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Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive March PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington, D. C., Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston
April 12, 2016
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Sunny Side Up
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The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in a pre-arranged consultation with the numbers nerds from XTRENDS, take you deep within the recesses of yet another NIELSEN survey. This one is about MARCH, which was more or less correct, as it covered the dates of 2/25 through 3/23. A period noted for an extra day … and that’s pretty much it. So, let’s see how the gang performed …
HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Sunny Side Up
Another day, another month and things pretty much look the same. Ho-hum, another 6+ win for iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY). Though the station was down (7.8-7.2), it has been exactly a year since it was unable to crack a seven share <yawn>. In its customary #2 position was RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC). The station has “placed” for nine books in a row (6.7-6.6). Joining it on that stage was COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (EAGLE), which took a step forward with its highest soaring share in over a year (5.7-6.6). Moving up a couple of notches to #4 was its cluster mate – COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) – which had its best showing since DECEMBER (4.4-5.3). The #5 position was hotly contested as two stations were fighting over that prize. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (ESTEREO LATINO) remained stationery (5.1-4.9) while KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ dropped back a step (5.2-4.9).
For the eighth book in a row, KODA was #1 25-54. The station took a hit this time but still led the rest of the field by almost a share. KGLK became a stronger #2 thanks to its best performance since APRIL. Cluster buddy KKBQ moved three squares forward to #3 thanks to its largest number since NOVEMBER. KLTN – which was #1 a year ago – slid to #4 with its lowest score in over a year. KMJQ was off slightly as it dropped back to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) was up a little but that moved the station up three places to #6. Meanwhile, CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE was off a little so, naturally, it dropped two slots to #7.
For the twelfth time in the last 14 surveys, RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) was #1 18-34. The station was down this time but maintained a decent lead over #2 iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT), which was down a little more. This was a good month and a good demo for the Country format as both stations took three steps forward. KKBQ was up to #3 with its best book since AUGUST while CBS RADIO Country KILT-F (THE BULL) landed at #4 with its highest score since APRIL. The two stations that were formerly known as #3 split up and went down. KRBE ended up at #5 while KLTN dropped to a tie at #7 with its lowest share in over a year. In between at #6 was KTBZ, which advanced from a tie at #9, thanks to a healthy increase.
KODA’s 18-49 lead dipped under the share mark this time. That was due to two obvious factors. First, SUNNY was down and KKBQ had its best book since OCTOBER. This propelled 93Q from a tie at #7 to the trail position. KBXX was anchored at #3 with a small decrease. KLTN fell two places to #4 with (again) its lowest total in over a year. KRBE took a step back to #5 while KQBT was ushered back to #6. Both stations had slight losses.
WASHINGTON, DC: Top Tops
Though the weather outside was far from frightful, there is never a season in the DMV when the traffic does not suck. That is one of the many forces driving HUBBARD News WTOP. The station notched its third straight 6+ win (10.1-9.2). Coming in at #2 – also for the third straight month – was AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU (9.2-8.0). Both stations were well clear of the rest of the field. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR had its best month since AUGUST (4.8-6.1) to move up to third place. Last month’s cluster friendly duo at #3 split up and dropped down. iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH was up a bit (5.3-5.5) but still took a step back to #4. Cluster sister iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) was off slightly (5.3-5.1) as it slipped back to #5. RADIO ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) had its best showing since NOVEMBER (3.9-4.7) to climb two slots to #6. One of the continuing story lines we’ve been following concerns CUMULUS Hot AC WRQX (MIX) – a station that went back to where it was once before. This time, however, it was motionless (2.9-2.9) to remain at #16.
WTOP continued to toy with the rest of the market 25-54. The station lost a chunk of share but retained its crown. At this point it leads the rest of the pack by more than a share. Moving up to the #2 position was WIHT, which took one step forward with its best performance since DECEMBER. This forced WAMU back to #3 as it ended a two-book surge. WHUR again had its highest share since AUGUST as it moved up a couple of slots to #4. WASH fell back to #5 with its lowest score in over a year. Keep an eye on WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY Christian Contemporary WGTS. The station has been on a roll the last few months and just posted its best number in over a year to rise to #7. After a couple of months in the doldrums, WMMJ snapped back and climbed four places to a tie at #9.
