Research Director Inc., PPM Exclusive Holiday ’22 Analysis For Houston, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Boston

Holiday '22 PPM Ratings

For most radio programmers, the HOLIDAY book is one to forget. Let’s face it. Listeners by the thousands abandon their familiar haunts and venture to a new location – one that might not even be on their pre-set list – in search of the freakin’ TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. The entire ratings metaverse is torn asunder. All for the want of a pair of shoes. Go figure. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – in cooperation with the numbers crunchers from XTRENDS – are here to restore some semblance of order. The so-called HOLIDAY survey began on DECEMBER 8^th and was put to rest on JANUARY 4^TH. For those keeping score at home, that meant of the 28 rated days, only 18 were tainted by the foul stench of BURL IVES.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: A Double Dose

The friendly folks in H TOWN were presented with options for the holiday season as two stations changed their formats for the season. The far-and-away leader was iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1), which continued its long uninterrupted string of 6+ wins (12.5-14.7). The station easily eclipsed last year’s 12.8 share. KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ made the move a few weeks after KODA but still reaped the rewards. It leapt from #9 to #2 with its first up book since AUGUST (4.5-5.8). AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) repeated at #3 as it ended a small three-book slide (5.5-5.6). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) rebounded from a down book (4.9-5.2) to move up to #4, while COX MEDIA Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9/107.5) had its lowest number since FEBRUARY as it dropped three places to #5 (5.9-5.1). COX MEDIA Country KKBQ (THE NEW 93Q) dipped to #6 (5.0-5.0), while URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) slid to #7 with its smallest share since JANUARY (5.1-4.6). KODA remained in cume control with a 30.8% increase (1,742,800-2,279,500). By comparison, KSBJ saw a 6.6% cume increase. The market was essentially flat.

KODA was the 25-54 leader for the seventh straight survey. The station remained in double digits and beat last year’s number by about two shares. KTBZ repeated at #2 with a solid increase, while KKBQ posted its biggest share in over a year to advance from a tie at #6 to #3. KKHH dipped to #4 with its lowest mark since JULY. KSBJ submitted its best performance in over a year to work it from #9 to #5. KGLK slumped from #4 to #7, while CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE dropped from #5 to #8.

That KODA was #1 18-34 and in double digits was no surprise. This was the station’s seventh demo win in a row, five of which have been in double digits. KTBZ has its best outing since SEPTEMBER as it rose from #5 to #2. AUDACY Country KILT (100.3 THE BULL) barged its way up to #3 as it regained some of last survey’s large share loss. KGLK stepped down to #4. It was tied with URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX), which fell from #2, thanks to its smallest share since FEBRUARY.

As with the previous demo, KODA was #1 18-49 for the seventh book in a row and in double digits for the fifth time during that span. KTBZ had a solid share increase to repeat at #2, while KKHH was back at #3 with a slight gain. KKBQ posted its largest share in over a year to rise from #8 to #4. KSBJ got its holiday bonus in the form of its largest number in over a year. As a result the station leapt from a tie at #10 to #5. KRBE and KGLK had been tied at #5. Both stations had down books and ended up at #7 and #8, respectively. TELEVISAUNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KOVE (AMOR 106.5) scored its lowest share since MARCH as it dropped from #4 into a tie at #11 with iHEARTMEDIA Urban KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT).

ATLANTA: A Little Holiday Majic

What transpired here did not fit with the usual tidings of comfort and joy. Not to bury the lede but Santa did not win this year. In his stead was URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5), which rose to #1 6+, despite a down book (8.6-8.3). The designated home of the holiday hits was SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (104.7 THE FISH). The station stepped down to #2 (9.2-8.1). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) repeated at #3 but with its lowest level since APRIL (8.5-8.0). COX MEDIA AC WSB (B98.5) was back at #4 with its highest share in over a year (6.3-6.9). AUDACY Urban WVEE (V-103) also had its best outing in over a year (4.6-5.6) as it moved up to #5. COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) dipped to #6 (5.8-5.4). Moving back into the cume lead was WSB with an 8.1% increase (814,800-880,600). WFSH moved from #10 to #7 in that category with a 12.2% increase. The market was off by 1.0%.

