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

February 2021 PPM Analysis

FEBRUARY is usually one of those “meh” months in the ratings game. Sure, there’s always a long holiday weekend, the “big game” (we’re not legally allowed to say “Super Bowl”), and all that yule cume returning to roost. However, this particular survey also featured two notable events. TEXAS was devastated by a catastrophic winter blast and radio icon RUSH LIMBAUGH shuffled off his mortal coil. As per usual, The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., along with the legendary numbers crunchers from XTRENDS, are here to report on the results. For those of you keeping score at home, this book ran from 2/4 through 3/3. Here’s what happened.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Frozen Tundra

Said with our best JOHN FACENDA impersonation. This was a market that was dramatically affected by winter’s wrath. That said, there was precious little change atop the 6+ leaderboard. Last month, iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) and iHEARTMEDIA N/T KTRH-A were tied at #1. KODA was flat (7.5-7.5) to retain the lead while KTRH-A slipped to #2 (7.5-6.5). KODA was still the cume leader (1,693,300-1,582,000) – a decrease of 6.6%. The market was off by a mere 0.5%. KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ stepped up to #3 (6.1-6.1) while COX MEDIA Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) dipped to #4 (6.2-5.9). UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA 102.9) repeated at #5 (5.8-5.8) while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) stayed at #6 (5.1-5.3).

KTBZ repeated as the #1 station 25-54 with a small increase. KODA stepped up to #2 with a slight gain while KLTN slipped to #3 with a slight loss. KSBJ repeated at #4 as it returned all of last month’s solid increase. There was quite the chasm between this quartet and the rest of the market. ENTERCOM Hot AC KHMX (MIX 96.5) leapt four spaces to #5 with its best outing in over a year. ENTERCOM Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) moved up a couple of slots to #6 as it ended a two-book slide. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) slid to #7 with a small loss. The move o’ the month went to COX MEDIA Country KKBQ (93Q), which jumped from #18 to #9 with its best book since JUNE.

Last month, KTBZ and KHMX were the 18-34 co-leaders. KTBZ had its highest share since NOVEMBER to remain in first place while KHMX slid to #6. Things were fairly compressed as the stations ranked from #2 to #7 were separated by less than a share. Speaking of #2, ENTERCOM Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101FM) arrived there from #10 with its best performance since AUGUST. iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) rose four places to #3 with its best book since JUNE. KODA dipped to #4 with a slight loss and was tied with KBXX, which remained in place with a slight gain. KSBJ fell from a tie at #4 to #7 with a small loss.

KTBZ made it two 18-49 wins in a row with a slight increase. KODA was up to #2, also with a slight gain, and was less than a half share off the lead. Close behind was KLTN, which stepped down to #3 with a slight loss. KSBJ repeated at #4 though it returned all of last month’s modest increase. KHMX stepped up to #5 with its best book in over a year. This pushed KBXX, which was slightly off, down to #6.

WASHINGTON, DC: Information Overload

It would figure that the wonkiest city in AMERICA would be feasting on all brands of information-related programming. That is why three of the top four stations 6+ do not play songs for a living. For the second straight survey, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was both #1 and in double digits (13.4-10.2). HUBBARD News WTOP repeated at #2 and, again, just missed hitting that double-digit mark (9.9-9.9). All they needed was a little rounding love. However, the station did retain the cume crown (790,400-770,000) – a decline of 2.6%. This closely matched the market, which was off by 3.1%. The leading music station was, once again, HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR, which remained #3 but with its best book since SEPTEMBER (7.3-8.1). CUMULUS Talk WMAL inched up to #4 (5.9-6.0), which pushed iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH back to #5 (6.0-5.9). A mover worthy of note was iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100). The station only advanced two spaces to #8 but posted its largest share in over a year (3.3-4.7). 

The top three-ish stations remained unchanged from the previous survey. WAMU was again both #1 and in double digits. WTOP was off but remained a very solid #2. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) repeated at #3 with its highest share in over a year. WHUR became the sole occupant of the #4 position with a strong share increase. Its former partner in that space – URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3/92.7) slipped to #7 with its lowest mark in over a year. Two stations stepped up to cojoin at #5. WASH was up from #7 with a slight decrease while ENTERCOM Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) inched up from #6 despite a modest share loss. WBIG went from #14 to #9 with, again, its best outing in over a year.

