Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive October PPM Analysis For L.A., New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas

Exclusive Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

Hard to believe that there are only two books left until the ratings waters are tainted by the stench of jingle bells and reindeer. Let us enjoy these last fleeting moments of normalcy, shall we? The OCTOBER survey commenced right after Patriot’s Day, ran through the official beginning of autumn, and ended on Yom Kippur. For those keeping score at home, that covered 9/12 through 10/9. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the math mavens from XTRENDS – do keep score. Well, we keep score on the scorekeepers, if you get our drift. Here is what happened …

NEW YORK: Seven Up

Though the numbers changed, the rank order of the top seven 6+ stations remained unaltered from the previous survey. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (LITE) maintained its firm grip on first place (7.7-7.4) while ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F continued in second place (5.7-5.8). EMMIS Urban AC WBLS placed third again but was also down for the third book in a row (5.5-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) repeated at #4 (5.2-5.1) while SBS Tropical WSKQ (LA MEGA) held steady at #5 (5.0-4.7). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) was #6 (4.3-4.3) while iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER 105.1) was back at #7 again (3.9-3.9).

The status was not quo 25-54 as WHTZ moved up to #1 after posting its second straight flat book. WLTW abdicated the throne with another big down book as it dropped back to #2. A flat WSKQ remained tied at #3 but with a new partner. WWPR moved up to claim its share of the winnings thanks to a slight increase. WBLS dropped out of that tie and forged another one at #5. The station posted its lowest share in over a year while WCBS-F moved up a slot thanks to a slight increase. EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) was close behind at #7 with a flat performance.

The 18-34 demo was equally tumultuous. WHTZ had its highest share since FEBRUARY as it moved up to the top spot after a two-book layoff. WLTW lost a rather large chunk of share as it fell back to #2. WSKQ moved up to a very close #3 after landing its largest share since FEBRUARY. WQHT stepped up to #4 with a slight increase while WWPR slipped to #5 with its smallest share in over a year. ENTERCOM Hot AC WNEW ended a two-book slide as it moved up four slots to #6 though it was still pretty far away from joining the top five.

The 18-49 race was this close to being tied. WLTW barely held on as the #1 station as it was down sharply. A flat WHTZ was a click behind at #2. WWPR repeated at #3 despite a small loss. WSKQ was up to #4 with a slight increase, which pushed a flat WQHT back to #5.

LOS ANGELES: The Earth Moved

We are talking seismic shifting … where was your mind going? ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101) had its highest 6+ share in over a year (5.6-5.9) to move up to #1 for the first time in exactly a year. That was also the last time iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST was #2. It landed there this time with its lowest total since NOVEMBER (5.9-5.2). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MY FM) returned at #3 (5.3-4.9) while ENTERCOM Urban AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) was #4 for the third book in a row (4.2-4.5). UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE 107.5) moved up to #5 thanks to its highest share in over a year (3.5-4.0). This forced ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (93.1 JACK FM) back to #6 (4.0-3.8).

For the second straight survey, KRTH was on top of the world 25-54. The station was up slightly and saw its lead over #2 KBIG grow to a full share. That’s because MY FM ended its two-book surge. KLVE advanced to #3 with its fourth up book in a row while KOST slipped back to #4 with its first down book since JUNE. Three stations were arm-in-arm at #5. KCBS-F slipped a spot with its lowest mark since people were drinking that vile egg-nog mixture. SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (97.9 LA RAZA) was up a spot with a slight decrease while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS (103. 7 KISS) moved in from a tie at #7 with a slight increase.

Yes, MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER 106) was #1 18-34 for the seventh book in a row. However, the station had its lowest share since NOVEMBER and was down for the fourth straight survey. KRTH moved up three places to #2 and trailed the leader by half a share. It was also just inches ahead of the two stations that moved up and into a tie at #3. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) took one step upward as it bounced back from a down book. KIIS jumped two slots with its best outing since JUNE. KBIG slipped three spots to #5 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase. KOST fell to #6 and was tied with KLVE.

For the fifth time in 2019, KRTH was #1 18-49. The station returned to the top thanks to its second up book in a row. KBIG ended its two-month stay at #1 and fell back to #2. KOST remained at #3 but ended its three-book surge. KLVE advanced four spaces to #4 with its highest total in over a year. KIIS stood alone at #5 with a slight increase. Its former partner in that space – KLAX – slipped to #6 with a slight decrease. It was tied with KCBS-F, which stepped down from #4 with its lowest share since JANUARY.

CHICAGO: Back In The Mix

We have a saying around the worldwide headquarters of RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. One book does not make a trend (profound, right?). That is certainly the mantra for HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 THE MIX). Last month it saw the station drop from first to a tie at #6. Well, it bounced back this time (4.2-5.5) to re-claim the top spot. It was narrowly ahead of iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103), which stepped back to #2 as it ended a three-book surge (5.7-5.4). HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE 97.1) backed up to #3 with its first down book since MAY (5.4-5.2). ENTERCOM News WBBM-A was rock steady at #4 for the fourth book in a row (4.8-4.9). CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F slipped to #5 (4.9-4.8). ENTERCOM Sports WSCR-A (670 THE SCORE) was as flat as the CUBS (4.3-4.3) as it dropped to #6. It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM) (4.2-4.3).

The WTMX redemption tour continued 25-54 as the station got back most of last month’s huge loss. That was enough to move it back to #1. The two previous occupants of that spot had down books. WLS-F ended a two-book surge as it dipped to #2. WDRV returned most of last month’s big gain as it dropped to #3. WVAZ was off slightly as it slid to #4. CUMULUS Alternative WKQX remained at #5 with a slight decrease. It was joined by HUBBARD AC WSHE, which advanced from #13 with its highest share in over a year. It was also a good month for ENTERCOM AAA WXRT. It also had its highest share in over a year, which drove it from #14 to #7.

