All Access Exclusive: News/Talk Stations Score In Oct. PPM

N.Y., L.A., Chicago And S.F. Analyzed

Between pre-election banter and volatility on WALL STREET, News/Talk station scored sharp jumps in PPM markets this OCTOBER. WINS/NEW YORK, WBBM-A/CHICAGO, KNX/LOS ANGELES and KCBS-A/SAN FRANCISCO were among stations with solid growth.

Meanwhile, Top 40 powerhouses WHTZ (Z100)/NEW YORK and KIIS/LOS ANGELES continued to lead their respective markets in a number of key demos. Breaking down the data are RADIOCRUNCH partners KEVIN MCCABE and ANTHONY ACAMPORA. You can reach KEVIN at Musicrunch@rocketmail.com, and ANTHONY at Anthony@radiocrunch.com.

New York: WHTZ Dominant; CLEAR CHANNEL, CBS STRONG; WINS Wins With Election Coverage, Wall Street Turmoil

CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 Powerhouse WHTZ (Z100) scored big in three critical demos -- 25-54, 18-49, and 18-34 by capturing #1 in all three. Z100 topped EMMIS Rhythmic WQHT (HOT 97) in the 18-34 cell by nearly three points. The biggest OCTOBER surprise was the impressive increases of CBS News WINS which saw healthy jumps in all three demos. Because of the PPM, WINS could use the positioning statement, "More people wake up to WINS than any other station," and clearly the OCTOBER PPM results for NEW YORK lent credence to their claim. In sum, WINS was among the biggest winners in NEW YORK.

25-54: CLEAR CHANNEL won the top-three spots with Z100, AC WLTW and Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3). In fourth place was SBS Tropical WSKQ. The biggest jump in OCTOBER among 25-54s was the large increase garnered by WINS, which jumped 12th to 5th. Again, it was obvious that WINS was the choice of many PPM panelists who were interested not only in the presidential race, but were concerned with the volatility of financial markets to which NEW YORK CITY is home. CLEAR CHANNEL Rhythmic AC WKTU moved from 4th in SEPTEMBER to 6th in OCTOBER. INNER CITY Urban WBLS ranked 7th while Classic Hits WCBS-F and EMMIS Urban AC WRKS were tied in 8th place. Ranking 10th in a tie was CITADEL Hot AC WPLJ and CLEAR CHANNEL Urban WWPR (POWER 105). Ranking 12th was WQHT, followed by CBS Sports outlet WFAN-A and WWFS at 13th in a tie. WWFS is off from SEPTEMBER where it was 9th. Ranking 15th was SBS Spanish Contemporary WPAT. In 16th place was CBS News WCBS-A, while UNIVISION’S Latino Urban WCAA ranked 17th and tied CBS Rock WXRK. WABC-A ranked #19, and rounding out the top 20 was WNYC RADIO News Talk Information WNYC-F.

18-49: WHTZ captured #1 in OCTOBER among 18-49 adults and maintained a sizeable lead over #2 WLTW, which tied WSKQ. SBS Spanish-Language Tropical WSKQ vaulted from 5th in the SEPTEMBER PPM results to 2nd -- an impressive increase. Ranking 4th in both months was WWPR. In 5th place was WQHT and slipping from 3rd to 6th place was WKTU. In 7th place was Q104.3, which was off slightly from SEPTEMBER. OCTOBER was a win-win for CBS News WINS as the station jumped from 13th in SEPTEMBER to 8th in OCTOBER. Between the strong interest in the 2008 election and the WALL STREET meltdown, OCTOBER was an obvious boon to WINS. WPLJ stayed steady at 9th. WBLS ranked 10th, followed by a tie in 11th place with WCBS-F and WRKS, which held steady month-to-month. In 13th place was WWFS, followed by WPAT in 14th. Ranking 15th was WFAN, which ticked up slightly from SEPTEMBER. In 16th place was WCAA, followed by WXRK in 17th which was off three positions from last month. WCBS-A ranked 18th, followed by a four-way tie at 19th: WABC, COX Top 40 outlet WBLI (from the NASSAU-SUFFOLK market), WNYC-F and EMMIS AAA WRXP. WRXP has yet to see the needle move among 18-49s.

