Research Director, Inc. Exclusive December PPM Analysis for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft.Worth

Exclusive Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

ALL ACCESS RECAPS HOLIDAY 2019:

Like a latter-day JACOB MARLEY, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the TINY TIMS from XTRENDS, are prepared to regale you with stories of CHRISTMAS past. These are not tales from ancient times where old was spelled with an “e.” These are of a more recent vintage. From the year 2019. A time when BURL IVES ruled the airwaves. A time when listener behavior was radically altered. A time known as the HOLIDAY survey, which ran from DECEMBER 5 through JANUARY 1. Which means SANTA reigned only three of the four survey weeks.

NEW YORK: Brite Lites, Big City

Really, it’s just piling on. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITEFM) is consistently the #1 6+ station. Throw some Yule songs on the fire and it just gets ridiculous. The station had a monster book (9.6-13.3) and outpaced last year’s 12.5 share. It was also a great survey for SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9). The station posted its largest share in over a year (5.1-6.6) to move into second place. MEDIACO HOLDING Urban AC WBLS slipped to #3 with its lowest share in over a year (5.8-5.0). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) inched up to #4 but with its fifth down book in a row (4.8-4.4). ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F had its lowest mark in over a year as it slipped to #5 (4.9-4.3). Two stations were tied at #6. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKTU (3.4-3.6) and ENTERCOM Hot AC WNEW (4.1-3.6).

The richest got richer 25-54 as WLTW increased its share by about fifty percent from last survey and bested last year’s number by a half share. WSKQ again had its best book in over a year as it advanced to #2. WHTZ slipped to #3 with its lowest total since JANUARY. Last book iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER 105.1) and MEDIACO HOLDING Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) were tied at #6. Both had up books but POWER’s was a little more uppy as it moved up to #4 with HOT at #5. WBLS slipped to #6 and was tied with KKTU, which moved up from #10. That was its highest rank since AUGUST. WNEW dropped three places to #8 as it returned most of last month’s increase.

WLTW cracked double digits 18-34 to remain #1. WSKQ held steady at #2 as it also surpassed the double-digit barrier. WHTZ repeated at #3 with a small loss. WWPR was flat but moved up into a tie at #4 with WQHT, which was off slightly. WKTU had its best outing since JULY to step up to #6.

For the sixth book in a row, WLTW was #1 18-49. This time it matched last year’s double-digit total. WSKQ again had its highest score in over a year to solidify its hold on second place. WHTZ remained at #3 with its lowest total in over a year and was forced to share the moment with WWPR, which moved up from a tie at #5. WQHT slipped to #5 with a slight decrease while WKTU stepped up to #6 with its best number since JULY.

LOS ANGELES: KOST Kringle

iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST certainly hung those stockings with care as it cruised to another 6+ victory. The tinsel-fueled playlist was very helpful (9.3-13.7) as the station also beat last year’s 13.0 share. ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101) remained at #2 but with its lowest total since AUGUST (5.8-5.2). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MYFM) repeated at #3 (4.3-4.3) while ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) returned as the #4 station (4.0-3.9). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS was again #5.

(3.7-3.6) but was in sharing mode as SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (97.9 LA RAZA) moved up from #8 with its best book in over a year (3.2-3.6).

The weather inside the halls of KOST was anything but frightful as the station easily won 25-54. The station has tripled its share since NOVEMBER and bested last year’s number as well. KRTH was again in second place but with its lowest mark since FEBRUARY. KBIG inched up to #3 as it ended a three-book slide. KLAX remained at #4 though, again, with its best book in over a year. KIIS slid to #5 while UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE) stood alone at #6. Both stations were flat. The move o’ the month went to SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA 96.3), which jumped from a tie at #16 to #8.

There was a lot of movement among the 18-34 ranks but KOST was the clear winner. The station was in double digits and outpaced last year’s share. MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER 106 FM) moved up to #2 with a slight increase while two stations made significant gains and landed at #3. KLAX turned it up from #11 while KXOL advanced from a tie at #7 as it regained most of last survey’s big loss. KRTH and KIIS each dropped three places, to #5 and #6, respectively. Both stations had their lowest shares since SEPTEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) dropped to #8 with only a small loss.

KOST reached double digits 18-49, remained #1, and beat last year’s number. The station has more than tripled its share since NOVEMBER. KRTH was #2 again but suffered its first down book since AUGUST. KBIG stepped up to #3 as it got back all of last survey’s loss. KLAX moved up to #4 with a solid increase while KIIS slipped to #5 with a small loss. KXOL improved its standing from a tie at #15 to #8 as it bounced back from a down book.

CHICAGO: Twinkling Lite

There must have been some NIELSEN magic in that music iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITEFM) was playing as the station was a huge 6+ success (9.5-13.7). And, it managed to outdo itself by beating last year’s 13.3 share. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) repeated at #2 with its best book since SEPTEMBER (5.4-5.7). ENTERCOM News WBBM-A again reported in at #3 (5.0-4.9). HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE 97.1) motored up to #4 (4.7-4.6), which pushed CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F back to #5 (4.8-4.3). ENTERCOM Sports WSCR-A (670 THE SCORE), um, scored a nice increase (3.1-3.5), which pushed it from #14 to #6.

WLIT matched last year’s huge double-digit 25-54 share to remain #1. The station has also nearly tripled its share since NOVEMBER. WLS-F was off slightly but held on at #2 while WVAZ repeated at #3 with a small loss. WDRV idled up to #4 with a slight increase as UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA 105.1) was left alone at #5 with a slight decrease. HUBBARD AC WSHE dropped two slots to #6.

