Research Director Inc., Exclusive October PPM Analysis For New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas

October PPM Analysis

We want to be on the official record for this. ROCKTOBER is not a real month. It is some artificial construct devised by devious programmers to fool the general public. In short, it is fake news. Now, there is a real OCTOBER – though for NIELSEN purposes, it actually began on 9/10 and concluded on 10/7. So, it is more “ish” than actual. This particular survey period featured some semblance of a return to normalcy as schools ramped up and the NFL kicked off. It is also the debut of the new modeling protocols for headphone listening. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the data geeks at XTRENDS, bring you another edition of the ratings roundup. Let us begin …

NEW YORK: Back-to-Back Wins

For the second straight survey, ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F was the 6+ leader. Though the station lost most of last month’s big increase (6.8-6.2), it retained enough juice to remain ahead of iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM), which stepped up to #2 (5.6-5.9). WLTW also retained the cume crown (3,174,300-3,209,700) – an increase of 1.1%. The market fell by 0.7%. MEDIACO Urban AC WBLS had its best book since MARCH as it jumped two spaces to #3 (5.0-5.4). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) slipped to #4 as it returned all of last month’s increase (5.7-5.2). SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9) stepped down to #5 with its lowest mark since NOVEMBER (5.4-5.0). It was just ahead of a flat and stationary iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100) at #6 (4.9-4.9).

For the first time since MARCH, WLTW was back at #1 25-54. Though the station was only up slightly, it was enough to edge out a pair of properties at #2. WSKQ remained in place with a slight loss while WHTZ was up from #4 with a slight gain. WCBS-F fell from first to fourth as it returned a chunk of last month’s huge increase. WBLS stood alone at #5 with a slight gain as its former partner in that space – WAXQ – dipped to #6 as it ended a two-book surge.

WSKQ was the 18-34 leader for the tenth straight survey. However, their utter dominance had shrunk to only a share. This is because the station was off a bit while #2 WHTZ was up slightly. WBLS was up three places to #3 with easily its largest share in over a year. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WXNY (X96.3) moved up four slots to #4 with a large increase while SBS Spanish Contemporary WPAT (93.1 AMOR) dropped to #5 with a large decrease. WLTW slipped to #6 while WCBS-F fell to a tie at #7.

There were no substantive changes atop the 18-49 leaderboard. WSKQ was flat but remained in first place for the tenth book in a row. It just edged out WHTZ and WLTW. Those two stations remained tied at #2 with slight increases. WCBS-F repeated at #4 with a modest loss while WBLS was again the #5 station with a slight loss.

LOS ANGELES: The Book The (K)Earth Stood Still

Fun music fact: There was a band called Klaatu. It is doubtful you’ll find them on the playlist of ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101), though. (Probably didn’t test.) KRTH was the leading 6+ station for the sixth book in a row (6.5-5.8). The station remained the cume leader (2,235,800-2,226,400) with a decrease of 0.4%. The market grew by 0.6%. However, the tide was rising behind it as ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) was much closer at #2 (5.6-5.6). These two stations were well clear of the rest of the field. iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFI-A stepped up to #3 with a solid increase (4.0-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST repeated at #4 but with its lowest mark since MAY (4.6-4.2). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MY FM) dipped to #5 with its lowest score since APRIL (4.8-4.1). Moving up to #6 was ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (93.1 JACK FM) (3.5-3.8).

There was a lot of movement among the 25-54 ranks but the one constant was KRTH, which remained in first place for the sixth straight survey with a slight decrease. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE 107.5) leapt from #6 to #2 with its highest score since APRIL but trailed the leader by a full share. SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (LA RAZA 97.9) stepped up to #3 as it regained all of last month’s share loss. KTWV slipped to #4 with a slight loss while KCBS-F advanced to #5 as it rebounded from a down book. KBIG fell four slots to #6 as it surrendered most of last month’s large increase. ENTRAVISION Spanish Adult Hits KLYY (JOSE 97.5/107.1) jumped from #12 to #7 with its best book in over a year. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KSCA (LA 101.9) fell four places to #8 as it ended a three-book surge.

Though KRTH had a modest loss 18-34, it was able to move up to #1. This was due in large part to the fact that KBIG returned all of last month’s massive increase as it slipped back to a very close #2. KTWV made the leap o’ the month as it advanced from #10 to #3 with its best performance in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) stepped up to #4 with a slight loss while three stations were bound together at #5. Both iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KYSR (ALT 98.7) and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS had been tied at #3 while SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA 96.3) moved up from a tie at #7.

