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

Markets #6-10

The dull, sonorous drumbeat of summer continues as The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the numbers nerds from XTRENDS, take a loving look back at the NIELSEN-defined month of AUGUST. This was measured as beginning on 7/20 and ending on 8/16. Twenty-eight days of … well … normality. Sure, loads of folks went on vacation and likely left their meters at home but that does not mean that we don’t have something to analyze.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Sunny Came Home

There are a lot of things in life more important than radio ratings. While this market recovers from the devastation of HARVEY, our thoughts are with everyone in the HOUSTON area – and beyond. Likely, the least important news out of that market this week concerns the numbers. Still, the show must go on ...

It has been over a year since iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY) topped the 6+ chart without the aid of performance-enhancing holiday-themed music. This time around the station landed a big increase (6.4-7.2) as it moved back to #1 by the slimmest of margins. URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) saw its six-book run at #1 come to an end – but just barely (7.0-7.1). COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) slipped back to #3 with its lowest score since FEBRUARY (6.5-5.4). UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN was given back all of last month’s loss (4.3-5.0) as it moved up three places to #4. The station that threw the market into a tizzy at the beginning of the year – CBS RADIO Adult Hits KKHH (THE SPOT) slipped back to #5 (5.1-4.9). The former residents of the #5 building were relieved of the obligations of that position. KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ dropped back to #6 (4.8-4.6) while CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE dropped to #7 (4.8-4.4).

Over the last 14 surveys, the only one that had a larger 25-54 share for KODA was the actual HOLIDAY book. The station had a huge bump this time as it rose from #3. KMJQ moved up two slots to #2 but was two shares behind the leader. KKHH dropped back to #3 with a small loss while KLTN moved up to #4 as it regained about half of what it lost last month. The previous leader – KGLK – ended up at #5 this time, which is exactly where it was three books ago. KRBE slid back to #6 as it returned all of last month’s small increase.

There was a big surprise 18-34. KLTN jumped from a tie at #6 to #1. The station had a massive increase as it posted its best number since FEBRUARY to lead the field by better than a share. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) fell back to #2 despite landing a small increase. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) stepped back to #3 even though it got back most of what it gave up last survey. KODA had a nice increase to move up to #4. That was the second book in a row where the station had a large gain. KRBE dropped a couple of places to #5 as it lost a chunk of share. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) dropped to #6 as it returned a large portion of last month’s increase.

The amount of movement in the 18-49 ranks was stunning. First, KODA moved into first place with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. Then, KLTN advanced four spaces to #2 as it gained back all of last month’s loss plus a heaping helping of additional share. KQBT used a small increase to move up to #3 while KBXX jumped three places to #4 as it ended a two-book slide. All this upward mobility did send some stations packing. KRBE dropped from a tie at #2 to #5 with a small loss while last month’s leader – KTBZ – fell five slots to #6 with its smallest share since the HOLIDAY book. It was just ahead of KKHH, which moved up to #7 despite a small loss. Finally, KGLK dropped from #5 to a tie at #11 with its lowest total in over a year.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Big WAMU

For every single stinkin’ survey this year, the top two stations 6+ have been the same. And, neither one of them plays any music! AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU maintained its comfortable lead (9.4-9.6) over consistent #2 HUBBARD News WTOP (8.2-8.9). Last month it looked like HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was poised to break up that monopolistic duo but that did not come to pass. The station remained at #3 but fell farther off the pace (8.1-7.1). Making the, ahem, big move up to #4 was iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG, which had its best book in over a year (5.4-5.8). This bumped URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) back to #5 as it experienced a sudden loss of ratings pressure (6.0-4.9). At spot #6, iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) was knocking on the door of the top five (4.4-4.6).

