Exclusive April 2021 PPM Analysis
The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC., in conjunction with the alchemists of the algorithms from XTRENDS, have united – once again – to bring you another thrilling round of how the ratings turned. This second episode of the APRIL survey is much like the first, just with different markets. The survey began on APRIL 1st. That’s not a joke, we checked with legal. It concluded on APRIL 28th. In between, there were religious holidays, a ton of vaccinations, and
HOUSTON-GALVESTON: The Sun Sets
While the “Son” also rises, KSBJ EDUCATIONAL Christian Contemporary KSBJ (GOD LISTENS) posted its largest 6+ share in over a year (5.9-6.8) as it also rose to the top of the chart. It just edged out iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) which slipped to #2 for the first time since NOVEMBER (7.7-6.7). The station did remain atop the cume heap (1,842,700-1,768,700) – a decrease of 4.0%. The market was off by 1.2%. UNIVISION Regional Mexican KLTN (QUE BUENA 102.9) was not far behind as it slipped to #3 (6.3-6.5). COX MEDIA Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9 & 107.5) stepped up to #4 (5.7-5.7) while iHEARTMEDIA N/T KTRH-A (NEWSRADIO 740) dipped to #5 (5.8-5.5). Joining the five-share club were two stations that had been tied at #7. AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) had its best outing since DECEMBER (4.9-5.3) as it moved up to #6. URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) remained in place but with its highest share since SEPTEMBER (4.9-5.2).
iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 FM THE BUZZ) was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey. However, the station was down a bit while KLTN had a solid increase. The net result was that the two stations had to share the glory of conquest. KSBJ stepped up to #3, also with a solid increase, while KODA slipped to #4 with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER. KKHH was up to #5 with its third up book in a row. URBAN ONE Top 40/R KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) slipped to #6 with a slight decrease.
Though it was off slightly, KTBZ continued to own 18-34 as it finished first for the fourth book in a row. A flat KLTN stepped up to #2 but was about a share off the lead. KODA slipped to #3 as it returned a good portion of last month’s huge increase. AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101.1 FM) moved up to #4 with a slight increase. Meanwhile, CUMULUS Top 40/M KRBE leapt from #8 to #5 with its best outing in over a year. AUDACY Hot AC KHMX (MIX 96.5) slid four places to tie at #8 as it shed a large chunk of share.
Ladies and gentlemen, we had a new market leader in the 18-49 arena. KLTN stepped into the winner’s circle after landing its largest share since last APRIL. After a three-book run at the top, KTBZ was forced down to #2. KSBJ was up a couple of slots to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. KODA stepped down to #4 with its lowest mark since SEPTEMBER. KBXX dipped to #5 with a small loss and was just ahead of KKHH which advanced two spaces to #6 with its best performance since DECEMBER.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Wait … Wait For It
This is not something we see very often. (Spoiler alert!) A non-comm sweeping all four demos that we dissect every survey. But that’s exactly what AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU just accomplished. The station was #1 6+ for the fourth book in a row and topped double digits for the third time during that span (9.7-10.2). HUBBARD News WTOP was the runner-up, also for the fourth straight survey (9.0-8.1). HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR extended its #3 streak to four (8.1-7.8). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH repeated at #4 (6.2-5.6). The station also repeated as the cume leader (780,100-866,600) with an increase of 11.1%. The market rose by 1.9%. URBAN ONE Urban AC WMMJ (MAJIC 102.3 & 92.7) stepped up to #5 with its best outing since NOVEMBER (4.7-4.9). This pushed iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) down to #6 (5.1-4.8).
WAMU was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey and ended a two-book slide, coming dangerously close to hitting double digits. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) stood alone at #2 with a small loss and trailed the leader by nearly two shares. WTOP dipped to #3 after posting its lowest share since the stockings were hung by the chimney with care. Remaining at #4 for the fourth book in a row was WHUR which also had a small loss of share. AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) rebounded from a down book to move back up to #5. WASH slipped to #6 with its smallest share in over a year.
