Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive September PPM Analysis For New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft. Worth

Exclusive Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

For some of you, the current survey will have you humming “See You In SEPTEMBER” Others will be wailing “Wake Me When SEPTEMBER Ends.”  The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the numbers nerds from XTRENDS – are laboring through the SEPTEMBER of our years to bring you the latest ratings round-up. This latest book began on AUGUST 15 and ended SEPTEMBER 11. It featured yet another long holiday weekend, the beginning of back-to-school days, and the commencement of NFL hostilities. How that affected radio listening is the subject of today’s missive.

NEW YORK: Does This Number Make Me Look Flat?
The top two 6+ stations laid down the same shares this time as they did in the previous survey. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (LITE) was #1 as per usual (7.7-7.7) while  ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F moved up to #2 (5.7-5.7). EMMIS Urban AC WBLS stepped back to #3 with its smallest share in over a year (5.8-5.5). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) held steady at #4 (5.3-5.2) while SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA) returned at #5 (4.8-5.0). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) ended a two-book skid (4.0-4.3) as it stepped up to #6.

WLTW returned a good portion of last month’s huge gain but remained #1 25-54 over a flat WHTZ, which remained at #2. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #3. WBLS was flat and inched up a spot while WSKQ ended a two-book slide to advance two spaces. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER 105.1) slipped to #5 with a small loss. WCBS-F had its lowest share since Santa was cruising the streets and stepped back to #6. EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) was up to #7 as it ended a three-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKTU had its first down book since the maids were a milkin’ as it slid to #8.

Though it was also flat 18-34, WLTW maintained a comfortable lead in the demo. WHTZ did cut the lead in half, however, as it moved up to #2 with a solid increase. WWPR slipped back to #3 as it surrendered most of last month’s monster gain. WSKQ stepped up to #4 with a strong showing, which pushed WQHT back to #5 despite a slight increase. ENTERCOM Alternative WNYL (ALT 92.3) had its highest share since JANUARY, which pushed the station up to #6. WKTU slipped to #7.

WLTW completed the coveted demo sweep for the second straight survey as it finished first 18-49, though it did see its previous lead cut in half thanks to a noticeable share loss. WHTZ had a slight increase as it moved up to #2 while WWPR stepped back to #3 as it returned about half of last month’s huge increase. WQHT advanced a space to #4 with its first up book since MARCH. This forced WSKQ back to #5 even though MEGA got back all of last month’s share loss.

LOS ANGELES: KOST Kruises
iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST continues to roll. The station was #1 6+ for the twelfth straight survey (5.8-5.9). However, it was likely hearing footsteps as ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH) moved up to a reasonably close #2 as it ended a three-book slide (5.0-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (MY FM) was flat (5.3-5.3) and forced to take a step back to #3. This trio of stations was well ahead of the rest of the field. The next closest pursuer was ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (THE WAVE). It posted its lowest share since BURL IVES was getting spins (4.8-4.2) but held on at #4. ENTERCOM Adult hits KCBS-F (JACK) repeated at #5 (4.1-4.0) and was just ahead of iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (KISS), which moved up to #6 with its best showing since MAY (3.6-3.8).

Newly minted MARCONI winner KRTH was back on top of  the 25-54 heap after landing its largest share in over a year. The previous market leader in this space – KBIG – slipped to #2. However, it was up slightly and was extremely close to K-EARTH. KOST was up a couple of slots to #3 with its highest share since MAY while KCBS-F fell to #4 with its first down book since that very same month. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE) stepped up to #5 with a slight increase. SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (LA RAZA) slipped to #6 with a small loss. MERUELO Classic Rock KLOS had its best book in over a year as it advanced four spaces to #7. It was tied with KIIS.

