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

November 2020 Day One Recap

The results are in and our decision desk is confident in calling the NOVEMBER survey for radio. It was a hotly contested month, what with the continuing pandemic, the election buzz, and football. This was also the final survey before the incessant onslaught of musical holiday cheer. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with our compatriots from XTRENDS, have parsed the numbers and this is what we found. For those keeping score at home, this survey began on 10/8 and concluded on 11/4.

NEW YORK: Three For The Show

There was very little change with the top three 6+ stations from last month. ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F completed the three-peat at #1 (6.2-6.1). iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM) continued to lurk from the #2 position (5.9-5.7). It was also the market cume leader again but with a 9.4% decline (3,209,700-2,908,600). The overall market shrank by 2.4%. MEDIACO Urban AC WBLS repeated at #3 (5.4-5.3) but was hearing footsteps as SBS Tropical WSKQ (MEGA 97.9) stepped up to #4 as it ended a three-book slide (5.0-5.2). This forced iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) to move down to #5. The station posted its lowest share since MARCH (5.2-4.6). The big mover this month was NY PUBLIC RADIO N/T WNYC. The station only moved up one slot – to #6 – but landed its largest share since APRIL (3.7-4.5).

The 25-54 competition became as tight as it could possibly be. WLTW returned at #1 with a slight increase. Meanwhile, WSKQ had a slightly larger small increase to wrest control of the #2 position away from iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WHTZ (Z100), which dropped to #3 with its first down book since MAY. Back in APRIL the talk was about the pandemic. Here in NOVEMBER it was the election buzz. This fueled WNYC’s rise from a tie at #8 to #4. A flat WBLS remained at #5 and just edged out WCBS-F, which slipped to #6 with a small loss.

The top two 18-34 slots remained relatively stable. WSKQ was #1 for the eleventh straight survey with a slight loss. WHTZ repeated at #2 for the fifth book in a row with a slight increase. Then came mayhem. Last month MEDIACO Top 40/R WQHT (HOT 97) and WCBS-F were tied at #7. Both stations had solid increases as they rose to #3 and #4, respectively. ENTERCOM Alternative WNYL (ALT 92.3) jumped from a tie at #10 to #5 with its best book in over a year. It was forced to share the moment as WLTW stepped up from #6 despite a slight loss. WBLS dropped from #3 to #7 as it ended a robust two-book surge. It was tied with UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary WXNY (LA X96.3), which dropped from #4 as its three-book surge came to a halt. SBS Spanish Contemporary WPAT (93.1 AMOR) skidded from #5 to #12 with its lowest mark since JUNE.

Last month WSKQ barely edged out a pair of stations for the 18-49 crown. This time WSKQ beefed up its advantage with a solid increase. Those other two stations? They each had small losses, which kept WLTW at #2 and pushed WHTZ to #3. WNYC had its best showing since APRIL – again – as it leapt from a tie at #10 to #4. WCBS-F stepped down to #5 with its smallest share since MAY while WBLS slipped to #6 with a slight decrease.

LOS ANGELES: Seventh Heaven And (K)Earth

ENTERCOM Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101 FM) remained in orbit as it captured the 6+ demo for the seventh book in a row. Things did get a bit tighter as the station posted its lowest share since APRIL (5.8-5.4). ENTERCOM Rhythmic AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) was in second place for the fourth straight survey (5.6-5.1). iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST got a head start on the upcoming holiday blitz as it moved up to #3 with its best outing since JUNE (4.2-4.9). iHEARTMEDIA Talk KFI-A slipped to #4 (4.5-4.5) while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KBIG (104.3 MY FM) remained at #5 but with its lowest share in over a year (4.1-3.9). SBS Regional Mexican KLAX (97.9 LA RAZA) made a bid to join the top five as it advanced three places to #6 (3.5-3.7).

KRTH was, ahem, solid as a rock 25-54 as it captured the demo for the seventh straight survey. Though the station was down for the third book in a row, it maintained about a share lead over KLAX, which stepped up to #2 despite a slight loss. Four stations were tangled up at #3. UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KLVE (K-LOVE 107.5) slipped from #2 as it surrendered half of last month’s solid increase. KTWV stepped up from #4 despite a small loss. The other two stations – KOST and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KIIS – had been tied at #10. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KCBS-F (93.1 JACK FM) dipped to #7 with a small loss. And, KBIG was a small step behind at #8. The seven stations at #2 through #8 were separated by about a half share.

