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

October PPM Analysis

As The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. were huddling up with our compatriots at XTRENDS, we stumbled upon a sudden realization. We have never, ever released a pumpkin-spiced version of our OCTOBER ratings analysis. How thoughtless of us. So, breathe deeply from your screen. Let the numbers resulting from a survey that spanned 9/10 through 10/7 waft over you. Keep in mind two notable changes, besides the increased nutmeg, for this survey. First, the NFL was back. Second, NIELSEN introduced modeling for headphone listening. Both likely had more of an effect on the numbers than our lame bit.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Sunny Side Up

After a brief, one-book hiatus, iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) rose back up to #1 6+ as it bounced back from a down book (6.7-7.1). It also retained the cume crown (1,534,900-1,649,400) with an increase of 7.5%. The market was up by 2.4%. The race for second place was hotly contested among three stations. iHEARTMEDIA N/T KTRH-A moved up three slots to #2 with its best book in over a year (5.6-6.5). COX MEDIA GROUP Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) slipped to #3 (7.4-6.4) while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) dipped to #4 (6.3-6.2). UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA 102.9) stepped down to #5 with its lowest mark since FEBRUARY (6.1-5.9). KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary took flight to #6 with its best outing, also since FEBRUARY (4.3-5.4).

KTBZ continued to lead the 25-54 field by a wide margin as it captured the flag for the fifth straight survey. A flat KLTN stepped up to #2 but was more than a share off the pace. KODA moved up to #3 as it again bounced back from a down book. KGLK slid to #4 as it ended a strong three-book surge. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) remained at #5 with a flat performance. It was joined by KSBJ, which moved up from a tie at #7 with a large increase.

For the fourth time in the last five surveys, KTBZ was #1 18-34. The station was up slightly while URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) remained at #2 with a small increase. The net result was that the two stations were extremely close together. CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE moved up three places to #3 with its best outing since FEBRUARY while ENTERCOM Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101FM) stood alone at #4 with its lowest mark in over a year. Two stations made bold moves and landed at #5. KODA was up from #9 with a slight increase while KSBJ advanced from #13 with its highest share in over a year. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KAMA (LATINO MIX 104.9 & 93.3) also joined the, uh, mix at #5 as it slipped a spot while ending a two-book surge. KLTN dropped five places to a tie at #8 with its lowest total since FEBRUARY.

The top four 18-49 stations were in the exact same order as last month. KTBZ was off a bit but finished in first place for the fifth book in a row. KLTN was second with a slight decrease while KODA repeated at #3 with a small gain. KKHH was again the #4 station with a small increase. Crashing the top five was KSBJ, which arose from a tie at #10. As recently as JULY, it was sitting at #17. Not far behind at #6 was KRBE, which had its best outing since the skaters were skating. KGLK fell from #5 to a tie at #11 with its lowest share in over a year.

WASHINGTON, DC: Double Speak

As usual, the top of the 6+ leaderboard was jammed with broken heroes, no wait, with stations that don’t play your favorite songs. However, there were a few twists to the usual plot lines. For the third book in a row, HUBBARD News WTOP-F was the #1 station as it crashed through the double-digit barrier (9.5-10.3). It also extended its run as the leading cume station (824,400-881,000) with an increase of 6.9%. The market was up by 1.8%.  HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR remained #2 (8.3-7.9) but was forced to share the moment with CUMULUS Talk WMAL-F, which moved up a spot (8.0-7.9). AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU stood alone at #4 as it rebounded from a down book (6.4-6.9). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH stepped up to #5 with its best performance since FEBRUARY (5.8-6.1). URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3/92.7) slipped to #6 with its lowest share in over a year (6.4-5.7).

WTOP continued to dominate 25-54 as the station won for the third straight survey while posting its best number in over a year. WHUR repeated at #2 with a slight loss and was better than a share off the lead. WAMU moved up a couple of places to #3 with its best outing since MARCH. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) had a huge increase as it landed at #4 with its highest mark in over a year. WASH slipped to #5 with a small loss while WMMJ dipped to #6. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) bounced back from a down book as it rose from #10 to #7.

