Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive August PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston

Markets #6-10

The circus is back in town as The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. -– in comfortable cooperation with the extrapolators from XTRENDS -– bring you another look at the AUGUST survey. For the sake of argument, let’s just say that this book did not entirely cover its namesake month as it began on JULY 14 and ended on AUGUST 10. A four-week period devoid of officially sanctioned holidays but chock full of baseball games and vacations. How did that affect numbers? Let’s find out, shall we?

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Sunny Set

We do believe that about a month ago we were droning on about how difficult it was to come up with new ways to describe a static situation. Then – poof – UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN changed that paradigm. The station landed its fifth up book in a row (6.9-7.0) and became the 6+ market leader. This is big news as iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY) has been on top for longer than we dared to research and fell to #2 with its lowest share in over a year (7.0-6.9). Stay tuned as this could quickly reverse itself next month. COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) became the lone occupant of the #3 position (6.4-6.2) while RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) slipped back to #4 with its lowest score in over a year (6.4-5.9). COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) held steady at #5 as it returned all of last month’s big gain (5.9-5.2). A little farther down the list was iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT). The station had its best book in over a year (3.7-4.5) to move up to #8.

It was lucky 13 for KODA. That is how many books in a row the station has been #1 25-54. It accomplished the feat this time just by being flat. KLTN remained at #2 but fell a bit farther off the pace with a small decrease. It was also forced to share the spot with KGLK, which took one step forward with a slight decrease. KKBQ advanced two squares to #4 with its best showing since APRIL while KMJQ slipped back to #5 as it ended a two-book surge. CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE gave back most of last month’s solid increase to drop back to #6.

The 18-34 arena continued to be the personal playground of RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX). The station was flat but still a strong #1. KQBT moved up a slot to #2 as it regained most of last month’s big loss but the gap still exceeded a share. KLTN was up two places to #3 with its highest score since SEPTEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) – which soared to #2 last month with a huge gain – dropped back to #4 with an almost equally large loss. KKBQ took a step back to #5 with its lowest total since FEBRUARY. A couple of other stations came charging up the chart to land in a tie at #6. CBS RADIO Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA) jumped four spots but was still off its torrid pace of two months ago. UNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KOVE advanced six spaces with its best performance since JANUARY.

For the second book in a row – and third time in the last four – KLTN was #1 18-49. And, the station posted its highest mark in over a year. KODA was up slightly to remain at #2 and closed to less than a share from the lead. KBXX claimed total control of the #3 position despite a slight decrease while KTBZ slid back to #4 with a slightly larger decrease. KKBQ was off a bit to hold on at #5 but was forced to share with KQBT, which moved in from a tie at #8.

WASHINGTON, DC: All Things Considered

From time to time a non-commercial station will become a market leader. Usually it is in one or two demos and almost as frequently it fades away. Well, this is a story of how the mighty got mightier. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU is consistently a strong ratings performer. This time it moved to the head of the class 6+ with its highest share since JANUARY (8.6-9.1). It was not alone at the summit as HUBBARD News WTOP remained in place with its lowest reported total since that kid was incessantly par-rum-pum-pumming (9.4-9.1). These two stations were well clear of the rest of the field. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR had been flat two books in a row. This time the station posted its best number in over a year (6.5-6.9). Still, it had to be content with #3 again. RADIO ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) repeated at #4 as its solid five-book run was ended (6.1-5.9). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) also saw a strong run end – after three books – but the station was still #5 (5.7-5.3). The only other station within spitting distance of the top five was iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH. It remained at #6 but with its best score since APRIL (4.6-5.0).

This was the fifth straight 25-54 win for WAMU but this time the station posted its largest number in over a year to stretch its lead over now-solo #2 WTOP to two shares. WTOP did have its lowest total since APRIL. WIHT slipped back to #3 as it ended a three-book run. WHUR remained at #4 for the third book in a row with a small increase. WASH edged up to #5 with its best book since MARCH, which pushed WMMJ back to #6. MAJIC was flat.