18-34: WHTZ held onto its double-digit dominance among 18-34s in the OCTOBER PPM results. Z100 maintained nearly a three-point lead over #2 WQHT. WWPR was a close 3rd behind WQHT. The top-three players are indicative of the obvious appeal of Top 40/Rhythmic/Urban music in the NEW YORK market. In 4th place was WSKQ, 5th was WLTW and in 6th place was WKTU. WBLS held steady at 7th while there was a two-way tie at 8th between WPAT and WXRK. In 10th place was WCBS-F, 11th was WWFS, and 12th was WPLJ. Another two-way tie at 13th place was WINS and WRKS, both of which were tied in SEPTEMBER at 15th place. This month’s #15 performer was Q104.3, 16th was WCAA, and in 17th place was a four-way tie between Rock WDHA, WFAN, WNYC-F and UNIVISION Regional Mexican WQBU.

Los Angeles: KIIS On-Fire; Regional Mexican Still Strong; KRTH Surges While KROQ Dips

It’s a clean sweep for CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 KIIS in the OCTOBER PPM results as the station captured the #1 slot in all three demos -- 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. It’s a similar accomplishment to CLEAR CHANNEL sister Z100/NEW YORK. LOS ANGELES remains a hotbed for the Regional Mexican format as both UNIVISION and SBS saw upticks in OCTOBER for KSCA and KLAX, respectively. CBS Classic Hits KRTH sees impressive gains in OCTOBER following a HAWAIIAN trip contest, while CBS Alternative KROQ experienced declines in all three demos -- but remains formidable in all.

25-54: KIIS ranked #1 25-54 in the OCTOBER PPM results, but not by a large margin. UNIVISION’S Spanish-Language Contemporary KLVE iwa a close 2nd followed by CBS Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH), which pulled off an enormous monthly increase from 13th to 3rd place. The PPM has uncovered the fact that K-EARTH was widely played in public locations where meters were evidently picking it up. In 4th place was KLAX, which led 5th place KSCA by a slight margin. The PPM revealed that Regional Mexican remains a winning format in the heavily Hispanic LOS ANGELES market. CLEAR CHANNEL AC KOST dips from 3rd in SEPTEMBER to 6th in OCTOBER. 7th place belongs to UNIVISION’S Spanish Adult Hits KRCD -- a jump from last month’s #9 ranking. In 8th place we have a three-way tie between Adult Hits KCBS (JACK-FM), CITADEL Classic Rock KLOS and KROQ. KROQ saw a decline from SEPTEMBER, where it ranked 3rd, but now is 8th. It’s also the first time that JACK hasn’t beaten KLOS since its flip to Adult Hits in 2005. At #11 25-54 is LIBERMAN’S Regional Mexican KBUE -- another player in Regional Mexican that turned in a solid performance. A two-way tie between CLEAR CHANNEL Hot AC KBIG and CBS Smooth Jazz KTWV (THE WAVE) at #12 (although off slightly) was an indication that the format modifications at KBIG have paid off in the PPM world. A three-way tie at #14 existed for CLEAR CHANNEL News/Talk KFI-A, EMMIS Rhythmic KPWR (POWER 106) and ENTRAVISION’S Spanish Contemporary KSSE. At #17 was CLEAR CHANNEL Rhythmic AC KHHT (HOT 92.3) ,followed by SBS Latin Urban KXOL. At #19 was a two-way tie between ENTRAVISION Spanish Adult Hits KLYY and PASADENA CITY COLLEGE outlet KPCC. If anyone is still concerned that the PPM isn’t adequately capturing Spanish-Language listening, the OCTOBER PPM results in LOS ANGELES should help clear away lingering doubts. Still out of the 25-54 mix is BONNEVILLE AAA KSWD, which actually went down for a third straight month.

18-49: KIIS grabbed #1 with a nice lead among 18-49s. Ranking 2nd was KLVE, followed by KLAX. 4th places went to KSCA, and 5th was a two-way tie between KOST and KRTH. In 7th place we saw the KROQ dip, which slipped from 2nd in SEPTEMBER. The KROQ results might leave some pundits wondering if the Alternative music product was as strong in the FALL as it has been throughout year. At #8 was KRCD, 9th place went to KPWR and 10th saw a three-way tie between KBIG, KBUE and KCBS-F. At 13th was KSSE, 14th was KXOL and 15th place wentto KTWV. KLOS nabbed 16th place while KHHT moved 15th to 17th among 18-49s. KYSR held at #18 while KLYY dipped to 19th place. Finally, KFI moved to 20th place in the OCTOBER PPM results.

