Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive September PPM Analysis For Detroit, Miami, Phoenix, Seattle, Phoenix, and Minneapolis

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If you’ve been humming Wake Me Up When September Ends, we have the cure for that ear worm.  It’s sort of a side gig for The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. and the algorithm alchemists from XTRENDS.  Just ride along with us as we parse the numbers from the SEPTEMBER survey.  This one was a journey that began on 8/16 and culminated on 9/12.  As previously noted, this time frame contained a long holiday weekend, the writing of “what I did on my summer vacation” essays, and the first volleys of the NFL season. 

DETROIT: The Passing Lane

This marked the sixth straight survey where the top two 6+ stations featured decades-old playlists.  This time, ENTERCOM Classic Hits WOMC put the pedal to the metal and zoomed to #1 despite a down book (7.6-7.5).  It passed BEASLEY Classic Rock WCSX, which downshifted into second with its lowest share since MARCH (7.9-7.4).  ENTERCOM News WWJ-A remained in third with its best outing since MARCH (6.3-6.5).  iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WMXD (MIX) moved up to #4 with its highest score in over a year (5.2-5.9) while the two former #4 stations were stuck in reverse.  iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC slipped to #5 (5.8-5.7) while ENTERCOM Country WYCD slid to #6 (5.8-5.5).  It was tied with cluster bro ENTERCOM Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET), which advanced from #9 as it ended a two-book slide (4.6-5.5).

The genre of preference for 25-54’s remained some version of rock and roll though they were a bit less keen than last time.  WCSX remained #1 for the third straight survey but with its lowest total since MARCH.  BEASLEY Active Rock WRIF repeated at #2 but with its lowest share since Woodward Avenue was re-named Santa Claus Lane.  These two stations were separated by a full share.  Two others moved up and into a close-behind tie at #3.  WXYT-F advanced two spaces with its best outing since JANUARY while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955) was up from #6 with its highest share since NOVEMBER.  WOMC slipped to #5 despite a slight increase while CUMULUS Hot AC WDVD dropped to #6 as it returned all of last month’s modest increase.

WKQI just exploded 18-34.  The station was #1 again but posted its largest share in over a year.  iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB remained #2 with its best book since JANUARY but the stations were more than a share apart.  BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WMGC (THE BOUNCE) moved up to #3 with its best outing in over a year while WGPR INC. Urban AC WGPR (HOT) took four steps forward to #4 with its highest share in over a year.  WYCD slipped to #5 with a slight decrease while two stations moved up to #6.  WMXD rose from a tie at #11 with its biggest book in over a year while WOMC inched up from #7 while accomplishing the same feat.  WRIF fell to #8 with its lowest score in over a year.

Speaking of annuals, for the first time in over a year, WKQI was #1 18-49.  The station advanced from #4 and pushed WRIF back to second place as it landed its lowest number since that annoying little kid with the drums was around.  WOMC took one step forward to #3 with its third straight up book while WMGC bounced up to #4 with a flat performance.  WCSX fell from second to fifth with its lowest mark since FEBRUARY and was tied with WJLB, which moved up from #7 with a slight increase.  WDVD fell four places to #7 as it returned all of last month’s rather large increase.

MIAMI-FT.LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD: Everybody Gets A Raise!

This is not something we often see but all five top stations remained essentially in place.  Wait, we see that all the time.  No, all five had up books.  They were led – for the fourth straight survey – by COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY), which also had its highest share in over a year (7.4-7.8).  UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) remained in second place (6.3-6.4) while COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT) was third again as it ended a three-book slide (6.1-6.2).  SBS Tropical WCMQ (Z92.3) took over total control of the #4 position as it ended a two-book slide (5.8-6.1).  ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE) slipped to #5 but with its second straight up book (5.8-6.0).  It was also a good month for iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WZTU (TU 94.9), which rose from #10 to #6 as it ended a three-book slide (3.9-4.6).

