Research Director, Inc Exclusive January PPM Analysis for Houston, Washington DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston

January 2021 PPM Analysis

As we did our due diligence on the JANUARY survey, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in conjunction with the number crunchers at XTRENDS, came to a conclusion. This book was about two major factors. The cessation of holiday hostilities and the onslaught of actual hostilities. While listeners started drifting back to their favorite radio stations, they were likely distracted by small things like a riot, rhetoric about a rigged election, and an inauguration. For this book, which ran from JANUARY 7th through FEBRUARY 3rd, those two factors had a huge impact on ratings.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: A Dead Heat

Try looking up the origin of the cliché used in the title. Why a heat would be dead is kind of a mystery. There was no mystery to what happened 6+. SANTA left the building while rioters stormed another. iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) was the home of the holiday hits and also remained #1 for the third straight survey (12.1-7.5). The station beat both its NOVEMBER (7.0) and year-over-year shares (7.0). It also continued as the cume champion (2,199,700-1,6,93,300) with a 23.0% decrease. The market shrank by 1.4%. But wait, there’s more. Joining KODA on the podium was iHEARTMEDIA N/T KTRH-A, which went from #4 to #1 with its highest score in over a year (5.5-7.5). COX MEDIA Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.7 & 107.5) bounced back from a down book (5.4-6.2) to move up to #3. KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ slipped to #4 (6.2-6.1) while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA 102.9) dipped to #5 (5.8-5.8).

Prior to the onset of holiday hostilities, iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) had been #1 25-54 for six straight surveys. Well, the station was back on top once again as it ended a four-book slide. KLTN stepped up to #2 as it regained most of last survey’s big share loss. KODA slipped to #3 as it ended a four-book surge. KSBJ posted its largest share in over a year as it remained at #4. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) inched up to #5 with a slight increase, which pushed KGLK down to #6. KTRH received a big infusion of share as it rose from a tie at #13 to #7.

The heat has ceased to be in the 18-34 realm. KTBZ took a step forward to #1 despite a small loss. It was joined in that endeavor by ENTERCOM Hot AC KHMX (MIX 96.5), which advanced from a tie at #8 with easily its largest share in over a year. KODA dropped down to #3 while two stations settled in at #4. KBXX stepped back from #3 while KSBJ moved up from #7 with its best showing in over a year. KLTN slipped to #6 despite a solid share increase. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) fell to #7 with a small loss. It was tied with ESTRELLA Regional Mexican KTJM (LA RAZA 98.5/103.3), which rose from #10 thanks to a huge share increase.

The top five 18-49 players remained the same though their order was rearranged. KTBZ moved up to #1 with a small share increase while KLTN was up to #2 with its best book since OCTOBER. KODA dropped to #3 while KSBJ dipped to #4 despite – once again – landing its largest share in over a year. KBXX repeated at #5 with a small share gain.

WASHINGTON, DC: Not A Slow News Month

A riot at the U.S. Capitol building, National Guard troops in the streets, the lingering smell of tear gas, and an inauguration likely qualify as major market events. And, indeed, the purveyors of information programming were well served in this book. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU moved up to #1 6+ with a massive share increase (8.3-13.4). HUBBARD News WTOP stepped up to #2 with its best book since OCTOBER (8.1-9.9). It also regained the cume lead with a 3.9% gain (760,900-790,400). The market was down by 1.6 %. The leading music station was HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR, which inched up to #3 (7.5-7.3). Santa’s #1 choice was iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH. It dropped from first to fourth (15.2-6.0). The station had a 7.0 in NOVEMBER and a 6.7 last year. It also experienced a 36.6% cume loss. CUMULUS Talk WMAL – the conservative-leaning station – went from #7 to #5 as it ended a four-book slide (4.6-5.9). All told, News/Talk programming captured a 29.2 share of the market. GWET Classical WETA dipped to #6 (5.5-5.4). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) had its best outing in over a year (3.9-5.2) to advance to #7.

Spoken word led the way 25-54, as well. WAMU was in double digits at #1 while WTOP was at #2 with its largest share in over a year. While we can’t be specific, those two combined for better than a 20 share. WWDC stood alone at #3 with a huge share increase. URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3/92.7) was up two slots to #4 with its highest mark since SEPTEMBER. It was tied with arch rival WHUR, which moved up from #5 despite a small share loss. ENTERCOM Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) had its best showing in this format configuration as it rose to #6. WASH fell from #1 to #7.