The last time WAMU hit double digits 18-34 was in JANUARY and there were a few things going on in the market at that time. The station hit it again this survey which allowed it to vault from #3 to #1. This also ended the two-book reign for WHUR which stepped down to #2 with a slight loss. This duo was at least a share and a half clear of the rest of the pack. WWDC moved up to #3 with a slight increase. Three stations were huddled together, yearning to be free, at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WIHT (HOT 99.5) fell from #2 as it lost a rather large chunk of share. WASH moved up from #5 with a small loss while WBIG advanced from a tie at #6 with a slight decrease.
WAMU completed the demo sweep by posting its best 18-49 share since JANUARY. WWDC was flat but stepped down to #2 as its two-book victory string came to an end. WHUR inched up to #3 with a small increase while WTOP dipped to #4 with its lowest mark since the big guy was prowling the streets. WIHT remained at #5 as it ended a strong two-book surge. It was joined in the moment by WASH which moved up a slot despite posting its lowest score since MAY.
ATLANTA: The Cluster Trifecta
The win, place, and show positions 6+ were all corralled by a single company. As is usually the case, COX MEDIA Talk WSB-A was the runaway market leader (9.2-9.6) as it finished well ahead of #2 COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) which posted its largest share since OCTOBER (6.4-7.5). Standing alone at #3 was COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (104.1 KISS FM) (6.2-5.9). AUDACY Urban WVEE (V-103) stepped down to #4 as it returned most of last month’s huge increase (6.2-5.4). URBAN ONE Christian INSPO WPZE (MYPRAISE 102.5) rose up to #5 with its fifth up book in a row (4.7-5.0). COX MEDIA AC WSB-F slipped to #6 as it ended a three-book surge (5.3-4.7). However, the station did move back to #1 in the cume wars (827,500-904,400) – an increase of 9.3%. The market was up by a more modest 0.4%.
WSRV ended a two-book slide and was catapulted to #1 25-54 for the first time since it shared the spot in DECEMBER. Last month’s leader – WVEE – dipped to #2 with its lowest score in over a year. WSB-A stepped down to #3 with a small share loss while URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) repeated at #4 with a slight decrease. WALR was up two places to #5 with a slight increase. CUMULUS Top 40/M WWWQ (Q99.7) ended a strong four-book surge as it slipped to #6. It was tied with WPZE which elevated itself from #9 with its loftiest share in over a year.
There was a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on in the 18-34 competition. Last month, WVEE and WSB-F were tied atop the leaderboard. This month both stations lost a significant amount of share and ended up at #3 and #4, respectively. WSRV had a massive share increase – its highest since NOVEMBER – as it flowed from #4 to #1. WWWQ was off a bit but still stepped up to #2. There was a three-way tie at #5 in the previous survey. That agreement was nullified. SALEM Christian Contemporary WFSH (104.7 THE FISH) was the station left standing as it had a strong share increase. The other two members of that trio dropped back down the chart. WALR landed in a tie at #7 while CITY OF ATLANTA BOARD OF EDUCATION N/T WABE ended up at #11. It is worth noting that WPZE had its best book in over a year and leapt from a tie at #13 to share the spot at #7.
WSRV continued its torrid performance by landing its best 18-49 share in over a year. This propelled the station back to #1. This also ended WVEE’s two-book reign as it stepped down to #2 where it was tied with a flat but rising WSB-A. WWWQ moved up to #4 despite a small loss while WALR advanced three squares to #5 with a small increase. WSB-F had its first down book since OCTOBER as it dropped into a tie at #6 with WAMJ.
PHILADELPHIA: Crazy Eights
Things have been going well for quite some time for iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS. The station topped an eight-share for the sixth book in a row (8.1-8.6) and was #1 6+ for the fourth straight survey. BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR was #2 for the third straight survey (7.0-6.8) while its grayer cluster bruh – BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK – stood alone at #3 with its fourth up book in a row (6.0-6.2). AUDACY Sports WIP-F stepped up to the cleanup spot at #4 (5.3-5.7) while AUDACY News KYW-A slipped to #5 (6.0-5.5). It was just ahead of BEASLEY Country WXTU which had its highest share in over a year (5.0-5.4). AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) was next in line with its smallest share since NOVEMBER (5.2-5.0). However, the station retained the cume crown (899,700-960,700) – a gain of 6.8%. The market grew by 2.6%.