The 25-54 demo continued to suffer from information overload. #1 WAMU returned to double-digit land while #2 WTOP had its highest share since MARCH. Still, the stations were separated by over two shares. WIHT remained at #3 but had its best showing since the incessant ringing of sleigh bells filled the airwaves. WBIG leapt three spaces to #4 with a solid increase while iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH climbed four places to #5 as it regained a portion of last month’s big loss. WHUR dropped back to #6 with its lowest score since MARCH and was just ahead of its format foe WMMJ, which ended a strong four-book run. WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY Christian Contemporary WGTS dropped from a tie at #4 to #12 as it lost a painfully large chunk of share.

So, last month WIHT took it on the 18-34 chin but still managed to lead the way. This time the station regained all of that lost share and merely extended its lead to over two and a half shares. URBAN ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) moved up to #2 with its best outing since APRIL. This pushed iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) back to #3 as it was off slightly. Two stations moved up to share some quality time at #4. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WPGC took one step forward despite landing its lowest number in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ advanced from #7 as it ended a steep two-book slide. WBIG remained at #6 but did post its best share in over a year. WAMU fell from a share of the #3 position to #7 with its least productive outing since we were all enjoying the seasonal stylings of LEROY ANDERSON.

For the eighth consecutive survey, WAMU was the 18-49 market leader. The station was up a little but saw its lead shrink to almost a share over #2 WIHT, which posted its largest number since NOVEMBER. WTOP remained a solid #3 with a small increase while WBIG made the bold move from #10 to #4 with its second straight, ahem, big increase. Last month WKYS and WHUR were tied at #5. WKYS remained in place with a slight increase while WHUR fell to #9, thus ending a strong four-book surge. WGTS dropped eight places to a tie at #12 with its lowest share since the maids were a-milking.

PHILADELPHIA: Nothing Beats The Classics

It was the old folks boogie atop the 6+ chart. For the third straight survey, CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL was #1 (7.5-7.4). Moving up to the place position was BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK, which ended a small two-book slide (6.5-6.8). JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE) took a step back to #3 as it was off slightly for the second book in a row (6.8-6.7). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS remained at #4 (6.2-6.0). We’re pretty sure the sterling PHILLIES season had precious little to do with the rise of CBS RADIO Sports WIP-F. The station was up three places to #5 as it ended a two-book slide (4.5-5.3). It essentially swapped places with iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER), which dropped to #8 after giving back all of last month’s huge increase (5.6-4.3).

After a two-month layoff, WMGK was back at #1 25-54 with its best book since JANUARY. WBEB dropped back to #2 and instead of leading the demo by about half a share, it was trailing by a similar amount. WDAS managed to move up to #3 despite posting its lowest score in over a year. There was a threesome at #4. WUSL dropped a spot, which put the station back into its more familiar range. BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR moved up a spot despite its fourth straight down book. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) moved up from #7 as it ended a three-book slide. It was just ahead of WOGL, which stepped up to #7 with a slight increase.

WBEB continued to be the 18-34 leader and was flirting with the double-digit share queen. WRFF moved up to #2 with its best showing since FEBRUARY but was still over a share and a half in arrears. WUSL dropped back to #3 with its lowest mark since the geese were a-laying. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) remained at #4 but managed to end a three-book share slide. WMGK was also stationary – at #5 – with a slight increase. That was just enough to keep it ahead of its cluster bro WMMR, which moved up to #6 as it ended a five-book slide.

Though it was off a bit for the second book in a row, WBEB was able to move back to #1 18-49. WRFF stepped up to #2 with its best book since APRIL while last month’s leader – WUSL – ended up at #3 as it lost all of last month’s increase plus a little extra. The three previous partners in the #5 venture had to change their relationship status. WMMR moved up to #4 with a small increase while WMGK remained in place with a slightly smaller increase. WIOQ was flat and fell back to #6 where it was tied with WDAS, which dropped from #4 with its lowest share in over a year.

ATLANTA: You Talkin’ To Me?

It would appear that a lot of people were asking themselves that very same question. COX RADIO Talk WSB-A continued to dominate the 6+ arena (8.6-8.9). CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V-103) remained its closest pursuer but was well off the pace (6.2-5.9). COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) became the only station at #3 despite its third down book in a row (5.9-5.6). COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) moved down to #4 with its lowest mark since FEBRUARY (5.9-5.2). URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) regained all of last month’s loss (4.4-4.8) to move back up to #5 where it was just ahead of sixth-place COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) (4.7-4.7).