It was quite the 18-34 turnaround for WTMX. Last month it dropped from first to seventh. This time it bounced back to #1 and with its highest share in over a year. WDRV was stuck in neutral as it moved down to #2 while WKQX slipped to #3 as it ended a strong three-book surge. WSHE was up a spot to #4 with its best showing since APRIL. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) dipped to #5 with its lowest total in over a year. UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA 105.1) slid to #6 as it

returned half of last month’s big increase. WLS-F was down three places to #7 as it also returned about half of last survey’s huge increase.

WTMX only dropped from first to fourth 18-49 last month. It was back on top this time but did not get back all of last month’s loss. Still, it had better than a share lead over WDRV, which dropped back to #2 as it returned most of last month’s big increase. The domino effect continued as WLS-F stepped back to #3 and WKQX dropped to #4. Both stations had modest losses. WSHE was up four slots to #5 with its third straight up book. WKSC dropped four places to #9 with its least productive outing in over a year.

SAN FRANCISCO: Our Top Story …

The various flavors of spoken-word programming once again led the way with the 6+ audience. Last month ENTERCOM News KCBS-A and KQED INC. N/T KQED were tied at #1. That did not become a trend. KCBS-A had its best book since JANUARY (6.4-7.0) to take control of the market. KQED had its smallest share in over a year (6.4-5.9) as it dropped back to #2. The leading music station this month was ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE). It moved up to #3 overall with its best book in over a year (4.7-5.0). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE 98.1) stepped up to #4 with its fourth straight up book (4.2-4.5). CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (107.7 THE BONE) stepped back to #5 (4.8-4.4). For the entire survey, CUMULUS Sports KNBR was heard on both AM and FM, and the station moved up to #6 (3.7-4.0).

The 25-54 arena was in a state of flux. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL had a solid increase as it rose from #5 to #1. It just edged out KLLC, which was up to #2 with its highest share in over a year. Last month KSAN had lurched into the demo lead. This time it slipped back to #3 where it was tied with KQED – which had its lowest total in over a year. BONNEVILLE AC KOIT stepped back to #5 with a slight decrease and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD 94.9), which was up a slot with a slight increase.

For the ninth book in a row, KMEL was #1 18-34. This time the station also landed its largest share in over a year. BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW) was up three places to #2 as it also posted its best share in over a year. However, the gap between the two stations exceeded three shares. KYLD slipped back to #3 while KQED dropped back to #4. Both stations ended two-book surges. KOIT was up to #5 as it got back last month’s small loss. KLLC slipped to #6 as it returned most of last month’s huge increase. It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3), which had a small gain.

KMEL had its best 18-49 book since APRIL to capture the demo for the third time in the last four surveys. KLLC was up to #2 with a slight decrease and was joined by a flat KOIT, which advanced from a tie at #4. KYLD stood alone at #4 with a slight decrease while KQED dropped to #5 with its smallest share in exactly a year. It was just ahead of a stationary #6 KMVQ, which landed its largest share in over a year.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: What Froze Over?

We have often joked that two things can keep iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) from being #1 6+. The Santa brigade and the big chill down under. Well, they may be serving piña coladas in the bad place because SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY was the new market leader this survey. Not surprisingly the station had its best book in over a year (5.5-6.6). KISS was flat (6.5-6.5). ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV moved up to #3 as it got back last month’s small loss (4.2-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR 92.5) slipped to #4 with its third down book in a row (4.5-4.3). It was joined by iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW 102.9), which moved up from #6 as it also got back all of last

month’s decrease (3.9-4.3). CUMULUS Talk WBAP-A inched up to #6 (3.6-4.1) while CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF) dropped to #7 (4.4-4.0).

There were no sudden drops in the 25-54 temperature as the top four stations remained the same from last survey. KHKS was #1 again as it got back all of last month’s modest loss. KLTY returned at a distant #2 but with its best book in over a year. KDMX repeated at #3 with a solid gain while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA 94.1) gave an encore performance at #4 with its best outing since MARCH. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) moved up two places to #5 as it bounced back from a down book. It was just ahead of #6 ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (100.3 JACK FM), which was up slightly. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBFB (97.9 THE BEAT) slipped to #7 with a slight decrease and was tied with KLUV.

KHKS was down slightly 18-34 while KLNO was up slightly. The stations remained #1 and #2, respectively, but were separated by four full shares. KLUV jumped six places to #3 with its best number since NOVEMBER (excluding the egg-nog-slurping time). KKDA and KDMX both moved up and into a tie at #4. KKDA had a slight increase while KDMX had its best book since JULY. KBFB fell to #6 with its lowest share since APRIL. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KDXX (LATINO MIX) dropped to #7 as it ended a two-book surge.

Once again, KHKS was a dominant #1 18-49. The station was up a bit while #2 KDMX had a solid increase. They were still well over two shares apart. KKDA took a step up to #3 with a slight increase and was joined by KLUV, which advanced from a tie at #9 with its best performance since the Ma was in her kerchief. KLNO remained at #5 with a slight increase and was just ahead of KLTY, which rose to #6 with its highest share in over a year. KBFB fell five slots to #7 with its lowest mark since MAY.

One down, two to go. Thanks for indulging us. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will now take a short nap as we prep for round two. This will focus on HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON.

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About Research Director, Inc.: Research Director, Inc. is based in Annapolis, Maryland. We help radio stations’ programming and sales departments maximize the value of their research. For more information, visit www.ResearchDirectorInc.com, call (410)-295-6619, or e-mail info@ResearchDirectorInc.com or sallan@ResearchDirectorInc.com. Facebook: www.facebook.com/ResearchDirectorInc. Twitter: @ResearchDirectr

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