Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive November PPM Analysis For Detroit, Miami, Seattle, Phoenix, Minneapolis

Exclusive Analysis

Look, like you were salivating for the TURKEY DAY feast.  With visions of yams and drumsticks dancing in our heads, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the hungry folk at XTRENDS – will dispense with the frivolities and get right to the meat (get it? Meat? We kill ourselves sometimes …).  The so-called NOVEMBER survey is a bit of a misnomer as it covered 10/6 through 11/2.  And, it is the final book unadulterated by any elfin stains.

Detroit: From Yo Town To Motown

CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOMC was up for the third book in a row and had its highest share since it was playing the holiday hits.  As a result, it moved up to the #1 position 6+ (6.4-6.8).  CUMULUS Talk WJR-A had its best book since MARCH (5.9-6.7) to move up to #2.  We’re inclined to believe this had a lot to do with the election.  It could be MICHIGAN  STATE football but have you seen their record?  Usually, CBS RADIO Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET) is leading this time of year.  However, they are no longer the LIONS flagship.  As a result, the station fell to #3 with its lowest score since MARCH (7.5-6.0).  Three stations were fighting it out at #4.  BEASLEY Active Rock WRIF remained in place (5.6-5.7) with its highest share since JUNE.  BEASLEY Classic Rock WCSX moved up from #5 with its highest total since MAY (5.3-5.7).  The other soon-to-be holiday hit maker – iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC – took two steps forward with its largest output since JANUARY (5.2-5.7).  The air continued to leak out of the BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WMGC (THE BOUNCE) balloon as the station dropped back to a tie at #13 (4.1-3.3).  Keep in mind that the station’s first full book was AUGUST when it had an 8 share and was #1.

For the third book in a row, WRIF was #1 25-54.  The station had its best showing since JUNE and led #2 WXYT-F by two shares as THE TICKET had its lowest score since JULY.  WNIC had its largest share since it was last playing the holiday hits as it moved up to #3.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955) had its largest share since JUNE to move up to #4.  WCSX took a step forward to #5 with its second up book in a row while WOMC advanced five places to #6 with its highest score since APRIL.

WRIF had an amazing 18-34 book.  The station was #1 for the third month in a row and all three have been in double figures – growing each time.  iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB was up slightly and still #2 but lagged over six shares off the leader’s pace.  WKQI moved up to #3 with its third up book in a row.  CBS RADIO Country WYCD has had a nice two-book surge, which has taken it from a tie at #10 to a tie at #7, to its new digs at #4.  WMGC was down for the third book in a row and dropped into a tie at #5 with WNIC, which vaulted from #11 with its best share since JANUARY.  CBS RADIO Top 40/M WDZH (AMP) had its highest score since MAY to move from a tie at #13 to #7.  WXYT-F dropped five places to #10 with its least productive outing since JANUARY.

This was the fourth up 18-49 book in a row for first-place WRIF and the station had its biggest share since FEBRUARY.  WKQI moved up three places to #2 with a healthy increase but still trailed the leader by almost four shares.  WJLB moved up a slot to #3 with a slight increase while WNIC jumped four places to #4 with its best score since JANUARY.  WXYT-F took three steps back to #5 with its least productive outing since MAY.  WMGC bounced backward to #6 with its third down book in a row.

Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-Hollywood: Easy Peasy

There was a new 6+ sheriff in town.  COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY) leapfrogged from #3 with its best book in over a year (6.7-7.2).  ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE) could only stand by and watch as it drifted back to #2 (7.0-7.0).  UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) fell back to #3 (6.8-6.4) where it was sharing quality time with COX Urban AC WHQT (HOT) (6.4-6.4).  SBS Tropical WCMQ (ZETA 92.3) took sole possession of fifth place with its highest score in over a year (4.9-5.5).  COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99JAMZ) stepped back to #6, despite landing its best book since MARCH (4.9-5.2).

Though it had to surrender the overall title, WLYF was #1 25-54 for the fifth straight survey.  However, the station did post its lowest number since FEBRUARY.  WEDR was up to #2 with its highest score since MARCH.  This pushed WAMR back to #3 as AMOR was down for the second month in a row.  WHQT was off slightly and slipped back to #4.  Coming from way off the pace was iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WZTU (TU).  The station advanced from #14 to #5 with its best book since FEBRUARY.

