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

Exclusive Day One Analysis From Research Director, Inc.

It’s time for another twenty-eight day report card. Hopefully, you turned in your assignments on time and took advantage of any extra credit opportunities. The AUGUST survey ran from 7/16 through 8/12. Besides the (now) usual pandemic-related aberrations, we also had the seasonal influences of a far-from-normal summer. Add to this the return of real, live sports competitions. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in socially distant cooperation with our data buddies at XTRENDS, are diving into the deep end once again. Here we go …

NEW YORK: Mega-tron

Ever since the pandemic tightened its grip on the city, SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9) has controlled the 6+ market. That trend continued this time though the station had its smallest share since FEBRUARY (7.9-6.3). This caused the race to tighten up considerably as two other stations were not very socially distant from the leader. ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F repeated at #2 (6.2-6.1) while iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM) stepped up to forge a tie (6.1-6.1). WLTW continued to lead the cume war (3,041,400-3,018-200). It was off by 0.8%, which closely matched the market decline of 0.7%. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) remained at #4 (5.2-5.2) while MEDIACO Urban AC WBLS was #5 again (5.1-4.7). It was just ahead of a stationary #6 iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100), which was up for the third book in a row (4.4-4.6).

WSKQ barely captured the 25-54 flag for the fifth straight survey. The station took a noticeable share hit and was just ahead of WLTW, which repeated at #2 with a small increase. WHTZ stepped up to #3 with its highest share since FEBRUARY. This pushed WCBS-F – which had a small loss – down to #4. Three stations were in rotation at #5. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WWPR (POWER 105.1) remained in place with a slight decrease. WBLS was up from #6 with a slight increase while WAXQ advanced from #7 with its best book in over a year.

Though WSKQ took a multiple 18-34 share hit, the station remained in double digits for the ninth book in a row. WHTZ repeated at #2 with a slight increase but still trailed the leader by more than three shares. WLTW was back at #3 with a slight loss. SBS Spanish Contemporary WPAT (93.1 AMOR) moved up to #4 with its highest score in over a year. As with the previous demo, three stations were in league at #5. MEDIACO Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) remained in place with a small loss. WWPR dropped back from #4 as it ended a two-book surge. And, WCBS-F advanced from a tie at #8 as it got back most of last month’s large loss.

WSKQ was the 18-49 market leader for the eighth book in a row. Though it was not able to maintain double-digit status, the station had better than a share lead over #2 WLTW, which was up slightly. WHTZ moved up to #3 with its third straight up book, which pushed WWPR – which ended its two-book surge – down to #4. WCBS-F repeated at #5 with a slight decrease.

LOS ANGELES: Covering The (K)Earth

A station specializing in library hits has been on quite the roll. For the fourth straight survey, ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101) led the 6+ pack with its largest share in over a year (6.1-6.5). The station also led in cume for the sixth book in a row (2,234,000-2,232,100) – a decrease of 0.1%. The market was off by 0.6%. ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) crested at #2 as it also had its best outing in over a year (4.6-5.4). Then, there was everyone else. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MY FM) stepped up to #3 (4.4-4.5) and was just ahead of cluster sister iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST, which slipped to #4 (4.6-4.4). iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFI-A dropped three places to #5 with its lowest share since FEBRUARY (4.7-3.9). It was just ahead of a couple of stations lying in wait at #6. MERUELO Classic Rock KLOS remained in place (3.7-3.8) while ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (93.1 JACK FM) advanced from #10 with its best showing since JANUARY (3.5-3.8). 

So, KRTH had its best 25-54 book in over a year as it ran roughshod over the competition. A flat SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (97.9 LA RAZA) repeated at #2 but found itself over a share and a half behind the leader. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (107.5 K-LOVE) remained at #3 with a small loss. The station had company as KCBS-F moved up from #6 with its best showing since JANUARY. KBIG slipped to #5 with a slight increase but was hearing footsteps from KTWV, which went from a tie at #11 to #6 with its highest share in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS fell six places to #10 with its lowest mark in over a year.

