two stations that specialize in contemporizing the adult music experience. iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH slipped two places to #7 with its lowest total in over a year (5.0-4.3). Meanwhile, CBS RADIO Hot AC WIAD (FRESH) ended a two-book slide (3.5-3.9) to move forward six places to #8. It was tied with CUMULUS Talk WMAL, which had a similar growth spurt (3.7-3.9) to advance from a tie at #12.
WIHT has been a marvel of consistency 25-54. This was its eighth straight book at the top and, for most of that time, its share has varied very little. However, this time #2 WHUR closed the gap to less than half a share as it moved up from #5 with its highest score since JANUARY. WTOP took a small step back to #3 with a flat performance while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) dropped back to #4 with a modest share loss. WAMU moved back into the top five with a slight increase while WASH dropped two places to #6 with its smallest share since APRIL.
The top of the 18-34 chart doesn’t vary much from book to book. WIHT continued to rule the roost with another large double-digit share. With second-place RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) being flat, the margin between the two approached five shares. CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC remained at #3 though it garnered its lowest share in over a year. Two stations locked horns at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ moved up from #5 despite a down book while cluster bro’ WWDC dropped from #3. Two stations further down the list had impressive performances: WA ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY Christian Contemporary WGTS had its best book in over a year to move up three spots to #8. CUMULUS Top 40/R WRQX (DC’S 107.3) accomplished the same feat as it jumped four spots to #10.
As seen in the previous demo, WIHT was #1 18-49 for the ninth month in a row. WHUR continued its fine SEPTEMBER performance by leaping four spots to #2, though it trailed the market leader by close to three shares. Two stations that are arch rivals were getting acquainted at #3. WPGC moved up a spot while WKYS advanced two places. Both stations had down books. There was also a confab at #5. WWDC dropped from #2 while WIAD shot up from #10. WASH was looking forward to going a-caroling as it fell four spots to a tie at #7 with its lowest number of the year.
PHILADELPHIA: An Old Schoolin’
Here’s how it works in the city of glorious cheese steaks. If WEAZ-FM RADIO AC WBEB (MORE) is not #1, then nobody is. In the previous thirteen surveys only massively bad weather prevented MORE from being on top. And that was for just the FEBRUARY book. Well, that changed as iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS had its book of the year (5.5-6.7) to vault two places to #1. MORE was also up but slipped back to #2 (6.5-6.6). CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL slipped back to #3 despite a small increase (6.2-6.4). BEASLEY Country WXTU also had a slight increase (5.5-5.6) and also fell back a spot to #4. GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WMGK ended a two-book slide (5.1-5.5) and moved up to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) could not match last month’s book of the year (5.2-4.8) and slipped a couple of spots to #7.
While WDAS made a very strong run 25-54, it could not unseat GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WMMR, which captured its sixth straight crown. WDAS had to settle for the #2 position – which was a far cry better than the #7 slot it occupied in the previous survey. WXTU was up slightly but slipped back to #3 while WMGK remained at #4 as it ended a two-book slide. There was some sharing at #5. WUSL dropped from #3 while WBEB moved up from #6 – returning to the top five after a two-book hiatus. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) landed its lowest share since MARCH to fall a couple of spots to a tie at #7.If you’ve been reading to this point, you would logically assume that WUSL has had better books. To an extent, that is true. However, the station remained #1 18-34 for the second straight survey, though by the mathematically slimmest of margins. WXTU bounced back from a down book to remain a close #2 while WRFF dropped back to #3 with a small share loss. WMMR had been on a three-book slide that had taken the station to its lowest point since RUDOLPH was running. The station bounced back this time to move up a spot to #4. WBEB followed last month’s huge increase with a noticeable decline to fall three places to #5. WDAS performed well here, too, as it climbed five places to #7 with its highest share since OCTOBER.
WMMR parlayed the end of its three-book slide with a three-place jump and captured the lead 18-49 – right where it was when the slide began. There was a two-fer at #2 as WUSL fell from the top while WXTU remained flat and in place. WRFF had a slight increase and was rewarded with a one-place advancement to #4. WBEB fell off a little to drop back to #5. WDAS had its highest share since OCTOBER to move from a tie at #11 to #6.
ATLANTA: Talk Is Not Cheap
Especially when you’re #1. That’s the case for COX RADIO Talk WSB-A as it ended a three-book slide (6.4-7.2) and moved up from a tie at #3 to claim the crown. CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V-103) was almost the people’s choice as it landed the largest share it had seen since JANUARY (6.3-7.0) to move up three spots to #2. COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) was flat (6.4-6.4) to remain at #3. The two stations that took the market by storm or surprise (your choice) last month were not quite as robust this time around. COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) had its lowest number in over a year (6.8-6.1) to fall from the lead to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Country WUBL (THE BULL) remained strong, just not as much as before. It also fell three places to #5 (6.5-6.0).
