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

Markets #6-10

The MARCH survey fit neatly into its namesake month as it covered 3/1 through 3/28. We’re not sure if it came in like a lamb and out like a lion or other animal comparisons. We leave that to your imagination or the classic JOHN BELUSHI bit. Either way, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., striding two-by-two with the algorithm artistes from XTRENDS, have prepared another scintillating journey through the morass of the radio ratings world. Buckle up!

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The MAJIC Is Back

After spending the last four surveys at #2 6+, URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) finally ascended to the top spot. And, it only took a down book to do it (7.0-6.8). This ended the demo-winning streak at four for iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY) as it slipped to #2 with its lowest mark since NOVEMBER (7.3-6.2). COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) had its best book in over a year (4.9-6.0) to advance three squares to #3. This pushed iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) back to #4 (5.5-5.5). Two stations moved up the chart to vie for the coveted title of #5. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA) moved up three places with its highest score since NOVEMBER (4.4-5.0). ENTERCOM Adult Hits KKHH (THE SPOT) regained almost all the share it surrendered last survey (4.2-5.0). CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE fell to a tie at #7 as it lost all of last month’s modest increase (5.1-4.8). KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ fell four places to #9 (5.0-4.3).

KTBZ continued to kill it 25-54 as the station was #1 for the second straight survey and with its highest share in over a year. KLTN moved up to #2 with its best book since NOVEMBER but remained over a share off the lead. KODA slipped to #3 as it lost a chunk of share while KKBQ jumped three places to #4 as it regained almost all of last month’s big loss. KMJQ slid to #5 with its lowest score in over a year while KKHH moved up to #6 as it bounced back from a down book. Two stations heading in opposite directions met up at #7. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) dropped from #5 while COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) moved up from a tie at #10 with its best outing since DECEMBER.

What’s the buzz 18-34? Well, we’ll tell you what’s a-happening. KTBZ moved up to #1 with its fifth consecutive up book. KQBT was up two slots to #2 with a solid increase. KKBQ made the leap o’ the month as it advanced from a tie at #8 to #3 with – once again – its best book in over a year. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) ended a seven-book run at #1 and fell to #4 with its lowest total since MAY. KODA slipped to #5 with its third straight down survey. ENTERCOM Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA) slipped to #6 as it ended a two-book surge.

THE BUZZ won the 18-49 demo for the second straight survey and landed its largest share in over a year. As a result, what had been a slim margin for the station now became more than a share lead over the rest of the field. KODA remained #2 with a down book and was joined in that space by KLTN, which advanced from #5 as it rebounded from a down book. KKBQ again posted its largest share in over a year to leap five places to #4. KQBT dropped back to #5 with a small decrease while KBXX fell to #6 with its third down book in a row. 

WASHINGTON, DC: The Top Of The Pops

More precisely, it’s the top of the heap. For the third straight survey, HUBBARD News WTOP was #1 6+ and surpassed the double-digit share barrier (10.2-10.4) for the third time in a row as well. Meanwhile, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU fell farther off the pace while maintaining its #2 ranking (9.2-8.1). The next two positions remained unchanged from last month. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was #3 (6.2-6.1) while its prime competitor URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) held on at #4 (5.6-5.6). As a matter of fact, this top four was the same for the third straight survey. There was a new entrant in the top five as CUMULUS Talk WMAL posted its largest share in over a year to move up two slots (4.6-5.0). The two previous occupants of that position were separated and sent packing. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG slipped to #6 (4.7-4.6) while iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH dropped to #7 (4.7-4.5). 

Once again the news biz was very good in the 25-54 arena. However, there was a reversal of roles as WTOP moved up to #1 for the first time in over a year, which pushed WAMU down to second place. WMMJ was flat as can be but was still able to take command of the #3 position. URBAN ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) moved up to #4 with its best book in over a year. ENTERCOM Top 40/R WPGC slipped to #5 as it gave back a portion of last month’s big increase. It was tied with WASH, which inched up thanks to its best Frosty-free performance in over a year. 