The 18-34 race was chock full of drama this survey. The new demo leader was iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KYSR (ALT 98.7), which advanced from a tie at #5 with a massive share increase. It led the three challengers who were standing by at #2 by about two and a half shares. KBIG remained at #2 but with its lowest score since people were willingly chugging egg nog. Why, people, why? Also landing at #2 was KIIS, which rose from a tie at #5 and KOST, which leapt from a tie at #11 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KRRL (REAL 92.3) slipped to #5 with a slight increase and was just ahead of MERUELO Top 40/R KPWR (POWER 106), which moved up to #6 with a small increase. KRTH dropped from #1 to #7 with its least productive outing in over a year. KTWV dropped from #3 to #8 as it returned all of last month’s big increase. SBS Spanish AC KXOL (MEGA 96.3) fell to a tie at #9 with its lowest mark in over a year.

As with two of the previous demos, KRTH was #1 18-49 for the seventh book in a row though it had a small loss. KIIS and KOST had been tied at #8. Both had solid increases to move up to #2 and #3, respectively. KTWV slipped to #4 with a small loss while KYSR soared from a tie at #13 to #5 with its best book in over a year. It was just ahead of KLAX at #6. KBIG dropped from #4 to #7 with its lowest total since APRIL. KLVE fell from #3 to #8 and was tied with KCBS-F. ENTRAVISION Spanish Adult Hits KLYY (JOSE 97.5/107.1) went from #5 to #11 as it gave back all of last month’s strong increase.

CHICAGO: V Rhymes With Three

For the third straight survey, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) was the dominant 6+ station (8.4-8.9). ENTERCOM News WBBM-A came in second place for the third book in a row (6.9-6.5). However, it repeated as the leading cume station with a decline of 11.0% (1,309,200-1,164,800). The entire market was down by 2.9%. HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 THE MIX) stepped up to #3 with a solid increase (4.6-5.1). This pushed its cluster bro HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE 97.1) down to #4 (5.1-5.0). WBEZ ALLIANCE N/T WBEZ had its best outing since MAY (3.8-4.7) as it rose from #9 to #5. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM) had to step down to #6 despite an up book (4.3-4.6). Not to worry –  winter, uh, Santa is coming. In its second full book in format, iHEARTMEDIA Rock WCHI (ROCK 95.5) remained tied at #19 (2.2-2.1).

For the third book in a row, UNIVISION Regional Mexican WOJO (QUE BUENA 105.1) was #1 25-54. The station was flat and saw its previous lead cut in half. WTMX repeated at #2 with a solid gain. It was paired with WVAZ, which advanced from #4 with its highest share in over a year. WBEZ was up to #4 with its best outing since APRIL. WDRV slid to #5 with a slight loss.

The 18-34 demo saw both turmoil and upheaval. When we last visited, three – count ‘em – three stations were tied at #1. That did not last very long as all three fell down the chart. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) stepped down to #2 with a small loss. The other two stations did not fare as well. WOJO turned it down to #11 while HUBBARD AC WSHE (SHE 100.3) fell to #13. Both stations posted their lowest share in over a year. The new market leader? That would be WVAZ, which rose from a tie at #4 with a massively huge increase. It was sitting there with about a four-share lead. A flat WTMX stepped up to #3 and was joined by WBEZ, which advanced from a tie at #11 with its largest share in over a year. ENTERCOM Top 40/M WBBM-F (B96) leapt from #10 to #5 thanks to a slight increase in share.

WVAZ was also #1 18-49 as it moved into first place with authority. WOJO stepped down to #2 as it returned most of last month’s large increase. The gap between the two stations was better than a share and a half. WBEZ repeated at #3 with its best outing since APRIL while WTMX stepped up to #4 with a solid increase. WKSC was up three places to #5 as it ended a three-book slide. Two stations dropped out of the top five. ENTERCOM AAA WXRT slid from #4 to a tie at #7 with its lowest mark since JUNE. SBS Regional Mexican WLEY (LA LEY 107.9) dropped from a tie at #5 to #9 as its three-book surge came to an end.

SAN FRANCISCO: No Songs Allowed

As per usual, the top two spots on the 6+ leaderboard were devoid of any musical accompaniment. For the fourth book in a row, KQED INC. N/T KQED was #1 as it posted its largest share since APRIL (8.4-9.0). ENTERCOM News KCBS-A settled in at #2 again (7.6-7.8). The new music leader was iHEARTMEDIA AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) with its largest share in over a year (4.2-5.4) as it moved up to a very solid #3. It also became the cume leader with an increase of 11.7% (834,300-931,600). The market grew by 1.7%. BONNEVILLE AC KOIT stepped up to #4 (4.0-4.4) while CUMULUS Classic Rock KSAN (107.7 THE BONE) slipped to #5 (4.9-4.3). The next closest station was BONNEVILLE Top 40/M KMVQ (99.7 NOW), which moved up to #6 (3.5-3.6).