Though it was unable to remain in double-digit territory, WAMJ was #1 25-54 for the sixth straight survey. WFSH was down but remained #2, while WVEE was up to #3 with its best book in over a year. WSB repeated at #4 with a small increase, while WSRV slipped to #5 with its smallest share since APRIL. It was feeling the heat from CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7), which remained at #6 but with a small share increase.

WSB narrowly missed hitting double digits 18-34 as it ascended from a tie at #3 to the top spot. WFSH was forced to step down to #2 as it was not able to maintain its double-digit share from the previous survey. WWWQ dipped to #3 with its smallest share in exactly one year, while WVEE moved down to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WWPW (POWER 96.1) was still the #5 station but with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER.

The top five 18-49 contained the same players as before with some changes to the batting order. WAMJ was still leading off, though it did not duplicate last survey’s double-digit share. WVEE was up two slots to #2 with its best performance in over a year, while WSB remained in the #3 hole as it regained some of last survey’s big share loss. WFSH moved down to the clean-up spot as it shed a large chunk of share. WWWQ repeated at #5 with a slight increase.

WASHINGTON, DC: Sorry Santa

Here’s another market where the holiday spirit was not the most popular 6+ theme. For the thirteenth straight survey – the last nine of which have been in double digits – AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was #1 (11.5-11.3). The station fueling MARIAH CAREY’s bottom line was iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH. It remained at #2 (8.9-10.9) as it could not quite match last year’s 13.2 share. HUBBARD News WTOP was back at #3 but with its smallest share since JULY (8.6-7.8). ATLANTIC GATEWAY Christian Contemporary WGTS repeated at #4 (5.9-5.5), while HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was still at #5 (5.2-5.2). WASH still had the most cume (906,700-1,135,800) – a 25.3% increase. The market grew by 1.9%.

The usual suspects continued to populate the top five rankings with the 25-54 crowd. WASH was back at #1 and managed to eke out a double-digit score. WAMU was off for the second book in a row but stepped up to #2, while WGTS slipped to #3 with its lowest score since AUGUST. WHUR regained almost all of last survey’s big share loss as it stepped up to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) dipped to #5 with a slight increase.

WASH repeated at the #1 18-34 station and hit double digits, as well. This is not a rare feat as it was also #1 and in double digits back in MAY and JUNE. WAMU remained #2 and just missed tasting that rarefied double-digit air. AUDACY Urban WPGC was #3 again with a small decrease. It had nearly a share lead over its archrival URBAN ONE Urban WKYS, which was still #4 with a slight decrease. Two stations joined the top five at the same time. WWDC was up from a tie at #7 with a strong increase, while WHUR advanced from #10 with its best outing since JUNE. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) posted its lowest number in over a year as it dropped to #7.

As with the previous demo, WASH was #1 18-49 and in double digits. WAMU stepped up to #2 with a small increase, while WGTS slipped to #3 with its smallest share since APRIL. WWDC stepped up to #4 as it ended a three-book slide. WKYS moved up to #5 with a slight increase. WPGC dropped to #6 with a small loss. It was tied with WHUR, which turned it up from #11 as it got back all of last survey’s large share loss.

PHILADELPHIA: Catching A Holiday Buzz

There is never a question that the sounds of the season will propel AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) to #1 6+. The only mystery is ‘how large will the share be?’ (See what we did there?) The station easily surpassed last year’s 14.4 share (10.7-16.8). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS remained in second place (6.3-6.5), while AUDACY News KYW-A had its best book in over a year to advance from #6 to #3 (5.8-6.2). BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK slipped to #4 (6.2-6.0). Last survey AUDACY Sports WIP and BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR had been tied at #4. WIP slipped to #5 with its lowest mark since SEPTEMBER (6.1-5.9), while WMMR ended up at #6 with its smallest share in over a year (6.1-5.4). WBEB still had the largest following (1,283,800-1,662,600) – a 29.5% increase. The market was up by 1.3%.

