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Research Director, Inc. Presents Exclusive May PPM Analysis For Houston, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Boston
June 10, 2014
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Than-Q!
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And so we return. Phase two of analysis from The Ratings Experts takes the deep dive into five more markets. For those keeping score at home, the MAY survey was mostly in MAY as it covered 4/24 through 5/21.
Now, watch us pull a rabbit out of our hat …
HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Than-Q!
The new world order begins with the letter Q, as in COX RADIO Country KKBQ (93Q). The station was #1 overall for the third straight month (7.3-8.5). The bigger story is how much the station has grown in a relatively short period of time. As recently as the HOLIDAY book, it was sitting at #4 with 5.4 share. If our math is correct (and it usually is), that means the station has grown by over three full shares in five books. Not too shabby. CCM+E AC KODA (SUNNY) remained at #2 and ended a two-book slide in the process (5.9-6.5). RADIO ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC) stood firm at #3 but just happened to post its highest number since NOVEMBER (5.8-6.2). Last month, three stations were locked in arms at the #4 position. This survey all three went their separate ways. COX RADIO Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE) matched its best book of the year (5.4-5.7) to remain in place. Erstwhile market leader RADIO ONE Top 40/R KBXX (THE BOX) was flat (5.4-5.4) and slid to #5 while UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (ESTEREO LATINO) had its lowest share since JANUARY (5.4-5.1) to fall to #6. One of the driving forces behind the shake up this market has seen this year is the station formerly known as ARROW. CCM+E Urban KQBT (THE BEAT) had its best book since the flip (3.9-4.5) to move up into a tie at #8.
For the fifth month in a row, KKBQ was #1 25-54. It was flat this survey but #2 KODA ended a two-book slide to narrow the gap between the two stations as it moved up a notch. KLTN dropped back to #3 after suffering a slight loss of share. KGLK moved up to #4 with a solid book, which bumped CCM+E Alternative KTBZ (THE BUZZ) back to #5 as it had a commensurate loss of share. As recently as DECEMBER, KBXX was #1 in this demo. Since SANTA left town, the station has not been in the top five. This time it remained at #6 with a flat book.
Despite all the seemingly dire news about the overall and 25-54 performance of KBXX, the station still dominated 18-34 – returning to double-digit shares for the first time since FEBRUARY. That said, KQBT did a bit of exploding this book by posting a rather large number and moving forward two paces to #2. KKBQ was up slightly but still slipped back to #3 while KLTN fell to #4 with its lowest share since NOVEMBER. Two stations found themselves eye-to-eye at #5. KTBZ was down slightly but didn’t budge while KODA had its best sleigh-bell-free book in exactly a year to move up from #7.
Last month we noted that KKBQ’s 18-49 lead had shrunk to less than a share. That didn’t last long as the station bounced back and was #1 for the fifth month in a row. KBXX kept sole possession of the #2 slot despite a slight share loss, while KODA ended a two-book slide to move up one rung to #3. KLTN experienced enough share loss to fall from a tie at #2 to #4 while KTBZ was off enough to force it back a peg to #5. KQBT is certainly threatening to crack the top five in this demo. The station remained at #6 but landed its highest number in its new incarnation and is ever so close to moving up in the ranks.
WASHINGTON, DC: The News That Fits
For the second month in a row, your nation’s capital prefers news and information programming above all others. That is why HUBBARD News WTOP was #1 for the fifth book in a row (8.0-8.1). The station managed to widen its lead over #2 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU as that station was off slightly (7.0-6.9). Music radio comes in at #3 again in the form of CCM+E Top 40/M WIHT (HOT), which was off for the second straight survey (6.7-6.6). HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR posted its lowest number since SANTA was in town (5.9-5.6) to remain at #4. However, it was joined in that space by CCM+E AC WASH, which had its best FROSTY-free number since SEPTEMBER (5.0-5.6) to move up from #5. Classical is not often a format we discuss in these pages but keep an eye on GWET Classical WETA, which scored its best book in over a year for the second month in a row (4.2-4.3) to move up into a tie at #7.
While news may be the coin of the realm overall, ‘tis music that rules the roost 25-54. WIHT was #1 for the fourth straight book though it did have its lowest share since BURL IVES was showing up in Mediabase. WTOP was flat to remain in a tie at #2 but it had a new partner this time. WASH moved up from #6 with its largest IVES-free share since JULY. WAMU had its best book since JANUARY but had to settle for holding steady at #4 while CCM+E Alternative WWDC (DC101) maintained its #5 status with its best book in over a year. WHUR took a bit of a header as it fell four spots to #6 thanks to its lowest score in over a year.