WEDR continued to control the 18-34 clock.  The station was #1 – and in double digits – for the second straight survey.  WLYF remained at #2 but with its smallest share since DECEMBER.  iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT) moved up to share second place, thanks to a slight increase.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHYI (Y100) was off a bit but held steady at #4 while CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPOW (POWER) remained at #5 with its largest number since DECEMBER.  WZTU jumped four places to #6 with its best book in over a year.

WEDR had its best 18-49 book in over a year to remain at #1.  With #2 WLYF’s flat performance, the gap between the two widened to over a share.  WHYI advanced three spaces to #3 with its highest score in over a year.  WZTU was just as hot in this demo as it moved from #12 to #4, seemingly overnight.  It was joined in that space by WAMR, which was off slightly.  COX RADIO Top 40/M WFLC (HITS) dropped three places to a tie at #6 as it was down for the second month in a row.  WMIB also fell three stories – to #8 – as it returned most of last month’s big gain.

Seattle: Bustin’ A Move

That HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) was #1 6+ again came as no surprise.  After all, the station has been lodged there ever since Santa put the sleigh in dry dock.  However, this time the station picked up a huge chunk of share (6.9-8.0) to increase an already strong advantage.  BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F remained at #2 but still with plenty to – ahem – talk about (5.7-5.5).  

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW held steady at #3 (5.5-5.2).  iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR-F (THE JET) taxied up to #4 (4.4-4.7) while HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM) – in its final tune up before the stockings are hung – inched up to #5 (4.3-4.4).  Two cluster siblings moving in opposite directions met up at #6.  CBS RADIO Classic Rock KZOK slid back from #4 with its lowest total in over a year (4.6-4.1) while CBS RADIO Country KMPS advanced from a tie at #11 (3.4-4.1) with its most productive outing since APRIL.

As it was above, so it is here.  KQMV had a big 25-54 increase – its biggest overall share since FEBRUARY – as it continued its dominance over the demo.  ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW remained at #2 with a small decrease and was over three shares in arrears.  KJR-F wrested control of the #3 slot with its best outing since JULY.  iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBKS (KISS) also had its best outing since JULY as it advanced three places to #4.  ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT) was up slightly and stable at #5.  KRWM can’t load the sleigh fast enough.  The station dropped four places to #7 as it was down for the second month in a row.  KMPS had its highest score in over a year and earned leap o’ the month honors as it rose from #16 to #9.

This was the second book in a row that KQMV hit double digits 18-34 – this time climbing to its highest point in over a year.  KHTP was flat at #2 but fell over four shares behind the leader.  ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END) got back last month’s small loss to remain at #3.  KBKS took two steps forward to #4 with a small increase, while KISW was steady at #5 but with its smallest share in over a year.  ENTERCOM Country KKWF (THE WOLF) lost a chunk of share as it dropped to #7 and was just whiskers ahead of hard-charging KMPS at #8.

The discrepancy between KQMV 18-49 and the rest of the market is startling.  The station hit double digits as it won for the eleventh straight book.  What’s more, it had almost double the share of the three stations locked together at #2.  KISW remained in place but was down for the third book in a row.  KHTP took one step forward as it ended a two-book slide.  And, KBKS advanced two squares with its best showing since JULY.  KNDD was up to #5 as it regained all of last month’s loss.  HUBBARD Rock KVRQ had its lowest score since MAY as it fell from #5 to #14.

Phoenix: Take It Easy

iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (99.9KEZ) has won so many 6+ titles we’ve pretty much run out of “easy” clichés for the headlines so we’re starting to lean on recurrents.  The station did, however, land its lowest number in exactly a year (6.7-6.3).  This didn’t help HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX.  The station remained at #2 with its lowest total since JULY (6.6-6.0).  HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD was flat and happy at #3 (5.1-5.1) while CBS RADIO Classic Hits KOOL was off slightly to remain at #4 (4.8-4.7).  CBS RADIO Top 40/M KALV (LIVE 101.5) had its best book in over a year (3.7-4.4) to jump five places to #5.  The two cluster compadres who were tied at #5 last month broke up and sank a little.  iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX) wound up at #6 (4.1-4.2) while iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) descended to #7 (4.1-4.1).