WVEE continued to lead the 25-54 race by a wide margin; however, with its slight loss, combined with the big gain from URBAN ONE Urban WHTA (HOT), that gap was now under a share. HOT moved up three slots to #2 thanks to its largest share in over a year. WSB-A slipped back to #3 with its lowest score in over a year. It was just ahead of CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100), which remained at #4 with a slight decrease. WSB-F moved up to #5 with its second big-gain book in a row while WAMJ advanced to #6 with its highest mark in over a year. The #3 through #6 stations were separated by less than half a share. WSRV flowed downstream to #7 with its third straight down book.

Last survey both WVEE and WHTA were the leaders of the 18-34 paradigm. Both stations lost a chunk of share this time but V-103’s was a little less chunky so it remained in first with HOT dropping just behind at #2. WWWQ remained at #3 with a bit of a loss, but in the end these three stations were separated by less than half a share. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) remained in place at #4 but with its lowest total since MARCH. It was forced to share with WSB-F, which was up from #6 with its second strong month in a row. WSRV fell from #5 to a tie at #9 as it took a big share hit.

WVEE had its lowest 18-49 share in over a year but still managed to win the demo. However, with WHTA moving up to #2 with its best book since the pipers were piping, the gap was reduced to less than a half share. WWWQ dropped back to #3 as it ended a solid two-book surge while WSB-F moved up to #4 with a slight increase. ENTERCOM Hot AC WSTR (STAR) had its best book since DECEMBER and was rewarded with a three-step promotion to #5. It was just ahead of WWPW, which remained at #6. WSRV fell to #7 with its third down book in a row.

BOSTON: Five For Fighting

The composition and alignment of the top five 6+ was unchanged from the previous survey. Only the numbers were changed to protect the innocent. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR was #1 for the eighth book in a row (7.7-7.2) and maintained its slim advantage over #2 iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) (7.5-7.0). BEASLEY AC WMJX (MAGIC) was flat and motionless at #3 (6.4-6.4) while CBS RADIO Classic Rock WZLX remained at #4 (5.6-5.5). CBS RADIO News WBZ-A repeated at #5 but with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER (5.0-4.9). Its soon-to-be cluster mate, ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F, was up to #6 as it regained most of last month’s decrease (4.3-4.8).

This was the fourth straight 25-54 win for WXKS but the station was down sharply. WROR remained at #2 but also lost some share so the gap between the two stations was relatively the same. WMJX got back a little of last month’s big loss to hold on at #3. However, CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) had a strong increase, which drove the station up from #6 to forge a tie. WEEI-F was up but could not budge from fifth place while WZLX dropped to #6 with a flat performance.

For the third book in a row, WXKS topped double-digits 18-34 –- though just barely. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) jumped from #5 to #2 with its best total since JANUARY but was still over two shares out of the lead. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) slipped back to #3 as it ended a solid two-book surge. WROR fell back to #4 with its lowest score since they were playing BOBBY HELMS and fell into a tie with cluster sister WMJX, which was flat. CBS RADIO Top 40/M WODS (AMP) was also flat and continued to hold down the #6 position.

The 18-49 demo continued to be a fight for second place as WXKS –- despite a down book -– led everyone else by more than two shares. WROR remained at #2 as it returned last month’s modest increase and was forced to share with WMJX, which moved up a spot just by being flat and minding its own business. WBZ-F ended a two-book slide to move up three slots to #4 while WBQT ended a three-book down trend to advance four places to #5. The two previous occupants of that spot were to be found farther down the chart. CBS RADIO Hot AC WBMX (MIX) stepped back to #6 despite a slight increase. WJMN dropped to #9 and was tied with WZLX, which landed there from its previous post at #4.

The short week may be nearing its completion but The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR INC. still have more work to do. Stand by as we prepare to deliver more insightful prose and smarmy asides for DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL. Watch this space.

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