Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive April PPM Analysis For New York, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco & Dallas

Top-5 Markets

Ahhh APRIL … when hope springs eternal, when second quarter budgets kick in, and when baseball has a way of increasing selected stations’ numbers. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – with a powerful assist from the data geeks from XTRENDS – bring you the fourth official NIELSEN survey of the year. This one was all inclusive of 3/30 through 4/26 and yielded the following results. Remember, this analysis is for entertainment purposes only – no wagering.

NEW YORK: Old Times, Good Times

As we move boldly forward into the past, the last time CBS RADIO Classic Hits WCBS-F was #1 6+ was in JULY. This time the station wormed its way into the top spot as it regained last month’s lost share (5.9-6.1). JULY also happens to be the last time iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (LITE) had a share this low (6.2-6.0). The station slid to second place. EMMIS Urban AC WBLS moved up to #3 with its best score since NOVEMBER (5.4-5.6). CBS RADIO News WINS-A continued to report big things from the #4 position (5.8-5.3) but was joined by iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100), which slipped back from #2, thus ending a three-book surge (5.9-5.3). Baseball was very, very good to CBS RADIO Sports WFAN-F (THE FAN). Thanks to the suddenly resurgent YANKEES, the station had its best book in over a year (2.9-3.8) to move up to #9. iHEARTMEDIA Talk WOR-A has the injury-riddled METS. Still, though the station remained at #20, it posted its biggest number since OCTOBER (1.7-2.2).

It was all quiet on the 25-54 front as WHTZ remained #1 with a flat performance. WLTW fell a little further off the pace at #2 with its lowest total since OCTOBER. WCBS-F remained at #3 but ended a four-book surge. It was partnered with WBLS, which took one step forward with a slight increase. SBS Tropical WSKQ (LA MEGA) became the sole proprietor of the #5 position even though it was down for the third straight survey. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER) slipped back to #6 with its lowest share since NOVEMBER.

Alas, WHTZ could not extend its streak of double-digit 18-34 books to three in a row. The station remained perched atop the 18-34 leaderboard but was less than a half share clear of #2 EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT), which had its best showing in over a year. WSKQ took sole possession of third place as it ended a rather severe two-book slide. WWPR had its best book since AUGUST but still had to step back to #4. WLTW continued to be a fixture at #5 (get it? Fixture. We’re here all week …) but with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER. It was a good month for CBS RADIO Hot AC WNEW (FRESH). The station moved up to #8 with its best book in over a year.

Though its 18-49 up streak ended at three, WHTZ remained the leading station and saw its lead shrink a bit over #2 WSKQ, as LA MEGA was up slightly. Arch rivals WWPR and WQHT both had down books and ended up in a tie at #3. WLTW posted its lowest score since SEPTEMBER but held steady at #5. The baseball twins had their best outings since last fall. WFAN-F was up to #10 with its highest score since OCTOBER while WOR-A advanced to a tie at #20 with its best performance since SEPTEMBER.

LOS ANGELES: Another BIG Win

Big is as big does and iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (MY FM) did it again. The station was #1 6+ for the third straight survey (5.7-5.6) though the race got as close as it possibly could as CBS RADIO Rhythmic AC KTWV (THE WAVE) remained at #2 (5.5-5.5). CBS RADIO Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH) had its best book in over a year (4.9-5.0) to become the only station capable of proclaiming itself #3. Last month iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (KISS) could share that feeling but the station slid back to #4 (4.9-4.8). iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST ended a three-book slide (4.4-4.6) to remain at #5. We looked for the local baseball flagships but since we only go 20 deep into any demo, we were unable to report on their progress.

As tightly compressed as the previous demo continues to be, it is worth noting that 25-54 has some wider margins at the top. KBIG was #1 for the fourth book in a row and led #2 KIIS, which was up for the third straight survey, by almost a share. A half share or so behind that duo was KRTH, which moved up to #3 with its best performance since NOVEMBER. The next four stations were pretty much lumped together and about a half share off the top three. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE) slid to #4 with a small decrease while KOST moved up three places to #5 as it ended a three-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KYSR (ALT 98.7) fell two spots to #6 while KTWV dropped to #7. Both stations had small losses.

