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

Top-5 Markets

While you’ve been enjoying your egg nog and figgy pudding, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the elves from XTRENDS – have been toiling deep into the night to bring you the latest in ratings info and analysis. To be sure, it is a labor of love which, after all, is the spirit of the season. The DECEMBER survey ran from 11/8 through 12/5 and featured the first volleys in the CHRISTMAS skirmishes. How did Santa do out of the box? Read on …

NEW YORK: Dreaming Of A LITE Christmas

n the eighth day of the survey, iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (LITE) gave to me … nonstop holiday tunes. All that did was fatten the station’s 6+ share (6.7-9.0) as it cruised to another win. In case you’re keeping track (and we are), LITE had an 8.8 for the same survey last year. EMMIS Urban AC WBLS held on at #2 but with its first down book since JULY (6.5-5.7). ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F returned at #3 but with its lowest total since JANUARY (6.3-5.4). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) was again the #4 station (4.9-4.7). Things were interesting at the #5 position as two stations moved in while one exited. ENTERCOM News WINS-A was up from #6 (4.4-4.3) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) advanced from #7 (4.1-4.3). This pushed SBS Tropical WSKQ (LA MEGA) down to #7 as it posted its lowest share in over a year (4.8-4.2).

The 25-54 demo was relatively drama free as the top three stations remained the same from last survey. As expected, WLTW gorged itself on gingerbread cookies though it was close to a half share off last year’s pace. WHTZ held steady at #2 though it returned a good portion of last month’s healthy gain. WBLS repeated at #3 though it ended a strong four-book surge. EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT) moved up to #4 with a slight increase, which pushed WCBS-F down to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER) was a small step behind as it moved up to #6 with a solid increase.

Santa was a boon for the 18-34 ratings for WLTW as it outpaced last year by over a half share. Alas, that was not enough to overtake WHTZ, which remained in the top spot with its best book in over a year. WWPR held firm at #3 with its best outing since JULY while WQHT slipped two places to #4 with its least productive outing since FEBRUARY. WSKQ dropped back to #5 as it returned all of last month’s big increase.

WLTW beat last year’s 18-49 number by almost a half share to remain the undisputed demo leader. WHTZ was off slightly but came in second for the third book in a row. WQHT was flat but made an encore appearance at #3 while its arch nemesis WWPR rose three places to #4 with its best score since JUNE. WBLS stepped back to #5 as it ended a strong four-book surge. WSKQ fell to #6 with its lowest total in over a year.

LOS ANGELES: KOST Of Christmas Present

On the second day of the survey, iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST pulled out its two turtle doves and watched its 6+ share explode (5.1-8.9). It also eclipsed last year’s 8.8 share. That said, the rest of the top five emerged from this salvo relatively unscathed. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (MY FM) was #2 as it ended a five-book slide (4.7-4.9). ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH) repeated at #3 with a flat-earth (sorry) performance (4.5-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (KISS) was #4 again but with its lowest share in over a year (4.4-4.0). And, ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (THE WAVE) remained at #5 as it, too, posted its lowest score in over a year (4.3-3.9).

After eight straight #1 25-54 books, KBIG was flat and dipped to #2. To the surprise of no one, KOST rose to #1 powered by eight (or nine) reindeer and again just beat last year’s share. KRTH ended up alone at #3 with its second straight down book. Its former partner in that space – KIIS – slipped to #5 with, once again, its lowest share in over a year. In between those two stations was SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA 96.3), which moved up from #7 with only a slight increase. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (JACK) slipped to #6 with its smallest share of the year and was sharing the moment with UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE), which remained in place with a modest decrease.

There was a rather robust game of musical chairs amongst the 18-34 players. First, KOST advanced from #11 to #1 though it was over a half-share off last year’s pace. MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER) moved up to #2 with its best book in over a year but trailed Santa’s minions by over two shares. KBIG moved up three slots to #3 as it ended a two-book slide and was tied with KXOL, which was flat. KRTH dropped to #5 as it, too, was flat while iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) slipped to #6 with a slight decrease. After being in first place for the last four books, KIIS fell to #7 with – yup – its lowest share in over a year.

