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

Markets #11-15

In honor of the late, great WALTER BECKER – let’s go back, Jack, and do it again. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with our musical partners at XTRENDS – bring you our third and final installment of the AUGUST situation. This features the trials and tribulations of another quintet of markets. How did they fare? What changes were wrought? Can’t we just get to the point? Yes, this covers 7/20 through 8/16 and is provided for informational purposes only.

DETROIT: Motor City Hitbound

Sometimes, being down is a good thing. Case in point: CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOMC lost a bit of share (6.2-6.1) yet managed to claw its way to first place 6+. That’s the station’s first appearance in that spot since DECEMBER. Three – count ‘em – three stations were trading punches at #2. iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC remained in place (6.2-6.0) while last month’s leader – BEASLEY Classic Rock WCSX – stepped down (6.4-6.0). CBS RADIO Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET) moved up from #5 as it ended a three-book slide (5.3-6.0). Two other stations were locked together at #5. CBS RADIO Country WYCD took one step down (5.5-5.4) while CBS RADIO News WWJ-A took a step upward (5.2-5.4) as it ended a four-book slide. Just beyond their reach was BEASLEY Active Rock WRIF, which moved up to #7 with its best book since FEBRUARY (5.0-5.3).

Speaking of WRIF rocking, the station had its fourth straight up book 25-54 as it continued to lead the league by a comfortable margin. WXYT-F moved up to second place with a solid increase while WCSX slid back to #3 as it lost some of last month’s big increase. Both WYCD and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955) remained tied at #4 with small decreases. Nipping at their collective heels was iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB, which inched up to #6, keeping it inches ahead of two other stations at #7. WNIC remained stable with a slight loss while iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WMXD (MIX) dropped back from #6.

For the second book in a row, WRIF shattered the double-digit 18-34 ceiling. WYCD had its best showing in over a year to leap from #9 to #2. Alas, it was five shares off the lead. WJLB slid back to #3 after posting its lowest number in over a year. WKQI stepped back to #4 with its third straight down book. CUMULUS Hot AC WDVD continued its recent surge. The station landed its largest share in over a year to move up to #5. It was tied at #15 back in MARCH.  WGPR INC. Urban AC WGPR (HOT) remained close behind at #6 with a slight increase. Two players fell out of the top five. WCSX dropped three places to a tie at #7 while BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WMGC (BOUNCE) caromed from #5 to a tie at #9.

WRIF continued to roll 18-49, notching its third up book in a row to continue its dominance over the demo. WXYT-F was up two places to #2 with its highest share since OCTOBER while WJLB dropped back to #3 with its third straight down book. WKQI slid back to #4 as it, too, was down for the third survey in a row. WYCD was up four places to #5 as it regained a good portion of last month’s loss. Two stations on opposite paths met at #6. WCSX fell two places while WDVD advanced from #11 with its best performance since NOVEMBER. WMGC dropped from a tie at #4 to #8 with its lowest mark since DECEMBER.

MIAMI-FT.LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD: More New Hotness

Things have been rolling along quite nicely for COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT) as the station notched its fourth consecutive 6+ victory (7.3-7.1). Its cluster sister – COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY) – moved up to #2 (6.5-6.7), which pushed UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) back to #3 (6.6-6.0). That was AMOR’s lowest share in exactly a year. ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE) remained at #4 but ended a three-book slide (5.2-5.8) while its cluster mate – ENTERCOM Classic Hits WMXJ (THE BEACH) – took a two-step jump to #5 with its best performance in over a year (4.6-5.0). COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99JAMZ) dropped four slots to #9 as it ended a three-book surge (4.8-4.2).

WHQT continued to lead the way 25-54. The station won the demo for the seventh book in a row. However, proving that every silver lining has a dark cloud, it was down for the third straight survey. WAMR remained at #2 with a small increase. WLYF stepped up to #3 with its best showing since FEBRUARY while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHYI (Y100) moved up to #4 with its highest share in over a year. It was just a heartbeat ahead of COX RADIO Top 40/M WFLC (HITS), which moved back up to #5 as it regained all of last month’s loss. WFEZ fell to #6 while WEDR dropped to #9 with its lowest score in over a year.

