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

Markets #11-#15

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the wizards of XTRENDS, are back to wrap up another thrilling edition of “how the ratings turned.”  We have binged the numbers, divined their meaning, and will do our best to put it in perspective.  However, keep in mind that perspective is a matter of opinion.  The MARCH book ran from 2/28 through 3/27, and the final chapter of our coverage played out thusly …

MIAMI-FT.LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD: And Then There Was One
On our last visit to SOUTH BEACH we had three – count ‘em – three stations tied atop the 6+ leaderboard.  That did not last very long.  COX RADIO AC WFEZ (EASY) was the one left standing as it regained all of last month’s share loss (6.6-7.4).  COX RADIO Urban AC WHQT (HOT) dropped to #2 (6.6-6.4) while ENTERCOM AC WLYF (LITE) fell to #3 (6.6-6.2).  SBS Tropical WCMQ (Z92.3) remained at #4 (5.7-5.7) while UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR) held firm at #5 though with its lowest share since MAY (5.5-5.2).  Nipping at its heels was ENTERCOM Classic Hits WMXJ (THE BEACH), which was up to #6 with its best book in over a year (4.9-5.1).

There was all sorts of shuffling among the 25-54 ranks.  SBS Tropical WXDJ (EL ZOL) shone the brightest as it moved up to #1 for the first time since NOVEMBER.  WFEZ returned to #2 after it recovered all of last month’s rather large share loss.  Last month’s demo leader – WLYF – slid to #3 as it returned all of last survey’s gain, plus a little extra.  It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WZTU (TU 94.9), which dropped a spot thanks to a slight decrease.  WHQT fell to #5 as it ended a three-book surge and was partnered with WCMQ, which remained in place with a slight increase.

There was a new 18-34 leader as COX RADIO Urban WEDR (99JAMZ) moved back up to #1 after a short hiatus.  WFEZ bounced back from a down book to return to #2 but was about a share off the lead.  WLYF remained at #3 with a small loss and was paired with iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (THE BEAT), which took one bold step upward despite a slight decrease.  WZTU gave back all of last month’s gain – plus a little more – as it fell from first to fifth.  The move of the month belonged to SBS Spanish Contemporary WRMA (RITMO), which advanced six spaces to #6 with its best performance in over a year.

Despite returning most of last month’s 18-49 share increase, WZTU was able to stay in control of the board for the second straight survey.  It maintained a slim advantage over two stations at #2.  WLYF was there last time and had a small loss while WXDJ moved up a spot with a slight increase.  WFEZ was up to #4 as it ended a three-book slide.  WEDR also was up a notch – to #5 – with a small increase.  WCMQ took two steps forward to #6 with its best book in over a year.  WHQT dropped three places to #7 as it gave back a chunk of last month’s strong increase.

SEATTLE-TACOMA: Do The Tighten Up
The 6+ competition was suddenly a lot more intense as UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW – which remained #1 for the third straight survey – took a bit of a hit (8.0-7.0).  HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN) was suddenly a lot closer as the #2 station just by minding its own business (6.8-6.8).  ENTERCOM AC KSWD (THE SOUND) had its highest share in its new formatic digs (5.1-5.2) to move up to #3.  However, three stations at #4 were not far off the pace. 

BONEVILLE Talk KIRO-F dropped back a spot with its smallest share in over a year (5.9-4.8) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZOK took a step upward with its fourth straight up book (4.5-4.8).  Joining the party was HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM), which advanced from a tie at #9 as it regained all of last month’s loss (4.0-4.8).  Just missing out on making it a foursome was ENTERCOM Country KKWF (THE WOLF), which slipped to #7 despite posting its best score in over a year (4.5-4.7).

KQMV continued to dominate the 25-54 arena.  The station was #1 for the third book in a row despite a modest loss.  ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (THE END) bounced back from a down book to return to #2 but was still a share off the lead.  KUOW dropped back to #3 as it returned most of last month’s increase.  ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW remained at #4 but with its lowest total in over a year.  KKWF repeated at #5 with a slight decrease.  Two stations previously tied at #11 had strong gains to move up the chart.  iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KJAQ (JACK) was up to #6 with its best book since AUGUST.  KRWM advanced to #7 where it was tied with KZOK.