KOST came within a half share of doubling its 18-49 total from last month. It also edged out last year’s number and moved up from #3 to #1. Though KBIG was up slightly, its demo-winning streak ended at eleven. KPWR was up three slots to #3 with its highest share in over a year while KIIS dropped to #4. KRTH slipped to #5 with a slight decrease and was just ahead of KXOL, which moved up to #6 with a flat performance. KCBS-F fell three places to a tie at #7 with its lowest share since the last time that candy-apple-red sleigh was seen on the 101.

CHICAGO: Not-So-Silent LITE

iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (LITE) hit the ground running as it flipped the Santa switch on the very first day of the survey. As a result, the station jumped from a tie at #11 to #1 and more than doubled its 6+ share (3.2-8.3). It was not quite up to last year’s 8.5, however. ENTERCOM News WBBM-A slipped back to #2 (5.7-5.7) while iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) remained at #3 (5.3-5.3). UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA) ended a strong four-book surge (5.4-4.8) as it fell a couple of places to #4. HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE) was stuck in neutral (4.3-4.3) yet moved up to #5. The one station that seems to be most adversely affected by holiday tunes every year is HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (MIX). And, it happened again as the station slipped to #6 (4.5-4.2). CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F also got the holiday flu as it fell to #7 with its lowest share since APRIL (4.8-4.0).

Though it just missed matching last year’s number, WLIT more than doubled last month’s share to advance from a tie at #14 to #1 25-54. This put an end to WOJO’s four-book winning streak as it slipped to #2 with its lowest score since JULY. WTMX was actually up slightly but still stepped back to #3. WDRV dropped to #4 as it returned half of last month’s increase. ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC WBMX (JAMS) advanced three squares to #5 with its best outing since JULY. WLS-F slid to #6 with its third down book in a row. It was just ahead of #7 WBBM-A, which was off slightly. WVAZ slipped from #5 to #8 with its smallest share in over a year.

Get this. WLIT more than quadrupled its previous 18-34 share. This drove the station from a tie at #19 to #1 and beat last year’s number by more than two shares. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI advanced two spaces to #2 with a slight increase while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (KISS) stepped back to #3 with its lowest total since MARCH. WOJO fell from first to fourth as its massive four-book surge came to a crashing halt. WDRV repeated at #5 but with a modest decrease and was just ahead of WTMX, which dropped to #6. 

The 18-49 demo was not nearly as kind to WLIT, as it merely tripled its previous share. The station rocketed from a tie at #17 to #1 and beat last year’s number by a half share. WOJO ended an eight-book run at #1 as it fell to second place with its lowest share since JULY. WTMX stepped back to #3 with a slight decrease while WGCI moved up to #4 with its best book in over a year. The two previous stations known as #3 were broken apart and sent packing. WDRV landed at #5 with a small decrease while WKSC ended up at #7 with its lowest total in exactly a year.

SAN FRANCISCO: Santa’s Second

Showing amazing restraint, BONNEVILLE AC KOIT waited until the eighth day of the survey to unleash the snowy beast. As a result, the station had a massive 6+ share increase (3.7-6.3) that was a half share short of last year’s total. Alas, it was only good enough to propel the station to #2 as KQED INC N/T KQED won for the twelfth straight survey and posted its best number since MAY (7.4-7.6). ENTERCOM News KCBS-A slipped to #3 despite landing its best book since AUGUST (5.3-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE) stepped back to #4 (4.3-4.1) while the two stations previously tied at that spot moved on. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD) slid to #5 (3.8-3.7) while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR) ended up at #6 (3.8-3.5).

Santa did provide a sufficient 25-54 boost to move KOIT from #10 to #1 in the demo. The station was a bit shy of last year’s number. KQED stepped back to #2 despite a slight increase while KYLD dropped back to #3 as it returned most of last month’s strong increase. KIOI moved up to #4 despite a slight decrease. Three stations were clustered together at #5. BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (NOW) advanced from #9 with a small increase. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KOSF dropped back from #3 as it gave back most of last month’s huge increase. ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE) slipped from #4 thanks to its lowest share in over a year.

