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

Exclusive Analysis

Getting numbers is hard work.  It’s even harder when forces beyond your control are in your path. This is the perfect storm presented in the DECEMBER survey.  Or, as we are calling it – NOVEMBER 2.0 (‘cause, you see, it ran from 11/3 through 11/30).  First, you had this whole Presidential election thing distracting people from their regular stuff.  Then, you had this holiday affecting two different weeks.  Something about yams, we’re not sure.  Amidst all this clamor, just about every market had at least one station making a huge – albeit temporary – format change. Finally, there were in-tab issues in week one (which eventually led to MRC pulling accreditation from this survey.) 

Fortunately you have the services of the Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., and the truth seekers from XTRENDS, on the case.  We won’t let you down.

Houston-Galveston: Sunny Seasons Greetings

After four months of being denied the #1 spot in the 6+ wars, iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY) was back on top, thanks to a little help from its elfin friends.  The station switched about halfway through the survey and received its best grade since JUNE (6.9-7.3).  Last year it came in with an 8.0 share.  RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) remained a very close #2 (7.1-6.9) while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN dropped from the lead spot to #3 (7.4-6.7).  COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) remained steady at #4 (6.2-6.4) while KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ eked out another #5 finish (5.0-4.6).  Close behind was CBS RADIO Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA), which moved up to #6 (4.2-4.5).

Santa could not save the 25-54 day as the top five stations did their version of the mannequin challenge.  That meant KLTN was #1 for the fourth book in a row with its best number in over a year.  KODA was actually down slightly to remain at #2.  KGLK also had a slight loss while retaining its #3 standing while KMJQ had the same result at #4.  KLOL rounded out the quintet with its highest share in over a year.

The one constant in the 18-34 realm was that KLTN was #1 for the third book in a row, though it was down.  KLOL moved up three places to #2 with its best book in over a year yet still trailed the leader by over a share.  RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) continued at #3 but with its lowest score in over a year.  UNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KOVE advanced four squares to #4 as it regained all of what it surrendered last month – plus a little extra.  iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) dropped three places to #5 with its lowest share since JANUARY.  UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KAMA (LATINO MIX) moved up five places to #6 thanks to a huge increase in share.  COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) dropped to #7 as it returned most of last month’s big gain.  And what of our intrepid holiday travelers?  KODA moved up a slot to a tie at #8 with its best score since MAY.

KLTN was #1 18-49 for the sixth straight survey while the egg nog-infused KODA remained at #2.  The leader was down while the runner up was up slightly.  In the end, they were separated by about two shares.  KLOL advanced three spaces to #3 as it was up for the second month in a row.  KMJQ remained at #4 with a slight decrease and was joined by cluster mate KBXX, which dropped down from #3.  Four – count ‘em – four stations were ensnared at #6.  KOVE was up from a tie at #10 as it bounced back from last month’s down book.  iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) moved in from #9 just by being flat.  KQBT slipped from #5, ending a nice two-book run.  And, KGLK was up a slot despite a slight decrease.

Washington, D.C.: News, Not Yule, Rules

As one might expect from the most powerful city in the world, news products continued to reign supreme.  AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was #1 6+ for the fifth book in a row and reached the double-digit stratosphere for the second straight survey (10.0-11.5).  HUBBARD News WTOP was flat (9.4-9.4) to remain at #2.  iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH switched on the reindeer games about halfway through the survey.  That moved the station up two places to #3 (4.9-5.9) though it was well off last year’s 7.0 pace.  HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR slipped to #4 with its lowest share since FEBRUARY (5.9-5.6).  RADIO ONE Gospel WPRS (PRAISE) was alone at #5 with its fifth up book in a row (4.9-5.1).  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) cooled off to #6 thanks to its least productive outing since APRIL (5.2-4.6).

WAMU continued to crush the competition 25-54.  The station was #1 for the ninth book in a row and hit double digits for the third time in the last four surveys.  WTOP had its best book since FEBRUARY to remain #2 but still trailed the leader by over two and a half shares.  WIHT had its lowest score in over a year yet held on to its #3 ranking.  Cluster sister WASH was up to #4 with its best outing since FEBRUARY.  WHUR was off a bit but remained at #5 while CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC lost some of last month’s big increase to drop back to #6. 