The ground was trembling under the feet of the 18-34 demo as KRTH rose from #4 to #1 with, naturally, its highest share in over a year. KBIG repeated at #2 with a small gain and was a half share off the pace. Making the leap o’ the month was MOUNT WILSON Country KKGO (GO COUNTRY 105 FM). The station got up and went from a tie at #15 to #3 thanks to a massive share increase. KIIS slid to #4 with a somewhat large decrease while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KYSR (ALT 98.7) dropped from #1 to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) dropped six places to a tie at #11 with its smallest share in over a year.

KRTH completed the demo sweep as it remained #1 18-49 for the fourth book in a row. KLAX remained #2 with a slight increase but was about a share off the lead. KBIG had a slight increase, which was enough to move the station from #5 to #3. KCBS-F jumped from a tie at #7 to #4 with a strong showing. Doing it one better was KTWV, which advanced from #10 to forge the tie at #4 thanks to a large increase. KLVE and KIIS had been tied at #3. Both stations had down books and landed at #6 and #9, respectively.

CHICAGO: It’s News To Us

The news seems to fit quite nicely as ENTERCOM News WBBM-A led the pack 6+ for the seventh straight survey (7.0-7.3). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) stepped up to #2 with its best outing in over a year (5.7-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM) had its best Frosty-free share in over a year (5.0-5.7) as it moved up two slots to #3. HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 THE MIX) repeated at #4 (5.2-5.5). ENTERCOM AAA WXRT had its best showing in over a year as it rose to #5 (4.5-4.9). HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE 97.1) motored down four places to #6 with its smallest share since the ELTON invited you to hop on the turntable, making all the engineers cringe (6.0-4.7). Though it was #10 in the rankings, iHEARTMEDIA Top 40 WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) (3.7-3.5) was the cume leader for the second book in a row (1,210,300-1,220,600) – an increase of 0.9%. The market was up by 2.1%.

WTMX had its best 25-54 book in exactly a year as it repeated at #1. Meanwhile, UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA 105.1) was up a couple of places to #2 with its best showing since JANUARY. It was about a share behind the leader. WXRT was a beat behind at #3 with – again – its highest share in over a year. Three stations formed a limited partnership at #4. CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F held steady with a slight loss. A flat WKSC moved up from #6 while WLIT rose from a tie at #10 as it got back most of last month’s loss. WDRV fell from #2 to a tie at #9 with its lowest mark in over a year.

There was some serious rearrangement of the 18-34 chairs this survey. WTMX went from #5 to #1 with a solid increase. WKSC was up to #2 despite a slight loss. It was just ahead of ENTERCOM Top 40/M WBBM-F (B96), which took three steps forward to #3 with its highest share in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI slid to #4 as it returned most of last month’s solid increase. Three stations were intertwined at #5. CUMULUS Alternative WKQX slipped from a tie at #2 while WDRV fell from #1. HUBBARD AC WSHE (SHE 100.3) advanced from #7 with its best book since APRIL.  These seven stations were all within a share of each other.

For the second book in a row, WTMX was #1 18-49 as it posted its largest share since MARCH. WOJO advanced from #5 to #2 as it bounced back from a down book. WXRT rose from #7 to #3 with its third straight up book. WKSC slipped to #4 with a slight decrease while WLIT advanced four squares to #5 with its best performance since JANUARY. WGCI dipped to #6 with a small loss while WKQX fell five places to #7 as it ended a strong three-book surge.

SAN FRANCISCO: Same Old Song

Which is to say, the leading 6+ stations do not play songs for a living. KQED INC. N/T KQED popped up to #1 this month after a two-book hiatus (7.4-7.8). ENTERCOM News KCBS-A slipped to #2 with its smallest share since OCTOBER (8.3-7.5). The leading music station was iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL. The station moved up to #3 with its largest share in over a year (4.3-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) blew back to #4 (4.4-4.6) while BONNEVILLE AC KOIT stepped up to #5 (3.7-3.7). Baseball is back and that was welcome news for CUMULUS Sports KNBR-A. The station rose from #15 to #6 with its best offense since JANUARY (2.5-3.6). CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (107.7 THE BONE) dropped to a tie at #7 (3.8-3.5).