The top five 18-34 was relatively the same as last month. KIIS was #1 for the fourth straight survey while KYSR remained at #2 despite giving back half of last month’s increase. KBIG held firm at #3 with a flat performance. The two bitter rivals, which were tied at #4 last month, separated themselves a bit. EMMIS Top 40/R KPWR (POWER) remained in place but with its lowest share since OCTOBER. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) slipped back to #5 with its least productive outing since DECEMBER. KOST advanced five places to #6 with its best Frosty-free showing in exactly one year.

In the 18-49 arena, the top five stations were the same but only the top three were in the exact same position as when we last saw them. KBIG was off slightly but remained #1 for the fourth book in a row. KIIS drew closer at #2 just by being flat. KYSR continued to hang at #3 but with a small decrease. KRTH and KLVE swapped spaces. The former moved up to #4 with a solid increase while the latter dropped back to #5 with a small decrease.

CHICAGO: V for 3

Proving itself to be a model of consistency, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) was #1 6+ for the third book in a row (5.6-5.6). CBS RADIO News WBBM-A remained at #2 but with its lowest share in over a year (5.4-4.9). Close behind at #3 was HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (MIX), which did not budge (4.8-4.8). The tie remained at #4 with the same two stations as before. TRIBUNE N/T WGN-A had its lowest total since it was suffering from the HOLIDAY blues (4.2-3.9) while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (KISS) gave back all of last month’s gain (4.2-3.9). CUBS flagship CBS RADIO Sports WSCR-A (THE SCORE) zoomed up the standings – from a tie at #22 to #6 – with its most productive outing since NOVEMBER (2.2-3.7). It was tied with CBS RADIO Top 40/M WBBM-F (B96), which moved two squares forward with its best book in over a year (3.2-3.7).

Ever since Santa went on sabbatical, WTMX has been #1 25-54. That’s pretty much been the deal for the last year. This time the station was up slightly. Since #2 WKSC was off a bit, the gap between the two expanded to a share and a half. WVAZ remained a bit further back at #3 but got back all of last month’s loss. UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA) remained alone at #4 with its fourth up book in a row. Last month there was a three-way tie at #4 but the other two stations did not fare as well this time. WBBM-A dropped to a tie at #11 with its lowest share in over a year while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC WLIT (MY FM) ended up at #13 with its smallest share since NOVEMBER. WBBM-F advanced four places to #5 as it rebounded from last month’s loss. CUMULUS Alternative WKQX was up four slots to #6 with its sixth straight up book.

Last month WBBM-F took a big hit 18-34 and fell back to #2. The station got a large chunk of it back this time and returned to the top spot. Three stations were in the trail position at #2. WKSC was last month’s leader but its three-book up trend came to an end. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI took a step forward with its highest score since NOVEBMER while WKQX was up from #4 with its highest share in over a year. WOJO and WTMX swapped spots with the former moving up to #5 with its fourth straight up book while the latter fell to #6 with its lowest share in over a year.

WKSC saw its up-book streak end at three though the station remained #1 18-49. However, #2 WTMX was up slightly this time and the gap between the two was very small. WBBM-F moved up to #3 as it almost completely recovered from last month’s big hit. WOJO slipped back to #4 despite a small increase and was joined by WKQX, which was up from #7 with its highest score since JUNE. WLIT dropped five places to #10 while WSCR-A jumped eleven spots to #11.

SAN FRANCISCO: More Fresh Air

This portion of our analysis is made possible by the spoken word. As in hot air and stations without songs. For the fourth book in a row, KQED INC. N/T KQED was #1 6+ (7.3-7.0) as it continued to dominate the market. Coming in at #2 again was CBS RADIO News KCBS-A (6.2-6.3). The first tuneful station was quite a distance behind those two. ENTERCOM AC KOIT repeated at #3 with its best reindeer-less book in over a year (5.2-5.5). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE) was off slightly (4.4-4.3) but held steady at #4. A tepid start to the season could not keep CUMULUS Sports KNBR-A out of the top five. The station was up from a tie at #9 with its best outing since NOVEMBER (3.0-4.2). This bumped iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR) back to #6 (4.1-4.0).