After taking the previous survey off, WHQT returned to the top of the 25-54 heap with its first up book since APRIL.  WFEZ returned at #2 with its best share in over a year and was this close to tying the market leader.  SBS Tropical WXDJ (EL ZOL) was off slightly, which ended its one-book moment at #1.  The station dropped to third.  WAMR slipped to #4 with a flat performance and was joined by WLYF, which moved up a slot as it ended a four-book slide.  WZTU was close behind at #6 with its best outing since MAY.

COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99 JAMZ) won the 18-34 race for the ninth straight survey.  It was off a bit and iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT) moved up to #2 with its highest share since APRIL.  Still, the gap was over two shares in diameter.  WFEZ ended a two-book slide in style as it rose from a tie at #8 to #3.  WZTU slid to #4 despite a slight increase while WXDJ advanced three spaces to #5 as it regained most of last month’s share loss.  WLYF slipped to #6 with a small loss while UNIVISION Tropical WRTO (MIX) fell to #7 as it returned all of last month’s modest increase.

The 18-49 demo was a game of musical chairs as all the top stations found themselves in new positions.  WZTU rocketed to #1 (from #6) with its best outing since MARCH.  WFEZ took a step forward to #2 with a small increase.  Last month’s leader – WEDR – dropped to #3 with its lowest total since FEBRUARY.  It was tied with WXDJ, which took a step backwards despite a slight increase.  WLYF moved up to #5 with a small increase and was joined by WCMQ, which advanced from #12 with its best performance in over a year.  The two stations previously known as #4 ended up elsewhere this time.  WAMR dropped to #7 as it ended a four-book surge.  WRTO fell to #10 with its lowest mark since MARCH.

SEATTLE-TACOMA: Wait, Wait …

This was a bonus match book for UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW as the station returned to #1 6+ for the first time since APRIL (5.9-6.2).  It had been tied at #2 with BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F, which remained in place but with its best book in over a year (5.9-6.1).   HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) saw its three-book winning streak come to an end as the station slipped to #3 with its lowest score since APRIL (6.4-5.8).  iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KJR-F (THE JET) was idling in place at #4 (5.5-5.2).  The two stations previously associated with the #5 position remained true to their vows this time.  Both ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW and iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZOK went 5.3-5.1.  SINCLAIR Hot AC KPLZ (STAR) had its best month in over a year as it moved up to #7 (4.0-4.7).

The top three 25-54 stations remained the same as before.  KISW was off slightly but won the demo for the ninth straight time.  KQMV remained flat and stable at #2 while KUOW took sole possession of third place though it ended a two-book surge.  KPLZ made the leap o’ the month as it rose from a tie at #10 to #4 with – yup – its best book in over a year.  KJR-F was off slightly to remain at #5 but was forced to share with ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END), which moved up from #7 with a slight increase.  KZOK fell from a tie at #3 to #7 with its lowest mark since MAY.

You may have noticed that KPLZ had a pretty good month.  It became painfully obvious in the 18-34 demo as the station jumped from #5 to #1.  It has almost doubled its share over the last two surveys.  KISW had its lowest share in over a year as it slipped to #2 and trailed the new leader by almost two shares.  KQMV got back most of what it lost last month to remain at #3.  KNDD also regained most of what it lost last month, though it remained at #4.  HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM) also bounced back nicely from a down book to rise from a tie at #8 to #5.  ENTERCOM Country KKWF (THE WOLF) was close behind at #6 as it was up for the third book in a row.  KZOK took a big hit as it dropped from #2 to a tie at #7.

KISW was the 18-49 winner for the sixth straight survey even though it was off slightly.  KQMV repeated at #2 with a slight increase and was only a share behind the leader.  KNDD was off slightly but stayed at #3.  However, it was forced to share the moment with KPLZ, which arrived from a tie at #11.  KJR-F was flat and stable at #5.  KUOW dropped two places to #6 with a slight decrease.

PHOENIX: Breaking News!

