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

Top-5 Markets

Cue the summer playlist. The latest episode of the continuing NIELSEN saga (not a NETFLIX original) actually coincided with the meteorological beginning of the season of sun and fun. This particular installment began on 6/20 and concluded on 7/17. Which meant we were dealing with a lot of stuff. The end of the school year, vacations galore, an awkwardly placed federal holiday. All of the above – and likely more – had an effect on the numbers. So sit back, relax, and let The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the match mavens from XTRENDS – take you on a leisurely stroll down memory lane.

NEW YORK: Go To The Lite

The sultry beginning to summer led to very little movement at the top of the 6+ leaderboard. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (LITE) repeated at #1 with its second straight flat book (6.8-6.8). EMMIS Urban AC WBLS was #2 for the fifth time in the last six surveys (6.2-6.3) while ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F was #3 for the sixth month in a row (5.8-5.7). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) had its highest share in over a year (4.8-5.1) to move up to #4. SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA) slipped back to #5 (5.3-5.0). A couple of other stations made notable advances. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKTU was up two slots to #6 with its best outing in over a year (3.7-4.3). ENTERCOM Hot AC WNEW (NEW 102.7) improved its lot (3.3-3.6) as it jumped from #13 to a tie at #8.

The big news was in the 25-54 arena. For the first time in like forever (at least in the last year) WLTW was not #1. It was flat and dipped to #2. The usurper was WHTZ, which took the lead thanks to its highest share since NOVEMBER. WBLS regained all of last month’s loss to move back up to #3. WCBS-F was up slightly to remain at #4 but was forced to share the moment with WKTU, which moved up four slots with its fifth straight up book. WSKQ slid to #6 as it lost most of last month’s increase. SBS Spanish Contemporary WPAT (93.1 AMOR) moved up three places to #7 with its best book in over a year. It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER 105.1).

For the sixth straight survey WHTZ was #1 18-34. The station got back some of last month’s loss but still led the rest of the pack by over a share. WLTW had a strong increase as it rose three places to #2. EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) slipped to #3 despite a slight increase. It led arch rival WWPR – which stepped back to #4 with a small loss – by better than a half share. WKTU continued its strong showing as it moved up to #5 with its best book in over a year. WPAT accomplished the same feat as it moved up to #6, while WSKQ dropped to #8 with its smallest share in over a year.

WHTZ was up slightly and won the 18-49 prize for the third straight survey. WLTW repeated at #2 with a slight decrease. WBLS took three steps upward to #3 as it ended a three-book slide. WSKQ stepped back to #4 and was tied with WQHT, which moved up a spot. WWPR dropped to #6 with its lowest share since JANUARY. WKTU was close behind at #7 as it again had its best book in over a year.

LOS ANGELES: KOST Is Clear

The above headline was not a subtle Scientology reference. It merely pointed out that in a stable, unmoving market, iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST was well clear of the 6+ field (5.8-5.9). A field that was so stationary that the top eight positions were unchanged from last month. ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101) was #2 for the eighth book in a row (5.4-5.2). ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (THE WAVE) was #3 for the sixth straight survey (5.0-4.8). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MY FM) repeated at #4 (4.6-4.6) while iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFI-A returned at #5 (4.5-4.3). Coming in at #6 again was ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (93.1 JACK) (3.8-4.0). It was immediately followed by iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (KISS) at #7 (3.7-3.6). Rounding out the repeat offenders, er, contenders was MERUELO Classic Rock KLOS at #8 (3.3-3.3).

For the third time in the last four surveys, KRTH was #1 25-54. The station returned to the top spot as it rebounded from a down book. Last month’s leader – KBIG – dropped back to #2 with a small loss. KCBS-F stepped up to a very close #3 with its highest share in over a year. This pushed KTWV – which had a modest loss – back to #4. KOST stood alone at #5 with a flat performance. Its former partner in that space – SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (LA RAZA) – slipped to a tie at #6 with its smallest share since JANUARY.

Two Urban powerhouses continued to battle for 18-34 dominance. MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER 106) extended its lead over #2 iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3). Both stations were down but one had a slightly larger loss. KRTH zoomed to #3 as it ended a three-book slide. SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA 96.3) slipped back to #4 despite a slight increase. KTWV remained at #5 while KIIS slid to a tie at #6 with its lowest share since some guy named Jack was invading your personal space. 

It is not often that we see a Classic Hits station capturing the 18-49 demo. It is an even rarer occurrence when that happens four times in five books. That is what KRTH did as it bounced back from a down book. KBIG stepped back to #2 with a modest loss. KPWR moved up to #3 with a slight decrease while KCBS-F jumped four places to #4 with its best outing since NOVEMBER. KOST stepped up to #5 with a slight increase, which pushed KRRL – which was off slightly – back to #6. KTWV dropped four places to #7 and was tied with KXOL.

CHICAGO: What A Drive

<…said in hushed tones followed by polite golf applause…> What a month to be behind the wheel of HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE). The station moved up to #1 6+ with its second straight solid book (5.1-5.4). This pushed cluster sister HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (THE MIX) back to #2 (5.5-5.2). MIX had been #1 for the last three surveys. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) moved up to #3 as it got back a good chunk of last month’s loss (4.3-4.9). ENTERCOM News WBBM-A slipped back to #4 (4.8-4.8) while iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITEFM) moved up to #5 (4.2-4.3). CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F ended a strong two-book surge as it fell back to #6 (4.8-4.0).