WAMU completely dominated the 18-34 sphere as it more than doubled its previous share. WASH slipped to #2 and was tied with WHUR, which had a slight share increase. These two trailed the leader by more than five shares. WWDC ended a two-book slide as it moved up to #4 while WTOP regained a good chunk of last month’s share loss to advance from a tie at #9 to #5. ENTERCOM Top 40/R WPGC and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) had been tied at #4. WPGC had its best book since SEPTEMBER but still dropped to #6 while WIHT had a small share loss and landed at #7.

The top three 18-49 stations each had massive share increases. WAMU ended up at #1 and was in double digits. WWDC came in at #2 while WTOP advanced to #3. All three stations posted their largest shares in over a year. WHUR repeated at #4 with a small loss. WASH dropped to #5 and was tied with WIAD, which turned it up from #11.

ATLANTA: Still Talking

One of the big impacts of holiday music was that it kept COX MEDIA Talk WSB-A from hitting double-digit shares 6+. Well, Santa split and WSB-A was back in double-digit territory (9.0-11.8). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) stepped up to #2 as it ended a four-book slide (5.9-6.3). The station was also back to #1 in cume (704,100-731,800) – an increase of 3.9%. The market was off by 2.2%. COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1 FM) slipped to #3 (6.4-5.1) while ENTERCOM Urban WVEE (V-103) inched up to #4 (5.5-4.8). Both stations posted their lowest shares in over a year. URBAN ONE Christian INSPO WPZE (PRAISE 102.5) had its highest share in over a year (4.1-4.5) as it moved from a tie at #8 to #5. It was partnered with COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) (4.4-4.5). CITY OF ATLANTA BOE N/T WABE had its best book in over a year (3.1-4.3) as it leapt from a tie at #11 to #7. This likely had a lot to do with the fact that GEORGIA was a hot bed of political activity in early JANUARY. The holiday hitmaker was SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (104.7 THE FISH). It dropped from #4 to a tie at #9 (5.6-3.8). It posted a 4.2 in NOVEMBER and a 4.5 last year. The station also lost 36.9% of its previous cume.

Though WVEE returned all of last survey’s strong share increase, the station repeated as the #1 25-54 station. Both WSRV and WSB-A had large share increases as the pair moved up and into a tie at #2. WABE advanced four spaces to #4 with a huge share increase. These four stations were well clear of the rest of the field. WSB-F had a slight share increase as it moved up to #5. URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) slipped to #6 with its lowest mark in over a year. WALR fell from #2 to #7 while WFSH dove from #6 to a tie at #9.

Last survey had WVEE and WALR tied at #1 18-34. WVEE lost most of last survey’s gain and dipped to #2 while WALR had its smallest share since AUGUST as it dropped to #3. Meanwhile, WSB-F had a slight share increase and moved up to #1 for the first time since JULY. Three stations were tangled together at #4. ENTERCOM Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) stepped up from #5 despite a slight loss. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7) advanced from #8 with its highest mark since SEPTEMBER. WABE, of course, had its best book in over a year as it leapt from #9. WFSH dropped from #4 to a tie at #10.

WSRV had its first up book 18-49 since SEPTEMBER as it ascended to #1 in the demo. It just barely edged out WVEE, which stepped down to #2. WSB-F was up three places to #3 with its best performance since JULY while WSB-A jumped from #7 to #4 as it ended a three-book slide. WABE advanced from #10 to #5 with, you betcha, its best book in over a year. WZGC slipped to #6 as it ended a three-book surge. WALR dropped from #2 to a tie at #9 while WFSH descended from a tie at #3 to a tie at #12.

PHILADELPHIA: Back To Normal

No, we’re still dealing with a pandemic. However, the 6+ ratings reverted to a bit of normalcy. Prior to the last survey, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS had been #1 6+ for nine, count ‘em, nine books in a row. The station was back on top this survey with its third up book in a row (8.4-8.6). ENTERCOM News KYW-A had its highest share since APRIL (5.4-6.4) as it moved up three places to #2. BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR remained at #3 (6.1-6.3) but was forced to share with WHYY INC. Public Radio WHYY, which advanced from #7 with its best number in over a year (4.6-6.3). ENTERCOM Sports WIP-F dipped to #5 despite being up for the third straight survey (5.9-6.1). ENTERCOM AC WBEB (B101.1) put BURL IVES back into cold storage and fell from #1 to #6 (13.2-5.7). It was ahead of NOVEMBER (4.8) but behind last year (6.1). The station also remained the highest cumer despite a 46.8% decrease (1,418,600-754,900). The market fell by 3.5%. Very close behind was BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK, which dipped to #7 (5.1-5.6).

