Take 1
OK, it's only a trend, and it's only 12+ numbers, but here goes.
First of all, R&R needs to figure out that WJYE is Regent, not CBS. Secondly, it looks like WJYE is getting fat off former WHTT listeners. I'll bet that makes Citadel happy.
Speaking of Citadel, they're down across the board. Farid will not be happy. Without demos, it's hard to tell how significant the changes are, and 97-Rock is actually up a little over last year's Winter numbers, but still down from Fall. Well, that's to be expected since the Bills missed the playoffs again. Considering the deal that Wease got in Rochester, Farid and Judy should be on their knees chanting "I'm not worthy" in front of Norton & Company.
WHTT looks like it's caught in a squeeze between WJYE - which plays enough oldies to steal former upper-demo listeners, and Star - which gets the lower end of the demo because they're hipper and younger musically. It seems to me that they're trying to split the difference between the two, and are unable to dislodge enough listeners from the 35-44 core to compete with either station.
Star is killing in their target demo. Their biggest competition is Kiss. Combo that, and Entercom is unbeatable 18-34, and probably 18-49.
The Edge has steadily slipped since Opie & Anthony took over mornings. Rumor has it that Shredd & Ragan are doing well in the afternoon, so I wonder if "hot talk" may be under consideration by Citadel, especially as they look at WBEN's numbers. Can Bull do a 6 hour talk show? Or, will Farid push more syndication down the pipe in order to try and make the ABC acquisition look less expensive? I guess it depends on the 18-34 numbers. 12+ may be deceiving.
Speaking of WBEN, they remain strong, thanks to bad weather and election junkies. Live and (largely) local still works well for them.
WYRK is still unchallenged, although they've slipped a little over the last two years. Gee, that seems to correspond with reductions in staff, and other cost-cutting. Funny how that works out.
WGR got fat off the Sabres. We'll see what happens to their numbers as the Sabres hit the golf course instead of the playoffs. The addition of Brad Riter to WECK evenings could be interesting if anybody knows he's there. BTW, the
WECK website lists him as the host of the "Sean Hannity Show". Hmmm.
WBUF is. That's about all there is to say. I doubt that Regent is in a position to do much more than leave it alone as they deal with much bigger issues at the corporate level.
The Lake continues to recede. Hank Dole has managed to pollute the anemic numbers that they had in the morning, and automated music isn't strong enough programming to recover from that blow. They're the only blot on the Entercom landscape. I'm guessing that Hank Dole and Lorne Hunter keep to the shadows around Corporate Parkway.
'BLK has slipped a little, and Kiss has gone up a little. It looks like there's a battle going on there for younger hearts and minds. Entercom likely has more promo money to spend, so it could be interesting to watch.
