Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive November PPM Analysis For New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas

Top-5 Markets

Just about the time you finish the last of the leftover turkey and dressing (or is it stuffing ... discuss ...) -- boom -- another NIELSEN survey hits you squarely in the face. This one is called NOVEMBER though it barely qualified for that distinction as it covered the time frame of 10/11 through 11/7. Still, it does serve as the final book untainted by the stench of holiday music. Buckle up for this first pass as The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in close cooperation with the algorithmic alchemists from XTRENDS, bring the latest in the ratings competitions.

NEW YORK: Feeling Lite Headed

Shock and awe as iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (LITE) posted its lowest 6+ share in over a year (7.1-6.7). Not to worry, as the station remained #1 and was anxiously anticipating the beginning of the holiday hostilities. Meanwhile, EMMIS Urban AC WBLS had its best book in over a year (6.0-6.5) as it ascended to #2 and just missed knocking off the leader. ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F slipped back to #3 as it continued to maintain an amazing level of consistency (6.2-6.3). This triumvirate of stations was well clear of the rest of the pack. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) moved up to #4 with its first up book since JUNE (4.5-4.9). This pushed SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA) back to #5 even though it was up for the second straight survey (4.7-4.8).

The top two 25-54 stations remained unchanged from last month but their results were wildly different. WLTW was flat at #1 while WHTZ cut LITE’s lead almost in half after landing its best book since JUNE. WBLS crept up to #3 for the first time since JANUARY with – again – its best performance in over a year. WCBS-F slipped back to #4 with a flat month. EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT) moved up to #5 with a slight increase while WSKQ was forced to step back to #6 with a slight decrease.

For the sixth straight survey, WHTZ was #1 18-34. The station widened its lead over #2 WQHT – which had its best outing since JUNE – to a share and a half. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER) moved up to #3 with a slight increase but was a full share behind its arch nemesis. WSKQ was very close behind as it moved up to #4 while regaining nearly all of last month’s big loss. WLTW dropped two places to #5 but had visions of sugar plums in its head. WCBS-F advanced three squares to #6 with its highest share in over a year.

WLTW was flat 18-49 for the second book in a row but managed to maintain its lead over WHTZ which took sole control of the #2 position with its best performance since JUNE. WQHT stepped back to #3 despite a slight increase. WBLS moved up to #4 with – once again – its best book in over a year. WSKQ slid to #5 with a slight decrease and was just ahead of a flat WCBS-F at #6.

LOS ANGELES: Meanwhile, On The Left KOST …

This is consistently a very compressed market. The top five 6+ stations are less than a share apart. (And, if you scan down the list, you will see compression at almost every level.) That means small changes in share can have a large impact on rank. Take iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST, which had its highest share since JULY (4.9-5.1) and that was enough to move the station to #1 – its first appearance in that position since APRIL. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (MY FM) was off slightly (4.8-4.7) yet moved up to #2. ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH) had its lowest share in exactly a year (5.0-4.5) as it fell from the lead to #3. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (KISS) remained at #4 as it ended a two book slide (4.2-4.4). Its former partner in that space – ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (THE WAVE) – slipped to #5 (4.2-4.3). The next closest station to joining this quintet was ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (JACK), which was flat (3.8-3.8) at #6.

The 25-54 demo was equally compressed as, again, the top five stations were separated by a mere share. KBIG was #1 for the eighth straight survey but landed its lowest share in over a year. KOST jumped four spaces to #2 with its first up book since JUNE. KRTH slipped back to #3 with – again – its lowest share in a year and was sharing the moment with KIIS, which remained in place with a slight increase. KCBS-F slipped to #5 with a slight decrease and was just ahead of UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE), which slipped to #6.

In the 18-34 arena, the top seven stations were within a share of the lead. KIIS was off slightly but maintained control of the demo for the fourth book in a row. SBS Spanish Contemporary KXOL (MEGA) shot back up three places to #2 with a slight increase. MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER) moved up four slots to #3 as it got back some of last month’s big loss. It was tied with KRTH, which slipped from #2 as it ended a strong three-book surge. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) dropped to #5 with a small loss while KBIG stepped back to #6 with its smallest share in over a year. LIBERMAN Regional Mexican KBUE (QUE BUENA) remained at #7 with a slight decrease.

