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

Exclusive Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

Now that we have survived that visit by a mythical being from a frozen wasteland who defied the laws of physics and fulfilled an ancient prophecy, we can move on to more temporal matters. The ratings experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the paranormal diviners from XTRENDS – mere mortals all – will bring you the mundane results of the DECEMBER survey. This one spanned 11/7 through 12/4 and is most notable for two things. The great American pig-out and the beginning of the holiday hostilities. What does it all mean? Read and find out …

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Santa Shines
The army of elves did their duty as iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) moved up to #1 6+. The station made its pact with Santa effective during week two of the survey and got the expected boost (5.8-7.8), though it was not quite as boosty as last year’s 9.7 share. URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) had its string of #1 books end at four as the station dropped back to #2 (6.8-7.1).  UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA 102.9) slipped back to #3 despite posting its sixth straight up book (6.6-6.8). COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) held steady at #4 as it rebounded from a down book (5.6-6.1). CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE moved up to #5 (4.8-4.9), which forced ENTERCOM Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) to step down to #6 (4.9-4.5). 

There was enough juice in Santa’s sleigh to propel KODA from a tie at #4 to #1 25-54 – barely. KLTN had been the demo leader over the last three surveys but was forced to step back to #2 as it ended a rather robust four-book surge. KMJQ stepped up to #3 with its best book in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94. 5 THE BUZZ) slid to #4 as it ended a strong two-book surge. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) advanced to #5 as it regained all of last month’s share loss. KGLK was extremely close behind at #6 as it ended a somewhat steep two-book slide. KKHH fell four places to #7 with its smallest share since APRIL.

There was a different kind of magic swirling about the 18-34 sphere. KMJQ had its best book in over a year as it teleported from #7 to #1. KODA drank deeply from the cup of nog and rose from #12 to #2 yet trailed the leader by a half share. Nipping at its heels, if not its nose, was iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT), which slipped to #3 with a slight increase. KBXX was another small step behind as it dropped from #1 to #4 with its lowest share since JUNE. ENTERCOM Hot AC KHMX (MIX 96.5) had been on a roll of late. The station has gone from #13 to #8 to its most recent posting at #5. It was just ahead of KLTN, which fell to #6 as it returned about half of last month’s big gain. KRBE slid to #7 while ENTERCOM Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101 FM) fell to #8. It was tied with UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KAMA (LATINO MIX).

KODA landed on the nice list 18-49 as it rose from #5 to #1. It just edged out KLTN, which saw its two-book reign come to an end. KBXX stood alone at #3 as it ended a two-book slide while KRBE slipped to #4 despite a slight increase. KTBZ fell three places to #5 and was just ahead of two stations at #6. KMJQ advanced from a tie at #10 with its highest share in over a year and was tied with KQBT, which had a slight increase.

WASHINGTON, DC: Second Santa
We all know there is only one Santa – all the rest are merely “helpers.” However, in this case Santa was in second place 6+ under the guise of iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH. The station moved up from a tie at #5 (5.4-8.1) and bested last year’s 7.3 share. For the third straight survey, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was #1 (8.9-8.8). HUBBARD News WTOP-F slipped to #3 (8.1-7.9) while URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC) stepped down to #4 (7.4-7.6). There was a new member of the top-five club as ATLANTIC GATEWAY Christian Contemporary WGTS bounced back from a down book (5.0-5.9) and advanced two spaces to #5. CUMULUS Talk WMAL slipped to #6 (5.7-5.5) while HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR dropped to #7 (5.4-5.2). 

Make it an even dozen for WAMU. This was the station’s twelfth consecutive 25-54 win and it landed its largest share since AUGUST. WMMJ was #2 as per usual with a slight decrease. The magic of the season pushed WASH from #7 to #3 while WGTS remained at #4 with a slight increase. WTOP dropped to #5, with a slight decrease, while WHUR stepped down to #6. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) had its best showing in over a year as it moved up to #7. It was tied with URBAN ONE Urban WKYS (KISS).

