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

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Has it been a month already? My, how time flies. As regular as, well, the calendar, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the math wizards from XTRENDS, bring you another month of stranger things (finished binging yet?). We head into the upside down as we reveal the inner workings of the JUNE survey, a period defined by NIELSEN as covering 5/23 through 6/19. There was a big-time holiday in there but only one eleven. Weird.

NEW YORK: The Lite Is Tight

When we last visited the BIG APPLE, there were two stations sharing the spotlight atop the 6+ leaderboard. That did not become a trend. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (LITE) remained in first (6.8-6.8) while EMMIS Urban AC WBLS dropped back to second with its lowest share since the big guy was in town (6.8-6.2). The remainder of the top five remained as they were. ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F was #3 for the fifth book in a row and had its first up month since JANUARY (5.4-5.8). SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA) repeated at #4 – for the seventh straight survey (5.3-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) made it five in a row at #5 (4.9-4.8). The next closest station to joining that quintet was iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3). The station remained at #6 as it ended a three-book slide (4.0-4.3).

WLTW was up slightly to remain atop the 25-54 heap. Meanwhile its cluster compadre WHTZ was off a bit. It held steady at #2 but fell a bit further off the lead. WSKQ took two steps upward to #3 thanks to its best book since AUGUST. WBLS slipped back to #4 as it posted its lowest share since that exact same month. It was joined in that space by WCBS-F, which moved up from #6 as it ended a four-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER) slipped to #6 with its first down book since JANUARY. A little farther down the list SBS Spanish Contemporary WPAT (AMOR) remained at #10 but with its best share since NOVEMBER.

WHTZ was #1 18-34 for the fifth book in a row. Though the station did post its lowest number of the streak, it still led EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT) – which moved up to #2 despite a down book – by nearly two shares. WWPR stepped up to #3 despite posting its lowest score in over a year. WSKQ dropped a couple of slots to #4 with its least productive outing since DECEMBER. WLTW slipped back to #5 with its smallest share since AUGUST. WBLS remained at #6 with a slight decrease. With so many in the demo suffering down books, who was up? iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKTU was up to #7 with a solid increase while WPAT jumped from a tie at #13 to a tie at #8 with its highest share in over a year.

The most noteworthy change 18-49 was that the top two stations got as close as is mathematically possible without adding decimal places. Both #1 WHTZ and #2 WLTW were off a bit. WSKQ was not far behind as it moved up to #3 with its second up book in a row. WWPR slipped back to #4 with its smallest share since JANUARY while WQHT inched up to #5 despite a slight decrease. WBLS dropped two places to #6 with its third down book in a row. WCBS-F followed at #7 after landing its largest share since JANUARY.

LOS ANGELES: KOST Is The Most

For the first time since NOVEMBER, iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST was not able to crack a six share 6+. No worries. The station remained #1 (6.6-5.8) though its lead over #2 ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH) was slenderized (5.8-5.4). ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (THE WAVE) repeated at #3 (5.2-5.0) while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (MY FM) was again the #4 station but with its best book since JANUARY (4.5-4.6). Crashing the top-five party was iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFI-A. The station moved up from #7 with its highest share in over a year (3.9-4.5). The two stations previously tied at #5 were forced to take a step or two back. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (JACK) slipped to #6 with its lowest mark since JANUARY (4.0-3.8). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (KISS) dropped to #7 (4.0-3.7). MERUELO Classic Rock KLOS had its best book in over a year (2.9-3.3) to advance three spaces to #8.

We’re old enough to remember the last time KBIG was #1 25-54. Oh, right, that was JANUARY. The station was flat but moved into first because last month’s leader – KRTH – ended a three-book surge and dropped to #2. KTWV was calm and steady at #3 with a slight decrease while KCBS-F moved up to #4 with a flat performance. KOST slipped back to #5 with its lowest share in over a year and was joined by SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (LA RAZA), which took a step upward with a slight decrease. KIIS dropped to #7 with its lowest mark since you were listening to the sleigh bells ringing. 

For the fifth time in the last six surveys, MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER) was #1 18-34. This time around the station posted its best book in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) took over sole possession of second place with its fourth up book in a row. The two arch rivals were less than a half share apart. SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA 96.3) slipped to #3 as it lost a rather large chunk of share. It was tied with KIIS, which moved up a slot despite a small decrease. KTWV was up two places to #5 with a flat book and was just ahead of KBIG, which moved up two spots to #6 while also being flat. KRTH had its smallest share since JULY and dropped to #7 where it was tied with KCBS-F and KOST.

As we saw 25-54, KBIG and KRTH traded spaces 18-49. KBIG, now #1, was off slightly while K-EARTH had a bigger loss. The end result was that they were separated by a half share. KTWV locked down third place for itself with yet another flat book. KPWR moved up to #4 with its best outing since FEBRUARY. KRRL was up four slots to #5 with its best book in over a year. Both KIIS and KOST had down books and dropped into a tie at #6.

CHICAGO: Mix Clicks

It was a good month to be HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (MIX). Beginning with 6+, the station was #1 for the third straight survey (5.6-5.5). However, objects in its rearview mirror were closer than they appeared as HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE) motored up to #2 as it bounced back from a down book (4.7-5.1). ENTERCOM News WBBM-A slipped to #3 with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER (5.3-4.8) and was tied with CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F, which advanced from #5 with its highest share since NOVEMBER (4.5-4.8). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) had its smallest share in over a year (5.2-4.3) and slipped to #5. It was just ahead of iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (LITE), which moved up to #6 (3.9-4.2).

