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

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Now that the dust has settled across the dystopian landscape caused by the scourge of CHRISTMAS music past, we have a book that signals a return to normalcy. Whatever that is. The FEBRUARY survey, which began on 1/31 and terminated on 2/27, featured the culmination of the NFL playoff schedule, a federally mandated three-day weekend and – for some poor souls – a thing called the Polar Vortex. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in working cheek-by-jowl with the numbers nerds from XTRENDS, have looked behind the curtain. Here is what we found …

NEW YORK: A Light LITE

The distance between first and second place in the 6+ beauty contest shrank to under a share this time around. The incessant leader -– iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (LITE) was down (7.6-7.2) while EMMIS Urban AC WBLS moved up to #2 with its best book in over a year (6.3-6.8). This pushed ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F back to #3 (6.4-5.9). SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA) remained at #4 (5.5-5.3) while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) ended a three-book slide as it eased up to #5 (4.2-4.8). Though iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) held firm at #6, it did post its largest share in exactly a year (4.2-4.5). The breaking news on ENTERCOM News WINS-A had the station slipping to #7 as it returned most of last month’s big increase (4.8-4.1).

The 25-54 race also narrowed but was not as close as the previous demo. WLTW was still #1 but with its lowest score in over a year while WBLS stepped up to #2 with its best performance in over a year. WHTZ moved up to #3 with a solid increase while WCBS-F slipped two notches to #4 as it returned a chunk of last month’s huge increase. WSKQ was treading water at #5 but with its largest number since OCTOBER. EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT) was not far behind as it moved up to #6 with a small increase.

It was a good month to be WHTZ as the station was given a massive 18-34 share increase, was at its highest point in over a year and moved back to #1 after a two-book hiatus. WSKQ returned all of last month’s increase as it dropped back to #2 and more than two shares behind the newly installed leader. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER) got back most of last month’s big loss to move up to #3. This pushed WQHT back to #4 as it was off a bit. WLTW stepped back to #5 as it returned to its pre-Santa level. WBLS made a major move as it rose from #11 to #6 thanks to a noticeably large increase in share.

There were partnerships forged and broken in the 18-49 battle. WLTW remained in the top spot despite a modest decrease. However, it was forced to share the moment with its cluster buddy WHTZ, which broke out of a three-way tie at #3 to claim its share of the lead. WBLS remained at #3 with its best share in over a year and had a new partner in WSKQ, which slipped from #2 despite landing its third straight up book. WQHT also exited the #3 position and landed alone at #5 with a slight increase. It was just ahead of WWPR, which held steady at #6 as it regained all of last month’s loss.

LOS ANGELES: KOSTing Along

For the fifth book in a row, iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST was the leading 6+ station. It also posted its best Frosty-free share in over a year (6.2-6.5). ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH) was in the place position for the third straight survey and had its best book in over a year (5.1-5.3). Last month iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (KISS) and ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (THE WAVE) were tied at #4. They remained an item but were moved up to #3 as both stations went 4.3-4.4. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (MY FM) returned most of last month’s big gain (5.0-4.3) to fall back to #5. A couple of stations joined the four-share club and were tied at #6. iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFI-A remained in place (3.8-4.0) while ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (JACK) moved up from #8 (3.5-4.0). Both stations had their best books since JULY.

The entire 25-54 leaderboard was thrown into a tizzy –- that’s a research term -– this survey. KOST moved back to #1 with a solid gain. This was the first time it was on top of this demo in a non-Yule book since MARCH. KRTH stepped up to #2 despite a slight decrease while KIIS moved up to #3 with a slight increase. Last month’s leader – KBIG – fell to #4 with its smallest share in over a year. It was tied with KCBS-F, which inched up a spot with a small increase. Two stations were close behind at #6. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE) remained in place with a slight increase. SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (LA RAZA) moved up from a tie at #8 with its best outing in exactly a year.