When you look at the 14-book trend 18-34 for WIHT, one thing stands out. The station is #1 with double-digit shares. The only smear on that record has something to do with a cluster sister’s seasonal playlist. This time HOT was off slightly but held a commanding three-plus share lead over the new #2. That would be RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS), which bounced back from last month’s stumble to advance three places. WASH had its best month since the beginning of the year and inched its way up to #3. CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC was off a bit with its lowest share since APRIL and fell a couple of slots to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ moved up to #5 with its best book in over a year while WAMU dropped three spots to #6. WHUR had a huge increase to move up to #7. As recently as DECEMBER, the station was tied at #14. WRQX was off a bit and fell one place to #12.
The top four of the 18-49 demo remained unchanged from last month. WIHT was flat and #1 while WAMU fell a little further off the pace at #2. WTOP was down but remained a solid #3 while WASH held in at #4 with a small gain. WHUR advanced five places to #5 with its highest score since AUGUST. Last month’s #5 partnership was dissolved. WPGC dropped to #7 with its fourth straight down book while CBS RADIO Hot AC WIAD (FRESH) ended a two-book surge and fell to #9.
PHILADELPHIA: But Wait, There’s More …
Not sure why but we have the ANDREA TRUE CONNECTION stuck in our heads today. Perhaps that has something to do with JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE), which was #1 6+ for the twelfth time in the last fourteen surveys. Yes, it was down slightly (7.9-7.7) but the last time the station failed to top the seven-share mark was SEPTEMBER. In its customary role as #2 was CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL, which scored its highest share since AUGUST (6.2-6.3). Coming in at #3 were the glimmer twins. GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WMGK remained in place (6.0-5.6) and was joined by its inked-up brother GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WMMR, which moved up from a tie at #5 with its best performance since NOVEMBER (5.5-5.6). CBS RADIO News KYW-A slipped back to #5 (5.9-5.5) while iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS dropped to #6 (5.5-5.2). This month’s big mover was iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5). The station advanced four places to #7 with its highest share in over a year (3.8-5.1).
The 25-54 race got a little more heated this time because #1 WBEB was off slightly while #2 WMMR was up a bit. This is as close as the two stations have been since WMMR won the race in OCTOBER. WRFF moved up to #3 thanks to its largest share since MAY. This dropped WDAS back to #4 as it ended a three-book surge. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) had its best showing since DECEMBER to move forward two paces to #5. Last month’s #4 duo broke up. WOGL ended up at #6 while WMGK landed at #7.
There were loads of changes atop the 18-34 leaderboard. First was WRFF, which moved up from #5 thanks to a monster gain. It was followed by WUSL, which took a step up to #2 with its best book since OCTOBER. Then came last month’s co-leaders. WBEB descended to #3 with its smallest share since NOVEMBER while WMMR alit at #4 with its lowest total since Santa was slithering down chimneys. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) had its least productive outing in over a year but only dropped one slot to #5. Close behind was cluster sister iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC WISX (MIX), which shook off last month’s down book to rise four places to #6.
WBEB notched its sixth consecutive 18-49 win even though it posted its lowest number of the run. WRFF had its best showing in over a year as it charged up the ranks from a tie at #5 to #2. WMMR was off slightly as it slipped back to #3 while WUSL dropped to #4 even though it had a slight gain. WDAS remained alone at #5 with a small loss while WIOQ fell to #6 with its smallest number in over a year.
ATLANTA: Talk’s Not Cheap
Amid all the chatter, two things happened here. First, COX RADIO Talk WSB-A topped a nine share and was #1 6+ for the third book in a row (9.1-9.0). Second, cluster mate COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) had its best book in over a year (7.1-8.8) to move up to #2. While all this was occurring, CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V-103) landed its lowest share in over a year (8.6-7.7) to drop back to #3. Then, there were all the rest. RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) was flat but moved up to #4 (4.9-4.9). COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) had its best book since JULY (4.4-4.7) to move upstream to #5. Meanwhile, COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) had its lowest share in over a year (5.5-4.6) as it fell into a tie at #6 with iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER), which took a step up to tie (4.7-4.6). RADIO ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) had a challenging month. The station had its lowest score in over a year (4.9-3.5) and dropped from a tie at #5 to #13.
