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Research Director, Inc. Presents Exclusive July PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta
August 4, 2015
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Southern Stability
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Once again into the breach. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. and the data groupies from XTRENDS delve as deeply as legally allowable into the fates and fortunes of another group of markets. Round two of our JULY excursion begins in a moment. This particular survey covered 6/18 through 7/15 and included a long holiday weekend that featured pro football players blowing off digits. It was also smack dab in the middle of vacation season and that can often have a damaging effect on PUMMS. There is not an SPF strong enough to prevent that.
HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Southern Stability
There was no discernable change in the 6+ pecking order from the previous survey – at least for the top five. iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY) remained as bright as ever in copping its tenth straight win. The station also posted its best egg-nog-free share in over a year (7.6-7.8). COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) held firm at #2 with its highest number in over a year (6.1-6.4). UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (ESTEREO LATINO) was up slightly at #3 (6.0-6.1) while #4 RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) bounced back nicely from a down book (5.5-6.0) to get dangerously close to moving up a spot. COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) halted a two-book skid (5.2-5.3) and remained at #5. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) made some noise this month. The station advanced two spaces to #6 as it, too, stopped a two-book down streak (4.2-4.8).
For the third consecutive survey, KODA was #1 25-54. However, this time it was not alone. KLTN moved up into a tie for the lead thanks to an ever-so-slight increase. KKBQ was close behind at #3 as it – once again – lassoed its best book in over a year. The two stations united at #4 last survey parted ways this time. KTBZ remained in place as it rebounded from its lowest share in over a year. KMJQ was also up but not enough to prevent the station from slipping back to #5 where it was joined by KGLK. CBS RADIO Country KILT-F (THE BULL) came closer to crashing the top-five party. Though the station was at #7 for the fourth book in a row, it did corral its second-best book of the last fourteen.
There was quite a bit of shuffling in the 18-34 ranks but none of that affected RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX). The station was #1 for the fourth book in a row but was hearing footsteps from KODA. SUNNY took over sole possession of second place with its best Frosty-free book in over a year. KKBQ was flat but that did not prevent the station from moving up to #3. KLTN captured its lowest number in over a year yet managed to move ahead two steps to #4. KTBZ took one step back to #5 with its smallest showing since OCTOBER. It was tied by iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT), which took an –ahem – beating. The station dropped from a tie at #2 with its lowest total in over a year. On the other hand, CBS RADIO Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA) had its highest score in exactly a year as it advanced two squares to #7.
There was a slight alteration to the order of the top five 18-49 stations. KODA remained the leader for the third month in a row. And, yes, the station had its best share in over a year without the benefit of mistletoe. KLTN and KKBQ swapped places as the former ended a three-book slide to lay claim to #2 while the latter only managed to post its best number in over a year to come in third. Sometimes math is just not fair. KBXX was off slightly but retained its #4 spot. KTBZ remained in the anchor position with its first up book since JANUARY.
WASHINGTON, DC: Hot Off The Presses
DC’s thirst for news and information is continuously slaked by two different approaches to information. HUBBARD News WTOP was your 6+ champion for the seventh book in a row. The station was also up for the third straight survey (8.5-8.7). The longer version of the news as delivered by AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was a hot topic for JULY. The station had its best book in over a year (7.3-8.2) to solidify its hold on the #2 spot. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) was off slightly to remain at #3 (6.9-6.8) while HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was up slightly (6.1-6.2) and stable at #4. iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH matched its best non-Santa-fueled book in the last 14 (5.7-6.0) to continue to man the #5 position. These five stations are well clear of the rest of the market. One mover of note was iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ, which advanced to #10 with its best showing since MARCH (3.3-3.8).
Music programming continued to feed the hungry ears of the 25-54 demo as WIHT won for the fourth book in a row. WTOP remained at #2 but narrowed the gap thanks to its best performance since MARCH. WASH was off slightly but maintained its presence at #3. It had company this time as WAMU moved in from #6 after matching its best share of the last 14 books. WHUR seemed to have reached its nadir back in MAY when it fell to #8. The station has been steadily regaining lost ground since then and remained at #5 with its best share since MARCH. RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) saw its time in the top five evaporate quickly as it slipped back two notches to #6.
With the exception of Santa’s big book, WIHT dominates 18-34. It reached double digits for the thirteenth time in the last fourteen surveys (guess which one was the outlier) and was #1 for the seventh month in a row. WKYS remained at #2 but drifted a little farther off the pace thanks to a bit of a share loss. CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC seemed to pick up what KISS lost. It remained a distant #3. WASH moved up two spots to #4 with its best showing since “he” was in town. WHUR had its highest score in over a year as it moved up two notches to #5. WMZQ also had a strong month – its best since SEPTEMBER – as it advanced five places to #6. A couple of cluster bros’ fell from the top five. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG dropped three spots to #8 while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC-101) had its smallest share in over a year to fall from #4 to a tie at #9.