For the first time since JUNE, WIHT did not reach double digits 18-34.  No matter, the station was #1 for the twelfth straight survey.  WAMU moved back up to #2 as it recovered from last month’s big loss.  WPGC remained at #3 but with its best book since last year’s carol fest.  Speaking of a-caroling, WASH moved up three places to #4 with its highest score since JANUARY.  RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) fell three places to #5 with its lowest total since AUGUST.  iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC-101) remained at #6 with a slight increase while iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ fell back to #7 as it lost some of last month’s huge increase.  Farther down the list was CBS RADIO Spanish Contemporary WLZL (EL ZOL).  The station more than doubled its previous share as it jumped from #18 to #9.

After a one-month absence, WAMU was back on top 18-49 as it regained most of last survey’s decline.  This dropped WIHT back to #2.  HOT had its lowest total in over a year and was about a share and a half out of the lead.  WTOP ended a two-book run but remained firmly entrenched at #3.  WASH was up to #4 with its best performance since JANUARY while WPGC slipped back to #5 with a small decrease.  WPRS moved up a slot to #6 with easily its best book in over a year.  By comparison, last DECEMBER that station was ranked #20 in this demo.  WKYS fell two places to #7 with its lowest total since MAY.

Philadelphia: The More, The Merrier

This is one of the few markets that features two stations that flip the Santa switch.  Out of the box each had dramatically different results.  JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE) went in week three and got a big boost (7.5-11.1) to remain #1 6+.  This was even better than last year when the station scored a 10.7.  CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL went about a week later, and though it remained #3, the interest on its CHRISTMAS club investment was not positive (6.8-5.7).  That said, it was better than last year’s 5.5 share.  In between the two Santas was iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS.  The station had its best book in over a year (6.9-7.0).  BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK remained at #4 but with its lowest score since APRIL (6.0-5.4).  The election buzz (and big HILLARY rally) did not hurt CBS RADIO News KYW-A.  The station was up to #5 with its highest score since MARCH (5.1-5.3).  BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR slipped back to #6 with its lowest mark since Frosty’s last visit (5.8-5.0).

Check out the well-hung stockings on WBEB.  The station was back to #1 25-54 for the first time since MAY as it added several shares to its total.  WDAS moved up to #2 with – again – its best book in over a year but was almost four shares off the pace.  WMMR ended its six-book winning streak as it fell back to #3 with its lowest mark since lanes were a-glistenin’.  WMGK had its lowest total since APRIL but hung on at #4.  iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) advanced four places to #5 as it ended a three-book slide.  iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) slid back to #6 with its smallest share since the last time a certain 
J. Frost was in town.  WOGL gave back all of last month’s gain and dropped to #8.

Behold the power of the Claus.  WBEB increased its 18-34 share by over fifty percent to move up to #1.  It was also over two shares ahead of last year’s total.  WUSL fell back to #2 as it lost a big chunk of share.  It was paired with WRFF, which moved up from #5 as it began its recovery from last month’s big loss.  WMMR slipped back to #4 with its third down book in a row.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) stepped back to #5 as it gave back all of last month’s big increase.  WOGL was flat and moved up a slot to a tie at #12.

It seems all ages love the Santa jams on MORE.  WBEB remained #1 18-49 for the third straight survey with the requisite big holiday weight gain.  WDAS moved up to #2 with a small decrease, and was trailing the leader by more than four shares.  WMMR slid back to #3 with its lowest share since Rudolph’s last flight and was exchanging gifts with WUSL, which took a step upward as it ended a three-book slide.  WRFF was down for the second month in a row but moved up to #5.  This pushed WIOQ back to #6 as it posted its lowest number since MARCH.  WOGL dropped to #13 with its lowest mark in over a year.

Atlanta: Santa Trumped

To be fair, the station that made the radical change to CHRISTMAS programming did so in the last week of the survey.  More on that in a bit.  First, it was another “yuge” win for COX RADIO Talk WSB-A.  The station was again #1 6+ and, for the second time in the last three surveys, cracked the double-digit barrier (9.9-10.2).  CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V-103) wrested control of the #2 position from RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT).  V-103 ended a two-book slide (5.9-6.3) while HOT dropped to #4 as it gave back most of last month’s increase (5.9-5.4).  In between was COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS), which moved up to #3 (5.1-5.5).  

COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) ended a nice four-book run (5.1-4.8) as it slipped back to #5.  The designated holiday spot on your radio dial was filled by SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (THE FISH).  It was flat and stable at #7 (4.6-4.6).
The top five 25-54 was unaltered from its previous presentation.  WVEE remained on top as it ended a two-book slide.  WSB-A was up slightly at #2 while WHTA lost share but held on at #3.  CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) was again #4 even though it was off a bit while COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) returned at #5 with its highest share since FEBRUARY.  Once again WFSH was flat and steady at #6.

This marked the third book in a row that WHTA was #1 18-34.  It was also the second straight double-digit performance for the station.  WVEE ended a dramatic two-book slide as it advanced to #2 though it still trailed the leader by over two shares.  WWWQ slid back to #3, ending a strong two-book surge.  ENTERCOM Hot AC WSTR (STAR) was up slightly as it remained at #4 while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) held steady at #5 as it ended a three-book slide.  WSB-F moved forward three squares to #6 with a solid increase.  WFSH was down a bit as it slipped to #9.

There was a changing of the 18-49 guard this survey.  WVEE vaulted to the lead by the slimmest of margins over WHTA, which stepped back to #2.  WWWQ was flat and remained a distant #3.  WSTR was off slightly at #4 where it was sharing quality time with WSB-F, which advanced four places with its highest score since FEBRUARY.  WSB-A slid back to #6 with a small loss of share while WFSH took one step upward to #8 as it ended a two-book slide.

Boston: Holiday Magic

Santa for the win … but just barely.  BEASLEY AC WMJX (MAGIC) made the switch during week three and the results were relatively dramatic (6.3-7.8).  The station moved up to #1 6+ and was close to last year’s 8.0 share.  BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR ended a four-book slide (6.6-7.7) but still came up short at #2.  CBS RADIO News WBZ-A was at its highest point since FEBRUARY (6.0-6.2) as it moved up to #3.  CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) was down for the second book in a row (6.1-5.4) to slide to #4.  Still, given where the BRADY bunch is going, we’d expect those numbers to rise.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) remained at #5 though it returned most of last month’s increase (5.6-5.2). 

That old silk hat was a marvelous addition to the WMJX wardrobe as the station moved up to #1 25-54 with a large increase.  WBZ-F dropped back to #2 and fell over a share off the pace.  Could that have something to do with the Scrooge-like demeanor of a certain football coach?  Probably not.  WROR was up two slots to #3 as its painful three-book slide came to an end.  WXKS dropped back to #4 with its smallest share in over a year.  BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) moved up two slots to #5 as it regained all of last month’s share loss.  ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F was down significantly for the second straight survey as it fell back to #6. 

Things were a little too – ahem – hot in the 18-34 arena for Santa as WBQT rose to #1 for the fourth time in the last five books.  WXKS slipped back to #2 as it gave back some of last month’s gain.  WMJX took one step forward to #3 with a big increase and was well ahead of last year’s pace.  WROR advanced three spaces to #4 with its highest share in over a year.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) slid to #5 despite ending its two-book slide.  WBZ-F remained at #6 with a slight increase while CBS RADIO Top 40/M WODS (AMP) dropped four places to #7 with its lowest share in over a year.

Last month’s co-leaders in the 18-49 demo were knocked off their perch by some guy in a red suit.  WMJX vaulted to #1 with its third up book in a row and was way ahead of last year’s DECEMBER number.  WBZ-F slid back to #2 as it shed a chunk of share while WXKS was deposited at #3 with – again – its lowest score in over a year.  WBQT was at #4 for the third straight survey while WROR moved up to #5 with its highest share since AUGUST.  CBS RADIO Hot AC WBMX (MIX) moved up to #6 as it regained most of last month’s loss.  WODS dropped back to #7 as it returned all of last month’s big gain.

That was a lot to process but there is more to come.  The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will take a short egg nog break.  When we return, we will regale you with tales of the holiday from DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL.  Stay tuned.

Email: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com
Twitter: @ResearchDirectr
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ResearchDirectorInc
Web: www.researchdirectorinc.com

« see more Net News