18-34: KIIS had an enormous lead -- almost four points over #2 KPWR. At #3 we had a two-way tie between KLVE and KROQ. KROQ dipped among 18-34s by moving #2 to #3. KLAX ranked 5th and held  its rank from SEPTEMBER. 6th place went to KXOL, which saw a nice bump from last month. At #7 KSSE gained in rank from 13th in SEPTEMBER to 7th in OCTOBER. Ranking 8th was KSCA, 9th was KRCD and rounded out the top 10 was KOST. At #11 was KBIG which dropped from last month. 12th place went to KBUE and 13th saw a three-way tie between KCBS, KRTH and KYSR. 16th place went to KLYY, 17th to KHHT, which dipped from last month and 18th to LIBERMAN Spanish Variety outlet KWIZ. Ranking #19 was KKGO (GO COUNTRY) which got a boost from #21 in SEPTEMBER. At #20 was KTWV.

Chicago: BONNEVILLE Driving Success; WBBM-AM Gains; Regional Mexican Grows in Windy City

BONNEVILLE continued to see the top 5 in two key demos -- 18-49 and 25-54 between Classic Rock WDRV and Hot AC WTMX. Similar to NEW YORK, CHICAGOANS seemed to need to stay on top of the presidential election and the financial crisis among other news topics as CBS News WBBM-A gained in all three demos in OCTOBER PPM results -- a definite trend in PPM markets.

25-54: WDRV (THE DRIVE) maintained #1 25-54, but not by much as #2 WBBM-A climbed from 4th in SEPTEMBER and was within striking distance of THE DRIVE. UNIVISION’S Regional Mexican WOJO slipped from 2nd to 3rd but remained strong. 4th place went to WTMX which dipped slightly, having ranked 3rd last month. At #5 was CLEAR CHANNEL Urban AC WVAZ which moved 8th to 5th in OCTOBER. At #6 was EMMIS Rock WLUP followed by a two-way tie at #7 between CITADEL Classic Hits WLS-F (TRUE OLDIES 94.7) and CBS Country WUSN. 9th place went to Regional Mexican WLEY, which slipped three places in rank from SEPTEMBER. 10th place went to TRIBUNE News/Talk WGN-A, followed by 11th place CBS AAA WXRT. 12th place found a two-way tie between CLEAR CHANNEL AC WLIT and CBS Sports WSCR-A, as WLIT pulled ahead of rivals WCFS and WILV. At #14 was a two-way tie with CLEAR CHANNEL Urban WGCI, which saw a slight increase from the month before -- and CITADEL Talk WLS-A which also went up from last month. At 16th place was another two-way tie between CBS AC WCFS and BONNEVILLE gold-based AC WILV (LOVE-FM). 18th place saw a two-way tie between CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 WKSC and ESPN Sports WMVP-A. Finally, at #20 was CBS Adult Hits WJMK (JACK-FM).

18-49: WOJO captured #1 with a sizeable lead over 2nd place WTMX. Third place goes to WUSN, followed by a two-way tie at 4th between WBBM-A and WDRV. WBBM-A moved to 4th from last month’s 7th place showing -- a significant improvement. 6th place saw a two-way tie between CLEAR CHANNEL sister stations WKSC and WVAZ. 8th place belonged to WLEY, 9th place had a two-way tie with WGCI and WLUP. At #11 was WCFS, 12th was a two-way tie between WLS-F and WXRT. 14th place went to WBBM-F with 15th belonging to WLIT. 16th saw a three-way tie between WGN-A, WLS-A and UNIVISION Spanish Oldies outlet WPPN. Finally, a three-way match at #19 saw WLIV, EMMIS Alternative WKQX (Q101.1) and WMVP.

