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

Exclusive Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

Can you believe it’s NOVEMBER already? Why, the frost is barely off the pumpkin and already we’re dealing with the indignity of hearing ELMO & PATSY in semi-regular rotation. Though the survey we are about to dissect is nominally referred to as NOVEMBER, it barely lives up to that standard as it actually began on 10/10 and ended on 11/6. There was a federally mandated holiday, some election activity, and the requisite scary stuff along the way. Most notably, this is the final survey of 2019 that will not be tainted by the stench of pine needles. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with our cohorts from XTRENDS – welcome you …

NEW YORK: Six For Six

The status quo remained firmly entrenched in the 6+ ranks as the top six stations remained unchanged from last survey. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM) was again the market leader (7.4-7.1). ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F crept a bit closer at #2 (5.8-5.9) but we all know winter is coming. EMMIS Urban AC WBLS repeated at #3 as it ended a three-book slide (5.3-5.8). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) was down for the third straight survey (5.1-5.0) but held steady at #4. SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9) was #5 (4.7-4.7) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) held the #6 spot for the third book in a row (4.3-4.2).

Last month WHTZ and WLTW were inches from each other atop the 25-54 leaderboard. This time they were like two peas in a pod. Both stations were down slightly but ended up tied at #1. WBLS broke out of a tie at #5 to advance to #3 as it regained all of last month’s share loss. WCBS-F broke out of that same tie to move up to #4 and land in a tie with WSKQ, which slipped from a tie at #3. EMMIS Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) moved up a slot to #6 with its highest share since APRIL. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER 105.1) dropped from a tie at #3 to #7 with its lowest score in exactly one year.

Though the top five 18-34 players remained unaltered from last time, the race did get a bit hotter. WHTZ remained on top as it ended a two-book surge. #2 WLTW was very close behind with a slight increase. WSKQ ended a three-book surge but repeated at #3 while #4 WQHT was up for the third straight survey. WWPR ended a somewhat severe two-book slide to return at #5.

WLTW was up slightly as it copped its fourth straight 18-49 victory. #2 WHTZ fell a bit further off the pace as it was off a bit. WSKQ and WQHT joined forces as they moved up and into a tie at #3. MEGA had its best book since JUNE while HOT hit its highest mark since APRIL. WBLS ended a three-book slide to move up to #5 while WWPR dropped to #6 with its smallest share in over a year.

LOS ANGELES: The Earth Is Flat

No, The Ratings Experts are not in possession of any tinfoil hats. This was merely an observation of the performance given by ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101). The station was flat 6+ (5.9-5.9) and was also #1 again. iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST was also flat (5.2-5.2) as it repeated at #2. These two stations were well clear of the rest of the field. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MY FM) returned at #3 (4.9-4.6) while two stations were a level behind at #4. ENTERCOM Urban AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) remained in place but with its lowest share since Grandma was roadkill (4.5-4.1). UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE 107.5) moved up to forge the tie (4.0-4.1). The station has not had a down

book since APRIL. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS was close to rejoining the top five. It stepped up to #6 with its highest share since MAY (3.6-3.9).

For the third straight survey, KRTH had “I Feel The Earth Move” in high rotation as it was #1 25-54. The station also achieved its highest share in over a year. KLVE was off slightly as it moved up to #2 while KBIG stepped back to #3 with its smallest share since APRIL. Three stations were tied at #5 last month. Two remained together as they moved up to #4 with small gains. They were KIIS and SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (97.9 LA RAZA). The third member of that group was ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (93.1 JACK FM). It fell back to #6 with its lowest score since the swans were a swimming and was tied with KOST, which fell from #4 with its lowest total in over a year.

The top four stations 18-34 were separated by only a half share. And, for the first time in exactly a year KIIS was #1 as it posted its largest share in, well, exactly a year. KRTH had its best book since JULY to remain close behind at #2 while iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) was a beat behind at #3. MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER 106) saw its seven-book run at #1 come to an end. It ended up at #4 with its lowest mark in exactly one year. SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA 96.3) moved up three places to #5 with a rather large share increase. KBIG slipped to #7 with its least productive outing since JULY.

KRTH was – ahem – flat 18-49 but remained a solid #1 for the second book in a row. KIIS advanced three spaces to #2 with its best book since MAY yet still trailed the leader by a full share. KBIG stepped back to #3 with a modest loss. KLVE repeated at #4 with a slight loss and was forced to share the moment with KLAX, which moved up from a tie at #6 as it ended a two-book slide. KOST had its lowest share in over a year as it fell six places to a tie at #9.

CHICAGO: Thrice As Nice

Now here’s something you don’t see every month. Three – count ‘em – three stations tied at #1 6+. Let the roll call begin. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) made the shortest journey as it stepped up from #2 with a down book (5.4-5.1). ENTERCOM News WBBM-A moved up from #4 with its highest share since MAY (4.9-5.1). And, CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F advanced from #5 with its best book in over a year (4.8-5.1). HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE 97.1) slipped to #4 with its lowest share since MAY (5.2-4.8). iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM) got a head start on its holiday push as it moved up to #5 (the station did flip the next-to-last day of this survey). This was also its best book since JANUARY (4.3-4.7). It has been quite the roller coaster four books for HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 MIX). The station has gone from #1 to a tie at #6, back to #1 and, now, back to #6 (5.5-4.4). Meanwhile, its sister station – HUBBARD AC WSHE – has gone from a tie at #15 to a tie at #10 to its most recent posting at #7 (3.4-4.1).

