PPM Analysis: First Look Inside New Market Demos

Analysis Of 5 New PPM Markets

RADIOCRUNCH partners KEVIN MCCABE and ANTHONY ACAMPORA offer the industry the first look inside the newest markets to go currency under PPM. Today, we see BALTIMORE, DENVER, PITTSBURGH, ST. LOUIS, and TAMPA.

Baltimore: RADIO ONE Stations Take Top Spots; CBS ACs Strong

* RADIO ONE Urban WERQ (92Q) and Urban AC sister WWIN-FM topped the key demographics.

* 92Q was #1 18-34, #2 18-49 and #4 25-54, while WWIN-FM took the top spot 18-49 and 25-54.

* CBS saw great success for AC WLIF and Hot AC WWMX (MIX 106.5).

* WLIF was #2 25-54 and #4 18-49, while MIX took the #3 position 18-49 and 25-54.

* HEARST ARGYLE Active Rock WIYY won the three-way Rock battle, ranking 6th 18-49 and 25-54.

* CLEAR CHANNEL Country WPOC was off a bit in the meter. Traditionally top 3 25-54 in the diary, it slipped to 5th in the meter both 25-54 and 18-49.

Denver: TRICOLOR Scores Tri-Demo Win As Spanish-Language Stations Strong

* ENTRAVISION was the clear winner in DENVER as both of the company's facilties pulled huge numbers in the first PPM currency.

* Regional Mexican KXPK (TRICOLOR) was #1 in SEPTEMBER 25-54, 18-49, and 18-34, performing the rare PPM sweep.

* Spanish Adult Hits KJMN (JOSE) ranked 3rd 18-34, 2nd 18-49, and 6th 25-54.

* Triple A has done significantly better in markets that have heritage outlets. CLEAR CHANNEL's KBCO came in 3rd 18-49 and 2nd 25-54 (#1 English-language by both counts).

* LINCOLN FINANCIAL saw strong results for its two FM music outlets.

* Rhythmic KQKS was 2nd 18-34 and tied for 4th 18-49.

* Country KYGO won that battle by a mile, ranking 3rd 25-54 and 4th 18-49. They beat WILKS rival KWOF by a landslide, with KWOF 23rd 25-54.

* ENTERCOM AC KOSI and sister Hot AC KALC were strong 25-54, ranking 4th and 7th, respectively. However, KALC had a real PPM rival in WILKS format competitor KIMN, which jumped to 10th 25-54 in SEPTEMBER.

* The Top 40 competition between CLEAR CHANNEL's KPTT and MAX MEDIA's KONN was won by KPTT in a rout in both young adult demos. KPTT was 5th 18-34 and 11th 18-49 while KONN was 16th 18-34 and 20th 18-49.

* CLEAR CHANNEL Alternative KTCL was a solid 4th 18-34 and 9th 18-49 (although it was top 5 the first two months).

* PPM can show seasonal changes, as the start of football and a ROCKIES playoff run had a positive effect on the Sports-oriented stations and a negative effect on the male-skewing Rock formats.

* On the rock front, CLEAR CHANNEL Classic Rock KRFX went 4th-9th, Active Rock KBPI fell 13th-16th, and KTCL dropped 8th to 13th. - tying ENTERCOM Classic Rock KQMT.

* Meanwhile, LINCOLN FINANCIAL Sports KKFN-FM jumped from 18th to 15th; it nearly doubled its share from JULY to SEPTEMBER.

* CLEAR CHANNEL Talk KOA, the home of the ROCKIES, leapt from 16th in AUGUST to 11th in SEPTEMBER.

* Also of note was the huge ratings for EMF Christian AC KLDV (K-LOVE), which ranked 5th 25-54.

Pittsburgh: WDVE, WDSY Share Demo Honors; BOB Strong; KISS, B94 In Tight Battle

* Some things are a guarantee. Life, death, taxes and WDVE will be #1 25-54 in PITTSBURGH. No matter the methodology, the heritage CLEAR CHANNEL Classic Rock outlet continued to be a market leader. With double -igit shares across the board, WDVE was #1 25-54 and 18-49.

* STEEL CITY Adult Hits WRRK (BOB-FM) was a huge performer in PPM. The outlet ranked 2nd 25-54 and 3rd 18-49.

* CBS Country WDSY won that battle by a healthy margin in all demos. WDSY was #1 18-34, #4 18-49, and #3 25-54.