It is not very often that we see a station in WHUR’s format atop the 18-34 leaderboard. It is even rarer to see that station in double digits. But, that is precisely what happened this book. WHUR was more than two shares ahead of the two stations that moved up and into a tie at #2. WWDC advanced from #4 with its highest mark in over a year while iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) leapt from #7 with its best book since AUGUST. WAMU lost nearly half its previous share as it fell from first to fourth. WTOP remained at #5 with a slight decrease. WASH dropped four places to #6 with its lowest mark since MAY and was tied with WBIG.

WWDC ascended the 18-49 throne and entered double-digit territory. That meant the leader in all four demos was in double digits. WAMU left that rarefied air as it stepped down to #2. A flat WTOP repeated at #3 while WHUR remained at #4 but with its highest score in over a year. WASH stood alone at #5 with a small loss while its former partner in that space – WIAD – dipped to #7. In between was WIHT, which rose three slots to #6 with its best outing since NOVEMBER.

ATLANTA: Double Speak

The seemingly uninterrupted reign of spoken-word programming continued for COX MEDIA Talk WSB-A as it remained #1 6+ and again topped double digits (11.8-10.5). COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1 FM) bounced back from a down book (5.1-6.2) to step up to #2. COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) ebbed to a very close #3 (6.3-6.1). ENTERCOM Urban WVEE (V-103) repeated at #4 with a small increase (4.8-5.1). COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) stood alone at #5 with its highest mark since JULY (4.5-4.9). The station also wrested control of the cume column (693,300-778,600) – an increase of 12.3%. The market was up by 1.8%. URBAN ONE Christian Inspirational WPZE (PRAISE 102.5) broke out of a tie at #5 and landed at #6 despite its third straight up book (4.5-4.6).

WSB-A had its best 25-54 book since APRIL – the RUSH effect? – as it rose to #1. WVEE, despite a slight increase, was forced to step back to #2. WSRV moved down to #3 with a slight loss. ATLANTA BOARD OF EDUCATION N/T WABE remained at #4 though it returned most of last month’s huge increase. It was joined by WSB-F, which moved up a slot just by being flat. URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) ended a three-book slide as it held firm at #6. 

The 18-34 battleground became a little less intense. WSB-F repeated at #1 with its best showing since JULY while WVEE stayed at #2 with a slight loss. The net result was that the gap between the two stations widened to a half share. WALR was again the #3 station while giving a flat performance. Last month, ENTERCOM Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) and CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7) were tied at #4. They remained tied again with a slight increase. Making a strong move was JDJ COMMUNICATIONS Urban WWSZ-A (STREETZ 94.5) – which also broadcasts on a translator. The station went from #14 to #7 with its highest share since AUGUST.

After taking a book off, WVEE was back at #1 18-49 with a slight increase. WSRV stepped down to #2 as it returned a large portion of last survey’s massive increase. WSB-A moved up to #3 with its best book since OCTOBER. This pushed WSB-F – which was flat – down to #4. WZGC stood at #5 though with a small loss. Worth noting, especially considering the demo, was the rise of WPZE. It lifted up from #20 to #12.

PHILADELPHIA: We Detect A Pattern

Back before Santa was throwing his ample weight around, iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS had been the leading 6+ station for nine – count ‘em – nine straight surveys. A new trend may be beginning as the station repeated as the market leader (8.6-8.0). However, it was hearing footsteps from BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR, which moved up to #2 with its best outing in over a year (6.3-7.6). ENTERCOM News KYW-A slipped to #3 (6.4-6.5) while BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was up three slots to #4 (5.6-5.9). ENTERCOM AC WBEB (B101.1) stepped up to #5 (5.7-5.6) and remained the market’s cume leader (754,900-796,500) – a gain of 5.5%. The market grew by 0.7%. Perhaps no longer being able to complain about CARSON WENTZ affected ENTERCOM Sports WIP-F. The station dipped to #6 with its lowest score since NOVEMBER (6.1-5.3). WHYY INC. Public Radio WHYY fell from a tie at #3 to #7 (6.3-5.2).

