Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive August PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston

Markets #6-#10

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the numbers crunchers from XTRENDS, are once again thrilled to digest and spew out the results of the AUGUST survey. A time dotted with vacation relief shifts and, well, pretty much nothing else. It covered 7/18 through 8/14 and was pretty much hot and disgusting for almost all of us. Now that we’ve gotten that off our chest, let’s go inside the numbers. 

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: This Majic Moment

The 6+ tide turned this survey as URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) and iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY) switched places. MAJIC assumed command of the market with their highest share since SEPTEMBER (5.8-6.2). SUNNY stepped back to second place with its lowest share in over a year (6.6-5.9). ENTERCOM Adult hits KKHH (THE SPOT) was, well, spot on as it moved up to #3 with its best book in over a year (5.0-5.7). This pushed COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) back to #4 (5.3-5.5). The two former partners at #5 dissolved their agreement. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUÉ BUENA) remained in place (5.0-5.1) while URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) slipped back to #6 (5.0-4.9). The only station in this paragraph without an official nickname –- CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE -– fell four places to #8 with its lowest score in over a year (5.1-4.5).

Last month there were three stations tied at #1 25-54. That arrangement was short-lived as all three were to be found farther down the chart. The spotlight was on KKHH which rose from #7 to #1 with its best mark in exactly a year. KLTN slipped from its share of the lead to #2 despite a small increase. KBXX rose to #3 with its highest total in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) was up two places to #4 with its third straight up book. Then we found the other two former members of the #1 club. COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) landed at #5 as it surrendered all of last month’s modest increase. KODA dropped to #6, making it an eight-book down trend.  It was tied with ENTERCOM Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA) and just ahead of KMJQ.

For the third book in a row, KLTN was #1 18-34 though the station did give back most of last month’s big gain. Still, as KBXX moved up to #2 with a slight decrease, the gap between the two was a little over a half share. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) was up to #3 though it, too, gave back most of last month’s increase. KODA dropped to #4 with its lowest share since October while KTBZ was up to #5 with its best book in exactly a year. KKHH rose four places to #6 with a huge increase. KRBE slipped to #7 with its smallest share since OCTOBER and was tied with KMJQ.

KKHH hit the spot 18-49 as it leapt from #9 to #1 with its highest share in over a year. KBXX was up slightly as it advanced to #2 while KTBZ rose three places to #3 with its highest total since SEPTEMBER. KLTN stepped back to #4 with a slight decrease and was tied with KLOL which dropped back from #2 as it ended a four-book surge. After four straight appearances at #1, KODA fell to #6 with its lowest score in over a year.

WASHINGTON, DC: Double dipping

For the longest time the top two spots in the 6+ rankings were reserved for stations that don’t play songs for a living. True to form, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was #1 again (8.4-8.2). However, it was forced to share the space with a music station as URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) posted its best book since MARCH (7.7-8.2) to forge the tie. HUBBARD News WTOP-F stepped back to #3 (7.9-8.0) while HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR remained at #4 (6.1-5.9). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH repeated at #5 (5.4-5.3) but was partnered with CUMULUS Talk WMAL-F which moved up a slot (5.3-5.3). Nipping at their collective heels was WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY Christian Contemporary WGTS (4.3-5.1). 

WAMU was #1 25-54 for the eighth book in a row and posted a rather large share increase. WMMJ repeated at #2 with a slight gain. However, the gap between the two stations swelled from the smallest possible number to over a share. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #3. A flat WTOP took a step upward while WGTS moved three spaces forward with its best outing since APRIL.  WHUR slipped back to #5 as it landed its lowest share since ERTHA KITT was gold digging. It was tied with a stationary WASH which, it is worth noting, has not had a down book in this demo so far this calendar year. Not far behind the top five was ENTERCOM Top 40/R WPGC which moved up to #7 with its highest share in over a year.

In somewhat of a surprise, WASH leapt to the 18-34 lead with its highest score since the stockings were hung by the chimney hung with care. WPGC was not far off as it moved up to #2 with its best performance since NOVEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT) remained at #3 as it got back some of last month’s loss. The previous leader was iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101). It slid to #4 this time as it ended a very strong three-book surge. URBAN ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) moved up to #5 with its highest total since APRIL. WHUR fell to a tie at #9 with its smallest share since DECEMBER.

WAMU had a huge 18-49 increase which propelled the station back to #1 after a two month layoff. WMMJ stepped back to #2 despite a slight increase. WASH returned as the #3 station with its fifth up book in a row. WGTS inched up to #4 with its highest share in over a year. Two arch rivals were tied at #5. WKYS was up a slot with a slight increase while WPGC advanced three squares with its best outing since the geese were a layin’. WIHT slipped to #7 with a slight decrease.

ATLANTA: Fish Fried

For the last four books, SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (THE FISH) had not only led the 6+ market but, at least for the last two months, dominated it. That came to a halt this time as the station dove to #7 with its lowest mark since NOVEMBER (8.5-4.7). Back to its previously customary spot at #1 was COX RADIO Talk WSB-A which had its highest mark since JANUARY (6.6-7.6). Positions two through six were tightly compacted and separated by less than half a share. COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) moved up to #2 with its fourth straight up book (6.1-6.4). COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) remained at #3 but with its highest water mark since JANUARY (6.1-6.3). ENTERCOM Urban WVEE (V-103) stepped up to #4 (6.0-6.2) and was tied with URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) (5.8-6.2). COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) had its best outing in over a year as it stepped up to #6 (5.4-6.0).

