Nielsen begins its monthly release of PPM ratings with today’s Day 1 update including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston/Galveston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Long Island, Riverside/San Bernardino, San Jose, and Middlesex/Somerset/Union.

All the numbers can be found at RadioInsight.com/Ratings.

The surge of stations playing Christmas music to the top of each market took place en-masse:

• iHeartMedia AC “106.7 Lite-FM” WLTW New York 6.8 to 9.7 (#1 overall)
• iHeartMedia AC 103.5 KOST Los Angeles 6.0 to 11.6 (#1)
• iHeartMedia AC “93.9 Lite-FM” WLIT Chicago 5.7 to 11.8 (#1)
• Bonneville AC 96.5 KOIT San Francisco 4.2 to 7.9 (#2). KBAY San Jose rose 1.3 to 1.9.
• iHeartMedia AC “Star 102.1” KDGE Dallas 4.3 to 8.8 (#1)
• iHeartMedia AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA Houston 6.6 to 10.8 (#1)
• Salem Christian AC “104.7 The Fish” WFSH Atlanta 5.0 to 7.2 (#2)
• Audacy AC “B101” WBEB Philadelphia 4.8 to 10.1 (#1)
• iHeartMedia Soft AC “106.1 The Breeze” WISX Philadelphia 3.5 to 3.0 (#12)
• Connoisseur Media Hot AC 97.5 WALK Long Island 4.2 to 7.2 (#2). WLTW rose 3.5 to 6.2 on Long Island
• Alpha Media’s stunting Classic Hits “94.5 K-Sleigh” KBAY San Jose 4.3 to 5.6 (#4). KOIT rose 5.7 to 9.7 to lead San Jose.

iHeartMedia’s commercial-free stunting “Christmas 96.7” WBZW Atlanta rose 0.0 to 0.8.

In its first full monthly, Audacy Classic Hip Hop “94.7 The Block” WXBK New York drops 1.4 to 1.3. Alternative “Alt 92.3” WNYL dips 1.8 to 1.5. Trending up in New York are Audacy News 1010 WINS (2.8 – 3.6 – 3.8) iHeartMedia Rhythmic AC 103.5 WKTU (3.5 to 3.9) and Hip Hop “Power 105.1” WWPR-FM (2.7 – 3.4). Taking the biggest hits were Audacy Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM (5.5 to 4.5) and iHeartMedia CHR “Z100” WHTZ (5.1 to 4.2).

Mediaco Hip Hop “Hot 97” WQHT trends down 2.8 – 2.6 – 2.2 for its lowest share in the history of the brand. Ratings Expert Chris Huff notes that the last time 97.1 was that low was the final book for Country 97.1 WYNY in Summer 1988, while it never reached that low in its two year stretch as “Hot 103.5” prior to moving to 97.1.

In its final monthly before flipping to a simulcast of News 1070 KNX, Audacy CHR “97.1 Now” KNOU rose 1.4 to 1.8. KNX trended down 3.1 – 2.9 – 2.6. Also trending down is Audacy Alternative 106.7 KROQ (1.9 – 1.6 – 1.4).

Public News/Talk 88.5 KQED-FM trends up 7.2 – 7.8 – 8.6 to continue to lead San Francisco.

Audacy’s newly launched Variety Hits “105.3 Dave-FM” KITS rises 1.3 to 1.6 in its first full monthly. iHeartMedia Hip Hop 106.1 KMEL trends down 3.6 – 2.8 – 2.6.

iHeartMedia’s Dallas duo of CHR “106.1 Kiss-FM” KHKS (5.4 – 5.1 – 4.4) and Rock “97.1 The Eagle” KEGL (2.8 – 2.5 – 2.1) trends down.

While WFSH-FM jumped up 5.0 to 7.2, it was not enough to take the lead in Atlanta. Cox Classic Rock “97.1 The River” WSRV dipped 7.5 to 7.3 but Huff notes that was enough to lead the Atlanta market for the first time ever thanks to sister News Talk 750 WSB/95.5 WSBB falling 9.3 to 6.6. Cox Adult R&B “Kiss 104.1” WALR-FM trends up 5.7 – 6.5 – 6.9.

Audacy Hip Hop/R&B “V103” WVEE rebounds from recent record lows up 3.3 – 3.7 – 4.5. iHeartMedia Hip Hop “105.3 The Beat” WRDG rises 1.7 to 2.4.

Audacy AC “B101” WBEB surged up 4.8 to 10.1, but iHeartMedia Soft AC “106.1 The Breeze” WISX also doing Christmas music this year falls 3.5 to 3.0.

Audacy Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM New York trends up 6.3 – 6.9 – 7.3 on Long Island to retain the market lead. Cox CHR 106.1 WBLI continues to trend down since the company’s September layoffs falling 5.3 – 4.2 – 3.7.