Last survey WMMR and WDAS were this close to being tied for the 25-54 lead. That changed in a hurry. WMMR remained on top and crashed through the double-digit barrier for the first time since JULY. WDAS remained at #2 but with its lowest mark since SEPTEMBER. The stations stood four shares distant. WMGK ended a three-book slide as it advanced from #7 to #3. A flat WBEB stood alone at #4 while WIP-F slid to #5 as it ended a three-book surge. WHYY dropped down to #6 as it returned most of last month’s big increase.

WMMR had its best 18-34 book since NOVEMBER. Coincidentally, that was also the last time the station was #1 in this demo. WBEB was off slightly but repeated at #2. BEASLEY Sports WPEN (97.5 THE FANATIC) has been on quite the run. It moved from #8 to #3 this survey with its highest share in over a year. The station has more than doubled its number since SEPTEMBER when it was tied at #18. WDAS dropped from first to fourth with a huge share loss. It was tied in that space with two other stations. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99) remained in place as it returned all of last month’s huge increase. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5) was up from #7 despite a noticeable loss of share. Close behind that trio was ENTERCOM Top 40/M WTDY, which went from #10 to #7 as it rebounded from a down book. WIP-F dropped from #3 to a tie at #9.

WMMR hit double digits 18-49 for the first time since APRIL to take a commanding lead in the demo. WDAS dropped to a distant #2 after posting its lowest share since OCTOBER. WBEB was up two slots to #3 despite having a down book. WHYY slipped to #4 as it returned most of last month’s massive increase. It was partnered with WMGK, which launched itself into the fray from #15 – nearly doubling its previous share. WIP-F slid to #6, ending a three-book surge and was just ahead of BEASLEY Country WXTU, which moved up three slots to #7. 

BOSTON: Heading To Overtime

The title of 6+ co-leader was bestowed on a pair of stations. iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A remained in place (8.2-7.5) but was forced to share the one shining moment with BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR, which moved up from #2 (7.5-7.5). iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) had its best performance since OCTOBER as it advanced from #7 to #3 (5.3-6.2). The station was also back in the cume lead for the first time since NOVEMBER with an increase of 4.5% (753,700-787,400). The market was up by 0.3%. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX slipped to #4 (6.1-6.1) and was tied with BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB), which stepped up from #5 (5.7-6.1). WGBH FOUNDATION Public Radio WGBH repeated at #6 (5.6-5.6) and was just ahead of ENTERCOM AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7), which slid to #7 (5.9-5.5).

A question for BOSTON sports fans. What do you care about more – your non-playoff bound local gridiron club or its former QB? The numbers say the latter as WBZ-F was back in double digits for the first time since NOVEMBER as it remained the demo leader. WROR repeated at #2 with a modest loss while WXKS was back at #3 again with a slight increase. WZLX stepped up to #4 with its best outing since JUNE. This pushed WGBH – which had a small loss – back to #5. A flat WMJX moved up to #6.

Two stations moving in opposite directions collided at #1 18-34. WBZ-F remained in that spot but with a rather large share loss. WXKS moved up from #2 as it rebounded from a down book. WROR leapt from a tie at #6 to #3 with its highest mark in exactly a year. WZLX advanced four squares to #4 with a noticeably large share increase. WGBH dipped to #5 with a big loss and was paired with iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N 94.5), which was up from a tie at #6 with a small gain. WMJX fell from a tie at #3 to #7 while NORTHEAST AAA WXRV (92.5 THE RIVER) fell four slots to a tie at #9.

For the fifth time in the last six surveys, WBZ-F was in double digits 18-49. The only time the station was not #1 was when Santa was calling the shots. WXKS got back all of last month’s share loss as it moved up to #2. WROR had an up book but still moved down to #3. WZLX landed its largest share since JUNE as it rose from #8 to #4. WGBH remained at #5 with a down book while WMJX slipped to #6 with its lowest total since NOVEMBER.

And so ends the original content portion of this particular missive. However, we’re not done yet! The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR INC. will soon dig into the ratings realities of MIAMI, SEATTLE, PHOENIX, DETROIT, and MINNEAPOLIS.  Don’t touch that dial.

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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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