KBIG and KIIS were neck and neck for the 18-49 lead. KBIG won for the eleventh straight survey but, again, had its lowest share in over a year. KIIS moved up a slot with a slight increase as the two stations were separated by the slightest of margins. KOST took two steps upward to #3 as it ended a three-book slide. KRTH dropped to #4 with its lowest mark since MAY and was tied with KCBS-F, which remained in place with a slight increase. KPWR dropped to #6 despite a slight increase.

CHICAGO: This Just In ...

The news was good for ENTERCOM News WBBM-A as the station ascended the 6+ throne thanks to its highest share in over a year (5.6-5.7). Meanwhile, UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA) continued its strong run. The station was up for the fourth straight survey (5.3-5.4) as it moved up to #2. For the first time since the chestnuts were turning black, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) was not #1. The station slipped to #3 with its lowest score in over a year (5.7-5.3). CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F held steady at #4 (5.0-4.8) while HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (THE MIX) remained firmly ensconced at #5 (4.6-4.5). HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE) moved up to #6 as it ended a two-book slide (4.1-4.3).

For the fourth book in a row, WOJO was in total control of the 25-54 arena. The station was off slightly but so was #2 WTMX so the stations remained about a share distant. WLS-F was also off slightly as it remained at #3 but was forced to share with WDRV, which advanced from #5 with a solid increase. WVAZ slipped to #5 with its second straight down book and was just ahead of a hard-charging CUMULUS Alternative WKQX, which jumped four spaces to #6 with its best showing since JUNE.

As recently as JULY, WOJO was sitting at #10 18-34. The station has added share in every survey since and this time hit its highest mark since APRIL to land at #1. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (KISS) saw its demo-winning streak end at three. The station slipped to #2 even though it was up slightly. WTMX remained in place at #3 with a slight decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI slid to #4 with a slightly larger slight decrease. WDRV moved up to #5 with its best book since JUNE. ENTERCOM Country WUSN (US 99) slipped to #6 with a slight decrease and was just ahead of #7 WKQX, which also had a slight decrease.

This marked the eighth straight 18-49 win for WOJO. The station was up slightly to post its biggest number in over a year. WTMX remained at #2 with its highest share since JANUARY but was still over a share off the lead. WKSC was up slightly to remain at #3 but was partnered with WDRV, which advanced from #6 as it ended a two-book slide. WGCI stepped back to #5 despite a slight increase. Bubbling outside the top five were a couple of stations worth noting. WKQX was up to #6 with a solid increase while ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC WBMX (JAMS) took five steps forward to #7 as it regained almost all of last month’s big loss. WVAZ fell four slots to #8 with its lowest total since MAY.

SAN FRANCISCO: More Of The Same

The top of the 6+ leaderboard does not change much. Case in point, this is the eleventh book in a row that the top three stations were exactly the same. By our math, that makes it every book in 2018. The returning champ was KQED INC. N/T KQED, which had its best book since MAY (6.7-7.4). ENTERCOM News KCBS-A repeated at #2 (5.6-5.3) while iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE) continued to be the leading music station at #3 (4.7-4.3). The real battleground starts at #4. This time it belonged to two stations that moved up the chart. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD) advanced from #8 with its best book in over a year (3.5-3.8). It was joined by iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR), which took two steps upward with its best share since FEBRUARY (3.6-3.8). BONNEVILLE AC KOIT slid to #6 (3.9-3.7) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KOSF leapt six spaces to #7 with its best outing in over a year (2.8-3.6). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL fell to a tie at #8 with its lowest score since JANUARY (3.9-3.5).