There was all sorts of movement within the 18-34 ranks this survey. One thing that remained constant was that MERUELO Urban KPWR (POWER) was still #1 and by a healthy margin. The station posted its largest share in over a year and led newly minted #2 station KIIS -– which had a solid increase -– by over a share. KRTH was up two slots to #3 with a slight increase while KOST jumped four places to #4 with its best non-Rudolph number since JULY. SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA) fell from #2 to #5 with its lowest mark since JUNE. It was tied with ENTERCOM Top 40/M KAMP (AMP), which moved up from #7 with its highest mark in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) dropped four places to #7 with its lowest score since MARCH. KBIG slid to #8 with its lowest share in over a year and was tied with KLAX.

Last month’s tie atop the 18-49 chart was broken. KOST remained in place with a flat performance while KBIG slipped into a three-way tie at #3 as it returned all of last month’s strong increase. KIIS was up to #2 with its best book since AUGUST. Joining KBIG at #3 were KRTH, which moved up a spot despite a slight decrease while KPWR advanced from #5 as it regained most of last month’s loss. KCBS-F jumped three places to #6 with a solid increase. This pushed KLAX – which was up slightly – back to #7.

CHICAGO: I Heard The News Today

What’s all this brouhaha? For the second straight survey, ENTERCOM News WBBM-A was #1 6+ (6.2-6.1). It was also the third time the station has accomplished this feat in the last five books. HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (MIX) stepped up to #2 with its best book in over a year (5.4-5.5). Its older cluster brother – HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE) -– motored up three places to #3 with its best outing since AUGUST (4.5-5.1). UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA) slid to #4 as it gave back about half of last month’s strong increase (5.5-5.0). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) remained at #5 (4.8-4.7). iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (LITE) continued to shed its wintry coat (5.0-4.4) as it dropped to #6.

WTMX continued to thrive in the aftermath of the holiday hostilities. The station was #1 25-54 for the second straight survey, had its best book in over a year, and led #2 WOJO – which took a bit of a hit – by well over a share. WDRV shifted gears to #3 with a huge increase. ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC WBMX (JAMS) stepped up to #4 with a slight decrease. WVAZ was up two slots to #5 with a slight increase while WLIT fell three places to #6. Though the station had a solid decrease, it was still in a better position than before the Yule-infused onslaught began. It was tied at #14 in NOVEMBER.

It was a great 18-34 month for WTMX. The station received a huge increase and was back at #1 for the first time in over a year. And, it led the two #2 stations by over a share. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (KISS) remained in place with a small gain while WDRV passed several stations as it moved up from a tie at #5 with its highest share in over a year. WOJO fell from #1 to #4 as it lost most of last month’s massive increase. CUMULUS Alternative WKQX had its best outing since JUNE as it advanced from #11 to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI slid to #6 with a flat performance. WLIT dropped from #4 to a tie at #11 though it was still better off than in NOVEMBER when it was tied at #19.

There was a changing of the 18-49 guard as WTMX moved up to #1 with easily its best book in over a year. WOJO was forced to step back to #2 as it lost about half of last month’s huge gain. WDRV was idling at #3 but with its best mark in over a year. WKSC took two steps upward to #4 with a slight increase while WBMX held steady at #5 with a slight decrease. WKQX advanced four squares to #6 with its best showing since NOVEMBER. WLIT dropped to #7. It was tied at #17 in NOVEMBER.

SAN FRANCISCO: The Gabfest Continues

As per usual the top two spots in the 6+ contest were all about the spoken word. However, this month the talk was a little less demanding. KQED INC. N/T KQED remained #1 but with its lowest share since OCTOBER (8.0-7.1) while ENTERCOM News KCBS-A repeated at #2 (7.0-6.5). The new leading music station was iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE), which was up to #3 with its best outing since JUNE (4.3-4.9). This pushed BONNEVILLE AC KOIT back to #4 as it was down (4.8-4.3). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD) remained at #5 (4.2-3.9) and was just ahead of ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE) at #6 (3.7-3.8).