For the fifth book in a row, KUPD was #1 25-54.  The station’s loss, combined with former #3 KESZ’s big gain, put the stations in a tie at the top.  KSLX was off a bit as it dropped back to #3 while KOOL was steady as she goes at #4 with a flat performance.  KYOT was up two, notching in at #5 as it ended a pretty large three-book slide.  UNIVISION Regional Mexican KHOT (QUE BUENA) dropped to #7 as it returned most of last month’s big gain.

The 18-34 arena was truly a wild west show.  We don’t think we have ever seen this many dramatic changes in one survey – minus major formatic alterations.  CBS RADIO Country KMLE moved up five places to #1 with its best outing since JUNE.  But that wasn’t even close to the biggest leap.  Both KUPD and FARMWORKER Regional Mexican KNAI (LA CAMPESINA) advanced ten places.  KUPD was up to #2 as it had a strong rebound from last month’s down book.  KNAI was up to #3 with its highest share in over a year.  It was in league with KSLX, which moved in from a tie at #6 with its best performance since JUNE.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) slipped back to #5 with a flat book while KMXP moved up a slot to tie with a slight increase.  With all these new additions to the top five, logic dictates that several stations fell out.  And we never argue with logic.  KALV dropped three places to a tie at #7 with a slight decrease.  KHOT dropped six places to #9 as it ended a two-book surge.  KESZ dropped from the market lead to #10 with its lowest share in over a year.  Not to worry, winter is coming.  Finally, RIVIERA Hot AC KMVA (HOT) fell from #2 to a tie at #14 with its lowest score since MAY.

The 18-49 demo was significantly more stable as the top three stations remained unchanged from last month.  KUPD was #1 for the fifth book in a row but with a small loss.  KSLX continued at #2 as it, too, was down a bit.  KESZ remained at #3 with a slight increase.  KALV moved up to #4 with its best showing since APRIL while KOOL held steady at #5 but with its highest score in over a year.  KHOT slid back to #6 with a small decrease while KNAI rose five places to #8 with its best book since MAY.

Minneapolis-St.Paul: The Viking Conquest

Back when these numbers were being recorded, the local NFL franchise was kicking butt and taking names.  As they say, NFL stands for “not for long.”  That said, iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (K-FAN) was reaping the ratings rewards as it was #1 6+ for the second straight survey (8.9-8.5).  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB moved up to #2 despite a down book (7.5-7.3).  HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS 95) – which had been killing the market up until SEPTEMBER – slid back to #3 with its lowest share since the bells were jingling (7.6-7.1).  CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS remained at #4 (7.1-7.0) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) – the market’s designated sleigh driver – held steady at #5 (6.5-6.3).  CBS RADIO Adult Hits KZJK (JACK) had its highest share in over a year (5.7-6.2) but could not advance past its previous position at #6.

Market leader KFXN remained ready for football as it topped double digits 25-54 for the second straight survey.  KZJK moved up to #2 with its highest score in over a year but the stations were still about three shares apart.  KDWB dropped back to #3 with its lowest total since MAY.  KSTP moved down to #4 with its least productive outing since the lords were a-leaping.  KQRS maintained control of fifth place with a slight decrease.  It was inches ahead of CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X), which remained at #6 but ended a two-book slide.

For the second book in a row, three stations topped double digits 18-34.  KDWB continued to be the market leader but with a down book.  KXXR moved up to #2 with its highest mark in over a year.  The two stations were still separated by about two shares.  KFXN slid back to #3 but with a modest decrease.  The next station in line – iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K102) – moved up to #4 with a loss and trailed the top three by about three shares.  KSTP dropped back to #5 as it ended a strong two-book run.

This was the third book in a row with two stations in double digits 18-49.  KDWB does that routinely but, for the second straight survey, it came up short to KFXN.  Both stations were down and about a share and a half apart.  KXXR ended a two-book slide to move up to #3 while KSTP stepped back to #4 – once again – its lowest score since Frosty was actually alive.  KZJK remained at #5 with a slight decrease.

OK, let’s eat!  Thank you for perusing these articles.  We’ll be back again next month with our first look at what Santa has wrought.  In the meantime, as you head over the river and through the woods, travel safely. 

Email: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com
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