The top two 25-54 stations from the previous surveys both had outstanding books this time. However, one was outstandinger (no, not a real word) than the other. KQED moved back to #1 for the first time since JULY, which forced KYLD – which had its best book in over a year – back to #2. KOSF jumped seven spaces to #3 with easily its best showing in over a year. This forced ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE) to drop back to #4. KIOI had its best book since JANUARY to move up to #5. CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (THE BONE) was up to #6 with its fifth up book in a row. When this streak started, the station was at #19. KISQ slid to #7 with a slight decrease while KMEL fell to #8 with its lowest mark since JANUARY.

KMEL had a huge 18-34 increase last month, lost all of it this time but still managed to win the demo again. However, its lead over #2 KIOI was razor thin as STAR posted its best share in over a year. KYLD slid back to #3 with a small decrease. KOSF rocketed from a tie at #11 to #4 as it regained all of last month’s huge increase – plus a little extra. KQED moved up to #5 with its best book in over a year. SBS Regional Mexican KRZZ (LA RAZA) slipped to #6 despite a slight increase while BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (NOW) dropped to #7 with a flat performance.

Two stations were tied at #1 18-49 and neither were in that position last month. KYLD moved up from #2 with its best outing in over a year while KQED advanced from #4 with its highest share since JUNE. KMEL fell to #3 as its five-book winning streak came to an end as it landed its lowest share since JANUARY. KIOI inched up to #4 with its best showing since FEBRUARY while KOSF moved from a tie at #11 to #5 with another best-book-in-over-a-year performance. KLLC dropped four places to a tie at #7 with its smallest share in over a year.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: Another Big Fat Kiss

iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (KISS) continued to have its way with the rest of the market. The station was #1 6+ for the eleventh book in a row despite a down book (6.6-6.1). It seems only Santa’s sleigh can derail this runaway train. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR) was #2 for the fourth book in a row (5.1-5.3) while ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV (K-LUV) repeated at #3 (4.6-4.3). Three (count ‘em) three stations were tied at #4. CUMULUS Country KPLX (THE WOLF) was there last month (4.2-4-1) while its format cluster cousin CUMULUS Country KSCS moved up from a tie at #5 (4.1-4.1). Filling out the threesome was UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA), which advanced from a tie at #7 (4.0-4.1). ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (JACK) fell from a tie at #5 to a tie at #9 with its lowest mark since JULY (4.1-3.7).

Though KHKS was off slightly 25-54, the station continued to dominate the demo. KLNO moved up to #2 with a slight increase but was almost two shares off the pace. KZPS had its first up book since APRIL as it moved from a tie at #7 to #3. KJKK dropped to #4 with its lowest share since JUNE and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (THE EAGLE), which moved up a spot despite a slight decrease. CUMULUS Sports KTCK-A (THE TICKET) remained at #6 with a slight decrease and was partnered with iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR), which moved up from #9 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW) fell to #8 with its lowest share since APRIL. 

KHKS was off slightly 18-34 but won hands down. KLUV remained at #2 but had a down book. The net result was that the two were separated by over three shares. KSCS moved up to #3 while SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) advanced to #4 as both stations ended three-book slides. Three stations were locked in arms at #5. KEGL slid from #3 with its lowest share since MARCH while KDGE stepped back from #4 with its smallest share since JUNE. URBAN ONE Top 40/M KBFB (THE BEAT) moved up from #8 with a slight increase.

KHKS and KDMX remained #1 and #2, respectively 18-49. Both had an equal decrease and the gap between them remained at three shares. KLNO was off slightly to remain at #3 but was forced to share the moment with KSCS, which advanced from a tie at #8 as it regained all of last month’s loss. KEGL slipped to #5 with a slight decrease and was paired with KKDA, which moved up from a tie at #8 as it rebounded from a down book. Two stations previously known as #4 dropped down the chart. KLUV landed in a tie at #7 with a slight decrease while KJKK fell to #10 with its third down book in a row.

So ends round one of our ratings analysis. Before you go, we have the perfect holiday gift … a subscription to our blog. Why? Well, it’s free and it gives you more great stuff from The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. What’s not to like?

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