After hitting the double-digit mark 18-34 last month, iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) came back to earth a bit. The station was still #1 but saw its lead shrink to under a share as WKYS moved up to #2 with a small increase. WPGC slid back to #3 as it ended a very strong five-book surge. WASH remained in place at #4 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC-101) was up slightly and motionless at #5. The two previous partners at #6 both had solid books. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ posted its best number since NOVEMBER to remain in place while ENTERCOM Hot AC WIAD (FRESH) had its best book since JUNE as it slipped to #7.

WAMU managed to maintain its grip on the 18-49 demo – barely. The station was #1 for the third straight survey but lost a chunk of share. WKYS was up slightly at #2 and trailed the leader by the smallest of possible margins. WPGC stepped back to #3 as it gave back all of last month’s big increase while WTOP moved up to #4 as it regained about half of last month’s loss. WIHT slid to #5 as it ended a two-book surge. WASH remained in sixth place but with its best non-BURL IVES-supported share since JUNE.

PHILADELPHIA: More Is, Well, More

More or less. JERRY LEE RADIO AC WBEB (MORE FM) was flat (8.4-8.4) but that was good enough to elevate the station to the top spot 6+. It held a comfortable lead over ENTERCOM Classic Hits WOGL, which moved up to #2 with its best mark since AUGUST (6.3-6.9). BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK remained at #3 but gave back a good portion of last month’s big increase (7.3-6.7). ENTERCOM News KYW-A had its best book in over a year (5.1-6.0) to move up three slots to #4. As DANDY DON used to sing, the Super Bowl party’s over for ENTERCOM Sports WIP-F. The station fell from #1 to #5 (8.7-5.8). Still, the hangover was pretty good for the station considering that a year ago it was tied at #8 with a 4.1 share. Also coming in at #5 was iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS, which moved up a spot as it rebounded a bit from last month’s big loss (5.5-5.8). BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR slid to #7 (5.6-5.5).

Last month the rock duo of WMMR and WMGK were tied at #1 25-54. They remained the top two stations this survey but there was some distance between them. WMMR continued to lead the way after posting its best share in over a year while WMGK slid back to #2 as it ended a two-book surge. WOGL was up two places to #3 with its highest mark in over a year. WBEB was up slightly but did not budge from the #4 position. WIP-F dropped to #5 (it was #13 a year ago) and was tied with WDAS, which moved up a spot despite being down slightly.

For the fifth consecutive survey, WBEB surpassed the double-digit share barrier 18-34. This was also the twelfth straight demo win for the station. WMMR remained a distant #2 with a small loss. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) moved up to #3 with a slight increase. This helped push iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) back to #4 as it gave back about half of last month’s huge increase. ENTERCOM Country WXTU was up to #5 with its best book since JUNE. This forced iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) to step back to #6 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase.

WMMR continued to rule the 18-49 roost. The station captured the flag for the third book in a row and landed its largest share in over a year. WBEB remained at #2 with a slight increase but was a full share off the pace. WUSL advanced four squares to #3 as it got back most of what it lost last month. Two stations moved up to tie at #4. WDAS took two steps forward despite a small decrease while WOGL jumped up from #9 with easily its largest share in over a year. The two previous occupants of that position dissolved their partnership and moved down the chart. WRFF alit at #6 as it lost some of last month’s massive increase. WMGK landed at #7 as it, too, lost some of what it gained last month. WIP-F, by the way, ended up at #9, which is better than last year’s #13 finish.

ATLANTA: The Race For Second Place

That COX RADIO Talk WSB-A continued to dominate the 6+ arena came as no surprise. However, there may be some cracks in that imposing edifice as the station posted its lowest share in over a year (9.4-8.4). ENTERCOM Urban AC WVEE (V-103) moved up to #2 (5.8-6.3) and trailed the leader by “only” a little over two shares. COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) slipped back to #3 (6.1-6.0). The two stations previously knotted at #5 narrowly missed continuing their arrangement. COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) moved up to #4 with its highest score in over a year (4.8-5.5). URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) also had its best book in over a year (4.8-5.4) but had to be content with remaining at #5. SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (THE FISH) slipped to #6 with its lowest mark since SEPTEMBER (5.5-5.3).