As with the previous demo, WIHT continued to lord over 18-49. The station was off slightly but held a three-plus share lead over the new #2 station. That was cluster sister WASH, which moved up a spot just by being flat. WHUR was also flat and it, too, moved up a spot. It was tied at #3 with WKYS, which took one step backward from last month. WAMU remained at #5 with a nice increase and was joined by WPGC, which moved in from a tie at #6 with an even nicer increase. WTOP was a small step behind with its best showing since MARCH.
PHILADELPHIA: Top Of The Pops
The fine hum of spinning vinyl propelled CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL to #1 6+. (We know, we know, vinyl is only for hipsters now …) This despite the fact that the station was down (6.9-6.7). WOGL’s ascension was aided by JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE). The station has been a yo-yo for the last four books, ping-ponging between #1 and #2. This time the station ponged back to the runner-up position (7.2-6.3). GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WMMR was up for the fifth consecutive survey (5.5-5.9) with its highest score in over a year. As a result, the station was allowed to advance two squares to #3. Its older and less-pierced cluster brother – GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WMGK – remained close behind at #4 (5.6-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS landed its lowest share since JANUARY (5.8-5.5), which forced the station to take two steps back to #5. CBS RADIO News KYW-A ended a four-book skid (4.9-5.4) to advance to #6 while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) moved up to #7 with its highest total in over a year (4.7-5.1).
WMMR continued to dominate the 25-54 demo. The station was #1 for the seventh book in a row. It scored its best share in over a year. And, for good measure, it extended its market lead to two-and-a-half shares. That would be your basic trifecta. WIOQ stepped up to #2 with its best performance in over a year. This pushed WBEB back to #3 as MORE came up with a little less from last month. It was tied by iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER), which advanced from #6 with its highest total since AUGUST (that’s almost a year). WMGK was up slightly but still fell back to #5. CBS RADIO Country WXTU saw its strong three-book surge come to an end as it dropped a couple of places to #7.
WUSL certainly cranked up the power (see what we did there?) as the station captured its seventh straight 18-34 crown. Not only that. It posted its best score since BING CROSBY was in high rotation. But wait, there’s more. It came oh so close to cracking the double-digit barrier. WXTU remained a strong – if more distant – #2 with a slight decrease. Keeping its streak alive, WMMR again had its best book in over a year and moved up two spots to #3. WBEB was only off slightly but that was enough to drop the station back to #4. WIOQ moved up two places to #5 with its highest share in over a year while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) fell three spots to #7 with its lowest share since LEROY ANDERSON – of all people – was getting spins.
WMMR hit for the cycle as it earned its best 18-49 share in over a year. This kept the station firmly and fiercely atop the leaderboard for the seventh straight survey. WUSL moved up to #2 with its best book since the chestnuts were roasting while WIOQ moved up to #3 as it, like WMMR, went four for four in demo performance. WBEB dropped two spots to #4 while WXTU moved up one to #5. WRFF’s lowest share in over a year forced the station to take a step back to #6.
ATLANTA: V Is Down
That was as misleading a headline as we have ever written. True, CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V-103) did experience a loss of 6+ share (9.2-8.9) but the station continued to dominate the market as it remained at #1 for the sixth book in a row. COX RADIO Talk WSB-A bounced back from its lowest share of the year (6.8-7.3) to move back up to #2. This bumped cluster mate COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) to step back to #3 (7.1-6.8). iHEARTMEDIA Country WUBL (THE BULL) was flat (5.3-5.3) but managed to horn its way into the #4 position. COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) remained at #5 but posted its lowest total in over a year (5.6-5.2). SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (THE FISH) swam downstream three places to #7 with its lowest total since FEBRUARY (5.9-4.9). Watch out for CUMULUS Country WKHX (KICKS). The station was up for the fifth straight month and posted its best score in over a year (3.8-4.7). This led to a three-step boost to #8.
There were wholesale changes made in the 25-54 rankings. One thing did remain a constant – WVEE was #1 for the twelfth book in a row, and even though it could not duplicate its double-digit performance from last month, it did manage to extend its lead past the four-share mark. This was made possible thanks to WALR. KISS remained at #2 but saw its three-book run slam into reverse. COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) crested to its best book since SEPTEMBER and rose four spots to #3. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) ended its four-book slide to inch up to #4. Two stations came from the back of the pack to crash the top five. RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) advanced from #8 with its highest share since NOVEMBER while WSB-A moved in from #9 with a solid increase. Three other stations were excused from the party. WSB-F fell four places to #7 with its lowest number in over a year. WUBL dropped four spots to #8 as it ended a three-book run. It was joined at #8 by iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER), which slid from a tie at #5 with its smallest share since JANUARY.