That noise you just heard was WIHT blowing up the market 18-34. The station consistently pockets double-digit shares but this time it had a number larger than any it has seen in the last year. Cluster bro’ WWDC moved up to #2 with its best book in exactly a year but still trailed the leader by almost six shares! RADIO ONE Urban WKYS (KISS) saw its three-book surge come to a screeching halt as it slid back to #3 while CBS RADIO Top 40/R WPGC dropped to #4 with its smallest share in over a year. CBS RADIO Hot AC WIAD (FRESH) ended a four-book run but remained at #5.
There was quite a bit of movement 18-49, and in the end, one cluster pulled off the medal stand trifecta. WIHT was in its customary #1 position with a wide lead over cluster sister WASH, which jumped three spots to #2 with its best frost-free book in over a year. WWDC also leaped three places – to #3 – by grabbing its best number since SEPTEMBER. Not to be outdone, WAMU also executed a three-spot jump to #4 after landing its best book in over a year. WTOP did them all one better as it rose four places to #5 where it was joined by WHUR, which fell from #2 with its smallest share since JUNE. Last month both WKYS and WPGC were tied at #3. This time they were neither tied nor in the top five. WKYS dropped to #7 while WPGC ended up at #9.
PHILADELPHIA: Please. Sir, Can I Have Some More?
When you look at the last 14 books for this market, you have to marvel at what WEAZ-FM RADIO AC WBEB (MORE) has done. Up until the KRINGLE invasion, the station consistently performed in the seven share range. Then, for two surveys it dominated with double-digit books. It comes out of that icy fog with a new name and since then has consistently scored in the eight-share range. It was flat this time (8.0-8.0) but still dominated the market. Its closest pursuer was CBS RADIO Classic Hits WOGL, which moved up a spot by matching its best book of the year (5.9-6.3). GREATER MEDIA Active Rock WMMR also moved up a spot – to #3 – with its highest total in exactly a year (5.6-6.0). Last month, BEASLEY Country WXTU had its best book in over a year. This time it posted its second-best number (6.1-5.9) and was rewarded with a two-spot fall to #4. CCM+E Urban AC WDAS was handed its best share since OCTOBER (4.8-5.7) to move forward one step to #5. This dropped GREATER MEDIA Classic Rock WMGK back to #6 as it had a slight down book (5.2-5.1).
Last month, WMMR took control of the 25-54 demo by the smallest of margins over WBEB. This month, the stations remained in place but the gap widened significantly. Why? Because WMMR had its highest share in exactly one year while WBEB matched its lowest share since the name change was approved. WXTU was off a bit but remained at #3 though it might be hearing footsteps as WOGL moved up two spots to #4 with a solid book. CCM+E Alternative WRFF (RADIO 104.5) suffered a slight share loss but stood fast at #5. WMGK was not as fortunate. It scored its lowest total since JULY to drop two places to #6.
So far this year, a different station has been #1 18-34 in each survey. By our math that means four different stations have worn the crown. This time, we had our first repeat winner – WXTU. Though its shares were off slightly, it bumped CCM+E Urban WUSL (POWER) to #2 because POWER’S numbers were off a little more than slightly. WBEB was flat and happy (and relatively close) at #3 while WMMR ended a two-book slide as it moved up to #4. WRFF was down for the third consecutive survey to slide back to #5.
For the third book in a row, we have a new #1 18-49 station – and it’s been there before. WMMR ended a three-book slide to move up from a tie at #2. WBEB converted its portion of the #2 tie into full ownership as it was up slightly. Last month’s market leader – WXTU – shed enough share to force it to step back to #3. WUSL was off slightly but held on at #4 while cluster brother WRFF held sway at #5 with a slight increase.
ATLANTA: Cox Tops Again
For the fourth straight survey, the top two stations came from the same cluster compound. COX RADIO N/T WSB-A ruled the roost with another solid performance (7.3-7.4) while COX RADIO Urban AC WALR (KISS) narrowed the gap a bit at #2 (6.7-7.0). Behind that duo was a three-way at #3. CBS RADIO Urban WVEE (V-103) had its smallest share in over a year (6.4-6.0) to remain in place. The two stations that were tied at #4 last month paced each other and moved up. RADIO ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC) had its best book since JANUARY (5.9-6.0) while COX RADIO AC WSB-F (B98.5) bounced back slightly from its lowest book in over a year (5.9-6.0).