WAMJ had its best 25-54 book in over a year to repeat as the #1 station. However, this time it had company as WVEE forged a tie and moved up from #2. WSB-F remained at #3 with its highest share in over a year while WSRV repeated at #4 with a flat performance. WALR stepped up to #5 with a small increase. A couple of other stations made significant strides this survey. WSB-A rose from #10 to #6 with its highest share since FEBRUARY. iHEARTMEDIA Country WUBL (THE BULL) charged its way from #12 to #7 with easily its heftiest share in over a year. WFSH fell from #5 to #10.

Though it posted its lowest 18-34 share since MARCH, WVEE continued as the #1 station and held a bit more than a share lead over the rest of the field. WSRV repeated at #2 with a slight increase but was forced to share the spot with WAMJ which had its best book in over a year. URBAN ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) slipped to #4 with a small loss and was tied with WALR which moved up from #5 as it regained all of last month’s share loss. WSB-F slipped to #6 despite a slight increase.

Another book, another #1 appearance 18-49 for WVEE. This has been pretty much a constant for over a year. WSB-F repeated at #2 but with a small loss and was tied with WAMJ which moved up with a large increase. WSRV slipped back to #4 despite landing its largest number in over a year. The two stations previously aligned at #7 moved up. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) was up to #5 with its highest mark since OCTOBER. A flat WALR stepped up to #6. These two stations basically swapped spots with the two formerly paired up at #5. WHTA slid to #7 as it returned all of last month’s increase while WFSH alit at a tie for #8 with CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ-FM (Q99.7).

PHILADELPHIA: It’s A Guy Thing

The top two 6+ positions had the distinct aroma of men. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was on top for the second straight survey (7.0-6.9) while ENTERCOM Sports WIP-F moved up to #2 with its best outing since JANUARY (5.9-6.7). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS advanced to #3 with its second straight solid increase (5.8-6.3). A flat BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR was pushed back to #4 (6.1-6.1). ENTERCOM Classic Hits WOGL slid three places to #5 as it returned all of last month’s big increase (6.7-5.7). It was just ahead of ENTERCOM AC WBEB (B101.1) which moved up to #6 (5.5-5.6).

WMMR was #1 25-54 for the eighth book in a row and continued to dominate the market. Its less ink-stained cluster bro’ WMGK was flat as it repeated at #2. The generation gap between the two was almost two shares. WDAS inched up to #3 with its best performance since there was laundry hanging over the fireplace. WIP-F again had its best offensive output since JANUARY as it climbed three places to #4. This pushed WBEB – which had a slight increase – back to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) slid to #6 with its smallest share since DECEMBER. WOGL dropped five places to #8.

For the third time in the last four books, WUSL was #1 18-34. It was off a bit this time and as WMMR moved up to #2, the distance between the two stations was under a half share. BEASLEY Country WXTU slipped to #3 with its lowest total since MARCH and was tied with WBEB which was up two slots as it got back some of last month’s huge loss. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) ended a two-book slide as it stepped up to #5. WIP-F advanced five places to #6 with its highest score since MARCH. WOGL fell six spots to #9 and was tied with ENTERCOM Top 40/M WTDY.

Make eight 18-49 wins in a row for WMMR. The station was off slightly but still led #2 WUSL by over a share. WBEB repeated at #3 with a modest increase while WIP-F charged up to #4 with a rather large increase. WDAS stepped up to #5 with a strong increase while WXTU slipped to #6 with a small loss. Close behind at #7 was WMGK. WOGL fell to #8 and was tied with WIOQ.

BOSTON: Top Down

This one was kind of odd. The top four 6+ stations had down books. And, the top six stations remained exactly where they were last time. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR won for the sixth book in a row and even with a loss led the rest of the market by nearly a share and a half (8.8-7.7). #2 iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) was down for the third straight survey (6.9-6.3). ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC) repeated at #3 for the third book in a row (6.4-6.0) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX was again #4 (5.7-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A ended a string of five straight flat books (5.0-5.5) to remain at #5. BEASLEY Country WKLB returned at #6 (4.0-4.3).
Though WROR ended a two-book surge, the station was able to repeat as the demo leader. However, it was hearing footsteps from two stations. WXKS repeated at #2 with a small loss and was joined by WMJX which took a step forward as it regained about half of last month’s share loss. WZLX was again the #4 station but it returned most of last month’s increase. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) remained at #5 with a small loss. It was forced to share the moment with BEASLEY Classic Rock WBOS which moved up from a tie at #9 with its third up book in a row.

The top three 18-34 stations remained the same. WXKS was #1 for the seventh straight survey but with its lowest share in over a year. WROR was again #2 with a slight decrease, but what had once been a two-plus gap between the stations has shrunk to under a share. A flat WBQT was #3 again while WMJX moved up to #4 with its first up book since we were washing down chestnuts with egg nog. Yum. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #5. ENTERCOM Top 40/M WODS (AMP) took a step upward just by being flat. WKLB advanced four spaces with its best outing since DECEMBER. Two former members of the top five fell into a tie at #7. ENTERCOM Hot AC WWBX (MIX) was down for the fourth book in a row while WZLX had its smallest share since FEBRUARY.

The top five 18-49 was basically the same as last month. WXKS was #1 for the seventh book in a row but, as with the previous demo, posted its lowest score in over a year. #2 WROR was off a bit but managed to cut KISS’ lead in roughly half. WMJX stood alone at #3 as it bounced back some from last month’s big loss. Its former partner – WBQT – was off a bit as it stepped back to #4. WZLX repeated at #5 but with its lowest mark since FEBRUARY. WBOS had its best book in its current format as it jumped from #11 to #7.

That puts a wrap on round two of the AUGUST survey. Thank you for your time … and your feedback is always welcome. Waiting in the wings are MIAMI, SEATTLE, DETROIT, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS. 

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