KRTH completed the demo sweep as it led the way 18-49 for the sixth book in a row. KTWV stepped up to #2 with a slight decrease while KLVE was up three places to #3 as it ended a two-book slide. KBIG had been the demo co-leader last survey but dropped to #4 this time. KLYY advanced from #12 to #5 with its best outing in over a year while KLAX slid to #6 where it was tied with a rising KCBS-F. KSCA dropped from #5 to a tie at #10 as it ended a three-book surge.

CHICAGO: V Squared

For the second book in a row, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) was the dominant player 6+ (8.6-8.4). ENTERCOM News WBBM-A was also #2 for the second straight survey (6.4-6.9). The station also leapt from #7 to #1 in cume (1,066,000-1,309,200) – a whopping 22.8% increase. By contrast, the market fell by 1.1%. HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE 97.1) had its first up book since APRIL – there were several flat ones in there – as it rose to #3 (4.5-5.1). HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 THE MIX) got back some of last month’s big loss (4.2-4.6) as it rose three places to #4. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM) slipped to #5 with its lowest total since APRIL (4.7-4.3). UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA 105.1) stepped up to #6 with its highest share in over a year (3.8-4.2). ENTERCOM AAA WXRT fell from a tie at #3 to #8 (4.7-3.9). This was the debut book for iHEARTMEDIA Mainstream Rock WCHI (ROCK 95.5). It was in a tie at #19 (2.2).

WOJO had its largest 25-54 share in over a year as it repeated as the demo leader. WTMX moved up to #2 as it regained some of last month’s big loss but still trailed the leader by a share. WDRV received a huge influx of share as it rose from a tie at #6 to #3. WVAZ slipped to #4 with a slight loss. WBEZ ALLIANCE N/T WBEZ sprang from a tie at #12 to #5 with its highest mark since MAY. WXRT dropped from a tie at #2 to #6 while CUMULUS Classic Hits WLS-F stepped down to #7 despite a slight increase. WCHI came in at #9.

Last survey two stations were tied at #1 18-34. This time there were three but only one remained from the original pair. That was iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (103.5 KISS FM), which had a small loss. Its new partners were HUBBARD AC WSHE (SHE 100.3), which advanced from #6 with its best outing since JANUARY. Also joining the fray was WOJO, which stepped up from #4 with its third up book in a row. Two other stations moved up and into a tie at #4. WTMX arrived from #9 while WVAZ jumped from a tie at #12. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI slid from its share of first place to #6 with its lowest mark since MARCH. CUMULUS Alternative WKQX stepped down to a tie at #7 with its lowest score since APRIL while ENTERCOM Top 40/M WBBM-F (B96) fell from #3 to #10.

WOJO had its highest 18-49 share in over a year to remain #1 by a healthy margin. WVAZ took three steps upwards to #2 with its best showing in over a year. WBEZ performed the leap o’ the month as it rose from #16 to #3. WXRT dipped to #4 with a slight loss. WTMX and SBS Regional Mexican WLEY (LA LEY 107.9) both made bold moves as they rose up and into a tie at #5. WKSC fell six slots to #8 while WCHI landed at #9. WGCI fell from #4 to a tie at #13 with its lowest total since NOVEMBER.

SAN FRANCISCO: Ain’t Got No Records To Play

Usually, the top two 6+ stations eschew the playing of recorded music. This time they were joined by a third songless outlet. KQED INC. N/T KQED stood alone at #1 with its highest score since MAY (8.0-8.4). Last month’s co-leader – ENTERCOM News KCBS-A – slipped to #2 (8.0-7.6). Two stations moved up to #3. CUMULUS Sports KNBR-A got a nice boost from the NINERS as it advanced from #6 with its best offensive showing in over a year (4.0-4.9). Cluster bruh CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (107.7 THE BONE) moved up from #7 as it, too, posted its largest share in over a year (3.8-4.9). iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) slipped to #5 (4.6-4.2) while BONNEVILLE AC KOIT stepped down to #6 (4.2-4.0). It remained #1 in cume (942,600-893,700) – a decrease of 5.2%. The market was down by 0.5%. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL slid to #7 with its lowest total since APRIL (4.6-3.6).

KQED bounced back from a down book to move back to #1 25-54 for the sixth time in the last seven surveys. KSAN got a massive share increase as it rocketed from #8 to a very close #2. KMEL went from first to third as it ended a two-book surge. BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW) stepped up to #4 with its best outing since FEBRUARY. KOIT dropped from #3 to #5 with a modest decrease.  KCBS-A was a tick behind as it moved up to #6. ENTERCOM Hot AC KLLC (ALICE @97.3) dropped to #8 with its lowest share since MAY.