Though this was the fourth straight down book 25-54 for WVEE, it remained #1 with a comfortable, if slightly smaller, margin over #2 WAMJ, which was up for the second book in a row. COX RADIO Classic Hits WSRV (THE RIVER) rebounded from its lowest share in over a year to move ahead two squares to #3 while WALR held steady at #4 with a slight loss of share. Two stations from the same cluster with eerily similar names were hanging out at #5. WSB-F had its smallest number since JANUARY to slip from #3 while WSB-A landed its biggest number in over a year to move up from #7. CCM+E Country WUBL (THE BULL) saw its two-book stay in the top five come to an end as it slipped into a tie at #7.
WVEE was #1 18-34 for the third straight book but things got very close as #2 RADIO ONE Urban WHTA (HOT) got as close as it possibly could. Both stations were down this survey but one lost more than the other. Do the math. Last survey there were two stations tied at #3. This time there are three but only one remained the same. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q100) scored its lowest number in over a year but did not budge. CCM+E Top 40/M WWPW (POWER) had its lowest share since JANUARY but moved up from #5. WSB-F was up slightly as it moved in from #6. CCM+E Alternative WRDA (RADIO 105.7) ended a five-book surge in dramatic fashion as it fell from the aforementioned tie at #3 to a tie at #8.
There were ties all over the board this survey and 18-49 had its share. However, not at the top where WVEE was a strong #1 even though it landed its lowest share in over a year. WAMJ was up slightly to remain a somewhat distant #2 while WSB-F took over sole possession of the #3 slot despite its second straight down book. There was another three-way tie – this time at the #4 slot. WHTA used its lowest share since AUGUST to drop down from a tie at #3 while WUBL moved up from #5 despite losing some share. Meanwhile, WWWQ was completely flat yet moved up from #6.
BOSTON: Another First Kiss
So far in 2014 it’s five books up, five books down for CCM+E Top 40/M WXKS (KISS 108) as the station remained #1 matching its best share of the year – so far (7.2-7.6). GREATER MEDIA Country WKLB was up for the third straight book – with its best number since SEPTEMBER – to inch up a spot to #2 (6.4-6.8). Cluster sister GREATER MEDIA AC WMJX (MAGIC) could not replicate its big number from last month and slipped back to #3 (7.0-6.5). CBS RADIO News WBZ-A had its smallest share since NOVEMBER (5.9-5.5) but remained at #4. GREATER MEDIA Classic Hits WROR was off slightly but still held on at #5 (5.5-5.4). CBS RADIO Sports WBZ-F (THE SPORTS HUB) appears to be on the comeback trail as it moved up to a tie at #6 with its best score since JANUARY (4.3-5.1).
WXKS duplicated its efforts in 6+ by capturing its fifth consecutive #1 25-54 book. This time, the station had its largest share in over a year. WMJX fell farther off the pace at #2 with its smallest number since JANUARY. Last month, two stations were tied at #3. They remained tied but got very close to being #2. CBS RADIO Classic Rock WZLX had its biggest share since DECEMBER while WKLB rebounded from its lowest book of the year. WBZ-F moved up one base to #5 while GREATER MEDIA Alternative WBOS (RADIO 92.9) dropped from #5 to #9 with its smallest share since DECEMBER.
As we have seen in many of the realms of WESTEROS, Country music has become a bit of a hit for the 18-34 tribe. Last month, WKLB ascended the Iron Throne – though it shared the prize. This time it was the undisputed leader with a rather large double-digit share. WXKS returned to double digits for the first time since AUGUST but could only move up to #2. CCM+E Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N) – last month’s co-leader – slid back to #3. There was a gap as wide as the Narrow Sea between them and GREATER MEDIA Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT), which moved up a spot to #4 despite posting its lowest number since OCTOBER. WMJX dropped a slot to #5 after shedding almost a full share.
It was a pretty good month to be WXKS as the station had its best 18-49 share since AUGUST to remain at #1 for the fifth straight month. WKLB also had its best book since AUGUST as it moved up a spot to be a distant #2. WMJX dropped back one square to #3 while WBZ-F doubled into the corner as it moved up to #4. The two stations tied at #4 last month parted ways. WJMN slid to #5 while WBOS dropped to #8 with its smallest output since DECEMBER.
Thus endeth our second round of analysis. Please feel free to correct, comment, or cajole us for our musings. We can be reached via the familiar platforms listed below.
Tune in next time as we ruminate over the numerical stylings of DETROIT, MIAMI-FT. LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD, SEATTLE-TACOMA, PHOENIX and MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL.
E-mail: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com
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