For the sixth straight survey, MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER) was #1 18-34. However, the station did post its lowest share of that run. Meanwhile, KBIG had its best book in exactly a year, moved up to #2 and was less than half a share off the pace. KOST was off slightly as it slipped back to #3 while iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) moved down to #4 with its lowest score since FEBRUARY. KRTH remained at #5 with a slight decrease and had a new partner as a flat KIIS moved up from #7. KRTH’s previous pairing featured KTWV, but THE WAVE ebbed to #9 with its lowest total since MARCH. It is worth noting the sudden progress of MERUELO Latin Urban KLLI (CALI 93.9). The former KXOS changed ownership and format in JULY. It was #23 at the time. Since then it has moved to a tie at #16 and its most recent spot at #8. What’s next?

KBIG had its best 18-49 book in exactly a year to remain in the top spot. KRTH moved up to a not-too-distant #2 as it rebounded from a down book. KOST actually had its best share since MARCH but still had to step back to #3. KCBS-F also stepped back – to #4 – as it ended a two-book surge. KLAX remained at #5 with a small loss and was joined by KIIS, which moved up from a tie at #6.

CHICAGO: A Lot to Process
The 6+ rodeo was quite the show this month. To begin with, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) had its best book since OCTOBER (5.0-5.7) to move back to #1 for the first time since, well, OCTOBER. HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE) was stuck in neutral (5.4-5.4) to remain in second place. CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F came charging up the chart as it moved from a tie at #7 to #3 with its highest share since, yup, OCTOBER (3.8-4.9). ENTERCOM News WBBM-A was flat (4.8-4.8) and repeated at #4. At the time these numbers were recorded, the CUBS still had hope. That was good for ENTERCOM Sports WSCR-A (THE SCORE) as it moved up to #5 (4.1-4.3) with its highest, ahem, score in exactly a year. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (LITE) slipped back to #6 (4.5-4.2) and was tied with likely the biggest story of the book (talk about burying the lead). HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (MIX) had its smallest share since DECEMBER (5.7-4.2) as it fell from first place.

The 25-54 arena had that old-time feel as the two classic-type stations forged a partnership at the top. WDRV took one step upward as it regained almost all of last month’s big loss. WLS-F advanced from #5 with its best outing in exactly one year. After eight straight #1 books, WTMX dropped back to #3 with its lowest total in over a year. It was tied with WVAZ, which advanced from #8 with its best book in exactly a year. CUMULUS Alternative WKQX was off slightly and slipped to #5.

iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (KISS) gave back all of last month’s solid increase and slipped to #6. It was tied with UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA) and ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC WBMX (JAMS).

Not often we see this but WDRV – a Classic Rock station – kicked on the turbo and rose to #1 18-34 with its highest mark in over a year. WKQX stepped up to a very close #2 as it also posted its best number in over a year. A flat WKSC was up to #3 while WLS-F zoomed from a tie at #12 to #4 with a huge increase. HUBBARD AC WSHE took two steps up to #5 and was tied with WOJO, which advanced from #9. WTMX’s five-book winning streak came to an abrupt halt as it dropped to #7 with its smallest share in exactly a year. ENTERCOM Top 40/M WBBM-F (B96) slid to #8 with its least productive outing since JANUARY.

WDRV had its best 18-49 performance since FEBRUARY. Back then it was good enough for a #3 rank. This time it put the station at #1. It was just ahead of WLS-F, which jumped from #10 to #2 with its best showing in over a year. A flat WKQX stepped back to #3 while WTMX dropped to #4 as its seven-book winning streak was halted. WKSC dropped to #5 while WBMX slipped to #6 where it was tied with WOJO.

SAN FRANCISCO: Tongue Tied
That the top two 6+ stations were once again spoken-word specialists is no surprise. However, this time they were tied for the top spot. ENTERCOM News KCBS-A moved up from #2 (6.5-6.4) while KQED INC. N/T KQED remained in place as it ended a three-book surge (7.1-6.4). There were some dramatic movements among the music-oriented stations. CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (THE BONE) had its best book in over a year (3.1-4.8) as it soared from #10 to #3. Meanwhile,

ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE) also had its highest share in over a year as it jumped from #7 to #4 (3.8-4.7). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE) was up slightly (4.1-4.2) but dipped to #5. For a brief time the GIANTS had a glimmer of hope. That faded quickly as did CUMULUS Sports KNBR-A as it fell to #7 (4.4-3.7). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD) had its smallest share in over a year (4.0-3.1) as it dropped six places to #11.

