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

Markets #6-10

The incessant drum beat of time brings us to yet another round of radio ratings analysis. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., working hand in glove and cheek by jowl with the arithmetic artists from XTRENDS, bring you (tympani) – APRIL! A month defined for survey purposes as beginning on 3/30 and ending on 4/26. It is also the first book of baseball and that still yields positive effects for flagship stations. That, and pollen.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: This Majic Moment

There was more magic in the air as RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) led the 6+ pack for the third straight survey. However, the race did tighten a bit as the station ended a strong two-book surge (7.9-6.9). UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN ended its two-book slide and advanced three places to #2 (5.6-6.3). Swooping up to #3 was COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE), which had its best book of the year (5.7-5.9). KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ rebounded nicely from last month’s loss to take two steps forward to #4 (4.9-5.6). The two stations previously aligned at #2 lost share this time and slid down the chart. iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY) ended up at #5 with its lowest share in over a year (5.8-5.5) while COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) dropped to #6 as it lost about half of last month’s big gain (5.8-4.9). Though the ASTROS are flying high in the AL WEST, their flagship was not in the top 20.

There was a role reversal atop the 25-54 leaderboard. KLTN returned to the top as it ended a rather severe two-book slide while KMJQ moved back to #2 as it returned all of last month’s huge increase, plus a little extra. Three stations moved up and into a tie at #3 but only one of them increased its share. That was KSBJ, which advanced from a tie at #9 as it got back what it lost last survey. KODA was up from #6 but again posted its lowest score in over a year. KGLK took one step forward with a small loss. CBS RADIO Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA) dropped back to #6 with its second straight down book. CBS RADIO Adult Hits KKHH (THE SPOT) fell four places to #7 as it ended a four-book winning streak.

There was a bit of volatility in the 18-34 ranks. This time two stations could legitimately claim to be #1. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) was there for the second straight survey but with a down book. KLTN moved up from #3 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) was not far behind as it moved up three places to #3 with its best performance since SEPTEMBER. Just inches behind was RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX), which slipped to #4 thanks to its lowest share in over a year. The two former partners at #4 dissolved their relationship. KKBQ stepped back to #5 with a small loss while KLOL ended up at #6 with its smallest share since OCTOBER. Also in at #6 was CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE, which advanced from #9 after regaining all of last month’s loss.

For the eleventh time in the last 14 surveys, KLTN was #1 18-49. The station remained in place this time with a small increase. KTBZ had a strong gain, which drove it up to #2. The two former #4 stations were forced to split. KLOL stepped up to #3 despite a small loss while KQBT didn’t budge with a less small loss. KBXX landed its lowest share since MAY, which pushed it back to #5. KMJQ fell four slots to #6 as it once again returned all of last survey’s huge increase.

WASHINGTON, DC: This American U. Life

You know you’re doing pretty well when you lose a full share 6+ and are still in double digits. For the fourth book in a row, and ninth time in the last ten, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was in that rarefied air (11.0-10.0) and remained #1. HUBBARD News WTOP kept a firm grip on #2 (9.9-9.1). It would certainly appear that the swamp creatures crave their information-based content. Coming in at #3 again was HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR, which had its highest share in over a year (6.0-7.0). Its chief rival – RADIO ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) – moved up to #4 as it rebounded from last month’s down book (4.9-5.4). The two cluster buddies that were previously conjoined at #4 were separated. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG slid to #5 (5.2-5.2) while iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH dropped to #6, ending a modest two-book surge (5.2-4.8). The NATS flagship is CBS RADIO Sports WJFK (THE FAN). It moved up to a tie at #15 with its highest run total since OCTOBER (2.2-2.8).

This was the fourth consecutive stay at #1 25-54 for WAMU and also the station’s fourth straight double-digit score. WTOP remained at #2 but returned all of last month’s big increase. As a result, the stations were over three and a half shares apart. WHUR moved up three slots to #3 with its highest score since SEPTEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) stepped back to #4 despite ending a three-book slide. WBIG dropped to #5 and WASH to #6 as each station had minor losses. After a few down books, RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) rebounded and moved up three places to #7.