So, KQED took a noticeable ratings hit 25-54. So what. The station was #1 for the fourth straight survey and led #2 CBS RADIO HOT AC KLLC (ALICE) – which was off a bit – by over a share. KOIT inched up to #3 with a slight increase while KNBR-A advanced six places to #4 with a tape-measure increase. KIOI stepped up to #5 with its highest share in over a year while two stations fell from the top five and joined forces at #6. CBS RADIO Top 40/M KMVQ (NOW) dropped from #3 with its lowest total since JUNE while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD) took one step backwards with its smallest score in over a year.

The 18-34 race has recently gotten a lot tighter with the top five stations separated by less than a share. We begin with a tie at #1. KYLD had its lowest share in over a year but remained in place. It was joined by cluster mate iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL, which moved up from #3 despite its fourth down book in a row. KIOI was a step behind at #3 even though it gave back most of last month’s huge increase. KOIT remained at #4 as it ended a three-book slide and ENTERCOM Top 40/M KRBQ (Q102) was up two slots to #5 with its largest number since MAY. KMVQ slipped back to #6 with a slight decrease.

KQED captured its third straight 18-49 title but with a down book. Two stations were close behind at #2. KYLD was the incumbent and had its lowest share in over a year while KOIT was up from #6 with a small increase. KIOI was resolute and unmoved at #4 with a slight decrease. KLLC held firm at #5 but was partnered with KMEL, which moved up from #7 with a slight increase. KMVQ fell four spots to #7, its lowest mark since MAY.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: Hungry Like The Wolf

For the fourth book in a row, the lupine-themed CUMULUS Country KPLX (THE WOLF) was #1 6+. The station regained all of last month’s small loss (6.0-6.2) to wiggle out of a tie with iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (KISS), which dropped back to #2 (6.0-5.9). CBS RADIO Classic Hits KLUV (K-LOVE) ended a three-book slide in a big way (4.7-5.5) to move up a spot to #3. This pushed iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR) back to #4 even though the station posted its largest share in over a year (5.0-5.2). UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA) moved up to #5 as it ended a five-book slide (3.9-4.4). This forced the other country station – CUMULUS Country KSCS – back to #6 (4.3-3.8).

KHKS was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey and led the rest of the pack by over a share. KLNO was up four places to #2 as it rebounded from a couple of down books. It was tied with KPLX, which loped ahead one space with its highest share in over a year. KZPS also moved up a spot – to #4 – as it was up for the third month in a row. CBS RADIO Adult Hits KJKK (JACK) fell three places to #5 as it returned all of last month’s modest gain. Three stations were knotted together at #6. CUMULUS Sports KTCK-A (THE TICKET) and iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR) were previously known as #7 and both had small increases. They were joined by KLUV, which moved up and in from #11 as it regained most of last month’s big loss. iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (THE EAGLE) was down for the third book in a row and fell six slots to #9.

Things are getting pretty heated in the 18-34 space. KHKS was #1 for the fourth book in a row. However, the station was down this time while #2 KLNO had its best book since NOVEMBER. The net result was that the stations were separated by the smallest of possible margins. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) has come a long way since NOVEMBER when it was #13. This time the station moved up to #3 with its highest mark in over a year. Three stations were a share behind as they shared the comfy confines of #4. KEGL slipped back from #3 with its lowest total since NOVEMBER while KPLX moved up from #7 with a small increase. RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBFB (THE BEAT) moved up from #5 despite ending a four-book surge.

This is kind of odd. Over the last fourteen 18-49 surveys, KHKS has alternated up and down books. This was a down one though the station remained comfortably on top of the heap. KLNO was still #2 but pulled closer with its best book since DECEMBER. Three stations were a good distance back at #3. Two of them – KPLX and KKDA – were previously partners at #6. They moved up with small increases. KJKK also moved up but from #4 and with a down book. The previous occupant of the #3 position was KEGL and it fell to #6 with its lowest total since NOVEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW) dropped four places to a tie at #9 with its second straight down book.

Hey, we’re just beginning this journey. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. have more analytical smack to talk. Next time our targets, uh, focus, will be on HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, PHILADELPHIA, ATLANTA, and BOSTON. Bookmark this space and return often. Joel loves all the traffic!

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