Santa finally won a demo as WASH was #1 18-34. Actually, this was the fifth book in a row that the station led the market so the addition of tinsel just made things prettier. Last month, WASH shared the top spot with WKYS and iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG. Those two stations remained tied but fell to #5. There was also a tie at #4 last month that featured WGTS and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5). That was also broken but both stations moved up. WGTS was at #2 with its highest share in over a year while HOT ended a two-book slide and advanced to #3. WAMU jumped four spaces to #4 with its best showing since FEBRUARY. WWDC had a small increase as it moved up to join WKYS and WBIG at #5.

WAMU captured the 18-49 flag for the second straight survey with its highest share since MARCH. WASH was up three places to #2 and was about a half share off the lead. WGTS and WMMJ had been tied at #2 but that relationship soured. The former slipped to #3 despite a healthy increase while the latter slid to #4 with a modest loss. WWDC inched up to #5 with its highest mark in over a year. WKYS dropped to #6 as it returned about half of last month’s solid increase.

ATLANTA: Do They Know It’s Christmas?
It would seem the answer is – well, maybe. SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (104.7 THE FISH) consumed the holiday spirit during week two and while the station did improve its 6+ share (3.9-4.8), it remained at #8. Otherwise, the top five positions remained unchanged with one small addition. COX RADIO Talk WSB-A was #1 for the fifth straight survey and continued to lead the field by a wide margin (9.3-9.1). ENTERCOM Urban WVEE (V-103) returned at #2 but with its highest share in over a year (6.5-6.7). COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1 FM) held steady at #3 (6.1-6.1) while URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) repeated at #4 (5.9-5.7). COX RADIO

Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) remained at #5 but was down for the third book in a row (5.8-5.2). It was tied with COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5), which moved up a slot (5.6-5.2).

For the third book in a row, WVEE was #1 25-54 as the station landed its largest share since APRIL. WAMJ came in second again but was off slightly. Even though the FALCONS have been underwhelming this season, it has not hurt the fortunes of their flagship – ENTERCOM Sports WZGC (THE GAME 92.9). Maybe people bitching about the team is what helped keep the station at #3 with its highest share in over a year. WSRV and WSB-A both moved up to tie at #4. THE RIVER was off a bit while WSB-A was flat. WSB-F slid to #6 with its smallest share since MAY. WFSH moved from #11 to a tie at #8.

WVEE extended its 18-34 winning streak to nine as it regained all of last month’s share loss. WZGC marched from #7 to #2 as it was up for the fourth straight survey. URBAN ONE Urban WHTA (HOT 107.9) remained at #3 with a down book while WSB-F slipped to #4 as it ended a strong two-book surge. WALR was at #5 with a small loss while WAMJ fell to #7 with its least productive outing since JUNE. WFSH moved from a tie at #16 to a tie at #12.

It was another dominant 18-49 performance for WVEE. The station posted its largest share since JANUARY and led the market by more than two shares. WZGC was up to #2 with its highest score in over a year. That left WAMJ alone at #3 as it was down slightly. WSB-F dropped to #4 with its lowest total since MAY. WHTA remained at #5 but had to settle for a tie with WALR. Both stations had down books. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER 96.1) moved up to #7 with its best showing since AUGUST. WFSH advanced from #12 to #8.

PHILADELPHIA: B Is For, Uh …
There really isn’t a CHRISTMAS thing that starts with B. Maybe BURL IVES? That’s it! The power of the BURL was living within ENTERCOM AC WBEB (B101.1) as the station flipped during week two and reaped the appropriate reward. The station went from #6 6+ to #1 (5.4-8.9). It did not quite live up to last year’s 10.4 share standard. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was unaffected by all the hoopla (7.5-7.5) as it sat still at #2. Whether it was Santa or the dismal performances by the EAGLES – or a combination – ENTERCOM Sports WIP-F dropped from first to third (8.2-6.7). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS slipped to #4 (6.3-6.0) while BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR stepped down to #5 (6.1-5.3). ENTERCOM Classic Hits WOGL may have suffered some seasonal disorder as it slipped to #6 with its lowest share in over a year (5.6-4.7).