The previous tie atop the 18-34 leaderboard was broken. WIHT reasserted its authority over the demo as it ended a three-book slide. WAMU had been flat for the last two books but was down slightly this time to fall back to #2. WKYS had its best performance since OCTOBER to move up to #3. CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC was almost a full share behind its rival, but at #4, the station did bounce back a bit from a tough two-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC-101) took a small hit and dropped back to #5. WASH slipped back to #6 with a small loss. The big surprise in this demo was WMMJ. It moved up five places to a tie at #8 with its largest number since OCTOBER.

WAMU had its lowest non-SANTA-influenced share since NOVEMBER but the station continued to lead the 18-49 race. WIHT moved up to #2 with a slight increase while WTOP dropped back to #3 with its lowest share since the dreaded BURL IVES was haunting the airwaves. WKYS had its best book in exactly a year and moved up to #4. WASH dropped back to #5 with a slight decrease and was partnered with WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY Christian Contemporary WGTS, which rose three places with its highest share in over a year. As recently as the HOLIDAY survey, the station was at #15. WWDC dropped to a tie at #7 with its second straight down book.

PHILADELPHIA: The Hits Just Keep On Coming

Though CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL fell off its 6+ high-water mark of the last two surveys, the station did capture the crown for the second month in a row (7.3-6.9). Close behind was iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS, which moved up one slot to #2 (6.9-6.7). JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE) was a little less after posting its lowest total in over a year (7.0-6.6) as it moved down to #3. The two Rock bros remained in place. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was #4 (6.2-6.4) while BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR repeated at #5 –- but with its best book since OCTOBER (5.7-6.0). The PHILLIES may not be above 500 but their flagship was on the upswing. CBS RADIO Sports WIP-F moved up to #6 with its highest run total since NOVEMBER (4.1-4.8). It was tied with cluster mate CBS RADIO News KYW-A, which remained in place (5.6-4.8).

Last month was not particularly kind to WMMR as the station took a big hit 25-54. This time, the station got a solid portion of that back, which put it back on top of the market. WBEB had its lowest score since AUGUST as it stepped back to #2. WDAS remained in place at #3 with a small decrease and was joined by WMGK, which took a step forward as it ended a two-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) claimed the #5 position all to itself as it got back most of last month’s loss. WOGL was up slightly but still dropped back to #6. Very close behind at #7 was iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102), which posted its biggest number in over a year.

Last month three stations were jockeying for position at #2 18-34. This time one of them rose to the top. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) claimed the crown with its highest share since NOVEMBER which, coincidentally, was the last time the station was #1. WMMR dropped back to #2 with a modest decrease and was paired with WBEB, which was stationary with a slight gain. WRFF dropped back to #4 with a flat performance while WIOQ remained steady at #5 with a small gain.

There was a lot of change in the 18-49 demo but one thing remained a constant – WMMR was #1 for the third straight survey as it regained all of last month’s share loss. WUSL had its best book since SEPTEMBER to move up to #2 where it was tied with WRFF, which also moved up thanks to its highest score since OCTOBER. WIOQ again posted its highest number in over a year to rise from #6 to the #4 spot. WBEB dropped three places to #5 with its lowest total since JULY while WDAS fell to #6 as it lost most of last month’s solid gain.

ATLANTA: Cox Blocks

The top-three 6+ positions were contained within the walls of one cluster. COX RADIO Talk WSB-A was #1 again (9.5-9.5) and continued to lead the rest of the market by a wide margin. The two clustermates that were tied at #3 last time continued their arrangement but up a slot at #2. COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) got back most of what it lost the previous survey (5.9-6.2). COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) was up for the fourth straight survey (5.9-6.2) and was at its highest water mark in over a year. CBS RADIO Urban AC WVEE (V-103) dropped to #4 (6.3-6.1). SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (THE FISH) ended a two-book surge (5.4-5.0) but remained at #5. Two stations carry BRAVES games and one made the list. CUMULUS News WYAY remained at #20 (1.6-1.9).

