Research Director, Inc.: Exclusive March PPM Analysis For Miami, Seattle, Detroit, Phoenix, Minneapolis

Exclusive Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

If you have been following along at home – and where else would you be – the initial results of the pandemic-influenced MARCH survey have been revealing. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in not-too-close cooperation with our fellow travelers from XTRENDS, have yet another batch of markets for you to peruse. As we have stated previously, the world went from topsy to turvy around week three of the survey – which ran from 2/27 through 3/25. We focus primarily on shares but that does not tell the complete story. As we are advising our respective clients, it is important to look at PUMMs and cume. If that is something you need further assistance in divining, please feel free to reach out to us.

Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-Hollywood: Easy Listening

There was little change in the 6+ rankings from the previous survey except for the fact that every leading music station saw their cume decline. COX MEDIA AC WFEZ (EASY 93.1) continued as the #1 station (7.3-7.4). COX MEDIA Urban AC WHQT (HOT 105) was in second place for the third consecutive survey (6.8-6.4). UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WAMR (AMOR 107.5) had its best book since NOVEMBER (5.8-6.2) to step up to #3. ENTERCOM Classic Hits WMXJ (102.7 THE BEACH) got back all the share it surrendered last month (5.0-5.6) and advanced to #4. ENTERCOM AC WLYF (101.5 LITE FM) had its smallest share since SEPTEMBER (5.9-5.4) as it slipped to #5. On the information front, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY Variety WLRN was up for the third book in a row (3.2-3.7). During that run, it has elevated its game from a tie at #17 to a tie at #9. The station has also seen its cume rise each survey.

It was quite the month for WMXJ as the station rose to #1 thanks to its highest share in over a year. WFEZ was off slightly as it remained at #2 while WLYF dropped from first to third with its lowest score since NOVEMBER. WHQT stood alone at #4 with a slight increase while WAMR stepped up to #5, also with a slight increase. SBS Tropical WXDJ (EL ZOL 106.7FM) dropped six places to a tie at #9 with its lowest total in over a year. 

The top four 18-34 stations were the same as before though the race for the top spot remained hotly contested. COX MEDIA Urban WEDR (99 JAMZ) was #1 for the fourth straight survey as it regained all of last month’s share loss. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WMIB (103.5 THE BEAT) was close behind at #2 with a solid increase. WFEZ repeated at #3 with a slight increase while ENTERCOM Alternative WSFS (104.3 THE SHARK) was back at #4 with a small loss. Three stations moved up and into a tie at #5. A flat WLYF took two steps upward while WHQT turned it up from #11 with a slight increase. WAMR advanced from a tie at #16 with its best showing since JUNE. The former occupant of the #5 slot – ENTERCOM Top 40/R WPOW (POWER 96) – slid to #8 as it returned all of last month’s big increase – plus a little extra.

It was essentially a three-team race for the top spot 18-49. WLYF remained in control despite a small loss but held a slim lead over two challengers. WFEZ stepped up to #2 with a slight increase. It was tied with WEDR, which advanced from #4 as it ended a two-book slide. WAMR stepped up to #4 with a small gain while WMIB leapt from a tie at #10 to #5 with a strong increase. WXDJ dropped five places to a tie at #7 with its smallest share in over a year.

Seattle-Tacoma: Important Information

If you will, this was the bell cow of markets for the pandemic spread. So, it was not surprising to see three of the top four 6+ stations specializing in information. BONNEVILLE Talk KIRO-F – which was the only one of the three to see its cume increase – went from a tie at #4 to #1 as it regained all the share it lost last month (4.8-6.0). UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON N/T KUOW had also been at #4. Its cume was essentially flat as it moved up to #2 as it, too, regained all of last month’s lost share (4.8-5.5). SINCLAIR News KOMO-A – which also had essentially flat cume – was up for the third straight survey (4.1-5.4) as it rose from a tie at #9 to #3. It was tied with HUBBARD Top 40/M KQMV (MOVIN 92.5), which had its lowest score since JULY (6.5-5.4). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZOK slipped to #5 (5.1-5.1) while HUBBARD AC KRWM (WARM 106.9) dropped to #6 (5.3-4.9). 