The same two stations that led the previous demo were atop the 25-54 leaderboard but in reverse order. WTMX won for the seventh straight survey but posted its lowest share since we carefully hung hosiery by the hearth. WDRV moved up to #2 with a strong increase. The net result was that the two stations were separated by less than a share. ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC WBMX (104.3 JAMS) stepped up to #3 despite a slight decrease. WLS-F slipped back to #4 and was tied with WVAZ, which rose up from a tie at #10 as it regained all of last month’s loss. Both stations were just ahead of two other stations that remained flat and in place at #6. They were UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA 105.1) and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (103.5 KISS). Cumulus Alternative WKQX fell to #8 despite only a slight decrease.

For the fourth book in a row, WTMX was #1 18-34 as the station regained half of last month’s loss. WDRV was up three places to #2 with a modest increase. It was just ahead of #3 WKSC, which remained in place with a slight increase. WKQX had a solid gain as it advanced three squares to #4. WBMX stepped back to #5 with a small loss. WLS-F fell from #2 to #12 as it lost almost half its share.

Though WTMX had its lowest 18-49 share since the incessant bell-ringing season, it captured the flag for the sixth book in a row. As you might expect, WDRV motored up to #2 with a solid book. This pushed WBMX back to #3 as it ended a two-book surge. WKSC and WOJO remained tied, but improved their lot to #4 despite slight decreases. They were joined by a third player as WKQX moved up from #7 with a flat book. WLS-F dropped eight places to a tie at #10 as it ended a very strong two-book surge.

SAN FRANCISCO: On The KQED

The song remained the same atop the 6+ chart, which is ironic since three of the top four stations do not play any songs. KQED INC. N/T KQED was again #1 (6.6-6.9) while ENTERCOM News KCBS-A repeated at #2 (6.2-6.1). The leading music station was again BONNEVILLE AC KOIT, which remained at #3 (4.0-4.1). However, it was forced into a tie with CUMULUS Sports KNBR-A. Apparently the recent return to relevance of the GIANTS spurred its jump from a tie at #9 (3.3-4.1). The next four stations were in a virtual but not actual tie. ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE) slipped to #5 (3.9-3.8). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE 98.1) held steady at #6 (3.6-3.7). Its former partner – iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL – stepped back to #7 (3.6-3.6). BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW) dropped to #8 (3.7-3.5).

The 25-54 race tightened up a bit. KQED had a small increase to remain on top for the second book in a row. KMEL moved up to a very close #2 with its highest share in over a year. KOIT was up to #3 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD 94.9) stepped down to #4 with its lowest mark in over a year. It was tied with KLLC, which took a small step forward with a flat book. No other station was within a half share of the top five.

The 18-34 competition was a race for second place. That’s because KMEL continued to have its way with the demo. The station was #1 for the sixth straight survey and led the rest of the field by almost three shares. The winner of the runner-up bowl this time was KMVQ, which advanced from #5 to #2 with a small increase. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3) ended a two-book slide and jumped from #10 to #3. KYLD slipped to #4 and was tied with KOIT, which was up from #6. These four stations were within a half share of each other. KQED returned most of last month’s increase to fall back to #6. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KSOL (QUE BUENA) fell to #9 with its lowest share since DECEMBER.

There was a new 18-49 leader. For the first time since APRIL, KMEL was #1 as it was up for the second straight survey. KOIT was up to #2 and less than a half share off the lead. KQED was flat but moved up to #3. KYLD ended its two-book stay at the top and slipped back to #4 with its lowest total since SEPTEMBER. KLLC repeated at #5 with a flat performance. 

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: KISS On The List

A list that rarely changes. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISSFM) is almost always the 6+ leader. And, for the thirteenth time in the last fourteen surveys, the pattern continued for the station (5.8-5.8). However, there was a bit of drama as two stations rose up to #2 in an attempt to challenge the leader. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR 92.5) arrived from #5 with its best book since MARCH (4.5-5.1). SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY arose from #7 with its highest share in over a year (4.0-5.1). This is the closest any station has been – in a non-HOLIDAY book – to knocking KISS’ block off in exactly a year. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW 102.9) returned at #4 (4.7-4.4) while ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV slipped to #5 (4.8-4.3). CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF) slipped to #7 with its smallest share since JANUARY (4.9-3.9). 

Alert the media. Wait, that’s us. KHKS had its lowest 25-54 share in exactly a year. No bother. The station easily cruised to another win and led returning #2 station KDMX – which landed its largest share in over a year – by almost a share and a half. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBFB (THE BEAT) advanced four spaces to #3 with easily its best book in over a year. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) was flat but remained close behind despite slipping to #4. KLTY ascended from #10 to #5 with its highest share in over a year. Two former top five stations fell into a tie at #9. KPLX slipped from #4 with its lowest score since the chestnuts were roasting on a fire hazard while iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR 102.1) slid from #5 with its lowest total in over a year.

In a surprise to no one, KHKS easily won the 18-34 contest despite a slight decrease. KBFB moved up three slots to #2 with its best book in over a year. The gap between the two was just over two shares. KDMX was up to #3 with a slight increase while KKDA moved up to a close #4 with its best performance since NOVEMBER. KDGE dropped back to #5 with its smallest score also since NOVEMBER. KZPS had a good month as it advanced five squares to #7 with its highest mark in over a year. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA) fell from #2 to a tie at #11 with its lowest score in over a year. 

KHKS was flat and steady as it gave an encore performance at #1 18-49. KDMX had its best book in over a year to remain at #2 and cut KISS’ lead to under a share and a half. KBFB was a small step behind at #3 after also posting its best number in over a year. KKDA was flat but was forced to move down to #4. These three stations were separated by less than half a share. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (JACK) ended a three-book slide as it moved up to #5. KLTY also had a good book as it advanced from a tie at #14 to a tie at #7. KLNO fell six places to #10 as it again landed its lowest number in over a year.

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