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

Exclusive Analysis

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Another month, another NIELSEN book. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with our partners in crime at XTRENDS – share your enthusiasm. We have spent some quality time with the AUGUST data, which covered 7/19 through 8/15, and here is what we discovered:

Detroit: Classic Connection

For the fourth book in a row, library-based formats ruled the 6+ roost.  BEASLEY Classic Rock WCSX was #1 again but returned most of last month’s big gain (8.3-7.9).  ENTERCOM Classic Hits WOMC narrowed the gap from its #2 position with its best outing since APRIL (7.2-7.6).  ENTERCOM News WWJ-A moved up into a strong #3 position with its best performance since MARCH (5.5-6.3).  Meanwhile, just down the hall, ENTERCOM Country WYCD remained tied at #4 with its best book in over a year (5.5-5.8).  It had a new partner this time as iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC moved up from #8 with its highest share since APRIL (5.0-5.8).  iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WMXD (MIX) slipped to #6 as it ended a two-book surge (5.5-5.2) and was tied with CUMULUS Hot AC WDVD, which inched up from #7 (5.1-5.2).  BEASLEY Active Rock WRIF dropped from #3 to #8 with its lowest score since APRIL (5.6-5.1).

The 25-54 arena continued to have a rather hard edge.  WCSX was #1 for the fourth time in the last five surveys even though it was off slightly.  WRIF was also off a bit as it held on to the #2 position.  WOMC has been on quite the tear.  It has moved from #14 to #6 to its most recent landing spot at #3 thanks to its best book in over a year.  WDVD was up three slots to #4 as it got back most of last month’s modest loss.  ENTERCOM Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET) slipped to #5 as it was off slightly.  Meanwhile, iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955) had its best outing since MARCH to advance three places to #6.  WMXD and BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WMGC (THE BOUNCE) fell out of the top five and into a tie at #7 with WYCD.

There was quite the commotion in the 18-34 arena.  WKQI bolted from the pack as it moved from a tie at #3 to #1 with its best showing in over a year.  iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB solidified its hold on the #2 position with its highest share since JANUARY.  WYCD had the #3 slot all to its lonesome just by being flat.  WRIF saw its three-book winning streak come to a sudden halt as it slid to #4 with its lowest mark in over a year.  It was tied with WMGC, which advanced from #6 with a small increase.  WDVD had the leap o’ the month as it climbed from #12 to #6 with its highest score since OCTOBER.  WCSX fell six places to #9 with its lowest total since JANUARY.

Though both WRIF and WCSX had down 18-49 books, the stations were #1 and #2, respectively, for the fourth book in a row.  WDVD was knocking at the door as it moved up to #3 with its best performance in over a year.  WOMC moved up a slot to #4 as it, too, posted its largest share in over a year.  It was joined by WKQI, which took two steps upward thanks to its finest showing since MARCH.  WMGC fell to #6 as it ended a three-book surge.

Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-Hollywood: Ties Forged And Broken

The top five stations 6+ were the same as last month but there were a few changes in the rank.  To begin with, COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY) and UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) were no longer tied at #1. That honor went to EASY, which got back most of last month’s loss for its third straight win (6.9-7.4). AMOR slipped to #2 as it ended a three-book surge (6.9-6.3).  COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT) was close to making it a three-way tie last time but ended up with its lowest share in over a year to hold steady at #3 (6.8-6.1).  SBS Tropical WCMQ (Z92.3) remained at #4 (5.9-5.8) but was forced to share the moment with ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE), which took a small step forward as it ended a three-book slide (5.5-5.8).

There was a new sheriff in 25-54 town as SBS Tropical WXDJ (EL ZOL) took control of the demo despite a slight decrease.  WFEZ moved up to #2 as it rebounded from a down book.  WHQT saw its six-book demo-winning streak come to an end as it dropped to #3 with – again – its lowest score in over a year.   It was tied with WAMR, which advanced from a tie at #5 with its fourth up book in a row.  The top four stations were separated by less than half a share.  WLYF slipped to #5 as it was down for the fourth straight survey.  COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99JAMZ) inched up to #6 despite a slight decrease.  iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WZTU (TU 94.9) slid to #7 with its lowest share since NOVEMBER and was tied with WCMQ.