Music stations continued to lead the way 25-54 as ENTERCOM Active Rock KISW moved up to #1 with its highest share in over a year. For only the second time in the last 14 surveys, KQMV was not #1. It slipped to #2. KUOW remained at #3 but got back last month’s share loss. iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KJAQ (96.5 JACK FM) had its best outing in over a year as it rose from a tie at #9 to #4. KRWM slipped to #5 and was tied with ENTERCOM Alternative KNDD (107.7 THE END). KIRO-F had its best book in over a year as it jumped from #13 to #7.

The top three 18-34 stations were the same as before. KQMV was #1 for the tenth straight survey but with a depleted share. A flat KISW remained at #2 while KNDD repeated at #3 with a modest loss. In a surprise move, CLASSICAL RADIO INC. Classical KING doubled its previous share as it rocketed from #16 to #4. KUOW was off slightly to remain at #5 and was joined by KRWM, which moved up a spot with a small increase. KZOK had its lowest score since NOVEMBER as it dropped from #4 to a tie at #8.

KISW and KQMV traded places 18-49. KISW moved up to the top spot with a slight increase while MOVIN 92.5 slipped to #2 with its lowest share since JULY. KRWM repeated at #3 with a small loss. KJAQ advanced four squares to #4 with its best performance since JULY. KNDD slipped to #5 and KUOW stepped down to #6. Both stations had slight decreases.

Detroit: Same As It Ever Was

As with every market we’ve investigated, pretty much every top 6+ station saw their cume decline – except one. That will surprise you. BEASLEY Classic Rock WCSX was back up to #1 for the first time since OCTOBER (6.0-6.6). This ended the brief reign of iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKQI (CHANNEL 955), which slipped to #2 (6.5-6.4). ENTERCOM News WWJ-A had its highest share since AUGUST (4.8-5.8) as it rose three places to #3. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WMXD (MIX 92.3) stepped up to #4 (5.4-5.3). The only top station not to experience a cume decline was BEASLEY Active Rock WRIF, which moved up to #5 (4.7-5.1). Oh, BTW, the station’s cume was flat. ENTERCOM Classic Hits WOMC slipped to #6 (5.6-4.9) while iHEARTMEDIA AC WNIC dropped four places to a tie at #7 (5.9-4.8).

The 25-54 contest was extremely tight. WRIF was up to #1 as it bounced back from a down book. It just barely edged out WCSX, which moved up to #2 with its best outing since SEPTEMBER. WKQI returned all of last month’s big gain as it dropped from #1 to #3. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WMGC (105.1 THE BOUNCE) moved up to #4 despite returning all of last survey’s solid increase. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WJLB stepped up to #5 with a slight gain. WNIC slipped to #6 with its smallest share in over a year.

WKQI was the 18-34 leader for the third straight survey though it could not quite duplicate last month’s double-digit share. Both WJLB and WRIF had down books and that put them in a second-place tie well behind the leader. CUMULUS Hot AC WDVD was up to #4 with a slight increase while WNIC advanced three spaces to #5 with a small gain. WCSX slipped to #6 with its lowest mark since NOVEMBER while WOMC dropped to a tie at #7 with a large decrease.

For the first time since DECEMBER, WRIF was the #1 station 18-49. WKQI ended its two-book winning streak and dropped to a very close #2. WCSX was up to #3 with its fifth up book in a row. WJLB stepped up to #4 with a slight increase. WMGC dropped to #5 as it returned all of last survey’s large increase. WDVD stepped up to #6 with a slight increase.

Phoenix: The Easy Beat

Of the six stations in the top five 6+, only one saw its cume grow from last month. (Hint: it doesn’t play songs for a living). iHEARTMEDIA AC KESZ (99.9 KEZ) bounced back from a down book (7.9-8.3) to remain a strong #1. ENTERCOM Classic Hits KOOL (94.5 KOOL FM) repeated at #2 with its third up book in a row (7.1-7.2). iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits KYOT (95.5 THE MOUNTAIN) stood alone at #3 as it regained most of last month’s share loss (5.2-5.6). Its former partner in that space – HUBBARD Classic Rock KSLX – slipped to #4 (5.2-5.0). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KZZP (104.7 KISS FM) held steady at #5 (4.5-4.6). However, it was forced to share as BONNEVILLE Talk KTAR-F posted its largest share in over a year (3.8-4.6). The station also saw its cume rise from 361,000 to 415,600 – an increase of about 15%.

