Research Director, Inc. Presents Exclusive October PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston

Markets #6-10

Once again, dear friends, we boldly go forward into the past. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in partnership with the numbers crunchers from XTRENDS, bring you OCTOBER. Not the month, the survey, which actually was more of a SEPTEMBER thing as this one covered 9/10 through 10/7. This was when everyone was ready for some football, a couple of the markets in this edition experienced POPE mania, and this is also likely the final month prior to NIELSEN’s enhanced CBET rollout. Let’s see what happened …

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Lucky 13

This marked the 13th consecutive 6+ win for iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY). The station continues to roll along (7.5-7.6) and, with the holiday clocks only two books away from implementation, there is a good chance SUNNY will sweep the year. #2 RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) remained within shouting distance of the top (6.6-6.6) while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN fell farther off the pace (5.9-5.6) while remaining at #3. COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) inched up to #4 as it ended a two-book slide (5.2-5.4). RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) dropped back to #5 as it also ended a two-book surge (5.4-5.2). For the third straight survey, COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) was nested at #6 (5.1-5.1).

Though this was only the second 25-54 win in a row for KODA, the station had its best book since JUNE and opened up a full share lead over #2 KLTN, which posted its lowest score since maids were milking. KMJQ was off slightly but remained a strong #3. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) seemed to have shed the shares it amassed only two books ago and settled in comfortably at #4 with a small decrease. KKBQ was down for the third book in a row but solid and stoic at #5.

A year ago KBXX was the dominant 18-34 player. The station saw its dominance slowly start to ebb and earlier this year it spent two books at #2. Since APRIL, however, it has owned this demo and this time around held a two-plus share lead over its closest pursuers. That would include two stations that moved up the chart to land at #2. CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE had its best book in over a year as it rose from #7. As recently as JULY it was at #10. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) advanced from #4 by being flat. KLTN had its smallest share in over a year, which forced the station to take two steps back to #4. KKBQ had its lowest score since FEBRUARY but held on at #5.

There was a changing of the guard 18-49. After a two-book hiatus, KODA resumed its leadership role thanks to its best book in, well, two months. KLTN stepped back to #2 with its lowest share since Feliz Navidad was getting regular spins. KBXX was off slightly at #3 while KTBZ remained at #4 despite losing a chunk of share. KKBQ held firm at #5 despite posting its lowest number since MARCH. KRBE’s big book advanced the station to #6. In JUNE it was at #13.

WASHINGTON, DC: Top Of The Pope

This was the first stop on the POPE tour and it created quite the stir. Anticipation of gridlock, security issues, dog and cats living together was so high that your Federal Government suggested workers take vacation days or tele-commute. Of course, this is just the right mix of market issues that HUBBARD News WTOP thrives on. For the tenth book in a row, the station was #1 6+ and this time it landed its highest share since MARCH (8.3-8.9). Coming in second place for the eleventh straight survey was AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU (8.0-7.8). A couple of cluster sisters were commiserating at #3. iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH remained in place (6.0-5.9) while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) moved up from #4 (5.9-5.9). Breaking into the top five for the first time in over a year was CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC (5.0-4.9). The station has been red hot of late. As recently as MARCH it was #16 with a 2.8 share. This marked the second month in the return to the airwaves of DC radio legend DONNIE SIMPSON. His new home is RADIO ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) and the station just had its best book in over a year (4.5-4.7) to remain at #7. The station was tied at #12 in AUGUST. Its chief rival – HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR – posted its lowest number in over a year (6.4-5.4) to slip to #6. CUMULUS Talk WMAL had its best showing since MARCH (3.8-4.5) likely fueled by the Republican debates.

For the last two surveys, both WTOP and WIHT shared the top spot 25-54. That changed this time after WTOP had its largest share in over a year and HOT was merely flat. WPGC also had its best performance in over a year to inch up to #3. WASH posted its lowest score since APRIL to slip back to #4 where it was tied with WAMU, which moved up two spots as it ended a two-book slide. RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) also had its lowest total since APRIL and took one step back to #6.