WLIT just missed matching last year’s big 18-34 share. Not to worry; the station was easily #1 and quadrupled its NOVEMBER share. WDRV and WOJO had been tied at #2. However, THE DRIVE stood alone in second place with a flat book while WOJO slipped to #3 with a slight loss. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) repeated at #4 but did see its two-book surge come to an end. WSHE inched up to #5 despite landing its lowest number since AUGUST. CUMULUS Alternative WKQX dropped to #8 as it had its lowest score in over a year.

The top four 18-49 stations were the same as before with WLIT crushing it with a huge double-digit share. It was an exact match for last year’s number. WOJO was again #2 while WLS-F repeated at #3. Both stations had small losses. WDRV sat still at #4 with a slight increase while WVAZ moved from #9 to #5 as it ended a two-book slide. WKSC slid to #7 where it was tied with WSHE and iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI.

SAN FRANCISCO: Santa Has Spoken

The only time all year that a spoken-word station is not #1 6+ here is when Santa reigns supreme. That right jolly old elf drove BONNEVILLE AC KOIT to the top (4.8-10.7). The station also matched last year’s 10.7 share. ENTERCOM News KCBS-A was nonplussed as it slipped back to #2 (7.8-7.7) while KQED INC. N/T KQED stepped down to #3 with its lowest total since OCTOBER (7.5-6.3). ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE @97.3) was the next music station in line as it moved up to #4 (4.3-4.0). It was just ahead of two stations that moved up and into a tie at #5. BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW) (3.6-3.8) and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL (4.1-3.8). They, in turn, were just ahead of two stations tied at #7. iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (THE BREEZE 98.1) (4.4-3.7) and CUMULUS Sports KNBR-A (3.7-3.7).

KOIT was certainly on the nice list 25-54. The station more than doubled its DECEMBER share to move up to #1. It was a half share off from last year’s number. KMEL had a modest loss as it remained at #2 where it was joined by KMVQ. NOW moved up from #4 with its best score in over a year. KQED had its smallest share in over a year as it dropped from first place into a tie at #4 with a slightly off KLLC.

18-34 was the tale of double-digit shares. KOIT found them while KMEL had its two-book string in that rarified air come to an end. KOIT more than doubled its DECEMBER share and also edged out last year’s number. KMEL slipped to #2 with its lowest mark since SEPTEMBER. KMVQ stepped down to #3 as it ended a strong four-book surge. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD 94.9) was off a bit while UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KVVF (LATINO MIX) moved up from a tie at #8 with its best outing in over a year. KQED dropped to #6 with its lowest total since JULY.

KOIT just missed beating last year’s 18-49 number. No matter, the station doubled its previous share as it moved up to #1. KMEL ended a four-book stay at the top as it sustained a small loss and dropped to #2. KMVQ stepped up to #3 with its fifth up book in a row. KLLC was also up a slot – to #4 – despite a small loss. KQED dropped to #5 with its smallest share in over a year.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: Two Turtle Doves

This was a tale of two stations taking the holiday pledge. iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR 102.1) flipped the switch early in the DECEMBER survey. SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY made the move near the very end. Both stations found plenty of gifts under their respective trees. KDGE moved up to #1 6+ (5.0-10.3) as it beat last year’s 7.1 share. KLTY remained at #2 (5.3-6.9) as it bettered last year’s 4.6 share. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) was seemingly unaffected by all the holiday hoopla (5.7-5.7) but it did drop down to #3. CUMULUS Country KSCS remained at #4 (4.7-4.4) while ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV stood alone at #5 with its lowest share in over a year (4.6-4.0). Last year KLUV was part of the CHRISTMAS battle and had a 6.1 share. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW 102.9) slipped to #8 with its lowest total since MAY (4.6-3.7).

KDGE doubled its 25-54 DECEMBER share as it moved up to #1 though it just missed hitting double digits. KLTY donned its lords a’ leaping costume as it rose from #7 to #3. In between at #2 was a flat KHKS. KSCS was off slightly as it slipped to #4 while SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) ended a three-book surge as it dropped to #5. CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF) was off slightly but moved up two places to #6. Last month KDMX and UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA 94.1) were tied at #5. The stations remained in tandem but slid to #7.

Apparently, those youngsters in the 18-34 demo are determined to land on the naughty list. Santa was unable to propel KDGE to victory. The station did rise from a tie at #10 to #2 but KHKS bounced back from a down book to remain on top. KPLX also advanced from a tie at #10. It moved up to #3 with easily its best book in over a year. It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (97.3 THE EAGLE), which advanced from a tie at #8 with its highest share since APRIL. KSCS slipped to #5 and was tied with KKDA, which stepped up from a tie at #8. ENTERCOM Alternative KVIL (ALT 103.7) fell five places to #7 as it returned about half of last survey’s massive increase. KLNO slid to #8 with a small loss. KLTY moved from #16 to #13.

Back in OCTOBER, KDGE was tied at #14 18-49. This time the station was #1 as it doubled its previous share. For the first time in exactly a year, KHKS was not #1 in this demo. The station was up slightly this survey but still had to step back to #2. KSCS also stepped back – to #3 – with a slight decrease. KLTY took a magical sleigh ride from #13 to #4 with its highest share in over a year. KKDA slipped to #5 as it returned all of last survey’s solid increase. KLUV fell to #8 and was tied with KDMX.

Take a moment to refresh yourself. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will do some more soul searching as we prepare round two: HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON.

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