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

Exclusive Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in an enduring relationship with the wizards from XTRENDS – were going to say something about the Rocktober survey. But that is so cliché. Sure, the OCTOBER book – which ran from 9/12 through 10/9 – has as much to do with its namesake month as that crusty radio promotion has with a traditional German event. Instead, we’re just going to say that this survey began right after Patriot’s Day and concluded on YOM KIPPUR. It had football, it had baseball, and it had oom-pah bands. How that affected the radio ratings universe is about to be revealed. 

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Do The Tighten Up

While URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) captured the 6+ flag for the third book in a row, the battle was definitely joined. MAJIC was off a bit (7.1-6.7) while its two closest pursuers were up. #2 COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) crept closer thanks to its largest share in over a year (6.5-6.6). UNIVISON Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA 102.9) had its highest share since MARCH (5.6-6.5) as it moved up to #3. iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) slipped to #4 with its second straight flat book (5.9-5.9). ENTERCOM Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) returned at #5 (5.5-5.4). URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) remained at #6 but fell farther off the pace (5.2-4.6). It just edged out iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ), which advanced four spaces to #7 with its highest share in over a year (3.9-4.5).

KLTN was up 25-54 for the third book in a row and posted its largest share since DECEMBER to remain #1. It had more than a share lead over the two stations that moved up and into a tie at #2. KKHH took one step upward with a slight increase while KTBZ rose from #6 with its best book in over a year. KGLK slipped to #4 with a slight decrease. Last month KBXX and KMJQ were tied at #4. The stations remained in tandem but were downgraded to #5 as both had down books.

Though KBXX was off a bit 18-34, the station remained a very strong #1. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) remained at #2 but was also off and trailed the leader by almost a share. KTBZ again had its best outing in over a year as it moved two slots to #3. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KAMA (LATINO MIX) also had its highest share in over a year as it moved up to #4. In the last four books, the station has gone #11-#9 (tie)-#7-#4. ENTERCOM Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101FM) slipped to #5 with its third down book in a row. KODA slid to #6 with its lowest total in over a year. It was joined by two stations that made strong moves. KKHH turned it up from #11 as it regained most of last month’s big loss. KMJQ advanced from #10 with its best performance in over a year.

For the fourth book in a row, there was a different station atop the 18-49 leaderboard. It was KODA in JULY, THE SPOT in AUGUST, THE BOX in SEPTEMBER, and now KLTN, which posted its largest share since MARCH. KBXX dropped back to #2 with a slight increase. KTBZ was up three spots to #3 with – once again – its best showing in over a year. KKHH slipped to #4 with a slight increase while KODA stepped back to #5 with its smallest share in over a year. COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q) slid to #7 with a modest loss.

WASHINGTON, DC: As Close As It Gets

Last month AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU and URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) were tied at #2 6+. This was after being tied at #1 the previous survey. Well, both stations had up books this time but were forced to go their separate ways. WAMU ended up on top (7.4-8.1) while MAJIC remained in second place (7.4-8.0). HUBBARD News WTOP slipped from first to third with its lowest share in over a year (7.5-7.4). ATLANTIC GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS INC. Christian Contemporary WGTS was flat and stable at #4 (6.2-6.2). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH had its best Frosty-free share in over a year (5.6-6.1) to move up to #5. This pushed HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR – which had its lowest mark in over a year (5.8-5.2) – down to #6. As of this writing, the NATIONALS were still alive in the fall classic. At the time of the survey, they were the talk of the town. This helped ENTERCOM Sports WJFK (106.7 THE FAN) – the team’s flagship – post its best score in over a year (3.5-4.3) and move up to #8.

This was the tenth straight survey that WAMU was #1 25-54. The station got back a good portion of last month’s huge loss. WMMJ was up slightly at #2 but trailed the leader by more than a share. WGTS was up a spot to #3 with its fourth up book in a row. WHUR stepped back to #4 despite a slight increase while a flat WASH repeated at #5. The NATS hysteria drove WJFK from a tie at #12 to #6 as the station posted its best score in over a year. 

For the third book in a row, WASH was #1 18-34. And, the station had its best non-pine-scented share in over a year. WGTS stood alone at #2 with a slight decrease and was more than a share off the lead. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) dropped from a tie at #2 into a tie at #3 as it ended a two-book surge. Its new dance partner was ENTERCOM Top 40/R WPGC, which moved up from #4 despite a modest decrease in share. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG advanced one space to #5 with its third straight up book. URBAN ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) ended a two-book surge and dipped to #6.

WGTS had its best 18-49 share in over a year to remain #1 by a small margin over WAMU, which moved up to #2 as it regained a good portion of last month’s big loss. WASH stepped back to #3 with a slight decrease while WMMJ moved up to #4 as it also rebounded from a down book. WHUR was up two spots to #5 with a small gain and was paired with WBIG, which advanced from #9 with its best outing in over a year. WPGC slipped three places to #7 with its smallest share since MARCH. WKYS also dropped three – to #8 – with its lowest total in over a year. It was tied with WIHT.

ATLANTA: Everybody’s Talkin’ At Me

Those voices in your head belonged to COX RADIO N/T WSB-A, which was #1 6+ for the third book in a row and with its highest share since NOVEMBER (7.6-8.2). It held a commanding lead over the three stations locked together in second place. COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) was up a spot despite posting its first down book since MARCH (6.5-5.9). ENTERCOM Urban AC WVEE (V-103) took two steps upwards with its lowest total since FEBRUARY (6.2-5.9). COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) was up from #5 (5.8-5.9). The previous occupant of that position – URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) – slipped to #5 as it ended a three-book surge (6.6-5.8). COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) slipped to #6 (5.8-5.7). However, it was a virtual five-way tie at #2.