WVEE’s string of double-digit books ended at six but the station remained the market leader, though its lead over the latest #2 entrant – WUBL – shrunk to almost a meager two shares. THE BULL, by the way, was up for the fourth straight month and had its beefiest number in over a year. WHTA landed its largest total since DECEMBER to move forward a couple of paces to #3 while WWWQ ended a four-book slide to advance to #4. WWPW had been on a POWERful up streak, going back to NOVEMBER. Alas, it ran out of steam this time around and dropped from #2 to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRDA (RADIO 105.7) had its best book since DECEMBER to move up two slots to #6. WSB-F had the opposite result – posting its lowest score since DECEMBER as it sank from #4 to a tie at #7. WKHX has been on quite the three-book run. In APRIL it was sitting in a tie at #15. The station has almost doubled its share since then and most recently landed at #9.
For the fourth month in a row, WVEE crashed through the double-digit barrier in the 18-49 demo. Though it ended a nice three-book surge, it still had a four-plus share lead over the two stations at #2. They both moved up to attain this lofty status. WUBL advanced one spot despite a slight decrease while WHTA moved up three places with its best performance since NOVEMBER. WSB-F slipped two spots to #4 with its smallest score since NOVEMBER while WWWQ moved forward a pair to #5 as it ended a rather dramatic four-book slide. WWPW dropped back to #6 with its lowest share since we were enjoying the melodious sounds of BOBBY HELMS. WALR ended a strong three-book run and dropped back to #7. WKHX scored its best share in over a year to move up four places to #8.
BOSTON: Destined To Be A Classic
GREATER MEDIA Classic Hits WROR has been on quite the ride in 2015. This marked the sixth consecutive #1 6+ book for the station even though it posted its lowest number of the year (7.2-6.7). All this did was allow two stations to creep a little bit closer to the top. GREATER MEDIA Country WKJLB had its highest share since SEPTEMBER (6.0-6.2) to remain at #2. It was joined by CBS RADIO News WBZ-A, which moved up from #5 as it ended a four-book slide (5.4-6.2). GREATER MEDIA AC WMJX (MAGIC) was flat (5.9-5.9) and drifted back to #4. What a difference a year makes for iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS). Last JULY the station was #1 with an 8.2 share. This time, it dipped to #5 with its smallest number in over a year (5.9-5.5). At first blush we thought something major league was going on at CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB). Could the town be going wild over the NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION? Something must have fueled the station’s five-step rise to #6 in the standings. Then, we realized this was more of a return to normalcy after last month’s outing (3.6-4.6).
Upon further review, maybe there was something to that REVOLUTION theory. Or, dare I say deflate gate? Either way, WBZ-F ended a five-book slide 25-54 in style as it surged from #7 to #1. This ended WROR’s four-month stay on top as it dropped back to #2. WXKS also took a backwards step to #3 with (again) its lowest share in over a year. CBS RADIO Hot AC WBMX (MIX) rebounded nicely from last month’s fall. It was up five places to #4. WMJX stepped back to #5 with a small decrease while WKLB slid to #6 with a slightly larger decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WBOS (RADIO 92.9) was off, as well, and dropped to #7 from #5.
We had ourselves a meeting of the minds atop the 18-34 chart. WKLB remained at #1 with a slight decrease but was joined by WXKS, which moved up with its highest total since FEBRUARY. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) was flat for the second book in a row to remain at #3. GREATER MEDIA Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) moved forward two squares to #4 with a solid increase. WBOS slipped back to #5 with a small decrease while WMJX dropped to #7 with its lowest share in exactly one year. WBMX rebounded from a down book to move up to #6. As recently as APRIL, the station was tied at #11.
For the sixth book in a row, WXKS was your market-leading 18-49 radio station. That KISS was also flat was of no consequence. WKLB remained at #2 with its best showing since NOVEMBER. WBZ-F had its highest score since FEBRUARY to move up to third place. This bumped WBOS back to #4. Three stations were filling the void at #5. WMJX moved back from #4 with its lowest total in over a year. WROR remained flat and in place while WBMX leapt from #10 as it rebounded from last month’s fall from grace.
Remember, you got opinions, gripes, kudos – you can reach The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. via the platforms listed below. Stay tuned for round three where we feature DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL.
E-mail: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com
TWITTER: @ResearchDirectr
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