For the fourth consecutive survey, KQMV was in double digits 18-34.  KISW moved up to #2 but was about three shares off the lead.  KNDD stepped up to #3 with a small increase while KUOW fell back to #4 as it returned most of last month’s huge gain.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KBKS (KISS) was up three slots to #5 with its best book in over a year.  KKWF was not far behind as it loped up to #6 with its best book since OCTOBER.  ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KHTP (HOT) was up four slots to #7 with its best showing since MAY.  SINCLAIR Hot AC KPLZ (STAR) fell to #8.

The 18-49 demo group had the same top five players as last time with one small alteration.  KQMV was #1 with a slight decrease while KNDD had a solid gain to remain #2 and trim the lead to a share and a half.  KISW stepped up to #3 with a slight decrease as KUOW slid back to #4 with a slightly larger loss.  KKWF held in place at #5 but with its third straight up book.

DETROIT: Breaking News
This just in (teletype SFX) – ENTERCOM News WWJ-A was the #1 6+ station this month, even though it had a down book (7.7-6.9).  BEASLEY Classic Rock WCSX slid back to #2 (7.8-6.5) and that could have been due to some new competition.  More on that in a bit.  iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC remained at #3 but with its lowest share since OCTOBER (6.6-6.2).  iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WMXD (MIX) moved up to #4 (5.5-6.0) while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955) inched up to #5 (5.4-5.5) as it broke a sixth-place tie with ENTERCOM Classic Hits WOMC (5.4-5.4).  Beasley Active Rock WRIF dropped from #4 to #9 (5.9-4.9).  There was a new rock player in town – iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WLLZ (WHEELS).  The station formerly known as WDTW debuted just after the beginning of the survey and rose from a tie at #21 to #15 (1.5-3.4).

Follow the bouncing ratings ball as BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WMGC (THE BOUNCE) pogoed from #4 to #1 25-54 with its best book in over a year.  WKQI stepped up to #2 with a slight increase while WRIF slid back to #3 as it lost a chunk of share. ENTERCOM Sports WXYT-F (THE TICKET) was up to #4 with a slight gain.  WCSX fell from #1 to #5 where it was tied with WNIC, which had a slight increase.  WLLZ again more than doubled its share as it burned rubber on its trip from #17 to a tie at #10.

For the third straight survey, WKQI crashed through the double-digit barrier to lead the way 18-34.  WMGC was flat as it moved up to #2 and trailed the leader by about three shares.  WRIF slipped back to #3 as it returned a significant portion of last month’s huge increase.  ENTERCOM Country WYCD remained at #4 but with its highest share since JUNE.  iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB stepped up to #5 as it ended a two-book slide.  This pushed WGPR INC. Urban AC WGPR (HOT) back to #6 even though it was up slightly.  WLLZ had a healthy increase as it rolled from #15 to a tie at #9.

WMGC was flat 18-49 and WKQI was down slightly.  The net result was that the two stations ended up tied at #1.  WRIF dropped from the lead to #3 with a noticeable loss.  WJLB was up two slots to #4 with its highest mark in over a year.  WXYT-F held steady at #5 with a small gain.  WCSX fell from #4 to #10 with its lowest share in over a year while WLLZ rose from #16 to a tie at #11.

PHOENIX: The Mountain Do
Even though it had a down book, iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (THE MOUNTAIN) repeated as the 6+ leader (6.7-5.9).  iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (99.9 KEZ) remained at #2 but with its lowest total in over a year (6.3--5.3).  It was tied with HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX, which moved up from #4 despite being down (5.4-5.3).  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (KISS) slipped to #4 with its lowest score since AUGUST (5.5-5.1).  HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD repeated at #5 though it ended a two-book surge (5.3-4.9).  The move of the month went to BONNEVILLE Talk KTAR-F.  The station had its best book since NOVEMBER as it moved up to #8 (3.4-4.1).