Last month KESZ took it on the chin and fell to a tie at #4. This time the station got back all that forsaken share and moved back to the top spot. KOOL repeated at #2 but was in very hot pursuit of the lead. ENTRAVISION Regional Mexican KLNZ (LA TRICOLOR 103.5) has been on quite the tear. Over the last four surveys, that station has gone from #15 to #14 to #7 to its current posting at #3. And, it has more than doubled its share during the process. KZZP returned all of last month’s increase and dropped from first to fourth. KYOT stepped back to #5 despite ending a three-book slide. HUBBARD Active Rock KUPD was up to #6 as it bounced back from a down book. Its older and balder cluster bro – KSLX – dropped to #7 with only a small loss. KTAR-F rose from a tie at #14 to #9.

Things were a bit weird 18-34. KZZP was #1 for the second book in a row even after giving back last month’s massive increase. Meanwhile, KUPD moved from #8 to a very close #2 thanks to a massive increase. KYOT stepped up to #3 with its third up book in a row. ENTERCOM Top 40/M KALV (LIVE 101.5) slipped to #4 with a small loss. KESZ remained at #5 with a small loss and was joined by KOOL, which stepped back from a tie at #3 thanks to a modest decline. KSLX was up three places to #7 with its best book since JUNE. RIVIERA Top 40/R KKFR (POWER 98.3) fell to #9 as it returned most of last month’s huge increase.

The top three 18-49 stations were this close (see our fingers?) to being tied for first place. Alas, that honor went to KLNZ, which moved up from #4 with its third straight huge increase. KESZ stood alone and a beat behind at #2 as it bounced back from a down book. KYOT moved up two slots to #3 with a very strong increase. KZZP fell from first to fourth as it returned most of last survey’s solid gain. KOOL dropped to #5 with a small loss while KUPD advanced four spaces to #6 as it, too, rebounded from a bad book.

Minneapolis-St.Paul: In The Know

The folks in the TWIN CITIES were certainly thirsting for knowledge. MPR N/T KNOW moved up to #1 6+ with easily its highest share in over a year (7.0-8.1). The station also saw its cume grow from 458,300 to 503,100 – an increase of 10%. Not surprisingly, all the music stations saw a decrease in cume. HUBBARD Hot AC KSTP (KS95) stepped back to a very close #2 (8.1-7.9). UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN-ST.PAUL Christian Contemporary KTIS moved back to #3 (7.2-6.5). CUMULUS Classic Rock KQRS was up to #4 (6.2-6.2) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KQQL (KOOL 108) stepped up to #5 (5.8-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA Sports KFXN (K-FAN) slipped to #6 (6.8-5.9). ENTERCOM Talk WCCO-A had its best book since baseball season (3.6-4.6) as it moved up to #9. The station also saw a 17% increase in Cume.

No sports? No problem for KFXN. Though the station’s share was down, it remained #1 25-54 for the third straight survey. CUMULUS Active Rock KXXR (93X) stood alone at #2 though it did end a strong four-book surge. KTIS stepped up to #3 despite returning last month’s solid increase. KSTP slipped to #4 while KNOW advanced four spaces to #5 with its best book in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KDWB and KQQL had slight decreases and went from a tie at #5 to the same scenario at #6.

The top three 18-34 stations had down books but KSTP extended its double-digit streak to three as it moved up to #1. KXXR slipped to #2 while KDWB finished in third place for the fourth book in a row. KNOW was up four slots to #4 with – yep – its best book in over a year. KTIS slipped to #5 with its lowest mark since OCTOBER. It was partnered with iHEARTMEDIA Country KEEY (K102), which had a slight increase. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KZJK (104.1 JACK FM) slipped to #8 and was tied with KQRS.

KXXR remained #1 18-49 though its three-book surge came to a sudden halt. KSTP repeated at #2 but with a rather large share loss. KNOW was up from a tie at #7 to #3 because, again, it landed its largest share in over a year. KFXN stepped down to #4 with its smallest number since AUGUST. KTIS moved back to #5 with a small loss. KZJK and KDWB had been tied at #5 but dropped down to #6 and #7, respectively.

Thank you for reading. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. hope you stay safe. We will see you again next month. In the meantime, you could subscribe to our blog. It may surprise you. Check it out here. 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. 

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