WMMR continued to crush the 25-54 competition. The station was #1 for the fourth book in a row and in double digits for the third straight survey. WDAS was #2 with a small increase and still trailed the leader by more than three shares. WMGK stood alone at #3 with its best outing since NOVEMBER. WXTU dipped to #4 despite being up for the fourth book in a row. WBEB repeated at #5 with a slight loss and was just ahead of WIP-F which advanced to #6 with a solid increase.
There was a bit of shuffling in the 18-34 ranks, but it continued to be primarily a two-station race. WBEB ended up on top this time with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. WMMR dropped back to #2 after two wins in a row with a small loss. iHEARTMEDIA Urban WUSL (POWER 99FM) moved up to a distant #3 as it put the brakes on a two-book slide. WMGK made the leap o’ the month as it rose from #13 to #4 with its best book since MAY. AUDACY Top 40/M WTDY moved up to #5 with a small increase. BEASLEY Sports WPEN (97.5 THE FANATIC) dropped to #6 and was tied with WDAS and WIP-F (Thought bubble: Shouldn’t the station be THE PHANATIC?) On the surface it looks like iHEARTMEDIA AC WISX (106.1 THE BREEZE) had a big drop as it went from a tie at #5 to a tie at #9. In reality, the station only suffered a slight loss of share. However, the drop of WHYY INC. Public Radio WHYY was more pronounced as it fell from #4 to #14 with its lowest mark in over a year.
For the third straight survey WMMR was #1 18-49. However, the station’s double-digit streak ended at two. Still, it held a two-share lead over WDAS which repeated at #2 with a solid increase. WMGK was up two slots to #3 with its best performance since JUNE. The station has also more than doubled its share since JANUARY. WBEB slipped to a tie at #4 despite a small increase. This was because WXTU had a slightly better small increase to forge a tie.
BOSTON: A Big, Fat KISS
The last time iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/M WXKS-F (KISS 108) was the leading station 6+ the PATRIOTS actually had hope – that was in SEPTEMBER. The station posted its best share since MAY (6.8-7.4) to pogo from #3. It also retained the cume crown (812,300-877,500) – an increase of 8.0%. The market was up by 2.7%. BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) repeated at #2 (6.9-6.9). Meanwhile, BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR saw its two-book winning streak halted as it dipped to #3 (7.7-6.8). iHEARTMEDIA News WBZ-A remained at #4 (6.4-6.6) while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX maintained its #5 posture (6.1-5.7). Peering in to the top five was AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) at #6 (5.6-5.3).
The 25-54 force has been strong with WBZ-F. The station finished in first place for the fourth book in a row and shattered the double-digit barrier for the third straight survey. WXKS moved up to #2 with its best book since OCTOBER yet was still almost three shares off the lead. WROR dipped to #3 with a down book while WZLX remained at #4 with a small increase. Two stations made strong moves up the chart. WGBH FOUNDATION Public Radio WGBH went from a tie at #8 to #5 as it rebounded from a down book. AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) advanced from #10 to #6 with its highest share since AUGUST. WMJX slid to tie at #7 with its lowest total in over a year.
For the last four books WXKS and WBZ-F have been fighting over the top two slots 18-34. WXKS came out on top this month with its best performance since NOVEMBER. WBZ-F slid into second as it surrendered most of last month’s huge increase. Those two were well clear of the three stations bonding together at #3. WROR remained in place though it ended a robust three-book surge. AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) moved up from a tie at #6 with its highest mark in over a year. WGBH advanced from a tie at #10 as it got back all of last month’s big share loss. BEASLEY Country WKLB (COUNTRY 102.5) dipped to #6 with a small loss and was tied with WZLX. iHEARTMEDIA Top 40/R WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) fell from #4 to #10 with its lowest number in exactly one year.
This was the fourth straight survey that had WBZ-F both #1 18-49 and in double digits. WXKS stepped up to #2 with its third up book in a row but was more than two shares off the pace. WROR dipped to #3 as it returned most of last month’s large increase. WZLX remained at #4 with a small gain while WMJX repeated at #5 with a small loss. WGBH bounced back from a down book to leap from a tie at #11 to #6 and was tied with WKLB.
This ends the original content portion of this here missive. Thank you for participating. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. will take a powder as we prepare for the next round of results. MIAMI, SEATTLE, DETROIT, PHOENIX, and MINNEAPOLIS are all on deck.
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