Month after month we struggle for clever headlines for this market because the same station is always #1 6+ (yea, yea hashtag first-world problems).  However, for the first time since NOVEMBER, iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (KEZ 99.9) was not #1.  It ended up in second place with its lowest share in exactly a year (7.3-6.1).  Moving up to the top spot was HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX, which was just minding its own business (6.3-6.3).  iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) remained at #3 (6.2-5.9) but was joined by iHEARTMEDIA Country KNIX, which moved up a spot with its best book in over a year (5.7-5.9).  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) had its first up book since MAY (5.0-5.5) to advance to #5.  It was just ahead of #6 HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD, which was up for the third straight survey (5.1-5.3).  iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX) fell to #7 (5.2-5.0).

KUPD continued to lead the 25-54 demo by a comfortable margin.  Though it was off slightly, the station won for the third book in a row.  KYOT was also off slightly but repeated at #2.  The two stations previously tied at #3 remained together and in the same place.  KSLX ended a two-book slide while KZZP stopped the skid at three books.  KNIX repeated as the #5 station with a flat performance.  KMXP was not far behind at #6 though it was off slightly.

There was no change in the top two 18-34 stations though they did draw closer to each other.  KUPD was #1 for the fourth book in a row but suffered a modest loss.  #2 KZZP had a small gain and the net result was that the stations were separated by less than a share.  HUBBARD Alternative KDKB (93.3 ALT AZ) moved up to #3 with its best book since JANUARY.  KYOT climbed to #4 with its best book in over a year.  Since MAY the station has more than doubled its share in this demo.  ENTERCOM Top 40/M KALV (LIVE 101.5) slipped to #5 with a slight decrease.  The two country stations were tied at #6.  ENTERCOM Country KMLE remained in place but took a modest hit while KNIX moved up from #9 with a small gain.

For the ninth book in a row, KUPD was #18-49 though the station was off slightly this time.  KYOT was flat but moved up to #2 while KZZP was up to #3 with its best outing since MAY.  KMXP fell to #4 as it ended a strong three-book surge.  KALV had its highest share in over a year to advance four squares to #5.  KESZ fell to #8 with its lowest share in over a year.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL: All The KOOL Kids

Aren’t you glad we didn’t reference the Kars 4 Kids ads?  Try getting rid of that ear worm.  That’s not cool.  However, iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) was as it moved out of a second-place tie to assume control of the 6+ demo.  The station posted its best Frosty-free share in over a year (7.1-8.0).  HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) remained in second place as it ended a four-book slide (7.1-7.4).   iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB returned all of last month’s increase – plus a little extra – as it slipped from #1 to #3 (7.8-7.2).  CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) was flat (5.6-5.6) but moved up two slots to #4.  Its older cluster brother CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS remained at #5 but with its lowest share in over a year (5.8-5.3).  iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K102) slipped to #6 with its lowest mark since FEBRUARY (6.0-5.2) and was paired with ENTERCOM Adult Hits KZJK (JACK), which moved up a slot (5.0-5.2).

Last month KSTP and KXXR were tied atop the 25-54 leaderboard.  Both stations had up books but KSTP’s was more upper.  KXXR slipped to #2 despite a slight increase.  KDWB remained a solid #3 with a slight decrease.  It was about a share behind the leaders but led #4 KQQL – which was off slightly – by a share.  KZJK was also off slightly as it remained at #5 but went into overtime with iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (K-FAN), which moved up from #8 with its best offensive output since APRIL.

For the second straight survey, both KXXR and KDWB surpassed the double-digit barrier 18-34.  The difference from last time was that 93X was off slightly while KDWB had its best share since DECEMBER.  As a result, the stations were tied at #1.  KSTP had its best outing in over a year to remain #3 but was over two shares behind the co-leaders.  KEEY repeated at #4 but was off from last month’s lofty number.  KQRS was off slightly but held steady at #5 though it was joined in that space by KFXN, which took a step forward as it regained all the share it lost last month.

Last month KXXR and KDWB were tied at #1 18-49.  History did not repeat.  KXXR got back some of last month’s loss to remain in the lead while KDWB slipped to second place with a small decrease.  KSTP returned at #3 as it ended a four-book slide.  KFXN jumped four slots to #4 as it ended a five-book slide.  KQQL moved up to #5 with a slight increase while KQRS slipped to #6 with a modest loss.  KEEY dropped from #4 to #8 with its lowest score since APRIL.

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