How dominant is KMEL 18-34? Let us count the ways. The station was #1 for the tenth consecutive survey. It crashed through the double-digit barrier for the second book in a row. But wait … there’s more. KSAN launched itself from a tie at #11 to #2 with its best book in over a year. Still, KMEL more than doubled KSAN’s share. Three stations moved up to tie at #3. KMVQ stepped up from #5 despite posting its lowest share since MAY. KQED turned it up from a tie at eleven with its best book since JUNE. And, UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KVVF (LATINO MIX 105.7 & 100.7) came in from a tie at #6 despite a small loss. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KYLD (WILD 94.9) and KOIT dropped into a tie at #6 while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3 FM) fell from #2 to a tie at #11 with its smallest share in over a year.

Though KMEL was off 18-49, the station continued to lead the demo for the fifth book in a row. KQED stepped up to #2 with a small increase but trailed the leader by more than a share. KMVQ was up to #3 with – again – its best book since FEBRUARY. KSAN was bad to the … well, you know … as it rose from a tie at #15 to #4. KOIT slid from #2 to #5 as it returned most of last month’s big increase. Previously, KYLD, KLLC, and KISQ had been tied at #5. This time they dropped to #7, #8, and #9, respectively.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: Seventh Heaven

So far, there have been 10 surveys in 2020. SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY has been #1 6+ in seven of them. The station went back-to-back this time (6.8-6.3) to maintain a comfortable lead over iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISS FM), which remained at #2 (5.6-5.0), but with its lowest share in over a year. KHKS remained the market cume leader (1,389,200-1,273,800) – a decrease of 8.3%. The market grew by 0.6%. CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF) inched up to #3 (4.9-4.8) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR 92.5) dipped to #4 as it returned all of last month’s big gain (5.2-4.6). ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (100.3 JACK FM) had its best book in over a year (3.9-4.5) as it rose from #9 to #5. CUMULUS Country KSCS (4.4-4.2) and ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV (98.7 K-LUV) (4.4-4.1) had been tied at #5 but slipped to #6 and a tie at #7, respectively. CUMULUS Sports KTCK-A (THE TICKET 96.7FM/1310AM) more than doubled its previous share (1.4-3.5) as it leapt from a tie at #24 to #11 – this is the first month that the station’s stream is included in the total line reporting.

KJKK has been on a 25-54 roll of late, finishing #2 for the last three books. This time the station landed its largest share in over a year, which propelled it to #1. KHKS saw its nine-book winning streak come to a halt as it stepped down to #2 with its smallest share in over a year. Check out the big numbers on KTCK-A. The station made a huge leap as it went from #21 to #3 – more than tripling its share in the process (at least in part due to the addition of their stream). A flat KLTY stepped up to #4 while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA 94.1) remained at #5 with a slight loss. It was just ahead of iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (97.1 THE EAGLE), which advanced to #6 with a solid increase. KSCS slid to #7 with its lowest total in a year while KZPS fell to #8 as it ended a robust two-book surge.

KHKS had its third down 18-34 book in a row but maintained enough margin over #2 KEGL to remain #1. The stations were separated by less than a half share. KSCS took three steps forward to #3 with its best showing since APRIL while KJKK was up four slots to #4. The station has doubled its share since JULY when it was #16. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (102.9 NOW) slipped to #5 with its lowest total since MARCH. It was just ahead of KLTY and KPLX, which moved up to tie at #6. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) and URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBFB (97.9 THE BEAT) had been tied at #4. They fell to #8 and a tie at #9, respectively.

The 18-49 competition became a lot tighter as the top three stations were separated by less than a half share. KHKS remained #1 but with its smallest share since APRIL. KEGL stood alone at #2 with a solid gain while KJKK stepped up to #3 with its best performance in over a year. KLNO dropped to #4 with a slight decrease while three stations landed at #5. KLTY advanced from #13, KLUV was up from #6 and KSCS strode in from a tie at #7. KZPS fell to #8 with its first down book since JUNE. It was tied with KTCK-A, which moved up from a tie at #29 (not a typo) as it more than quadrupled its previous number (again, at least in part due to the addition of their stream).  Just for the record, KDMX was also tied at #8, having risen one spot from #9.

We appreciate the patronage. Hopefully, it was not too eye numbing. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. have to go see a man about a horse. We shall return with HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON.

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