WEDR continued to have its way with the 18-34 demo, winning for the eighth straight survey.  Despite being off slightly, it easily outdistanced WZTU – which advanced from #8 to #2 – by over three shares.  WLYF remained at #3 with a small decrease and was paired with iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT), which moved up despite being off slightly.  UNIVISION Tropical WRTO (MIX) moved ahead four squares to #5 as it got back most of what it lost last time.  WFEZ dropped four places to a tie at #8 with its second big loss in a row while COX RADIO Top 40/M WFLC (HITS) fell from #2 to #11 with its lowest score in over a year.

The top three 18-49 stations were within about a half share of each other.  WEDR won for the second book in a row but was off slightly.  WXDJ repeated at #2 with a flat performance while WFEZ moved up to #3 with a slight increase.  WAMR took a step forward to #4 and was joined by WRTO, which moved up from a tie at #6.  Both stations had their best books in over a year.  WZTU dropped from a tie at #2 to #6 thanks to its third straight down book.

Seattle-Tacoma: Movin’ And Groovin’

The 6+ demo had a lot of moving parts (see what we did there …).  HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) was #1 for the third straight survey but lost a chunk of share (7.8-6.4).  This allowed two #2 stations to creep closer to the lead.  UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW took a small step forward with its best showing since MAY (5.4-5.9) while BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F moved up from #6 with its best performance since NOVEMBER (5.1-5.9).  iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR-F (THE JET) slipped to #4 as it returned all of last month’s rather large increase (6.4-5.5).  ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW slipped to #5 with its lowest share since those bells just would not stop ringing (5.4-5.3).  It was tied with 

iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZOK, which remained in place (5.2-5.3).
Though KISW posted its lowest 25-54 share since Santa was carousing the neighborhood, the station did rack up its eighth win in a row.  It was off slightly and KQMV was up slightly to move up to #2.  The gap was just under a share.  Two stations moved up and into an arrangement at #3.  KZOK took two steps forward as it bounced back from a down book while KUOW advanced from #6 with its best outing in over a year.  KJR-F descended from #2 to #5 as it ended a very strong two-book surge.  KIRO-F moved up to a very close #6 as it regained most of last month’s loss.  ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END) slipped three places to #7 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase.

Make it five 18-34 wins in a row for KISW.  The station did give back a good portion of last month’s large increase but still led #2 KZOK – which was up from a tie at #5 with a huge increase – by over a share.  KQMV held steady at #3 but with its lowest score in over a year.  KNDD dropped to #4 as it returned more than half of last month’s massive increase.  SINCLAIR Hot AC KPLZ (STAR) advanced four spaces to #5 as it rebounded from a down book.  HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM) slipped to a tie at #8 with its lowest total since MARCH.  KJR-F experienced a sudden loss of cabin pressure as it dropped from #4 to #11, thus ending a robust two-book surge.

Another month, another big 18-49 win for KISW.  The station was off slightly but led a flat #2 KQMV by a share and a half.  KNDD slipped to #3 as it returned most of last month’s healthy increase.  KUOW was up two slots to #4 with its best performance in over a year.  KJR-F slipped to #5 as it returned all of last month’s gain – plus a little extra.  KZOK held firm at #6 with a small increase while ENTERCOM Country KKWF (THE WOLF) dropped to #7 where it was tied with KIRO-F.

Phoenix: The Easy Way

The 6+ game is all about two clusters as the top six positions were occupied by either an iHEARTMEDIA or HUBBARD station.  As is usually the case, iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (KEZ 99.9) was #1 for the tenth book in a row (7.5-7.3).  HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX bounced back from a down book to return to its more customary #2 position (5.5-6.3).  iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) slipped back to #3 despite landing its largest share in over a year – for the second book in a row (5.9-6.2).  iHEARTMEDIA Country KNIX and iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX) were tied at #3 last time.  KNIX slipped to #4 (5.6-5.7) while MIX ended up at #5 (5.6-5.2).  It was just ahead of HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD, which inched up to #6 with its best outing since OCTOBER (4.9-5.1).