KSAN was bad to the bone as it jumped from a tie at #6 to #1 25-54. Just two books ago it was sitting in a tie at #17. A flat KQED remained at #2 while KLLC had its highest mark since FEBRUARY to advance two spaces to #3. BONNEVILLE AC KOIT slipped back to #4 with a slight decrease while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL dropped back to #5 with a flat book. KYLD returned all of last month’s huge increase as it dropped from first to sixth. BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (NOW) ended a pretty severe two-book slide as it rose from a tie at #16 to #7.

All was right with the 18-34 world as KMEL and KYLD continued to lead the pack. KMEL was #1 for the eighth book in a row and had a two-share lead over its cluster mate, which repeated at #2. KQED was close behind as it remained at #3 but with its best book since JANUARY. KLLC was a small step behind as it advanced four squares to #4 with its largest share in over a year. KMVQ took a step upward to #5 as it regained all of last month’s share loss. KOIT dipped to #6 with a slight decrease while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR) dropped to #7 as it ended a two-book surge.

Things were very tight 18-49 as the top three stations were separated by the slimmest of margins. KMEL rose to #1 with a slight decrease and just edged out KQED, which moved up to #2 with a small gain. KLLC was up from #7 to #3 with its highest score in exactly a year. KOIT slipped to #4 as it ended a three-book surge. It was tied with KYLD, which fell from #1 as it returned most of last month’s solid gain. KMVQ was up five slots to #6 with its best book since FEBRUARY while KSAN advanced from a tie at #13 to #7. ENTERCOM Alternative KITS (ALT 105.3) dropped from #5 to #11 as it ended a four-book surge.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: Kiss This, Kiss That
As per usual it was all about iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (KISS). The station was a dominant #1 6+ again (6.7-6.5). SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY repeated at #2 (5.5-5.5) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR) remained at #3 (4.8-4.5). CUMULUS Country KPLX (THE WOLF) moved up to #4 (3.9-4.4), which pushed ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV (K-LOVE) back to #5 (4.5-4.2). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW) slipped to #6 (4.3-3.9).

Once again KHKS dominated 25-54 despite returning most of last month’s solid increase. It had a better than two-share lead over a compressed group of stations. The next six were separated by about a half share. KLTY repeated at #2 with a slight increase while KDMX moved up to #3, also with a slight gain. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA) advanced from a tie at #9 to #4 with its best book since APRIL. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBFB (THE BEAT) slipped to #5 with a slight decrease. It was just ahead of a flat ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (JACK) at #6. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) fell to #7 with its smallest share since APRIL.

KHKS could not quite duplicate last month’s double-digit 18-34 share. No matter. The station was a commanding #1 once again. KLNO moved up from #6 to #2 with a strong increase yet still trailed the leader by over four shares. KBFB was off slightly as it slipped back to #3. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KDXX remained at #4 with a slight gain while KKDA slipped to #5 with a slight loss. A flat KDMX stepped back to #6 while KPLX charged from #17 to #7 with its best outing in over a year.

Spoiler alert! KHKS was again #1 18-49. OK, everyone saw that coming. The station was off a bit but still led by about three shares. KBFB remained tied at #2 with a slight decrease but changed partners. Its new partner, KDMX, moved up from #4 with a slight increase. This pushed KKDA, the previous partner, back to #4 as it posted its lowest total since APRIL. KLNO was up three slots to #5 with a solid increase while KPLX moved from #13 to #6 as it ended a three-book slide. KLUV dropped from #5 to a tie at #9 as it returned all of last month’s increase. 

That wasn’t so painful, was it? Since The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. are gluttons for punishment, we will hunker down and prepare for round two. This will focus on HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON. 

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RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC.. is based in ANNAPOLIS, MD, to help radio stations’ programming and sales departments maximize the value of their research.

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