That WIHT was #1 18-34 for the eighth book in a row came as no surprise. Neither was it noteworthy that the station was in double digits for the sixth time this year. What did grab our attention was the sudden and spectacular rise of WAMU. The station was up for the fifth book in a row and was #2 for the fourth straight time. However, this time it also hit double digits and trailed the leader by the slimmest of possible margins. RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) ended a strong two-book run but held steady at #3. However, its arch nemesis – CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC – had a solid increase and was just the slightest bit back at #4. WASH had its best showing since MARCH to advance three places to #5. Last month, three teams were focused on being #5. None were there this time. Both iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC-101) and WMMJ remained tied but at #6 thanks to slight decreases. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ dropped to #8 with its lowest total since we were dancing merrily in the new old-fashioned way (whatever the heck that means).

WAMU blew the doors off the 18-49 demo as it moved to #1 with easily its best share in over a year. WIHT was down, dropped back to #2 and was more than a half share off the lead. WTOP was off a bit but remained nestled at #3. WASH moved up two slots to #4 with its best showing since JANUARY. WMMJ took a step back to #5 with a small decrease while WKYS was down one slot to #6 with an equally small decrease.

PHILADELPHIA: Another Classic Hit

While this has not quite achieved “oldie but goodie” status, CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL did win the 6+ race for the second straight survey (7.2-6.9). Coming in at #2 again was JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE), which did land its lowest share since SEPTEMBER (6.9-6.8). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS had its best showing in over a year (5.9-6.0) and inched up to #3. This pushed GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WMMR back to #4 (6.0-5.9). GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WMGK remained at #5 (5.6-5.5).
Ties were forged and broken in the 25-54 battle but one thing remained constant. WMMR was #1 for the third book in a row despite losing some share. WBEB was up slightly to remain at #2 but was joined by WDAS, which was up one slot with (again) its highest share in over a year. Last month’s #4 duo broke up over creative differences. CBS RADIO Country WXTU remained in place with its largest number since SEPTEMBER while iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) stepped back to #5 just by being flat.

The top five stations 18-34 were in their same positions as last month. That did not mean there were changes to speak of. First, WUSL was #1 for the fourth book in a row and hit double digits for the second straight survey. WMMR remained at #2 but fell over a share off the pace thanks to its lowest score since MARCH. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) kept its hold on #3 by being flat. WXTU got back some of the share it lost last month to remain at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) had its best performance since FEBRUARY but could not move out of the #5 hole. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WZMP (AMP) was not too far behind as it moved up to #6 with its highest total since APRIL.

WUSL has been on quite the 18-49 tear recently. It has added over two shares of muscle since MAY and this time took control of the demo away from WMMR, which not only dropped to #2, but fell a share off the pace. There was a threesome at #3. WBEB remained where it was but with its lowest score in over a year. WXTU was up from #5 with its highest output since OCTOBER. WDAS moved up from a tie at #6 with its best book in over a year. WRFF dropped two places to #6 with its lowest score since FEBRUARY.

ATLANTA: Hot Talk

There certainly seems to be a lot of hot air circulating around the city. Or, at least, a lot of hot topics. COX RADIO Talk WSB-A had a huge increase (8.1-9.4) to remain #1 6+ for the eighth book in a row. The station opened up a significant lead over #2 CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V-103), which was down a bit this month (6.9-6.5). COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) had the #3 slot all to itself as it slowly rebounded from last month’s big loss (5.9-6.2). SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (THE FISH) swam downstream to #4 as it was off for the second straight survey (5.9-5.3). RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) had a small ratings setback (5.4-5.0) but held on at #5.