Over the last 14 surveys, the only time WVEE was not #1 25-54 was in JANUARY. The station was up slightly but saw its lead over #2 WSRV dip under a share as THE RIVER crested to its best share in over a year. WSB-A remained at #3 as it ended a two-book slide. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) inched up to #4 with its highest total since NOVEMBER while COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) moved up three places to #5 with its best outing since DECEMBER. WFSH swam downstream to #6 as it lost a chunk of share.

Both WVEE and RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) have been going back and forth at the top of the 18-34 leaderboard for quite some time. This month was V-103’s turn to lead as the station assumed control despite a flat book. HOT took a step back as it returned most of last month’s big gain. Moving up three places to #3 was iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) as it landed its best share since AUGUST. WWWQ slipped back to #4 with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER and was paired with WSB-F, which moved in from #7 thanks to its best book in over a year. Last month’s aquatically themed #4 pairing was washed away this time. WSRV flowed to #6 with a small decrease while WFSH flopped to #7 with its lowest total since DECEMBER. That pretty much exhausts our watery references for the month.

WVEE continued its mastery of the 18-49 demo despite a small decrease. WSRV moved up to #2 with its highest share in over a year but was still more than a share and a half behind. WHTA dropped back to #3 with its lowest total in over a year while WWWQ moved up to #4 with its best performance in over a year. WSB-F stepped up to #5 with its highest score in over a year while WFSH slipped to #7 as it ended a two-book surge.

BOSTON: The ROR Of The Crowd

That old stuff seems to be working quite well for BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR. Over the last 14 surveys, the station has been #1 6+ every time there has been a lack of holiday tuneage. This time the station returned all of last month’s big gain (8.5-7.7) but still held a comfortable lead over the new #2. That was iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS), which moved up two places with its best outing since JULY (5.7-6.1). CBS RADIO News WBZ-A remained at #3 (5.8-5.7) while BEASLEY AC WMJX (MAGIC) dropped back to #4 (5.9-5.6). The RED SOX flagship – ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F – moved up three spots on the order to #5 (4.2-4.8). Though this was likely influenced by the collective cracks of the bat, the sabermetrics say the station just got back what it lost in the last book. CBS RADIO Classic Rock WZLX slid back to #6 as it ended a strong three-book run (4.9-4.7) and was sharing the space with CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB), which was flat and motionless (4.7-4.7).

For 2017 WROR is four for four 25-54, having won the demo again. However, the station did post its lowest number of the year and #2 WXKS had its highest share in over a year, which reduced the gap between the two stations to the smallest possible margin. WBZ-F remained at #3 with a flat performance while WMJX slipped back to #4 with its smallest number in over a year. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) advanced three squares to #5 with a small increase and was tied with WEEI-F, which moved up from #7 with a slightly smaller increase. CBS RADIO Hot AC WBMX (MIX) fell to #7 as it returned most of last month’s solid increase.

WXKS took 18-34 honors for the fourth straight survey even though it gave back all of last month’s increase. Still, the station led #2 WROR by over two shares. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WODS (AMP) moved up to #3 with its highest mark since NOVEMBER and forged a tie with WBQT, which was stationary but with a slight decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) stepped back to #5 with a slight increase. This quintet represented the dominant portion of the demo’s appeal as the next group of stations were a full share behind.

The top five 18-49 featured the same players as before but with a slight altering of the order. This time WXKS was #1 as the station ended a two-book slide and WROR moved back to #2 as it ended a three-book surge. The next three stations were in the exact same positions as last month. WBZ-F was #3 with a slight increase while #4 WBQT had a small increase. WMJX returned as #5 with a slight gain.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will now pause for a brief time out before regaling you with another round of analyses. Whence we return, we’ll delve into the fates of DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL. You do not want to miss our next action-splattered issue!

E-mail: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com
TWITTER: @ResearchDirectr
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/ResearchDirectorInc
Web: www.researchdirectorinc.com

« see more Net News