WVEE and WAMJ have been going back and forth between the top two spots 25-54 for the last several surveys. This time V-103 ended up at #1 thanks to its best book since APRIL. WAMJ stepped back to #2 as it ended a three-book surge. The stations were less than half a share apart. WSRV repeated at #3 with a slight increase while a flat WSB-F remained at #4. Back when this survey began, the FALCONS had hope. That helped push ENTERCOM Sports WZGC-F (THE GAME) up to #5 with its highest share in over a year. WALR dipped to #6 with a slight decrease.

WVEE came off its monster 18-34 book from last month but continued to be a dominant force in the demo. URBAN ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) was up three places to #2 with its best book since MAY but remained almost two shares off the lead. WSB-F had its largest share in over a year, which propelled the station from #7 to #3. WAMJ slipped to #4 as it ended a three-book surge in this demo, as well. WSRV was down a slot while WALR was up one. Both stations ended up tied at #5 with down books.

The 18-49 demo saw little change at the top. WVEE continued as the #1 station and landed its largest share since JANUARY. WAMJ repeated at #2 as it returned most of last month’s solid increase. WSB-F inched up to #3 as it ended a two-book slide while WSRV stepped back to #4 with its smallest share since MARCH. WHTA advanced three spaces to #5 with a solid increase while WZGC-F also moved up three spots – to #6 – with its sixth straight up book. WALR slid to #7 with a slight decrease.

PHILADELPHIA: Fly Eagles Fly

It would be tempting to say that the recent surge in numbers by ENTERCOM Sports WIP-F was due to a team led by BRYCE who? But that would be incorrect. This is all about football. The station was tied at #1 6+ last time but held the position all to itself this month (6.6-7.5). ENTERCOM AC WBEB (B101.1) was up to #2 with its third up book in a row (6.1-6.6). It was tied with BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK (6.5-6.6). Last month’s co-leader – iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS – slipped to #4 as it ended a strong three-book surge (6.6-6.4). BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR remained at #5 (6.0-6.0).

For the tenth book in a row, WMMR was #1 25-54. It held a commanding share-plus lead over WIP-F, which moved up to #2 with its highest score in over a year. WDAS slipped back to #3 with a small loss while a flat WBEB dipped to #4. WMGK moved up to #5 with a slight increase while iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER) dropped three places to #6 as it returned most of last month’s huge increase.

Last month BEASLEY Country WXTU and WBEB were tied at #2 18-34. Both stations had good books this time but WXTU’s was a bit better as it rose to #1. WBEB was a very close #2. WUSL had hit double digits last time as it led the market. This time it did neither as it dropped to #3. Still, it was only a half share off the lead. WMMR repeated at #4 with a slight decrease. ENTERCOM Top 40/M WTDY had its best outing since MAY as it leapt from #9 to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) slipped to #7 with a slight decrease and was tied with WMGK.

WUSL ended WMMR’s eight-book 18-49 winning streak last month. This time WMMR started a new streak as it ended a four-book slide. WUSL stepped back to #2 as it returned about half of last month’s massive increase. WBEB repeated at #3 with its third straight up book. The three stations that were tied at #4 dissolved their relationship. WIP-F remained in that spot with its best outing since MARCH. WDAS stepped back to #5 with a slight increase while WXTU dropped to #6, also with a slight increase.

BOSTON: More Of The Same

Beginning in FEBRUARY, BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS) have been the top two 6+ stations. And, for the fifth book in a row, WROR was #1 (7.6-7.9) while KISS was #2 (6.3-6.5). iHEARTMEDIA Classic rock WZLX repeated at #3 but with its best share in over a year (5.9-6.4). The PATRIOTS were certainly a radio magnet as both sports stations had good books. BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) – the team’s flagship – inched up to #4 with its highest share since APRIL (6.0-6.1). Farther down the list was ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-FM, which had its best outing since JANUARY (3.7-4.4) as it moved up to #7. iHEARTMEDIA N/T WBZ-A remained at #5 (5.3-5.2) while ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC) slipped to #6 with its fourth straight down book (5.8-4.7).

Last month WROR and WXKS were tied atop the 25-54 leaderboard. That arrangement did not continue this time. WROR remained in first as it ended a two-book slide while a flat KISS slipped to #3. In between was WBZ-F which was up to #2 with its best offensive production since MARCH. WZLX moved up to #4 with its highest mark since MAY while WMJX stepped down to #5 with its lowest total in exactly one year. ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT) ended a three-book slide and moved up to #6.

A month ago we saw WZLX and WXKS tied at #1 18-34. Both stations had up books this time but WZLX’s was a bit better as it remained the demo leader. KISS slid to #2 as it ended a four-book slide and was about a half share off the lead. WROR was up a couple of slots to #3 with its best book in over a year and was very close to knocking KISS out of second place. WBQT stepped back to #4 despite landing its largest share since APRIL. ENTERCOM Hot AC WWBX (MIX) moved up to #5 with a strong increase. WBZ-F was up four places to #6. Both stations had their best books since JUNE. WMJX dropped to #8 with its smallest share since NOVEMBER.

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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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