The profit is likely from clearing programming in Chicago for Westwood One. They have to have a Chicago station for network spots. It’s a Top 5 market.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
May Chicago Ratings
- Thread starter Dr Wayne
- Start date
The profit is likely from clearing programming in Chicago for Westwood One. They have to have a Chicago station for network spots. It’s a Top 5 market.
Has there been a noticeable post-Eric drop for WTMX's billing or is it too soon to see?
My question then becomes how well does WSCR and/or WMVP bill? Would either moving to FM fully (like KJR in Seattle) or simulcasting 670 make sense for Audacy in this market?
New stations in Chicago seem to ramp up very slowly when it comes to billing, even when a sustained track record of ratings success is established.
The fact WDRV doesn't rank higher is surprising to me, especially given the demise of WLUP. I can only assume WSCR takes a big, big share of male-oriented advertising dollars.
I know it took Kiss 103.5 forever to overtake B96 in billing.
The fact WDRV doesn't rank higher is surprising to me, especially given the demise of WLUP. I can only assume WSCR takes a big, big share of male-oriented advertising dollars.
I know it took Kiss 103.5 forever to overtake B96 in billing.
There are really no new stations in Chicago, only old ones which change call letters and formats. The closest to being new is WMFN 640 Peotone, and that's not really new either, since it moved from Zeeland. Then there's WRME-LP 87.75, which nearly all of you ignore, and I'm sure that many in Chicago Radio wish would go away, since the rest want to continue to be unresponsive to older demographics, and don't like them taking a few tenths of a ratings point from formats older people really don't care for.
Agencies generally use long, multi-book average to buy. A significant change in sustained ratings levels can take 9 to 12 months to become evident in billing... in Chicago or any other market.
Most larger advertisers... those that can afford the major stations... don't spend a lot of time looking at specific formats. They buy by demos and rating.
And B96 decayed gradually, and still the margin of loss was not huge. In the end, a lot of sales have to do with packages with the cluster, not the individual stations specifically.
WMEN is not a sales factor, and it is a secondary AM, so not on the radar of most significant advertisers.
WRME does very poorly in sales because it only reaches ages agencies and most advertisers do not seek. Not only is it's audience almost all 55 and over... most is over 65. So its sales efforts don't affect the principle stations at all. And for that reason, it is a relatively low biller.
WSCR is a top 5 biller. WMVP is about half it's level, but still in the top 15 or so. In markets like Chicago, being in the top 20 in billing is definitely at a level about about $7 million a year.
In fact, of over 15,000 stations in the US (not including translators) they are less than 275 that bill $7 million or more.
The point I was making is that stations that just change call letters and formats are not new stations, and MarkW's comment perpetuates the wrong belief of many listeners that they are new stations. And WRME-LP DOES affect the ratings of of stations who are not responsive to their demographics in any meaningful manner. They just want WRME-LP to go away, rather than respond to their demographic needs.
And the reason why WLS is low in ratings is that it really not a full market signal anymore due to electrical noise. WJR has a better signal, and three times their ratings with a similar format in Detroit. Don't tell me that Chicago is too sophisticated for that format, it's balderdash.
And WLUP is still there as a station, but it's WCKL now, regardless of if they don't like the format.
Formats can be changed, facilities can be moved. It's within the realm of possibility. Look at the "move ins" around Chicago on FM.
Last edited:
94.7 has not billed well in awhile, at least the last time those numbers were made public a decade ago, not sure how it’s been in between. The current format is the most stable thing they put on that frequency in a long time however as far as ratings and not flipping. It got good 6+ numbers as an Oldies station but obviously that was not helping their billing.
101.1 was getting something like 13 Million a decade ago when it was still under the original Q101. Not sure how it’s doing now. I think they use alternative motives for additional revenue like the concerts they put on however.
I don't ignore WRME I occasionally listen, but I realize it's far from an advertising magnet.
All the other commercial stations sell based on 25-54 or some subset. They don't even look at 55+ or 12+ where the WRME numbers would appear. So, for sales purposes, WRME does not exist as it's 25-54 numbers are what, in radar, we'd consider to be ground clutter.
- Status