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

Markets #6-10

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the lords of the logarithm from XTRENDS, take a temporary break from our turkey basting to present another ratings roundup (that’s a math term). We focus on the so-called NOVEMBER SURVEY. A “month” that actually spanned 10/6 through 11/2. It was also a time of baseball playoffs and football games. And, it is the final survey devoid of mistletoe or inflatable reindeer. Let us begin …

HOUSTON: Cuatro En Una Fila

UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN continued its hot streak as the station was #1 6+ for the fourth straight survey. However, it did lose some of last month’s big gain (8.0-7.4). This allowed RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) to creep closer to the lead. MAJIC moved up a slot to #2 with its highest share in over a year (6.1-7.1). Of course, both stations are looking over their shoulders at iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY), which slipped to #3 (6.6-6.9). And why the backwards glance? Could it have something to do with the Yule? COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) slipped back to #4 (6.1-6.2). There was a large gap between this quartet and the rest of the market. KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Contemporary Christian KSBJ remained a distant #5 (4.9-5.0) while COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) ended a three-book slide and moved up to #6 (4.2-4.9).

The top four positions 25-54 remained unchanged from last survey. KLTN was a dominant #1 after posting its best score in over a year. #2 KODA had its first up book since APRIL but was still more than a share off the lead. KGLK was #3 with a small increase while KMJQ continued to hold the #4 slot but with its highest share in over a year. CBS RADIO Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA) regained most of last month’s loss and moved back up to #5. KKBQ did the same as it moved from #11 to #7. UNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KOVE (MAS VARIEDAD) saw its four-book run come to a crashing halt as it dropped seven places to #12.

Last month KLTN had its best 18-34 share in over a year as it moved into the #1 position. This time it was flat, which was good enough to keep the station stationary. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) inched up to #2 with its best book in over a year but was still more than a share behind the leader. RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) slipped back to #3 as it returned all of last month’s big increase. KKBQ had its biggest number in over a year as it rose two places to #4 while KLOL remained at #5 as it got back most of last month’s big loss. As with the previous two demos, KMJQ had its best book in over a year and this allowed the station to advance three spaces to #6. KOVE ended a strong four-book run and dropped four slots to #8.

This was the fifth straight survey that KLTN was #1 18-49. The station was off slightly but still led #2 KODA by over two and a half shares. KBXX was up for the second month in a row to remain at #3. KMJQ’s good fortune continued in this demo, as well. It moved up five slots to #4 with – again – its best book in over a year. KQBT slipped back to #5 despite posting its best score since JUNE. The two previous occupants of the #4 position found themselves farther down the chart. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) fell to #9 with its lowest total since FEBRUARY while KOVE ended up tied at #10, with its lowest total since JULY.

WASHINGTON, DC: Give It A Ten

In the most powerful city in the free world, the most powerful radio station is one that technically does not play commercials. (The previous line made possible by a grant from RESEARCHDIRECTOR INC. – the home of The Ratings Experts). AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was #1 6+ for the fourth straight survey. This time it also crested the magical double-digit barrier (9.6-10.0). HUBBARD News WTOP was not far behind at #2 (9.2-9.4) with its best book since JULY. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR won the distinction of being the biggest music station as it remained at #3 overall (5.7-5.9). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) held steady at #4 (5.3-5.2). Two other stations moved up and into a tie at #5. RADIO ONE Gospel WPRS (PRAISE) had its most glorious share in over a year (4.6-4.9) to take one step forward. iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH was prepping for the holiday buffet with its highest share since AUGUST (4.5-4.9). RADIO ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) slipped three places to #8 with its lowest share since FEBRUARY (4.7-4.3).

This was the eighth book in a row that WAMU was #1 25-54. However, unlike the previous demo, it was not able to hit double digits as it had in the two prior surveys. WTOP remained at #2 with its best showing since FEBRUARY, but was still a share and a half out of the lead. WIHT held steady at #3 but with its lowest score since JUNE. CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC vaulted five places to #4 with its highest total since DECEMBER. WHUR slipped back to #5 with a flat performance while WASH was up to #6 with a solid gain. RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) slipped back to #7 as it ended a two-book run.