Thirteen times in the last 14 surveys, WIHT was not only #1 18-34 but posted double-digit shares each time. The outlier has something to do with BURL IVES. WKYS remained at #2 but with its smallest share since APRIL. It was left three and a half shares behind the leader. WPGC was off a bit at #3 while WAMU was down slightly at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG had its highest share in over a year to remain at #5. It was joined by iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ, which advanced from #6 as it, too, posted its best score in over a year. After several books in the doldrums, iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC-101) moved up to #7 with its highest share since JUNE. The POPE’s presence even extended into this demo for WTOP. The station remained in a tie at #8 but with its best performance in over a year.

The top five 18-49 remained the same but with a few alterations. WIHT continued to lead the way with a small increase. WPGC had a modest decrease but remained at #2. This time, though, it had a new partner as WTOP jumped in from a tie at #4 with its largest number in over a year. WKYS dropped back two slots to #4 after losing a chunk of share and WASH slid back to #5 with a slight loss.

PHILADELPHIA: More Of The Same

Not only did JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE) capture the 6+ flag for the third straight survey, the station posted its largest share since JANUARY (6.8-7.3). There was quite a bit of movement below the top spot. GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WMMR had its highest score in over a year (5.2-6.3) to rise three spots to #2. CBS RADIO Country WXTU ended a strong two-book surge (6.3-5.8) as it two-stepped back to #3. This was one of the markets that the POPE visited and the concomitant hysteria that produced may have fueled CBS RADIO News KYW-A. The station was blessed with its best performance since MARCH (5.0-5.5) as it moved from a tie at #6 to #4. The other former occupant of the #6 position – iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS – also moved up. The station landed at #5 as it ended a three-book slide (5.0-5.4). GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WMGK had its lowest share since ELTON JOHN was hopping on a turntable (likely a QRK) and dropped two spots to #6 (5.9-5.3). Nothing fuels a sports station like calls for the head coach’s head. Those valuable quarter hours of complaint helped CBS RADIO Sports WIP-F land its best book since DECEMBER (4.3-5.1) as it moved up to #7. Things were not as rosy for CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL as it dropped five places to #8 with its lowest share in over a year (6.1-4.6).

That WMMR just had its best 25-54 book in over a year was merely icing on the cake as the station was #1 for the tenth book in a row. The station also widened the gap over #2 WBEB to almost two shares even though MORE got more this time. WXTU remained a solid #3 despite losing a chunk of share. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) lost some share but managed to move up a spot to #4. WMGK took a step back to #5 thanks to its smallest number since the lords were a leaping. WDAS ended a rather dramatic three-book slide as it climbed four places to #6. Though WIP-F remained at #8, it again had its biggest share since DECEMBER.

There was quite a bit of movin’ and shakin’ in the 18-34 ranks. First, there was a new sheriff in town. WXTU not only rose to the top spot, the station also cracked the double-digit share barrier. Last month’s leader – WUSL – fell back to #2 and under the double-digit standard it set last time. WMMR had a huge share increase – its best book in over a year – to move up two slots to #3. WBEB was up slightly but fell back to a somewhat distant #4. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) took one small step forward to #5 with its highest share since JUNE. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) had a modest loss and dropped back to #6. Yet another member of that cluster had a strong performance. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC WISX (MIX) posted its best score in over a year to advance three squares to a tie at #7.

Boom went the dynamite for WMMR. The station had its best 18-49 book in over a year and captured the #1 spot for the tenth book in a row. WXTU was off slightly at #2 while WBEB took sole possession of the #3 position by being up slightly. WUSL slid back to #4 thanks to its lowest share since MARCH while WIOQ held fast at #5 despite a small decrease. WRFF bounced back from its lowest total of the year to move up to #6 and threatened to crack the top five.

ATLANTA: Total Domination

This is a story about one radio station. As you will see, this station was utterly dominant in every phase of its game. The station is CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V-103). The ironic beginning to this story is that while the station was #1 6+ for the ninth book in a row and posted its biggest number in over a year (8.7-9.6), this was actually, as you will see, its least impressive demo. COX RADIO Talk WSB-A moved up to #2 with its best performance since NOVEMBER (7.7-7.9) but was still well behind the leader. COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) dropped back to #3 as it ended a two-book surge (8.1-7.6). RADIO ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) had its highest share in over a year (4.7-5.2) and was rewarded with a two-place jump to #4. SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (FISH) was up a bit (4.9-5.1) but still swam back to #5. RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) didn’t really lose that much share (4.9-4.5) but that was enough to send the station packing from a tie at #4 to #9.