WLS-F had its best 25-54 book in over a year as it returned to the top spot, this time as a solo act. WSHE was up for the fourth straight survey. This run has taken the station from #15 all the way up to #2 with a bullet. WTMX gave back most of last month’s increase as it slid from first to third. WVAZ repeated at #4 with a slight increase while WDRV slid to #5 with a slight decrease. A flat CUMULUS Alternative WKQX stepped back to #6 and was tied with UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA 105.1).

The 18-34 results were both topsy AND turvy. WDRV ascended the throne despite a small loss. WOJO jumped four places to #2 with a massive increase and was tied with WLS-F, which advanced from #7 with its highest share in over a year. WSHE was up for the third book in a row to remain #4 while WKQX

slipped to #5 with a flat book. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) stepped back to #6 despite a slight increase. WTMX fell from #1 to a tie at #8, losing more than half its share in the process.

As with the previous demo, 18-49 saw quite the upheaval. WLS-F took the top prize with its highest share in over a year. WSHE accomplished the same feat as it moved from #5 to #2. WOJO advanced four spaces to #3 with its best outing since APRIL. WDRV dropped back to #4 with a small loss and was with a stationary WKQX, which was up slightly. WTMX gave back all of last month’s big increase as it fell from #1 to #6.

SAN FRANCISCO: Lots Of Big Talk

There was a large and noticeable increase in the amount of spoken-word consumption in this survey. The usual suspects occupied the top two spots 6+ but both stations were up sharply. ENTERCOM News KCBS-A was #1 for the third straight survey and landed its largest share in over a year (7.0-8.2). KQED INC. N/T KQED returned at #2 with its best book since MARCH (5.9-7.3). The leading music station was CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (107.7 THE BONE), which got back all of last month’s share loss to return to #3 (4.4-4.8). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE 98.1) remained at #4 (4.5-4.5) while ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE@97.3) slipped to #5 with its first down book since JULY (5.0-4.4).

For the first time since JULY, KQED was back at #1 25-54. The station also landed its largest share since JANUARY. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL had its best book in over a year yet was forced to step back to a very close #2. KLLC also stepped back – to #3 – and was tied with two other stations. KSAN remained in place with a slight decrease while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD 94.9) moved up from a tie at #5 with a slight increase. BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW) was close behind at #6 with a slight gain while BONNEVILLE AC KOIT dropped to #7 with a slight decrease.

It was a big 18-34 book for KMEL. The station remained #1 and hit the double-digit mark in share. KQED moved up to #2 with a strong increase but still trailed the leader by four and a half shares. KMVQ slipped back to #3 with a slight increase. More than a share behind the #2 and #3 stations was KYLD, which stepped back to #4 with its lowest share since JULY. KOIT remained at #5 with a slight decrease but was forced to share. Both iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3) and KLLC were flat as they moved up from their previous tie at #6.

KMEL was up 18-49 for the second book in a row, #1 for the third straight survey, and posted its highest share in over a year. Nice. KQED advanced three places to #2 with its best mark since JANUARY. KYLD was up slightly as it stepped up to #3. It was tied with KMVQ, which rose from #6 with its third straight up book. KOIT and KLLC had been tied at #2. That partnership was dissolved. KOIT landed at #5 while KLLC ended up at #6.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: A Return To Normalcy

Last month the 6+ world was rocked as SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY unseated long-time champ iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) as the top station. That did not become a trend as KISS moved back to #1 (6.5-6.2) while KLTY dropped back to second place (6.6-5.6). CUMULUS Country KSCS gave its best performance in over a year (3.6-4.9) as it leapt five spots to #3. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW 102.9) remained at #4 with its best book since JUNE (4.3-4.5). ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV slid to #5 (4.5-4.4) and was tied with CUMULUS Talk WBAP-A, which posted its largest share in over a year (4.1-4.4). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR 92.5) slid to #7 with its fourth straight down book (4.3-4.2).

KHKS gave back all of last month’s 25-54 increase but remained a dominant #1. KSCS made the leap o’ the month as it advanced from #9 to #2 yet was still nearly two shares off the lead. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA 94.1) was up to #3 with its fourth straight up book. KLTY stepped down to #4 as it returned all of last month’s healthy increase. KDMX dropped to #5 with a small loss. It was joined by SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104), which remained in place with a slight increase.

Though KHKS was down 18-34 for the third straight survey, it continued to run unabated to the #1 position. KSCS got a huge increase as it rose from #12 to #2 but was still more than three shares behind the leader. KDMX stepped up to #3 despite a slight decrease while KLNO dropped down to #4 as it ended a three-book surge. KLUV slid to #5 as it returned about half of last month’s huge gain. KKDA dropped to #6 with its lowest total since APRIL.

The fact that KHKS was off slightly 18-49 did not prevent the station from remaining firmly in place at #1. KSCS was up for the third straight survey as it advanced from #8 to #2. This pushed KDMX – which was off slightly – back to #3. A flat KKDA stepped back to #4 and was joined in that space by KLNO, which took one step upward with a slight increase. KLUV fell to #6 with a slight decrease.

Well, that was refreshing. Take a moment to collect your collective selves as The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. hunker in our bunker and prep for phase two. This will focus on HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON.

In the meantime, take a moment to click the link and subscribe to our blog. It is thoughtful, industry-focused, and contains seven essential minerals to keep a body growing strong. Check it out here: https://researchdirectorinc.com/hot-topics/

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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