Last month WASH and WHUR were well clear of the 18-34 field as they shared the glory of being #1. This month, WASH posted its best frosty-free share in over a year to remain in first place for the fourth straight survey. WHUR had a slight loss as it stepped down to #2. WIHT moved up to #3 as it regained most of last month’s huge loss. WTOP repeated at #4 with its fourth up book in a row. A flat URBAN ONE Urban WKYS remained at #5 but was partnered with WWDC, which advanced from #7 with a solid increase. ENTERCOM Top 40/R WPGC fell from #3 to #7 with its lowest total since FEBRUARY.

The 18-49 race suddenly got hot. WTOP repeated at #1 with its best book in over a year. However, WWDC accomplished the same feat as it rose from #5 to forge a tie. WAMU inched up to a close #3 as it bounced back nicely from a down book. WHUR slid to #4 with a slight loss while WASH fell to #5 with a slightly larger decrease. WIHT was a tick behind at #6 as it regained a good portion of last month’s big loss.

ATLANTA: Status Quo

The top five 6+ stations were the same as before. COX MEDIA GROUP Talk WSB-A continued to dominate the space at #1 with its tenth straight double-digit performance (10.6-11.0). That likely qualifies as a trend. COX MEDIA GROUP Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) finished in second place again – for the fifth time in a row (8.5-7.9). The station also retained the cume lead (816,500-798,500) – a decrease of 2.2%. The market was up by 0.8%. COX MEDIA GROUP Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1 FM) was #3 – also for the fifth straight survey (7.5-6.9). ENTERCOM Urban WVEE (V-103) repeated at #4 (5.5-5.3) for the seventh book in a row. URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5 & 97.5) repeated at #5 – alas, for only the third straight time (5.4-4.9). SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (104.7 THE FISH) got back all of last month’s big loss (3.2-4.1) as it jumped from a tie at #10 to #6.

Ever since MAY WSRV and WVEE have been the top two stations 25-54. For the third book in a row, WSRV was #1, though with a small loss. WVEE repeated at #2 with a slight increase and trailed the leader by about a half share. WSB-A stepped up to #3 with its highest share since APRIL. WAMJ dipped to #4 with a small loss while WALR repeated at #5 but with its lowest total since MARCH. ENTERCOM Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) had its best outing since MARCH as it leapt from #13 to #6. Hopefully, it can hold the lead …

A flat WSRV held sway 18-34 for the third straight survey. WVEE remained at #2 but fell farther off the pace as it posted its lowest share in over a year. WALR repeated at #3 with a modest loss. URBAN ONE Urban WHTA (HOT 107.9) moved up to #4 despite posting its lowest number in over a year. A flat WAMJ was up two slots to #5. It was paired with WFSH, which jumped from a tie at #15 – almost doubling its previous share. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7) slid to a tie at #8 with its lowest mark in over a year while WZGC dropped from #5 to a tie at #11 as it shed more than half its previous share.

WVEE was flat 18-49 while WSRV was down slightly. The end result was that the two were tied at #1. WSB-A was up slightly as it stepped up to #3 while WALR moved down to #4 as it returned most of last month’s big increase. WAMJ repeated at #5 but with its smallest share since we were hanging hosiery on the mantle. WFSH had its highest total since FEBRUARY as it swam from #12 to #6.

PHILADELPHIA: Seven Up

iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS continued to run roughshod over the 6+ field. The station was #1 for the seventh book in a row with another huge share (9.0-9.1). The next two spots remained unchanged with the rock bros. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was #2 (6.7-6.9). It also became the leading cume station (803,800-861,500) thanks to an increase of 7.2%. The market rose by 1.2%. BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR was #3 again (6.6-6.7). The EAGLES may not be flying high but ENTERCOM Sports WIP-F was. The station was up three slots to #4 with its best offensive output since MAY (4.7-5.8). WHYY INC. N/T WHYY remained at #5 (5.1-5.1) while ENTERCOM News KYW-A slipped to #6 (5.9-4.6).

Though WMMR won the 25-54 competition for the tenth book in a row, #2 WDAS crept ever so close. WMMR was down a bit while WDAS had a small gain, and the two were less than a half share distant. WMGK remained at #3 with a slight increase. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) stepped up to #4 as it regained most of last month’s big share loss. WIP-F was working from #9 to #5 with its best performance since MAY. It was just ahead of WHYY, which stepped up to #6 with its third up book in a row. ENTERCOM AC WBEB (B101.1) was down for the third straight survey as it fell to #7. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99 FM) slid to #8 with its smallest share since JANUARY.