The market could be heading for a changing of the guard 18-34. WEDR remained #1 but experienced its sixth consecutive down book. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT) remained at #2 but the margin between the top two stations was extremely narrow – and surmountable. CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPOW (POWER) had its best outing in over a year to remain a solid #3. WFLC had a solid increase to advance three squares to #4 while two stations ended up in a tie at #5, though not the same two as last month. WFEZ stepped back a spot while WLYF moved up from #9. The two former #5’s moved downstream. WHYI landed at #7 with its lowest share in over a year while WHQT ended up at #8 with a small loss.

The 18-49 demo was thrown into chaos as three stations ended in a tie at the top. WEDR retained a share of the lead for the twelfth consecutive survey but also landed its lowest total in over a year. WHYI took one step forward with its best showing since NOVEMBER while WFLC advanced from a tie at #5 as it ended a three-book slide. WLYF was up three slots to #4 as it bounced back from a down book while WMIB slid three places to #5 with a slight decrease. WPOW was flat but still moved up to #6 while WFEZ dropped to #7, ending a solid three-book run. WHQT dropped from #4 to #8 with its lowest mark since APRIL.

SEATTLE-TACOMA: Movin’ … Out

With the exception of the time when we are visited by the denizens of the NORTH POLE, HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) has been the big dog 6+. Alas, nothing is forever it seems as the station slid to #3 this survey with its lowest share in over a year (6.2-5.4). Taking the market reins was UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW, which ended a three-book slide (5.7-6.2). Remaining in between the two was HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM), which was flat (6.1-6.1). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR-F (THE JET) also held steady – at #4 – as it got back a little of what it lost last time (5.0-5.2). Two stations moved up and into a tie at #5 and both had the same security card. CBS RADIO Classic Rock KZOK jumped two places despite being down (4.7-4.5) while CBS RADIO Adult Hits KJAQ (JACK) was up from #9 with its best book in over a year (4.2-4.5). ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW dropped to a tie at #7 with its lowest share since FEBRUARY (5.0-4.2).

Though KQMV posted its lowest 25-54 share in over a year, the station was able to vault back into the #1 position. This moved KISW back to #2 as it lost a rather large chunk of share. KRWM was up to #3 with its best Frosty-free performance in over a year, which pushed KJAQ back to #4. KJR-F remained a solid #5 with a slight increase. Keep an eye on ENTERCOM Country KKWF (THE WOLF). The station was up seven slots to #9 with its highest mark in over a year.

There was no longer a tie atop the 18-34 leaderboard. KQMV managed to keep its #1 rank despite – once again – landing its lowest number in over a year. KISW dropped back to #2 with its smallest share since FEBRUARY and was tied with ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END), which moved up as it ended a two-book slide. KRWM took a step back to #4 as it gave back a small portion of last month’s massive increase. HUBBARD Rock KVRQ was up two slots to #5 with a small increase while ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT) stepped back to a tie at #6 with its sixth straight down survey.

The top-four stations 18-49 remained unchanged from last month. KQMV was still #1 but was down for the third book in a row while KISW was still in the trail position. Both stations had down books. KRWM held steady at #3 while KNDD did the same at #4. Both stations were off slightly. KKWF zoomed from #14 to #5 with its best book in over a year. The station has doubled its share in just two surveys. Joining it in that space was KJR-F, which regained all of last month’s decline. KJAQ dropped to #7 with its lowest mark since MARCH.

PHOENIX: This Is The Rock …

… we’ve been talking about for the last four books. HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX continued to lead the 6+ pack as it landed its largest share in over a year (6.8-7.9). iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (99.9KEZ) remained at #2 as it regained last month’s loss (6.4-6.8). CBS RADIO Classic Hits KOOL dropped back to #3 as it returned all of last month’s rather large increase (6.4-5.3). It was tied with HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD, which moved up a spot despite a down book (5.6-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX) slipped back to #5 (5.6.5.2) while HUBBARD Alternative KDKB (ALT) was up three places to #6 with its highest share in over a year (3.8-4.9).