For the second book in a row, WBEB and WMMR were #1 and #2, respectively, 25-54. Here’s the thing. Prior to the big guy’s arrival, WMMR had been #1 for 11 straight surveys and in double digits the entire time. For comparison purposes, WBEB came close to doubling WMMR’s share. A flat WIP was back at #3, while WDAS remained at #4 with its best outing since AUGUST. This quartet of stations was well ahead of the rest of the pack. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIOQ (Q102) moved up three slots to #5 with merely a slight increase. It was just ahead of a trio of stations at #6. WHYY INC Public Radio WHYY slipped from #5 with its lowest score in over a year. WMGK moved up from #7, while BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) remained in place but with its smallest share since JULY.

Last year WBEB came off its holiday high with three consecutive #1 and double-digit 18-34 books. The station hit both those marks for the second straight survey. We’ll see if history repeats. WMMR regained some of last survey’s huge share loss as it stepped up to #2. WMGK dipped to #3 with its lowest score since MARCH. It was tied with WIOQ, which stepped up from #4 thanks to its largest share since JUNE. WDAS vaulted from #9 to #5 with its highest mark since JULY. WBEN dropped from #5 to #8.

WBEB more than doubled the 18-49 share of its next closest pursuer as it swept to another demo win. A flat WMMR repeated at #2, while WDAS stepped up to #3 with its largest share since AUGUST. WIP was off slightly as it dipped to #4, while two stations moved into a tie at #5. WMGK had been at #7 and stepped up, despite a small decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99) was up from #9 with its best book since JULY. WBEN slipped to #7.

BOSTON: A Lot Of Holiday Magic

AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) was certainly on the nice list as it cruised to another 6+ win (9.7-12.5). The station did not match last year’s 13.2 share. BEASLEY Sports WBZ (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) was back at #2 but with its lowest score since SEPTEMBER (8.5-8.0). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR posted its lowest number in over a year (6.4-5.6) but remained at #3. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) repeated at #4 but with its smallest share since JUNE (6.1-5.3). It was partnered with iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX, which moved up from #7 with its best showing since JULY (4.3-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A and AUDACY Sports WEEI had been tied at #5. WBZ-A dipped to #6 (4.7-4.8), while WEEI dropped to #7 (4.7-4.6). It was tied with BOSTON UNIVERSITY Public Radio WBUR, which had its best book in over a year (4.2-4.6). WMJX continued to garner the most cume (947,900-1,214,200) – a 28.1% increase. The market fell by 1.2%.

WMJX was not only #1 25-54, in double digits and stronger than last year, it also ended the long winning streak of WBZ, which dipped to #2. However, it still notched its eleventh double-digit book over the last 14 surveys. WXKS remained at #3 with a small decrease, while WZLX was up four slots to #4 with its best performance since JULY. WEEI dipped to #5 as it halted a strong three-book surge. WROR slipped to #6 with its lowest number in over a year.

How dominant was WMJX with that fickle 18-34 crowd? The station was easily #1 and in double digits. It also had more share then the next two stations – combined. WBZ was back at #2 with a small increase, while WZLX was up two slots to #3 with its highest mark in over a year. WXKS and WROR had been tied at #3. Both stations were down and landed at #4 and #5, respectively.

Last year WMJX and WBZ were tied at #1 18-49. WBZ remained in that position up until this survey. Both stations were in double digits, but WMJX ended up on top with WBZ slipping to #2. WXKS repeated at #3 but was a full three shares out of second place. WROR was back at #4 with a modest decrease, while WZLX was up to #5 with its highest score since JULY. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9) was a tick behind at #6, while WEEI slid to #7.

We’re over the river and most of the way through the woods on this holiday episode of the ratings follies. Thank you for joining us. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will return anon with the results from SEATTLE, MIAMI, DETROIT, PHOENIX and MINNEAPOLIS.

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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 e-mail info@ResearchDirectorInc.com or sallan@ResearchDirectorInc.com.

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