The effect of performance-enhancing music was strong with this one as WBEB went from #5 to #1 25-54. WMGK was up slightly as it held steady at #2. WMMR saw its eleven-book demo-winning streak halted as it dropped to #3 with its lowest share since the last time the sleigh bells rang. WIP-F stepped down to #4 with its first down book since MAY. WDAS slipped to #5 with its lowest mark since JULY. BEASLEY Sports WPEN (97.5 THE FANATIC) had its best outing in over a year as it moved up to #6. Likewise, BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN-FM) hit a year-high and was up to #8.

WBEB came dangerously close to doubling its previous 18-34 share. The station cracked the double-digit barrier as it advanced from #7 to #1. It was also a good month for WMGK, which rose from #5 to #2 with its highest share since APRIL. WMMR stood alone at #3 with a small loss. BEASLEY Country WXTU slipped to #4 with its lowest mark since the last most wonderful time of the year. It was tied with ENTERCOM Top 40/M WTDY, which stepped up from #6 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99) had its lowest share in over a year as it fell from #1 to #6. WIP-F slipped four slots to #7 as it returned all of last month’s healthy increase.

Last month WBEB was one of three stations tied at #5 18-49. This month it was the only one left in the top five. Oh, and it was also #1 with a huge elf-aided increase. WMMR stepped back to #2 with its smallest share in over a year. WMGK moved up a spot to #3 with its largest share in over a year. WIP-F slipped to #4, ending a strong four-book surge. WUSL fell three places to #5 with its third straight down book. The other two former #5 stations were WDAS – which ended up at #6 – and WXTU – which dropped to #7.

BOSTON: By A Whisker
Oh, Santa was so close. ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) flipped to all-Frosty all the time during week #3. It moved the station up two places 6+ but only to #2 (5.8-8.0). The station was off last year’s 8.9 share for the same survey. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR was the market leader for the tenth book in a row (8.5-8.1). We’re guessing but we think that streak will end next survey. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) slipped to #3 (6.4-6.5) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX stepped up to #4 (5.3-5.5). Despite the fact that TOM BRADY continues to befuddle Father Time, BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) ended a three-book surge and dropped down to #5 (6.2-5.1). The sudden sports malaise also affected ENTERCOM Sports WEEI-F, which moved down to #7 (4.9-4.6). 

The top five 25-54 stations were the same as last time but their order was slightly altered. There was some magic in that old silk hat after all as WMJX moved up to #1. This ended WROR’s five-book winning streak in the demo. It stepped back to #2 with a slight decrease. WXKS remained in place at #3 with a slight decrease while WBZ-F dropped two places to #4 as it ended a very robust four-book surge. WZLX repeated at #5 with a slight increase. No other station was within a share of cracking the top five.

Last month we saw an unusual sight – a Classic Hits station with a double-digit share 18-34. History did not repeat itself this month but WROR remained #1 by a full share. WXKS returned at #2 but ended a two-book up trend. WMJX leapt five places to #3 thanks to elfin magic. WZLX was up two spots at #4 as it regained some of the share it lost last month. BEASLEY Country WKLB slipped to #5 with a slight decrease while WBZ-F dropped to #6. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9) fell four places to a tie at #8 with its lowest share in over a year. 

WMJX dashed the hopes of both WXKS and WROR. Those two stations had been tied at #1 18-49 but the acrid aroma of roasting tree seeds ended that dream as MAGIC moved up three places to #1. KISS slipped to #2 while WROR ended up at #3. WBZ-F also slipped – to #4 – with its smallest share since AUGUST. WZLX stepped up to #5 as it got back some of last month’s huge loss. WBQT slipped to #6 with – again – its lowest score in over a year.

Hopefully, you recovered from the holiday hoopla and are ready for the remainder of the season. You know what they say – radio is not like working for FedEx.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will be back with our final installment featuring MIAMI, SEATTLE, DETROIT, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS.

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About Research Director, Inc.: RESEARCH DIRECTOR. INC., is based in ANNAPOLIS, MD. 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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