Last month the signs were ominous. Perhaps the end was near since WVEE was not #1 25-54 for the first time in, like, ever. We can all relax as order has been restored to the universe. V-103 was back to its customary spot at #1, scoring its best book since FEBRUARY. While RADIO ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) may have stumbled on the big board, it fared quite well here. The station had its best share since MAY and moved up from #6 into a tie at #2. It was joined by WUBL, which fell from the top – ending a three-book surge. COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) was off a bit but held on at #4 while WSB-F dropped two spots to #5 with its second straight down book. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) had its smallest number since MAY to slip a couple of spots to #7. WSB-A was talking a good game, posting its best number in over a year as it moved up a spot to #6.
For the seventh straight book, WVEE was #1 18-34 and this time it announced its arrival with authority – scoring its best book in over a year. RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) ended a four-book slide to remain at #2. WWWQ experienced some share loss but held steady at #3. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRDA (RADIO 105.7) did not move from its #4 position though it did drop some share. WSB-F moved up two spots to #5 with its highest total since FEBRUARY while WUBL dropped to #6 with its smallest share since MAY.
WVEE bounced back from a down book to extend its lead 18-49. WUBL remained at #2, but the combination of the station’s down book and V-103’s gain widened the gap to more than two shares. WSB-F was off a bit to stay at #3. Two stations moved up in the ranks to land at #4. WHTA came in from #5 with its best number since the HOLIDAY survey while WAMJ drove in from a tie at #6 with its highest share since MAY. WWWQ lost a chunk of share to fall two places to #6. WSB-A moved up six places to #7 with its best book in over a year.
BOSTON: The Race Is Tighter
Once was the time when iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) completely dominated the market and the race was always for second place. True, KISS just had its ninth straight #1 book (6.9-6.9), but several stations were within shouting distance of the lead. GREATER MEDIA Classic Hits WROR remained at #2 with a small decrease in share (6.8-6.6) and two stations narrowed the gap slightly and were tied at #3. GREATER MEDIA Country WKLB – despite the presence of a new, direct competitor – was up for the second book in a row (6.3-6.4) to remain in place. CBS RADIO Classic Rock WZLX moved up a spot thanks to its best book since NOVEMBER (6.1-6.4). GREATER MEDIA AC WMJX (MAGIC) remained at #5 with its best showing since MAY (5.6-6.1). Keep an eye on CBS RADIO Hot AC WBMX (MIX). Though the station only moved forward one square to a tie at #7, it had a nice gain in posting its best number since FEBRUARY (3.8-4.5). The newest member of the herd – iHEARTMEDIA Country WBWL (THE BULL) moved up into a tie at #17 but was off from its previous high (2.6-2.4).
There were a lot of X’s atop the 25-54 chart. WXKS was #1 again but had its lowest share since DECEMBER. This allowed the two stations trapped at #2 to close to within less than a share. WZLX remained in place with a slight increase while WMJX had its best book since APRIL to move up from #4. WKLB dropped a slot to #4 even though it was up. WBMX had a strong gain here, as well, and moved up to #5. It essentially traded places with WROR, which was off slightly. CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) reaped some benefit from the NFL, climbing two spots to #9 with its highest score since MAY.
The back and forth 18-34 between WXKS and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) continues as KISS returned to the top spot with a solid increase while JAM’N fell back to #2 with an almost equally solid decrease. WKLB held on to the #3 position whilst being flat while GREATER MEDIA Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) held on at #4 with its best showing since MARCH. WMJX also had a good month, rising two places to #5 with its highest number since APRIL. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WODS (AMP) ended a three-book surge and fell back to a tie at #6.
WXKS had a little bit of a bounce back from last month’s low share to remain at #1 18-49 but saw its lead shrink to a mere two shares. WMJX moved up from #5 and into the challenger’s position with –again – its best score since APRIL. WKLB slipped back to #3 even though it gained a small amount of share while WZLX dropped back to #4 with its own up book. Two stations were joined together at #5. WJMN fell a spot with a small decrease while WBMX jumped in from #9 as it ended a two-book slide. WBZ-F had a strong share increase as it moved up four spots to #8.
The Ratings Experts at RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. stand ready to help you grapple with the maze of information that is “the book.” Feel free to reach out to us at any time to see how we can help you win in the ratings.
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