The HOLIDAY book marked the end of a very long run at #1 25-54 for WVEE. The station has gone back and forth with that position since and this time it regained the lead with a solid increase. WSRV fell back to #2 – and a share behind – as it returned most of last month’s impressive gain. WSB-F was up to #3 with its fourth up book in a row. WAMJ took a step forward to #4 with its highest share in over a year. WSB-A dropped a couple of places to #5 with its second straight down book. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) was not far behind at #6 after getting a small increase.

For the third book in a row, URBAN ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) was #1 18-34. However, it was not alone as WVEE moved up from a tie at #4 to forge a tie for the lead as it ended a three-book slump. WWWQ remained a solid but distant #3 with a flat performance. WSRV claimed the #4 position to itself with its best outing since JUNE. ENTERCOM Hot AC WSTR (STAR) moved up to #5 with its highest score since NOVEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Country WUBL (THE BULL) was not far behind at #6 as it posted its largest share in over a year. WSB-F slipped to #7 with a slight decrease while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) dropped from #2 to #8 with its lowest total in over a year.

WVEE was #1 18-49 for the third straight survey and posted its largest share in exactly a year. WSB-F remained #2 with a slight increase but was almost two shares behind the leader. WWWQ advanced three squares to #3 with a slight increase while WHTA held steady at #4 with a slight decrease. WSRV slid to #5 as it returned most of last month’s increase. WWPW fell to a tie at #9 with its smallest share in exactly a year. 

BOSTON: The Kiss Sweep

It has been a while but iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) has returned to its dominant form. The station swept the four demos we look at every survey, starting with 6+. It was #1 for the third book in a row with its best share since NOVEMBER (7.2-7.6). And, it extended its lead over its next closest pursuer. This time it was iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A, which moved up from #5 with its best showing in over a year (5.4-6.4). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR slipped to #3 (6.5-6.1) while ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC) dropped to #4 despite its second up book in a row (5.6-6.0). BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR had its highest share in over a year (4.9-5.9) to move up three places to #5. BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) had its least productive outing since SEPTEMBER (5.6-5.2) to slide three places to #6.

The top four 25-54 stations were exactly the same as last month. WXKS repeated at #1 with its best share since SEPTEMBER. WBZ-F was off slightly at #2 and was over two shares off the lead. WMJX reprised its #3 role with its best share untainted by lords a’ leaping in over a year. BEASLEY Country WKLB was the one left standing at #4 thanks to its best mark in over a year. WBUR advanced four squares to #5 with its highest share since NOVEMBER. WROR remained a fixture at #6 for the third straight survey. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX ended a strong two-book surge as it fell three places to #7.

Though it was off slightly, WXKS hit double digits 18-34 for the second book in a row to remain #1. WBZ-F moved up a couple of places to #2 with a solid increase and shaved the leader’s margin to under three shares. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) remained at #3 though it ended a strong two-book surge. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) fell back to #4 as it took a bit of a hit. WKLB returned at #5 despite a down book and was just ahead of WMJX, which moved up to #6 as it got back a good portion of last month’s huge loss.

The first two positions 18-49 were an encore performance from last month. WXKS was off slightly but continued to be a dominant #1. WBZ-F was up slightly to solidify its hold on the #2 position. WMJX was the one left standing at #3 with a small increase while its former partner – WKLB – dropped back to #4 with a flat performance. WBQT was up slightly in its return as the #5 station. WBUR had a huge increase – its best book in over a year – which propelled the station five places forward to #6.

The march through MARCH is being put on pause as The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. prepare their next line of questioning. We shall return shortly to interrogate DETROIT, MIAMI, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL. Get your popcorn ready.

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