KUPD was flat and stable as the #1 25-54 station but saw its lead shrink to under a share as KYOT moved up two places to #2 with its third straight up book.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) slipped to #3 with its third down book in a row and was partnered with KSLX, which remained in place with a slight decrease.  KNIX moved up to #5 with its best outing in over a year.  KMXP slipped to #6 with a modest loss and was joined by KESZ, which got back about half of what it lost last time.

Back in JUNE, KUPD and KZZP were tied atop the 18-34 leaderboard.  Since then KUPD has continued on cruise control while KISS has been shedding share.  They remained #1 and #2, respectively, but were separated by more than a share and a half.  ENTERCOM Top 40/M KALV (LIVE 101.5) inched up to #3 with its highest score since DECEMBER.  This forced HUBBARD Alternative KDKB to step back to #4 thanks to a slight decrease.  KYOT remained at #5 with a flat performance.  ENTERCOM Country KMLE inched up to #6 with its best book in over a year and was tied with KMXP, which moved up from #10.

The 18-49 competition heated up a bit.  KUPD was #1 for the eighth book in a row and with its best share since FEBRUARY.  KMXP moved up to #2 with its best book in over a year and the two stations were less than a share apart.  KYOT slipped to #3 but was a small step out of second after landing its largest share in over a year.  KZZP stepped back to #4 with its lowest score since JANUARY while KESZ remained in place at #5 with a slight increase.  KNIX was close behind at #6 with its best performance in over a year.

Minneapolis-St.Paul: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

For the last seven surveys, HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) was the #1 6+ station.  That ended this time as it posted its lowest share since we were all playing reindeer games on the radio (7.5-7.1).   iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB ascended the throne thanks to its best book in over a year (7.3-7.8).  iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) moved up into a second place tie with KSTP despite being down for the third book in a row (7.2-7.1).  iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K102) had its largest share in over a year (5.6-6.0) to move up to #4 while CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS stepped up to #5 (5.5-5.8).  The two previous stations affectionately referred to as #4 were split apart and sent packing.  CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) slid to #6 with its lowest share since Jack Frost was invading your personal space (5.9-5.6) while ENTERCOM 
Adult Hits KZJK (JACK) ended up at #7 as it ended a four-book surge (5.9-5.0).

KSTP had its lowest 25-54 share since crooners were on the radio while KXXR only had to go back to May for a lower share.  The net on this was that the two stations were tied at #1.  KDWB moved up to #3 with its best showing in exactly a year and was a half share off the pace.  KQQL was up to a somewhat distant #4 with a slight decrease while KZJK slid to #5 as it returned all of last month’s massive increase.  KEEY was close behind as it moved up to #6 with its best performance in over a year.

KXXR had its lowest 18-34 share since everyone was holly and jolly while KDWB had its best outing since MAY.  Both stations were in double figures and finished #1 and #2, respectively, for the seventh straight survey.  KSTP remained a distant #3 with its best book in over a year.  Two stations previously tied at #6 moved up the chart.  KEEY landed at #4 with – again – its highest share in over a year while KQRS made it to #5 by accomplishing the same feat.  iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (K-FAN) slid to #6 with a slight decrease while KZJK dropped to a tie at #7 with its lowest mark since JANUARY.

KXXR and KDWB were tied at #1 18-49.  93X saw its double-digit streak of books end at five while KDWB again had its best showing since MAY.  KSTP remained in third place but was down for the fourth straight survey.  KEEY took four giant steps forward to #4 with – yup – its best performance in over a year.  KQRS inched up to #5 by doing the exact same thing.  KQQL slipped to #6 just by being flat while KZJK fell to #7 as it returned most of last month’s big increase.

Thank you for the time … see you in a month!

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