18-34: By a large advantage WOJO ranked #1 among 18-34s in the OCTOBER PPM results. A distant 2nd was WKSC, followed by #3 WUSN. 4th place went to WGCI, 5th to WBBM-F, which had a nice increase from SEPTEMBER, and 6th place showed a two-way tie between WLEY and WTMX. Ranking #8 was WKQX, 9th is a two-way tie between the market’s principal AC outlets: WCFS and WLIT. 11th place goes to WMVP which saw an uptick from last month. 12th place went to WLS-F, which slipped from last month’s #8 ranking. 13th place had a two-way tie between WPPN and WVAZ -- both stations bumped up to 13th after having ranked #15 in the SEPTEMBER results. 15th place belonged to WGN-A, 16th was a two-way tie with WBBM-A and CRAWFORD Urban WPWX. 18th had a two-way tie between WDRV and UNIVISION’S Latin/Urban WVIV.

San Francisco: Regional Mexican Strong; KCBS-AM Gains; KOIT Leads 25-54

ENTERCOM AC KOIT won big 25-54, while News/Talk gains. CLEAR CHANNEL Rhythmic KMEL held top honors among 18-34s in SAN FRANCISCO.

25-54: ENTERCOM AC KOIT grabbed the top spot among 25-54 adults and held onto a healthy lead, although #2 CBS News KCBS-A had tightened the gap with a 7th to 2nd in the OCTOBER PPM results. Evidently, the news thirst that we’ve uncovered in NEW YORK and CHICAGO hit the CITY BY THE BAY as well. Isn’t it curious that LOS ANGELES is the only odd one out on this obvious turn to news in OCTOBER? A two-way tie between CLEAR CHANNEL Rhythmic KMEL and NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO News/Talk KQED occured in 3rd place. Ranking 5th was CUMULUS Rock KSAN, 6th place went to UNIVISION Regional Mexican KSOL and 7th was CLEAR CHANNEL Hot AC KIOI which slipped from 2nd to 7th. 8th place went to CUMULUS Sports outlet KNBR, 9th showed a two-way tie with CUMULUS AAA KFOG and SBS Regional Mexican KRZZ. At #11 was CLEAR CHANNEL Rhythmic KYLD, 12th was a tie between CITADEL Talk KGO-A and CLEAR CHANNEL Rhythmic AC KISQ. 14th place went to INNER CITY Urban AC KBLX, 15th was a two-way tie between two CBS outlets: Hot AC KLLC and Rhythmic AC KMVQ (MOVIN’ 99-7). KMVQ had been declining consistently of late and was down for a third straight month. 17th place was a two-way tie with NEXT MEDIA AC KBAY and CBS Alternative KITS (LIVE 105). Finally, 19th place was a two-way tie with UNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KBRG and CLEAR CHANNEL Classic Rock KUFX.

18-49: KOIT remained strong at the top of the 18-49 demo and switches places with #2 KMEL which was on top in SEPTEMBER but yields to the advances of KOIT in OCTOBER. #3 and #4 remain the same as KSOL maintains 3rd and KYLD holds 4th. At #5 is KCBS-A which climbs from 8th last month. 9th places belongs to KSAN, 10th is KISQ and 11th is KNBR-A. At #12 is KFOG which dips from 8th in SEPTEMBER. At #13 is KBLX and a two-way tie within CBS occurs at #14 -- KITS and KMVQ. CBS winds up at #16 with KLLC which slips from 15th in SEPTEMBER. #17 went to KBRG. 18th place went to KBAY, 19th to NEXT MEDIA Hot AC KEZR and a two-way tie at #20 existed between KUFX and UNIVISION Latin/Urban KVVF.

18-34: KMEL held onto 1st place among 25-54 adults, but narrowed its lead over the #2 KSOL, which held in 2nd but with a nice share gain. 3rd place KOIT enjoyed a sizeable gain from 6th last month. KYLD slid only slightly and ranked 4th. 5th place KRZZ moved from 4th and 6th place went to KITS. At #7 was KSAN, #8 is KVVF which jumped from 14th in SEPTEMBER. 9th place went to KIOI, 10th saw a two-way tie between KBRG and KQED. At #12 waKEZR, 13th place belonged to KMVQ and 14th was KISQ. At #15 was a four-way tie between KCBS-A, CLEAR CHANNEL Alternative KCNL, KLLC, and KNBR-A. 18th place was another two-tie, this time with KBAY and KBLX. Finally, #20 was CLEAR CHANNEL Mexican Oldies KSJO (from the SAN JOSE market).

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