For the seventh time in the last eight surveys, KQED was #1 25-54. The station posted its largest share in over a year. KOIT advanced three squares to #2 as it rebounded from a down book. Still, it was better than a share off the lead. KMVQ stepped up to #3 with its best performance since FEBRUARY. A flat KCBS-A was up to #4 while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R KMEL slipped to #5 with its lowest total in over a year. KISQ was up from a tie at #10 to #6 with a strong increase while KSAN dropped from #2 to #7 as it returned all of last month’s massive increase.

KMEL was in the rarefied air of double digits 18-34 for the last two books. The station could not maintain that pace as it landed its lowest share since JULY. However, it remained #1 for the eleventh straight survey and held a commanding lead over the rest of the field. KOIT advanced from a tie at #6 to #2 as it rebounded from a down book though it remained almost three shares off the lead. KQED stood alone at #3 with a solid increase while KSAN slid to #4 with a somewhat large share loss. A flat KMVQ dropped to #5 while UNIVISION Spanish Contemporary KVVF (LATINO MIX 105.7 & 100.7) fell from a tie at #3 to a tie at #9 with its smallest share since APRIL.

The last time KMVQ had a down 18-49 book was in APRIL. This month the station had its largest share since JANUARY as it moved up to #1. KQED was not far behind as it remained at #2 with a solid increase. KOIT got back all of last month’s huge loss – plus a little extra – as it moved from #5 to #3. After five straight surveys at #1, KMEL dipped to #4 with its lowest score in over a year. KISQ went from #9 to #5 as it, too, bounced back from a down book. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3) advanced from a tie at #11 to #6, getting back most of last month’s big loss. KSAN dropped from #4 to a tie at #7.

DALLAS-FT.WORTH: A Holy Trinity

For the third straight survey, SALEM Christian Contemporary KLTY was the 6+ leader by a solid margin (6.3-6.4). CUMULUS Country KSCS posted its largest share in over a year (4.2-5.3) as it leapt from #6 to #2. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) dipped to #3 (5.0-5.2). The last time the station was ranked this “low” was when Santa was throwing his ample weight around. However, the station continued as the cume leader with an increase of 5.0% (1,273,800-1,337,600). The market grew by 0.5%. Jaws were wagging and tongues were flapping at CUMULUS Talk WBAP-A. The station jumped from #12 to #4 with its best book in over a year (3.3-4.9). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock KZPS (LONE STAR 92.5) slipped to #5 (4.6-4.7) while CUMULUS Country KPLX (99.5 THE WOLF) dropped to #6 (4.8-4.6). ENTERCOM Adult Hits KJKK (100.3 JACK FM) did not do what it wants as it fell from #5 to #10. The station returned all of last month’s huge increase (4.5-3.7).

KHKS vaulted back into first place 25-54 with a slight increase. KSCS advanced five places to #2 as it rebounded from a down book. It was a half share behind the leader. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLNO (QUE BUENA 94.1) stepped up to #3 with its highest mark since JUNE. KJKK’s stay at #1 was short-lived as the station dropped to #4 with its lowest total since JUNE. KLTY stepped down to #5 with its lowest score since DECEMBER. It was just ahead of two stations at #6 – KZPS and iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KEGL (97.1 THE EAGLE). CUMULUS Sports KTCK-A (THE TICKET 96.7/1310) fell from #3 to #9.

KHKS was #1 18-34 for the seventh straight survey and ended a three-book slide. KSCS stepped up to #2 with its best book in over a year yet still trailed the leader by a share. KEGL moved down to #3 with its lowest mark since JUNE. iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR 102.1) was up for the third book in a row as it launched itself from a tie at #11 to #4. SERVICE Urban KKDA (K104) bounced back from a down book to climb from #8 to #5. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (NOW 102.9) dropped four places to #9 with its third straight down book. KJKK had its lowest score since JULY as it dropped from #4 to #13.

Though KHKS had its lowest 18-49 share since APRIL, the station was the demo winner for the eleventh straight survey. KLNO took two steps upward to #2 with a slight increase. KEGL moved back to #3 as it ended a strong two-book surge. Last month there was a three-way tie at #5. Those bonds were broken as KSCS stepped up to #4 with its highest score since MARCH. Its former partners were left behind. ENTERCOM Classic Hits KLUV dropped into a tie at #6 with KDGE. KLTY slid into an eighth place tie with KPLX and KZPS. Not to be overlooked, KJKK slid to #5 with a rather large share loss.

One down, two to go, which means we have rounded one of the tri-corners. Thanks for reading. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. need to go do some show prep for round two, which will feature HOUSTON, WASHINGTON, DC, ATLANTA, PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON.

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