Research Director Inc., Exclusive September PPM Analysis For Houston-Galveston, Washington DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston

PPM Analysis September 2020 Day Two

ALL ACCESS Recaps SEPTEMBER 2020 Day Two

As SEPTEMBER goes, this will classify as one of the strangest on record. In normal times we’d be talking about back-to-school days, end-of-summer vacations, and Labor Day weekend gatherings. Those things don’t seem to matter as much, at least when talking about radio ratings.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with our Zoommates from XTRENDS, are hunkered down in WFH mode – pretty much like you and a good portion of your audience. Still, the data marches on, so long as the wifi holds, we can bring you more SEPTEMBER results. For accounting purposes, this one ran from 8/13 through 9/9.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Eagle Has Landed
Sometimes, those headlines just write themselves. Back in MAY, COX MEDIA GROUP Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) landed at #1 6+. However, it was forced to share the spotlight with UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA 102.9). This time KGLK had the aerie all to itself after posting its best share in over a year (6.9-7.4). This ended the three-book winning streak for iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1), which stepped down to #2 (7.5-6.7). The station continued as the cume leader (1,497,700-1,534,900) – a gain of 2.5%. The market rose by 1.3%. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 FM THE BUZZ) also had its highest share in over a year (5.6-6.3) as it moved up to #3. KLTN slipped to #4 with its lowest mark since FEBRUARY (6.5-6.1). iHEARTMEDIA N/ KTRH-A repeated at #5 (5.3-5.6) while URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) was close behind at #6 (4.9-5.4) as it ended a three-book slide.

The top two 25-54 stations each landed their largest share in over a year. For KTBZ it cemented the station’s fourth straight win while KGLK moved up from #4. KLTN was off slightly as it slipped to #3 while KODA moved down to #4 as its four-book surge came to a grinding halt. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) returned at #5 with a small loss while UNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KOVE (AMOR 106.5) broke out of a logjam to move up to #6, regaining a good portion of last month’s huge loss.

The 18-34 demo caught a collective buzz as KTBZ was back at #1 for the third time in the last four surveys. The station ended a small two-book slide. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) stepped back to #2 with its lowest share since FEBRUARY. KLTN moved up to #3 with its best outing since APRIL. ENTERCOM Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101 FM) and UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KAMA (104.9 Y 93.3 LATION MIX) met up at #4. KLOL slipped a spot as it ended a two-book surge while KAMA had its highest share since MAY. KODA fell from a tie at #4 to #9.

KTBZ opened up a substantial lead over the rest of the 18-49 combatants after landing its largest share in over a year. KLTN advanced to #2 with a slight gain but trailed the leader by about a share and a half. KODA slipped to #3 as it returned the lion’s share of last month’s large increase. A flat KKHH stood alone at #4 while its former partner in that space – KGLK – stepped down to #5 with a slight loss. KBXX was a click behind at #6 while KLOL dropped from a tie at #4 to #9.

WASHINGTON, DC: In TOP Gear
It is not an unusual sight having HUBBARD News WTOP at #1 6+. However, this time the station did it with a flourish after posting its largest share in over a year (8.5-9.5). The station also continued as the cume leader (771,200-824,400) – an increase of 6.9%. The market was up by 2.5%. What was unusual was seeing a music station at #2. That honor was bestowed upon HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR, which also had its best outing in over a year (7.2-8.3). CUMULUS Talk WMAL stepped back to #3 (7.9-8.0) while two stations landed in a tie at #4. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU slipped from a tie at #3 with its lowest score in over a year (7.2-6.4). URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3/92.7) stepped up from #5 (6.6-6.4). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH was next in line, remaining at #6 with its highest total since FEBRUARY (5.4-5.8).

The 25-54 demo had the same one-two as the previous demo. WTOP won for the second straight survey while WHUR advanced two spots to #2. Both stations had their best numbers in over a year. WASH moved up from #5 to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. WMMJ slipped to #4 with a small loss while WAMU fell to #5 with its smallest share in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) ended a two-book slide as it moved up to a not-too-distant #6.