The HOLIDAY survey has been the only time WIHT was not #1 18-34. The station was off almost a share this time but was still in double digits and far ahead of the rest of the pack. WKYS moved up to #2 with a small decrease while WPGC took a step forward to #3 with an equally small decrease. WAMU dropped back a couple of places to #4 with its lowest score since MARCH. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ had its best book since JUNE, which elevated the station two places to #5. Cluster brother iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC-101) had its best book since JUNE but still slid back to #6.

WAMU’s run at the top of the 18-49 heap came to an end after three books. The station stepped back to #2 with its lowest share since JUNE. WIHT reassumed the mantle of leadership even though it, too, had its lowest total since JUNE. The stations were separated by the slimmest of all recordable margins. WTOP had its best outing in over a year but was a share back at #3. WPGC moved up three slots to #4 with its highest score since we were all a-caroling. WKYS dropped back to #5 as it lost a chunk of share and CBS RADIO Hot AC WIAD (FRESH) fell four places to #9 with its lowest score since the geese were a-laying.

PHILADELPHIA: More Of The Same

This was the third straight 6+ win for JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE). And, it remained the only station in town to crack the seven-share mark (7.6-7.5). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS came darned close to that mark (6.3-6.9) as it moved up to #2. It was also the station’s best book in over a year. CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL slipped back to #3 (6.7-6.8). That trio had a noticeable lead on the rest of the division. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK inched up to #4 with its best showing since JUNE (5.8-6.0), which pushed cluster brother BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR back to #5 as it posted its lowest score since MAY (6.1-5.8). There was some news buzz in town as CBS RADIO News KYW-A had its highest score since APRIL (4.6-5.1) as it advanced to #6.

WMMR continued to impress the new owners as it won the 25-54 demo for the sixth straight survey. It maintained a slim lead over #2 WBEB, which had its highest share since MAY. WDAS became the sole occupant of the #3 position with a big increase, which led to its highest share in over a year. WMGK stepped back to #4 despite a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) remained at #5 but ended a strong two-book run by losing a chunk of share. WOGL was up to #6 with its best performance since FEBRUARY.

Back in AUGUST iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) was wrapping up a four-book run at #1 18-34 – the last two of which were in double digits. The station dipped for the last couple of months but came back strong this time as it moved up three slots to regain control of the demo. WBEB had its best book since MAY to move up to #2 but could advance no further. WMMR ended its two-month stay in the penthouse and ended up at #3 with its lowest share since they were booing Santa. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) had a very strong month. The station posted its best share since FEBRUARY as it moved up to #4. WRFF had its lowest score since the swans were swimming and fell three places to #5. CBS RADIO Country WXTU slipped to #6 with a small loss while WMGK was up to #7 with its best book since JUNE.

The tie at the top of the 18-49 leaderboard from last month was torn asunder. Both WBEB and WMMR were off slightly. It just so happened that MORE’s version of slight was not as large as WMMR’s so it remained in the lead, while WMMR settled for #2. WDAS was up two slots to #3 with a big increase while WUSL remained at #4 with a slight decrease. WIOQ moved up to #5 with its best outing since MAY. WRFF saw its strong two-book surge grind to a halt as it fell three places to #6.

ATLANTA: Chewin’ The Fat

Apparently, there has been a whole heck of a lot to talk about for the last few months. That explains the eleven-month run at #1 6+ for COX RADIO Talk WSB-A. And, when we say run, we really mean dominance. The station did not quite duplicate last survey’s double-digit high (10.1-9.9) but still crushed the competition. CBS RADIO Urban AC WVEE (V-103) remained four shares back at #2 after posting its lowest total in over a year (6.4-5.9). It was joined by RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT),which took one small step forward thanks to its largest score in over a year (5.2-5.9). COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) also had its best book in over a year (5.0-5.1), which moved the station up and into a fourth-place tie with COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) (5.1-5.1). Yet another member of that cluster – COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) ended a two-book slide and edged up to #6 (4.4-4.9). SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (THE FISH) had its lowest mark since APRIL (5.1-4.6) to flop back to #7.