For the fifth straight survey, KQED was #1 25-54 while KMEL was #2. KQED ended a four-book slide while KMEL got back most of last month’s large share loss. KOIT was flat but moved up to #3 anyway while KSAN was up three places to #4 with a small gain. It was tied with two other stations. BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW), which remained in place, and ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE @ 97.3), which slipped from #3.

Thirteen out of fourteen is a pretty good batting average, right? That’s what KMEL has accomplished 18-34 over the last year. The station was #1 by a wide margin after landing its largest share since JANUARY. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3) stepped up to #2 with its best showing in over a year but still trailed the leader by about three shares. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD 94.9) slipped to #3 with its lowest total since APRIL. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KSOL (QUE BUENA 98.9/99.1) leapt from a tie at #16 to #4 and was back to where it was in APRIL. Also landing at #4 was KMVQ, which stepped up from #5 despite a small loss. KOIT dropped to #6 and was tied with KISQ.

KMEL bounced back from a down book to win the 18-49 pageant for the third month in a row. KQED repeated at #2 as it, too, rebounded from a down book. A flat KMVQ remained at #3 but was forced to share with KOIT, which was up a spot with a slight increase. Last month, KSOL dropped from #5 to a tie at #10. This time the station was back at #5 as those lost shares came home. KYLD slid to #7 with a slight decrease.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: A Close Race

iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) repeated as the leading 6+ station (6.2-6.0). It also continued to lead the way in cume (1,272,800-1,243,300) – a loss of 2.3%. The market declined by 3.5%. However, the gap between #1 and #2 was very thin. SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY was again the #2 station (5.6-5.8). CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF) leapt from a tie at #7 to #3 with its highest share in over a year (4.1-5.0). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR 92.5) was up two spots to #4 as it got back most of last month’s loss (4.3-4.7). Two stations dropped down and into a tie at #5. CUMULUS Country KSCS slid from #3 as it returned all of last month’s increase (5.1-4.5). ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV slipped from #4 (4.8-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW 102.9) fell to #7 (4.4-4.4).

There was some jostling in the 25-54 ranks but the constant was KHKS, which led the way for the eighth straight survey despite a modest decrease. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (100.3 JACK FM) remained at #2 with a slight loss. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA 94.1) advanced four spaces to #3 as it got back a small portion of last month’s large loss. KSCS slipped to #4 as it ended a three-book surge. It was tied with SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104), which stepped up from #5 despite a slight loss. iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (97.1 THE EAGLE) fell from #4 to #9 with its lowest mark since FEBRUARY.

Though KHKS was down 18-34, it still led the way for the fourth straight survey. KEGL repeated at #2 with a small loss while URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBFB (97.9 THE BEAT) was up from #6 to #3 with a huge increase. KDMX stepped down to #4 but was just, um, a beat behind after landing its largest share since APRIL. KSCS slipped to #5 with a slight increase and was joined by its cluster cousin KPLX, which advanced from #9 as it bounced back from a down book. KKDA fell to #7 with only a slight increase. Props to KJKK, which went from #16 to #8 with its best book in over a year.
KHKS had its lowest 18-49 share since APRIL but the station still captured the demo – in runaway fashion – for the eighth book in a row. KJKK and KLNO had been tied at #4. Both stations had solid increases, which pushed them to #2 and #3, respectively. KEGL slid to #4 as it returned all of last month’s huge increase. A flat KKDA dropped to #5 where it was paired with KBFB, which zoomed up from a tie at #10 as it ended a two-book slide. KLUV fell from a tie at #4 to #10 as it returned all of last month’s modest increase.

Thus ends our first pass at the AUGUST survey. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will now collect our collective thoughts as we prepare for HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and

BOSTON. Stay tuned.

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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.
 
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