Though it was off slightly, WASH was the 18-34 leader for the third book in a row. However, it was forced to share the moment as WHUR advanced from a tie at #5 with a massive increase. For the fifth straight survey, ENTERCOM Top 40/R WPGC was #3. WTOP leapt from #9 to #4 with its third up book in a row. URBAN ONE Urban WKYS slipped to #5 with its lowest mark since JANUARY. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) was also at #5, arriving there from #2 with its least productive outing since APRIL. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) dropped from a tie at #5 to a tie at #9 with its lowest mark in over a year.

There were some dramatic movements within the 18-49 ranks. WTOP rose from #8 to #1 while WHUR rocketed from #9 to #2. As you might expect, both stations had their best books in over a year. The rare pillar of stability was WASH, which finished #3 for the third book in a row with a slight increase. WAMU ended a two-book run at #1 as it slid to #4, thus ending a three-book surge. WWDC moved up to #5 with a slight increase. WKYS stepped down to #6 with a small loss and was tied with WMMJ. WPGC dropped from #5 to #8 while WIHT fell from #2 to #9. Both stations had their smallest shares since APRIL.

ATLANTA: Another Daily Double
Our answer will not come in the form of a question. Suffice it to say that COX MEDIA GROUP Talk WSB-A continued to dominate the 6+ arena. The station easily cruised to another win as it topped the double-digit mark for the ninth book in a row (10.1-10.6). The market was fairly stable as the next five stations retained their previous ranks. COX MEDIA GROUP Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) repeated at #2 but with its best book in over a year (8.3-8.5). The station continued as the cume leader (804,300-816,500) – an increase of 1.5%. This slightly outpaced the market’s 1.2% rise. COX MEDIA GROUP Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1 FM) remained at #3 (7.1-7.5) while ENTERCOM Urban WVEE (V-103) was back at #4 (5.7-5.5). URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) was #5 (5.2-5.4) while COX MEDIA GROUP AC WSB-F (B98.5) came in at #6 again (4.5-4.3).

As with the previous demo, the top six 25-54 stations were in their same positions as last month. WSRV was the winner with its highest share in over a year while WVEE repeated at #2 but with its fourth straight down book. WAMJ returned at #3 with a slight increase while WSB-A was again the #4 station as it ended a small two-book slide. WALR was #5 as it got back half of last month’s big loss. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7) had a slight increase but remained a somewhat distant #6.

There was a bit more drama 18-34 though the top two stations remained, well, the top two stations. WSRV was #1 with a slight loss while WVEE was #2 with a slightly larger slight loss. The two stations were less than a share distant. WALR leapt four squares to #3 with a massive increase – the station’s best outing since APRIL. WWWQ was up two slots to #4 with its second very strong increase in a row. ENTERCOM Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) wilted slightly in the fourth quarter as it slipped to #5. URBAN ONE Urban WHTA (HOT 107.9) fell to #6 with its smallest share in over a year. WSB-F dropped from #5 to #8 as it lost a large chunk of share for the second straight survey.

For the first time in over a year, WVEE was not the #1 station 18-49. That distinction was bestowed upon WSRV which – once again – posted its largest share in over a year. WVEE slipped to #2 with a modest loss but only trailed the leader by the smallest of all possible margins. WALR was up two spots to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. WSB-A and WAMJ had been tied at #3. Both stations saw share increases yet slid to #4 and #5, respectively. WWWQ was a small click behind at #6 after landing its largest share since FEBRUARY.