* CLEAR CHANNEL Alternative WXDX was a big PPM winner, ranking 2nd 18-34 and 18-49, and 4th 25-54. Owning the only two Rock stations in PITTSBURGH has given CLEAR CHANNEL dominance in this arena.

* The Top 40 battle between CLEAR CHANNEL's WKST (KISS) and CBS' WBZW (B94) was much closer in PPM. KISS was 4th 18-34 and 5th 18-49, while B94 was 6th 18-34 and 7th 18-49.

* The 25-54 News/Talk battle was won by CLEAR CHANNEL's FM Talker WPGB. It ranked 8th in the cell, beating heritage CBS outlet KDKA-AM, which was 10th.

* Other top 10 rankers 25-54: RENDA AC WSHH (#5), CLEAR CHANNEL Classic Hits WWSW (6th), CBS Hot AC WZPT (7th), and STEEL CITY AC WLTJ (9th).

St. Louis: ARCH Dominant In Adult Demos; EMMIS Rockers Strong; KEZK, KMOX Challenged 25-54

* BONNEVILLE Adult Hits WARH (THE ARCH) continued to be one of the formats bright spots. It ranked 1st 25-54 and 18-49, while finishing 2nd 18-34 in SEPTEMBER.

* Longtime market leader CBS Talk KMOX -- not unlike many other legendary AM's in PPM -- skews older. The station was 15th 25-54 in SEPTEMBER. It got beat by Talk rival KTRS-A, which ranked 10th.

* EMMIS saw great success for its Rock outlets. Rock KSHE was 2nd 25-54 and 3rd 18-49, while Alternative KPNT was 1st 18-34 and 4th 18-49 and 25-54 -- again a real shining star for the Alternative format. Classic Rock KIHT was 6th 25-54.

* CBS Hot AC KYKY (Y98) was a solid 3rd 25-54, but AC sister KEZK -- a longtime diary market leader -- fell in the meter. KEZK ranked 12th 25-54 in SEPTEMBER.

* CLEAR CHANNEL Classic Hits KLOU was a strong meter performer, coming in 5th.

* Urban formats looked healthy in ST. LOUIS. RADIO ONE Urban WHHL was 4th 18-34 and 5th 18-49. CLEAR CHANNEL's KATZ-FM was 9th 18-34.

* Meanwhile, in Urban AC, RADIO ONE's WFUN and CLEAR CHANNEL heritage outlet KMJM were deadlocked in 8th place 25-54.

* Country was off slightly in PPM in ST.LOUIS. Heritage BONNEVILLE outlet WIL fell to 10th 25-54 in SEPTEMBER, while CLEAR CHANNEL's KSD is 18th.

Tampa: WFLZ, WILD, WQYK, and Q105 Score Big In PPM

* A plethora of outlets have bragging rights in the TAMPA market.

* The heated battle between CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 WFLZ and CBS Rhythmic WLLD remained tight. WFLZ was the market's 18-34 champ with WILD ranking 2nd. However, WILD took the #1 position 18-49, with WFLZ tied for 3rd.

* CBS Classic Hits WRBQ (Q105) saw some of its best numbers since it was Top 40 in the 1980s. It was 2nd 6+, but really performed in demo, ranking 2nd 25-54.

* The Country race in TAMPA was also heated. CBS outlet WQYK regained the top spot 25-54, besting CLEAR CHANNEL's WFUS, which fell from 1st in AUGUST all the way to 9th in SEPTEMBER. WFUS had won the first two months.

* COX also saw some nice wins in PPM as expected. Classic Hits/Rock-hybrid WXGL was 3rd 25-54. '80s WPOI rose to 6th place in SEPTEMBER, while BUBBA THE LOVE SPONGE-led WHPT ranks 7th.

* One AM Talker with solid 25-54 results was CLEAR CHANNEL's WFLA; it ranked 4th in SEPTEMBER.

* CLEAR CHANNEL Urban WBTP was 2nd 18-49 and 5th 25-54, both solid results.

* AC and Hot AC did not fare as well in TAMPA as other markets. COX AC WWRM ranked 14th 25-54, with CLEAR CHANNEL Hot AC WMTX claiming 11th place.

* The battle for young adults in TAMPA's rock world went to COX Alternative WSUN. It was 4th 18-34 and 12th 18-49. Meanwhile, CLEAR CHANNEL's WXTB was 6th 18-34 and 15th 18-49.

* A frequency move for CBS Smooth AC WSJT didn't help as they dropped to 17th place 25-54.

You can reach ANTHONY at anthony@radiocrunch.com or KEVIN at kevin@radiocrunch.com.

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