Even though KYLD was off slightly 25-54, the station was able to move up to #1. This was due, in large part, to KQED losing a rather large chunk of share as it slid back to #2. KOIT held firm at #3 with a slight decrease while KLLC repeated at #4 with a slight increase. KISQ had its best book in over a year to remain at #5. This was a hotly contested demo as these five stations were separated by less than a share. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL got back all of last month’s loss to move up to #6 and launch a bid for eventual top-five inclusion.

Speaking of launching, KMEL was back at #1 18-34 after a two-book layoff. That pushed cluster mate KYLD back to #2. This was a pretty big swing as last month the two were separated by almost a share and this time the gap was just over a share. That would add up to about a two-share difference. KOIT moved up to #3 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. KQED slipped to #4 as it returned most of last month’s large increase. BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (NOW) slid to #5 with a small decrease while SBS Regional Mexican KRZZ (LA RAZA) dropped to #6 with its third straight down book. KLLC was up four slots to #7 with its best showing since MARCH. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR) fell to #8 with its smallest share in over a year.

The top five 18-49 players remained the same though their roles were altered a bit. One thing that did not change was KYLD’s appearance at #1. The station was off a bit, however, and this allowed #2 KOIT – which was down slightly – to close within a half share of the lead. KMEL bounced back from a down book to move up to #3 while KQED dropped to #4 with its lowest mark since OCTOBER. KLLC returned as the #5 station with its best share since SEPTEMBER.

DALLAS - FT. WORTH: The Year Of The Kiss

It seems like every year, once the pixie dust has settled, iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (KISS) goes back to leading every demo. We’re two books into 2019 and that theory is upheld. The station continued to lead a compressed field by a wide margin (6.1-6.3). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR) was the closest pursuer as it moved up to #2 (4.2-5.1). ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV (K-LOVE) repeated at #3 (4.6-4.2). And then came a whole bunch of ties. The country format was well represented at #4 as CUMULUS Country KSCS was up from #8 (3.9-4.1) and CUMULUS Country KPLX (THE WOLF) advanced from #9 (3.8-4.1). ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (JACK) fell from #2 to #6 (4.9-3.8) and was in a tie with iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW) (4.0-3.8) and SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY (3.6-3.8). But wait, there’s more! iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR) fell from a tie at #4 to #9 (4.2-3.7) and was also in a three-way tie. Joining this fray was iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (EAGLE) (3.7-3.7) and UNIVSION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA) (4.0-3.7).

KHKS was flat 25-54 but remained a dominant #1 as #2 KJKK lost most of last month’s huge increase. KLNO repeated at #3 with a small loss and was joined by KDGE, which moved up from #7 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. KEGL slipped to #5 as it ended a two-book run. KZPS advanced two spaces to #6 with a solid increase while SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) jumped eight spots to #7 with its best performance in over a year. KDMX fell to #8 with a small decrease while ENTERCOM Sports KRLD-F (THE FAN) fell five places to a tie at #10.

Last month it looked like there was going to be an 18-34 battle between KHKS and KDGE as the two stations were about a half share apart. Alas, ‘twas not to be. KHKS remained on top with its highest share in over a year while KDGE held on at #2 but with a huge loss. The gap widened to over three shares as a result. KEGL moved up to #3 with a small gain. KLNO slid back to #4 with a small loss and was tied with KKDA, which moved up from a tie at #6 as it ended a three-book slide. KLUV dropped from #4 to a tie at #10 with its lowest share since AUGUST.

KHKS was flat and steady as the #1 18-49 station. KJKK remained #2 but lost ground after giving back a sizeable portion of last month’s huge increase. KKDA advanced from #12 to #3 with its best book in exactly a year. KLNO returned at #4 with a small loss while KDGE slipped to #5 with a slightly larger decrease. KDMX stepped back to #6 with a slight decrease and was joined by URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBFB (THE BEAT), which moved up from #11 with its best outing since MARCH.

We have now reached our first intermission. Take a moment to refresh yourself. And, while you’re at it, add our blog to the list of those you receive but never read. You can find it here. 

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