WVEE continued its unimpeded run as the top station 25-54. However, once again, the station posted its lowest number in over a year. Though #2 WSB-A was off slightly, the gap stood at less than a half share. WHTA was up slightly at #3 while CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) remained at #4 but with its best outing in over a year. WSB-F broke back in to the top five for the first time since MARCH as it advanced from a tie at #7. WFSH fishtailed back to #6 with its least productive month since MAY. It was tied with ENTERCOM Hot AC WSTR (STAR 94), which ended a small two-book slide.

That loud noise you heard from the 404 was likely the big share boost WHTA received from its 18-34 audience. The station was #1 for the second book in a row but crashed through the double-digit barrier with authority. WWWQ moved up to #2 with its best book in over a year but still trailed the leader by over three shares. WVEE again had its smallest showing in over a year as it slipped back to #3. WSTR was up a slot to #4 as it regained some of last month’s share loss. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) dropped back to #5 with its lowest total since JULY. Meanwhile, iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRDA (RADIO 105.7) had its best showing in over a year though it remained at #6. That’s pretty strong, though, since the station was #13 just two books ago. WSRV had its highest total since MARCH but still dropped back to #7.

WVEE’s long run as the leading station 18-49 came to an end. The station slipped back to #2 thanks to – you guessed it – its smallest share in over a year. Your new market leader was WHTA, which – you guessed it, again – had its best performance in over a year. WWWQ had its best book since JANUARY to move up to #3. The station had dipped to #11 just two surveys ago. WSTR advanced one square to #4 with a slight increase and was partnered with WSB-A, which fell back a space with a slight decrease. WWPW dropped to #7 as it was off for the third book in a row.

BOSTON: Another Blast From The Past

The top three 6+ stations all had down books but managed to keep their previous rankings. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR was #1 but with its lowest share since we all knew Jack (Frost) (7.4-6.6). BEASLEY AC WMJX (MAGIC) – which is Jack Frost’s favorite station we hear – gave back last month’s modest increase (6.6-6.3). CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) was slightly deflated as it remained at #3 (6.3-6.1). CBS RADIO News WBZ-A had its highest newsworthy share since APRIL as it moved up to #4 (5.3-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) ended a four-book slide as it inched up to #5 (5.1-5.6).

ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F was down two slots to #6 as the SOX faded away (6.2-5.4).
The air pressure in WBZ-FM’S 25-54 share was squeezed out a little but the station was still #1 – and by a considerable margin – for the second straight survey. WXKS moved up two places to #2 with its best book since JULY. The two previous occupants of that position were politely asked to leave. WMJX moved back to #3 despite a slight increase while WEEI-F landed at #4 with a modest decrease. WROR was down but steady at #5. A somewhat surprising move was made by BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR. The station was up four places to a tie at #7 with its highest share since MARCH.

For the first time since JUNE, WXKS was back on top 18-34. The station got back most of last month’s big loss to reacquire the lead. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) saw its three-book reign come to an end as it landed its lowest share since DECEMBER, dropping it back to #2. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WODS (AMP) ended a fairly dramatic three-book slide and moved up three places to #3. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) was down for the second book in a row and dropped back to #4. It was joined by WMJX, which remained in place with a slight decrease. WBZ-F had its best performance since DECEMBER but still had to take step back to #6.

Though WBZ-F was off a little this time, it still managed to find itself in first place 18-49 for the second month in a row. However, this time it was forced to share with WXKS, which moved up a spot with its best book since JULY. WMJX remained at #3 with a slight increase while WBQT held firm at #4 but with its smallest share since JANUARY. WODS rebounded nicely from last month’s big loss to advance five spaces to #5. WEEI-F lost the ball out of bounds as it fell from #5 to #9.

The oven’s heating up and the turkey’s in the brine. But, the Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. have one more course of analyses up our gravy-stained sleeves. Stay tuned for the results from DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL.

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