Remember that rock we referenced in the above paragraph? Yeah, well it moved to #1 25-54 this time. KSLX again had its best book in over a year and just edged out its cluster bro KUPD, which fell back to #2 as it lost a sizeable portion of last month’s gain. KMXP also stepped back – to #3 – ending its solid four-book run. KESZ took a step forward to #4 with a small increase while two stations landed together at #5. KOOL fell from #3, ending a two-book charge while KDKB was up from a tie at #7 with its fourth straight up book. Two stations were not far behind at #7. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) remained in place but with its best outing in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) slipped a spot as it ended a solid two-book run.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new 18-34 champion. KDKB moved up from #3 with its seventh straight up book. The station had a share and a half lead over former #1 KUPD, which returned all of last month’s massive increase to slip to #2. KMXP was up to #3 as it rebounded from last month’s downturn while KZZP fell back to #4 as it also returned all of last month’s increase. KESZ stepped back to #5 and was just ahead of CBS RADIO Top 40/M KLV (LIVE 101.5), which had its best performance in over a year.

While KUPD may have lost some of last month’s big increase, the station remained #1 18-49 for the seventh straight survey. KDKB moved up three spots to #2 with – get this – its ninth consecutive up book. KMXP slid back to #3 while KESZ was bumped back to #4. Both stations had modest losses. KSLX was up three places to #5 as it bounced back from a down book. KOOL slipped back to #6 as it returned all of last survey’s large increase.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL: Down Is Up

There was a bit of movement in the 6+ rankings. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB had a down book (7.5-7.2) but managed to capture the demo anyway. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) was also up a slot – to #2 – just by minding its own business (6.8-6.8). HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) dropped back to #3 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase (7.6-6.6). CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS was back up to #4 as it recovered from last month’s downturn (5.6-6.3) and was slightly ahead of its younger, more pierced cluster bro CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X), which landed its largest share in over a year (5.7-6.0). CBS RADIO Adult Hits KZJK (JACK) took two steps forward to #6 (5.2-5.7) while UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN-ST.PAUL Christian Contemporary KTIS remained at #7 (5.5-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K102) fell four spots to #8 with its least productive outing since JANUARY (6.2-5.5).

The 25-54 demo felt eerily similar to the previous one. KDWB moved back up to #1 with a small loss while KSTP fell from the lead to #3 as it returned the lion’s share of last month’s increase. In between was KXXR which moved up to #2 with – again – its best book in over a year. KZJK remained at #4 with a solid gain and was joined by KQRS, which moved up from #6 with a gain that was, well, solider. iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (KFAN) dropped back to #6 with a small decrease and was partnered with KQQL, which took one step forward with a small increase.

There were plenty of fireworks 18-34 as KDWB continued its double-digit spree. However, this time it was matched by KXXR, which hit double digits for the fourth book in a row. The result was they were tied at #1. KFXN moved up a couple of slots to #3 but was over three shares off the lead. KZJK moved up three places to #4 with its highest score in over a year. KSTP dropped back to #5 after giving back all of last month’s increase. KEEY fell three places to #6 with its smallest number in over a year.

KDWB just barely hit double digits 18-49 again to remain #1. However, it was down and, when you factor in #2 KXXR’s best book in over a year, you end up with a half-share gap between the two. KSTP moved back to #3 as it lost a large portion of last month’s big increase. KZJK and KQQL both made two step jumps – to #4 and #5, respectively. JACK ended a two-book slide while KOOL was up for the fourth straight survey. KFXN dropped two slots to #6 while KEEY fell to #7 where it was tied with KQRS.

We certainly appreciate your attention in these matters. If ever you should have a question about this, contact JOEL DENVER. Seriously, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. are always ready to engage. Reach us via any of the platforms listed below. We look forward to doing this again in about 28 days.

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