WMMR posted its best 25-54 share since JULY as it moved back up to #1. The station just edged out WDAS, which moved up to #2 with its best outing in over a year. This dynamic duo was well clear of the rest of the pack. WIP-F had its best book in exactly a year as it stepped up to #3. WBEB slid to #4 and was paired with WHYY, which moved up from #6 with its highest score since APRIL. WMGK was down for the third book in a row as it slid to #7.

Back in OCTOBER WDAS was sitting at #9 18-34. The station has almost doubled its share since then and finally reached #1 in this survey. WBEB stepped down to #2 and trailed the leader by a half share. WIP-F stood alone at #3 as it had a solid share gain. Three stations were huddled together at #4. WMMR dipped from a tie at #3 with a slight increase while iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99) stepped up from a tie at #5 with its highest share since SEPTEMBER. WHYY leapt from a tie at #10 thanks to a massive share influx. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5) had a solid share increase but still slid to #7.

WDAS had its best 18-49 book in over a year as it returned to the top spot. WMMR moved up to #2 with a small share loss and trailed the leader by two shares. WIP-F took one step upward to #3 with its best performance in a year. It was in a dead heat with WHYY, which posted its largest number in exactly a year. WBEB dropped from first to fifth. A flat WUSL slipped to #6.

BOSTON: A Flurry Of Activity

As we’ve seen in other markets, the need for information was acute. iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A became the #1 6+ station and posted its largest share in over a year (6.5-8.2). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR regained a more normal posture (5.6-7.5) as it went from #4 to #2. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX remained at #3 (6.4-6.1). The lack of BRENDA LEE tunes sent ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) down to #4 (15.9-5.9). The station had a 5.5 in NOVEMBER and a 5.7 last year. It also retained the cume crown despite a 36.2% loss (1,223,900-781,000). The market was off by 2.1%. BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) stepped up to #5 (5.3-5.7) and was just ahead of WGBH FOUNDATION Public Radio WGBH, which had its best book in over a year (4.5-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) slid to #7 (5.4-5.3).

Though the local gridiron club had faded from relevance by now, all eyes (and ears) turned southward for a certain orange-clad QB. This helped WBZ-F end a three-book slide and move back to #1 25-54. WROR shook off the holiday blues, regained all of last survey’s share loss, and moved back up to #2. WXKS remained at #3 but with its lowest share in over a year. WGBH again had its best book in over a year as it rose from #7 to #4. WZLX repeated at #5 with a slight loss. BOSTON UNIVERSITY Public Radio WBUR was not far behind, as it climbed to #6 with its highest mark in over a year. WMJX fell from #1 to #7 and was tied with ENTERCOM Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103).

WBZ-F got back most of last survey’s huge share loss to move back to #1 18-34. WXKS was up to #2 though it returned all of last survey’s share increase. WMJX slid to #3 and was tied with WGBH, which advanced from #7. NORTHEAST AAA WXRV (92.5 THE RIVER) leapt from #12 to #5 – nearly doubling its previous share. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) slid to #6 with a slight share loss and was tied with WROR. WBGB dropped from #5 to a tie at #10.

Prior to last survey, WBZ-F had been in double digits 18-49 for three books in a row. The station began a new streak this time as it moved back up to #1. WROR rebounded from a down book to move from #4 to #2 while WXKS remained at #3 but with its smallest share in over a year. WMJX fell from #1 to #4 while WGBH stepped up to #5 with a huge share increase. WBGB slipped to #6 and was tied with WBUR.

Two down, one to go. We will unearth more nuggets in short order.  The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will soon dig into the ratings fortunes of MIAMI, SEATTLE, PHOENIX, DETROIT, and MINNEAPOLIS. Stay tuned.

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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 email info@ResearchDirectorInc.com or sallan@ResearchDirectorInc.com.

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