One thing that did not change was the #1 station 25-54. Once again WVEE led the way. However, its once insurmountable lead shrank to a mere share, thanks to WALR. KISS moved up two slots to #2 with what was easily its best performance in over a year. As a matter of fact, exactly a year ago the station was at #11. WSB-A also had its best showing in over a year but had to take a step back to #3. WHTA was off slightly as it stepped back to #4 while WSB-F remained in place at #5 with a modest decrease. WSRV was up to #6 with its highest mark since JULY.
Ladies and gentlemen we’ve got ourselves a battle. The top two stations 18-34 had down books but because #1 WVEE’s loss was greater than #2 WHTA’s, the gap between the two narrowed to the slimmest of all margins. WWPW was down slightly to remain a distant #3 while CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) bounced back from a down book to hold steady at #4. WSRV was up a tick to #5 thanks to its best performance in over a year. ENTERCOM Hot AC WSTR (STAR) had its best book in over a year to climb four slots to #6. WSB-F fell to #7 with (again) its lowest total in over a year.
Things were more status quo 18-49 as WVEE continued to dominate the demo. Though it could not quite duplicate last month’s double-digit share, the station still led the suddenly resurgent WALR by over two shares. KISS did move up to #2 with its best book in over a year. WHTA stepped back to #3 with a slight loss. WSB-A was flat but moved up to #4 while WWPW fell to #5 with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER. WSB-F again had its least productive outing in over a year as it dropped four places to #8.
BOSTON: Another Classic Hit
Like a line drive off the Green Monsta’, GREATER MEDIA Classic Hits WROR posted its highest score since MAY (7.2-7.7). This secured the station’s third straight 6+ victory. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) was flat and steady at #2 (7.0-7.0). GREATER MEDIA AC WMJX (MAGIC) was up for the second month in a row (6.5-6.8) to hold steady at #3. CBS RADIO News WBZ-A was off a bit (6.2-6.0) but was #4 for the fourth book in a row. It is not often we see a non-commercial broadcaster crack the top five in this market but BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR has been on a hot streak. The station was up for the third straight survey (4.7-5.1) and moved up to #5 with its highest share in over a year. It looks like the Sports competition is headed for extra innings. ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F was off slightly (4.9-4.7) to drop back to #6 where it was tied with CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB), which was flat (4.7-4.7).
WXKS hit it out of the park 25-54. The station was #1 for the second month in a row with its highest share in over a year. WBZ-F advanced to #2 with a small gain while WROR dropped back to #3 with a slight decrease. WMJX was up for the second book in a row to remain at #4. CBS RADIO Classic Rock WZLX was up for the third book in a row and advanced to #5 with its highest share in over a year. GREATER MEDIA Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) also had its best book in over a year but still dropped back to #6. WBUR was up for the third straight survey as it advanced to #7. Meanwhile, WEEI-F was flat and stable at #8.
For the second time in the last three months, CBS RADIO Top 40/M WODS (AMP) crashed through the double-digit barrier 18-34. The station had more than double its share from last year when it was tied at #6. WXKS moved up to #2 with its best number in over a year yet still trailed the leader by a full share. WBQT was up for the third straight survey but was forced to take a step back to #3. WMJX was off slightly but still took a step forward to #4. A couple of stations moving in opposite directions met at #5. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) ended a strong two-book run to slide from #4 while GREATER MEDIA Alternative WBOS (RADIO 92.9) moved up from #6 with its best performance since JULY.
The 18-49 lineup changed a bit. In this case, WXKS remained at #1 and was the dominant player as it had its highest share in over a year. Though WODS had a solid increase to move up to #2, it was still behind by almost three shares. WBZ-F was up slightly but slid to #3 while WBQT dropped back to #4 despite its fourth straight up book. WROR was flat and firmly entrenched at #5.
Another grouping has left the tee. Up next are DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. are prepping for that onslaught even as you read.
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