WVEE had its lowest 25-54 share in over a year. That said, the station was #1 as it usually is. And, it still had more than a share lead over the new #2 station. That would be WSB-A, which advanced four squares with its highest score since APRIL. WHTA had its first down book since MARCH and slid back to #3. WFSH was up for the seventh straight survey yet had to take one step back to #4. Last month’s #4 partnership was dissolved. WALR dropped back to #5 despite a slight increase while CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) slid to #6 just by being flat. COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) posted its best number in over a year to climb up to a tie at #7.

WHTA was up 18-34 for the fourth book in a row and is slowly closing in on double-digit figures. The station had its largest share in over a year and was #1 for the fifth straight time. WVEE had its best outing since MARCH to remain at #2 but was more than a share off the lead. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) moved up to a solid – if somewhat distant – #3 with its best performance since JANUARY. ENTERCOM Hot AC WSTR (STAR) remained at #4 despite landing its largest share in over a year. WWWQ dropped two slots to #5 despite its highest score since APRIL.

Last month it looked like WHTA was poised to take the 18-49 lead from WVEE. Alas, it was not meant to be. Though both stations were off this survey, WVEE was able to expand its lead by a small amount. WWPW remained a couple of shares back at #3 as it ended a two-book slide. WSTR moved up two places to #4 with its highest share in over a year. WWWQ stepped back to #5 with a flat performance. WFSH was also flat as it moved up a spot to #6. It was sharing the space with WSB-A, which took four steps forward as it ended a six-book slide.

BOSTON: The Year Of The Cat

With apologies to AL STEWART, we’re not even sure if this song is getting airplay … or what it has to do with this portion of the analysis. Hey, we’re on deadline and we’re hot and we couldn’t think of anything else, OK? Wait, maybe it was an oblique reference to the continued success of GREATER MEDIA Classic Hits WROR. The station has been #1 6+ all year and continued to lead by a wide margin (8.6-8.4). Cluster sister GREATER MEDIA AC WMJX (MAGIC ) remained #2 (6.9-6.3) while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) repeated at #3 (6.1-5.5) but with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER. The only rank change in the top seven came as CBS RADIO News WBZ-A and ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F traded places (just before the waiver deadline, we might add). The former moved up to #4 (5.2-5.2) while the latter stepped back to #5 (5.3-5.1). GREATER MEDIA Country WKLB gave an encore performance at #6 (4.4-4.7) with its highest score since DECEMBER. CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) was still #7 (4.3-4.4).

The top six stations 25-54 were unchanged from last month. WROR was on top for the second straight survey with its highest share in over a year. WXKS repeated at #2 but with its lowest total since OCTOBER. WBZ-F was still batting third but was joined by WMJX, which was up a slot. Both stations did have slightly down books. GREATER MEDIA Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) was up slightly to secure #5 again while WEEI-F was off a bit but stable at #6.

Numbers are funny. Not funny “ha-ha” but funny in how they relate to each other. WBQT moved up two slots to #1 18-34 with a modest gain. However, the station had much better shares in other books this year but could not win the demo. WXKS held steady at #2 but with its smallest number since the pipers were piping. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WODS (AMP) dropped to #3 with its lowest score since OCTOBER. WROR was up a slot to #4 with its best showing in over a year. GREATER MEDIA Alternative WBOS (ALT 92.9) also had its highest score in over a year to advance three spaces to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) dropped to #6 with its lowest total since APRIL.

WXKS captured the 18-49 flag for the eighth month in a row despite posting its lowest number since that big guy was in town. WROR pulled a little closer at #2 thanks to its best book in over a year. WMJX had its lowest total since MARCH to remain at #3 where it was partnered with WBQT. HOT moved up from #6 all because it was flat. The two former participants in the #4 game moved on. WBZ-F stepped down to #5 with a small decrease while WODS ended up at #6 with its lowest share since NOVEMBER. WBOS rose four places to #7 as it ended a four-book slide.

Thank you for your time. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. have one more trick up our sleeve. Spoiler alert: It’s about DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL. You’ve been warned.

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