WMMR was off slightly 18-34 but managed to remain in first place. However, it was forced to share the spotlight with WIP-F, which marched from #9 with its highest score in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5) repeated at #3 but returned about half of last month’s big increase. WHYY stood alone at #4 but gave back almost all of last survey’s big gain. Its former partner in that space – WBEB – dipped to #6 with its lowest share since FEBRUARY. In between those two was WUSL, which fell from #2 with its lowest total in over a year. Keep an eye on URBAN ONE Urban Oldies WPPZ (CLASSIX 107.9). The station more than doubled its previous share as it leapt from a tie at #20 to a tie at #10.

A flat WMMR was #1 18-49 for the tenth straight survey. It held a commanding lead over WDAS, which stood alone at #2 as it ended a two-book slide. Its former partner – WUSL – dipped to #3 with its lowest share since JANUARY. WIP-F charged from #11 to #4 with its highest output since JANUARY while a flat WHYY was a step or two behind at #5. WBEN was close behind as it rose four places to #6 with its highest share in over a year. WBEB slid to #7 with its third straight down book while WMGK fell to #9 as it returned the majority of last month’s massive increase.

BOSTON: Everybody Tighten Up

OCTOBER was a version of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The top four 6+ stations were separated by less than half a share while there were two new members of the top five club. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR and iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A rose up to form a bond at #1. WROR arrived from #3 with its best showing since FEBRUARY (6.4-7.2) while WBZ-A advanced from #5 with its highest total in over a year (6.1-7.2). Nipping at their collective heels was iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108), which slipped from first to third (7.3-7.0). It continued as the cume leader (963,700-873,800) with a loss of 9.3%. The market was up by 0.3%. BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) had its most productive outing in over a year (5.4-6.8) as it moved up to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Talk WRKO-A accomplished the same feat as it moved from #8 to #5 (4.9-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX slipped to #6 with its fourth straight down book (6.3-5.9). ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) fell five places to #7 with its lowest share since MAY (6.7-5.1).

The CAM NEWTON era began with a flourish for WBZ-F as it moved up to #1 25-54 and surpassed the double-digit barrier. This ended the five-book winning streak for WXKS. While the station posted its largest share in over a year, it dropped back to #2 and was over two shares off the lead. WROR was not far behind as it repeated at #3 with its third up book in a row. WMJX was again sitting at a distant #4 though with a small loss. WZLX stepped up to #5 though it was down a bit. It was joined by the station formerly known as WODS – ENTERCOM Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) – which advanced from #10 with its fifth straight up book. BEASLEY Country WKLB dropped to #8 with its lowest score since APRIL.

It was the battle of the titans 18-34. WXKS was #1 for the fourth straight survey and was again in double digits. WBZ-F repeated at #2 but also landed in double-digit territory. They were well clear of the two stations at #3. WKLB made a return appearance but with its lowest share since APRIL. ENTERCOM Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) stepped up from a tie at #4 as it got back most of last month’s big loss. When we last visited this market, NORTHEAST AAA WXRV (92.5 THE RIVER) and WBGB were tied at #12. This time the stations moved up to #5 and #6, respectively. WMJX dropped to a tie at #9 with its lowest mark since APRIL.

WBZ-F had an impressive offensive performance 18-49 as it moved up to #1 with another double-digit share. WXKS was off a bit as it stepped back to #2. It was nearly three shares behind the leader. WROR stood alone at #3 but with its highest score since FEBRUARY. WMJX stepped down to #4 with a small loss. Three stations – count ‘em – were huddled together at #5. WKLB remained in place with a big loss while WZLX stepped up from #6 with a slight increase. WBGB advanced from a tie at #10 with its fourth up book in a row.

We have rounded the turn for the OCTOBER survey. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will now snort some pumpkin spice as we steel ourselves for round three. This will focus on MIAMI, SEATTLE, DETROIT, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS. 

Before you click away, click on over to our blog page and sign up. It comes with a money-back guarantee! Of course, it’s free so that’s pretty much an empty promise.  Check it out here: www.ResearchDirectorInc.com/Hot-Topics

About Research Director, Inc.: 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.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ResearchDirectorInc

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ResearchDirectorInc

Twitter: @ResearchDirectr

« see more Net News