PHILADELPHIA: Domination Station
iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS has been a 6+ juggernaut. The station was the market leader for the sixth book in a row as it continued to leave every other station in its dust (8.8-9.0). BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was up three places to #2 with a strong increase (5.7-6.7) but remained well off the pace. BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR stepped down to #3 (6.4-6.6) while ENTERCOM News KYW-A repeated at #4 (6.1-5.9). WHYY INC. N/T WHYY continued its march up the chart – landing at #5 this survey (4.8-5.1). ENTERCOM AC WBEB (B101.1) fell three places to #6 (6.2-4.8). The station did continue to lead the market in cume (875,500-883,600) – an increase of 0.9%. This pretty much matched the market’s gain of 0.8%.

The 25-54 story was a bit different as WMMR was the winner for the ninth straight survey. However, the station did post its lowest share since people were mistakenly consuming large quantities of eggnog (you won’t change my mind on this). WDAS stepped up to #2 with a slight increase but was still a share off the pace. WMGK advanced from #6 to #3 as it halted a three-book slide. WBEB dropped to #4 with a rather large share loss. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) slipped to #5 with its lowest score since MAY. It was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99), which remained in place with a small loss.

There was a flip-flop in the 18-34 battle as WMMR was on top for the first time since FEBRUARY while WUSL stepped back to #2 – a position it has held in four of the last five surveys. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5) bounced back from a down book to advance two spaces to #3. WHYY stepped up to #4 with its highest mark since APRIL and was paired with WBEB, which slipped from #3 with a small loss. BEASLEY Country WXTU moved up to #6 as it ended a severe two-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) dropped to #7 as it ended a strong two-book surge. It was tied with the up-and-coming WMGK, which rose from a tie at #12.

Though it suffered a small loss, WMMR continued to dominate 18-49. WUSL repeated at #2 and was joined by WDAS, which stepped up from #3. Both stations were down and trailed the leader by two full shares. WBEB repeated at #4 with a small loss while WMGK moved up three places to #5 as it ended a three-book slide. WHYY was forced to step down to #6 despite a small increase. Its former #5 partner – WBEN – fell to #10 as its four-book surge came to a sudden halt.

BOSTON: A Big Fat Kiss
As you will soon see, this survey was all about iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108). The station bounced back from a down book (6.9-7.3) to move back to #1 6+ for the first time since MARCH. The station also won the cume battle for the seventh straight survey (904,300-963,700) with an increase of 6.6%. The market grew by 1.1%. ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) was up two places to #2 (6.5-6.7) while BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR shuffled up to #3 (6.2-6.4). After five straight stays at #1, iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX dipped to #4 (7.1-6.3) – exactly where it was when the streak began. iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A slipped to #5 (6.6-6.1) while BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) moved up to #6 with its best offensive performance since MARCH (4.9-5.4).

The top three 25-54 stations were unchanged from last survey though the race did tighten up a bit. A flat WXKS ruled the roost for the fifth book in a row. WBZ-F remained at #2 but crept to within about a half share of the leader. WROR was #3 but with its highest score since APRIL. WMJX stepped up to #4 with a slight increase while BEASLEY Country WKLB (COUNTRY 102.5) slipped to #5 as it ended a four-book surge. WZLX stepped down to #6 with its third down book in a row.

As with the previous demo, the top three 18-34 stations were the same as before. WXKS continued to dominate as it cracked double digits. WBZ-F repeated at #2 with its best mark since APRIL but was about three shares out of first place. WKLB was #3 again with a small increase. ENTERCOM Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) remained at #4 though it ended a strong four-book surge. It was partnered with WMJX, which stepped up from #5 with a slight increase. WROR and BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9) were tied at #6 but about a share outside the top five.

For the fifth book in a row, WXKS was #1 18-49 and the station just missed cracking double digits. WBZ-F was a strong #2 with its best book since MARCH. Two stations moved up and into a tie at #3. WMJX advanced from #5 with a solid increase while WROR leapt from #8 with its best outing since FEBRUARY. WKLB slid to #5 with a small loss while WWBX fell to #7 as it returned most of last month’s huge increase.

We actually are rounding the corner on this survey. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will go under the hood to review the next batch of honorees, which will focus on MIAMI, SEATTLE, DETROIT, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS. 

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