For the second time this year, WVEE cracked the double-digit barrier in the 25-54 demo and absolutely crushed the rest of the market. WALR remained at #2 but with its share loss, the gap widened to three and a half shares. WSB-A had its highest share in over a year to move up to #3 while CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) slipped back to #4 with a small loss. WAMJ and WHTA traded places. The former moved up to #5 with its best performance since DECEMBER while the latter dropped to #6 with its smallest number since JUNE.

WVEE ran past the double-digit threshold for the third book in a row. Needless to say it was #1 18-34. WWWQ, at #2, had a strong book, too – its best in over a year – yet still trailed the leader by over two shares. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) moved up to #3 with its highest total since JUNE while WHTA dropped back to #4 with its lowest share since JUNE. COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) was down a bit but remained at #5. Charging up to a very close #6 was iHEARTMEDIA Country WUBL (THE BULL), which ended a pretty serious two-book slide.

This marked the seventh book in a row that WVEE was in the double-digit stratosphere 18-49. How strong is the station? A year ago it was also #1 but over two shares lighter than its most recent total. WWWQ moved up to #2 thanks to a very good book – its best since FEBRUARY – but was over four shares out of first place. WALR slipped back to #3 with a small decrease while WHTA dropped to #4 with its smallest number since JUNE. WWPW stepped up to #5 with a nice increase, which caused WSB-F to step back to #6.

BOSTON: Magic & Sports

You would almost think that GREATER MEDIA AC WMJX (MAGIC) went all tinsel town really, really early. The station moved up to #1 6+ with its best Frosty-free share in over a year (6.3-7.5). There were a lot of hoodie-wearing fans tuned in to the radio this survey as CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) moved up to #2 with its highest point total in over a year (6.0-7.1). All this movement ended the eight-book run at #1 for GREATER MEDIA Classic Hits WROR, which slid all the way back to #3 (7.2-6.9). The PATRIOTS mania was not limited to the flagship as ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F also had its highest score in over a year (5.4-6.3) to advance two places to #4. CBS RADIO News WBZ-A slipped back to #5 despite ending a two-book slide (5.6-6.0). GREATER MEDIA Country WKLB posted its lowest total in over a year (5.6-5.0) to drop three slots to #7.

It was a rare sight, indeed, to see two all-sports stations top the 25-54 chart. WBZ-F chalked up its fourth straight win while WEEI-F moved up seven spots to #2. WBZ-F had its best point total since JANUARY while WEEI-F had its best in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) ended a three-book slide and remained at #3 while WMJX moved up to #4 with its best BOBBY HELMS-less book in exactly a year. WROR dropped three slots to #5 with its lowest share since JANUARY. CBS RADIO Classic Rock WZLX dropped from #4 to #6.

WXKS rebounded from its lowest book of the year to return to the top spot 18-34 for the first time since JULY. GREATER MEDIA Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) moved up to #2 with its highest share in exactly one year. WKLB posted its lowest score in over a year and that ended the station’s four-book run at #1. It ended up at #3. WBZ-F remained at #4 even though it had its highest score in over a year. It was joined by the resurgent WMJX, which moved up from #6. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WODS (AMP) had a strong month. The station had its best performance in over a year as it advanced four squares to #7.

WBZ-F has been on quite the four-book tear 18-49. Once again, it had its highest point total in over a year and remained in first place for the second straight survey. WXKS bounced back from last month’s down book to remain at #2. #3 WMJX and #4 WKLB swapped spots as the former had its highest share since APRIL while the latter posted its lowest score in over a year. The two stations tied at #5 last time were both down slightly but still knotted at #5. That would be WROR and WBQT. WEEI-F landed its largest number since JANUARY to move up six places in the standings to #7.

Round two has now been officially sent to the showers. If you have any comments, critiques, or corrections, please forward them to The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. We will respond promptly. And, set your browser for this space as round three will appear shortly. It will focus on DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL.

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