KOIT missed last year’s 18-34 number by a share but was still strong enough to move from #9 to #1. However, it was forced to share the stage with iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL, which retained a share of the lead despite posting its lowest score in over a year. KYLD remained at #3 with a small increase while SBS Regional Mexican KRZZ (LA RAZA) moved up to #4. In SEPTEMBER the station was tied at #24. KIOI fell three places to #5 with its lowest total since MAY and was tied with a stationary KQED, which was up slightly. KOSF slipped three places to #7 as it lost a portion of last month’s massive increase.

KOIT captured the 18-49 flag as it moved up from #9 with a better share than last year when the station maxed out at #2. This pushed last month’s co-leaders off the podium. KQED dropped to #2 while KYLD landed at #3. Both stations had up books, however. KMEL stepped back to #4 with its second down book in a row while KMVQ moved up to #5 with a slight increase. Two stations dropped out of the top five. KIOI slid from #4 to #7 with its lowest score since JULY while KOSF fell three spots to a tie at #8 as it lost about half of last month’s huge increase.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: Santa For Three

Three, count ‘em, three stations made the major formatic adjustment to feature all holiday-inspired music for the, well, holidays. Despite that full-on deluge of jingling bells, the top two 6+ stations remained the same. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (KISS) was #1 for the twelfth book in a row (6.1-6.3). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR) was #2 for the fifth straight survey (5.3-5.4). The first to flip to the all-Frosty format was iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR), which went on day one. It worked pretty well as the station jumped from a tie at #9 to #3 (3.7-5.1). The other two candy-striped stations were tied at #4. SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY flipped on the eighth day and moved up from #7 with its best book in over a year (4.0-4.3). ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV (K-LOVE) switched on the second day of the survey and was flat (4.3-4.3). Last month there was a three-way tie at #4 and all three of those stations ended up farther down the chart. CUMULUS Country KSCS dropped to #7 (4.1-4.1) while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA) landed at #8 (4.1-3.9). CUMULUS Country KPLX (THE WOLF) had its lowest share in over a year (4.1-3.7) and dropped to #10.

Santa, schmanta – KHKS continued to dominate 25-54. The station was up slightly and made it 12 wins in a row. KDGE moved up to #2 but still trailed the leader by over two shares. KZPS remained at #3 with a slight increase and was tied with ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (JACK), which moved up from a tie at #4 with a slight increase. KLNO had its lowest share in over a year and dropped three places to #5 where it was paired with iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW), which moved up from #8 as it regained most of last month’s loss. KLUV was flat and KLTY was off slightly. Both stations were tied at #11.

KHKS was off a bit 18-34 but won going away once again. However, KDGE moved up to #2 and shaved the lead to under a share. KSCS remained at #3 with a modest loss while KLUV dropped to #4 with an equally modest decrease. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBFB (THE BEAT) remained at #5 with its best performance since MAY. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) fell back to #6 with its lowest share in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (THE EAGLE) dropped to #7 despite a slight increase. KLTY had its lowest share since JUNE and fell five places to #15.

KHKS was flat 18-49 but remained the clear demo leader. KDGE moved up from #9 to #2 but was almost two shares behind. KDMX slipped back to #3 despite landing its largest share since JULY. KKDA inched up to #4 with a flat performance. KEGL remained at #5 with a slight decrease and had a new partner as KLNO fell back from a tie at #3 with its lowest mark since JUNE. KSCS slid four places to #7 as it returned most of last month’s increase. Speaking of last month, that was when KLUV and KLTY were tied at #7. They were an item no longer as KLTY dropped to a tie at #9 while K-LOVE ended up at #11.

Thank you for taking the time out of your holiday schedule to peruse this missive. If the weather in your neck of the woods is frightful, it might be a good time to curl up with our blog. You can find it here. It’s the perfect gift for that person who gave you something but you didn’t return the favor and now you feel all awkward and guilty.  

We’ll be back shortly with HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON.

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