The top five 25-54 was basically unchanged from last month.  KUPD was the demo winner for the third book in a row though it did end a two-book upswing.  KZZP moved up to #2, though it was off slightly.  KYOT dropped back to #3 as it returned most of last month’s massive increase.  KSLX returned to its #4 slot but with its lowest total in over a year.  iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMXP (MIX) held firm at #5 as it, too, had its lowest share in over a year.  Two stations were very close behind at #6 and they both happened to have eerily similar playlists.  iHEARTMEDIA Country KNIX was off a bit to remain in place while ENTERCOM Country KMLE was up from a tie at #9 with a slight increase.

The 18-34 demo was relatively stable as the top four stations were the same as last time.  KUPD continued its dominant ways.  The station was off slightly but still held about the three-share lead over #2 KZZP, which had a small loss.  KMXP was again the #3 station but with a small loss while ENTERCOM Top 40/M KALV (LIVE 101.5) repeated at #4 with a slight increase.  FARMWORKER Regional Mexican KNAI-A (CAMPESINA) was up three slots to #5 with its best book in over a year.  KMLE fell to a tie at #8 with its lowest share in over a year.

Not much drama to be seen 18-49 as the same five stations led the way.  KUPD was #1 for the second straight survey.  It was off a bit while #2 KZZP was up slightly.  That meant the stations were less than a share distant.  KYOT was resolute at #3 though it lost a chunk of share.  KMXP repeated at #4 with a small loss while KALV returned at #5 with a slight increase.  KNAI-A was close behind at #6 with its third straight up book.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL: It Takes Two
One was flat, one rebounded from a down book.  That combination led to a tie atop the 6+ leaderboard.  iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB was the former (7.0-7.0) while HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) the latter (6.4-7.0).  iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL) was flat for the second book in a row (6.3-6.3) to remain #3.  CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) repeated at #4 (6.2-5.9).  Its older and less-inked cluster brother – CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS – remained at #5 (5.5-5.6).  However, it was forced to share that space with UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN-ST.PAUL Christian Contemporary KTIS, which had its best book in over a year (5.2-5.6).

KSTP had its best 25-54 book since NOVEMBER.  That was also the last time the station was #1.  It returned to the top by edging out KXXR, which dropped back to #2 with its lowest score in over a year.  KDWB stepped back to #3 with a flat performance while iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (K-FAN) remained at #4 with a slight increase.  ENTERCOM Adult Hits KZJK (JACK) repeated at #5 with a slight increase.  However, it was partnered with KQQL, which moved up a slot with a slightly larger slight increase.  KTIS again had its highest share in over a year to move up to a competitive #7.

As per usual, KXXR was in double digits 18-34 and in the #1 position.  This month, however, perennial #2 KDWB also returned to double-digit territory for the first time since SEPTEMBER.  The stations were still about two shares apart.  KSTP moved up to a solid, if distant, #3 with its best score since SEPTEMBER.  NORTHERN LIGHTS Top 40/R KZGO (GO) was up for the fourth straight survey as it jumped five spaces to #4.  iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K102) slipped to #5 as it ended a two-book surge.  KTIS slid from #3 to #6 as it returned a portion of last month’s huge gain.  The three stations previously aligned at #5 went their separate ways.  KQRS dropped to #7 with a slight decrease while KZJK fell to #8 with its lowest share since OCTOBER.  KQQL landed in a tie at #9 as it gave back all of last month’s strong increase.

The 18-49 race got a little tighter as #1 KXXR had its lowest share in over a year while #2 KDWB was up slightly.  KSTP had its best outing since NOVEMBER to solidify its hold on the #3 position.  KFXN was up two places to #4 with a small increase while KTIS also did the two-step tango up to #5 with – again – its best showing in over a year.  The former pair of #4 stations were no more.  KZJK dropped to #6 while KQQL ended up at #7.

This concludes our content-generating efforts for this survey.  We are under the assumption this will happen again next month.  In the meantime, keep reading …

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