For the sixth straight survey, WTMX was #1 25-54. Though the station was off a bit this time, it maintained a full two-share lead over #2 WLS-F, which had its best book since SEPTEMBER. WDRV was alone at #3 with a small increase while ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC WBMX (JAMS) slipped back to #4 with a flat performance. CUMULUS Alternative WKQX was also flat but moved up to #5 anyway. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (KISS) slipped to #6 with a small loss. It was tied with UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA), which moved up three places as it bounced back a bit from a down book. 

WTMX captured the 18-34 crown for the third book in a row but did suffer a bit of a share loss. In a surprise move, WLS-F zoomed up to #2 (from #7) with its best book in over a year. In the process the station sliced MIX’s market lead from about two shares down to a half share. WKSC slipped back to #3 with a slight decrease. WBMX was very close behind as it moved up to #4 with its best outing since JULY. WDRV shifted into reverse and ended up at #5 with a flat book. ENTERCOM Top 40/M WBBM-F (B96) slipped to #6 despite a slight increase. WKQX fell three places to #7 – also with a slight decrease – and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI, which had a small increase.

WTMX completed the demo sweep with its fifth straight 18-49 win. Though it was down, the station still held a better than share-and-a-half lead over the two squatters at #2. WBMX remained in place with a small increase while WLS-F advanced two spaces with what was easily its best book in over a year. WDRV was left alone at #4 with a slight increase. WKSC slipped to #5 with a flat book and was tied with WOJO, which moved up a spot with a small gain.

SAN FRANCISCO: Back To Normal

The natural order of the 6+ universe was restored as KQED INC. N/T KQED was back at #1 (6.3-6.6). ENTERCOM News KCBS-A fell back to its customary #2 position (6.6-6.2). This is how these two stations aligned from JANUARY through APRIL. After that, welcome to the wonderful world of compression. The next six stations were less than a half share apart. BONNEVILLE AC KOIT moved up to #3 (4.0-4.0) while ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE) slipped back to #4 (4.2-3.9). BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (NOW) had its best book since SEPTEMBER (3.2-3.7) to advance five places to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL regained most of last month’s share loss (3.0-3.6) to jump five places to #6. It was sharing that moment with iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE), which slipped from a tie at #4 (4.0-3.6) and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD), which moved up from #7 (3.7-3.6). CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (THE BONE ) fell five places to a tie at #9 (4.0-3.3).

KQED ended the 25-54 winning streak for KYLD at four. KQED assumed the lead with a slight increase while WILD posted its lowest share since JULY. KMEL was up three places to #3 as it regained a good chunk of last month’s share loss. KOIT stood alone at #4 with a slight increase while its former partner – KLLC – slipped to #5 with a slightly smaller slight increase. KMVQ was close behind as it moved up to #6 with its best showing in exactly a year. KSAN ended a very strong five-book surge and fell four places to a tie at #7.

KMEL continued to run roughshod over the 18-34 demo with its fifth straight win. The station was up slightly this time and held a better than two-share advantage on the two stations claiming to be #2. KYLD remained in place at that spot but with its lowest share in over a year. KQED moved up from a tie at #9 as it got back most of last month’s share loss. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KSOL (QUE BUENA) was one of four stations previously tied at #4. It was the only one left standing at that position after landing its largest share in over a year. One of its former partners – KMVQ – slipped to #5 but with a slight increase. KOIT fell to #6 with its lowest share since NOVEMBER. The other two former #4’s did not fare as well. SBS Regional Mexican KRZZ (LA RAZA) dropped to #9 while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR) ended up at #10.

There was precious little drama 18-49 as the top five stations remained the same. KYLD won again but was off a bit. #2 KMEL got back some of last month’s big loss. As a result the stations were as close as could possibly be without being tied. KOIT was alone at #3 while KQED slipped to #4. Both stations ended two-book slides. KLLC repeated at #5 with a slight increase.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: KISS Can’t Miss

The question is never “if” iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (KISS) won the 6+ race. It is always about “how much.” The station did post its lowest score since JULY (6.3-5.8) and actually saw its lead over the rest of the field shrink to under a share. There was quite a bit of congestion behind the leader. CUMULUS Country KPLX (THE WOLF) sired its best book in over a year (4.3-4.9) to move up to #2. ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV (K-LOVE) was close behind at #3 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year (4.4-4.8). Next in a tightly packed line was #4 iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW), which had its best outing in exactly a year (3.7-4.7). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR) was only off a bit (4.7-4.5) but that was enough to drop the station three places to #5. CUMULUS Talk WBAP-A repeated at #6 but with its highest share in over a year (3.7-4.1). SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY slid to #7 (4.2-4.0).

KHKS again reigned supreme 25-54 but with its lowest share since SEPTEMBER. Meanwhile, KDMX bounced back nicely from a down book to jump five places to #2. However, it was still over a share and a half off the lead. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) slipped to #3 despite a solid increase. KPLX loped up to #4 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR) fell to #5 with a slight decrease while ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (JACK) dropped to #6 with its smallest share in over a year.

So, KHKS posted its lowest 18-34 share of the year while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA) advanced five squares to #2 with its best book in over a year. Despite all that movement, the two stations were over two shares apart. KDGE repeated at #3 with a small increase while KDMX slipped to #4 with a small decrease. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBFB (THE BEAT) was flat as it slipped to #5. KKDA stepped back to #6 with a slight decrease.

KHKS completed the demo sweep again by capturing the 18-49 flag. However, the station did post its lowest share since JULY. Still, the two #2 stations were well over a share behind. KDMX remained in place with a solid increase while KKDA moved up a spot with a slightly more solid increase. KLNO jumped five places to #4 as it got back all of last month’s big share loss. KBFB stood alone at #5 with a slight increase while KDGE slipped to #6 with a flat performance. ENTERCOM Regional Mexican KMVK (LA GRANDE) dropped three places to #7 as it ended a two-book surge.

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