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RATINGS: THE STORIES, THE TRUTH, THE TALES

K

kentuckymedia

Guest
Okay, now that ratings have been released for the fair cities of Northeast Ohio, what are your thoughts?

Youngstown:

WQXK found the magic stick somewhere, they pulled numbers out from thin air it looks like
WKBN and WYFM took a bit of a hit, mostly the rocker on this one.
WHOT winning once again, good to see the staff really get a hold of the market finally!
Stop 26 Riverbend would probably be celebrating
Rock overall had a bad book in Youngstown, the only sign of promise is Rock 104

Canton

WHBC A/F still dominate the market, but you gotta realize that those call letters are keeping them up
WQXK was up again, stepped on QMX's toes
WZKL was for sure the market winner without a doubt
WHOF was another winner in the market as a debut, mostly at the cost of HBC
WONE had a strong book while KDD pretty much stayed the same
WRQK what the hell happened?

Cleveland

COUNTRY, AC, HOT AC and CLASSIC ROCK were the sure clear winners in the book
WTAM down along with WMJI
WAKS down along with WENZ
WZAK down along with WNWV
 
My mole (friend, that is) inside one of HBC-FM's competitors told me the 12+ ratings don't tell the story about how Mix is doing. The person wasn't too happy to tell me that 25-54 adults Mix was up .6 shares, 25-54 women Mix was up 2.1 shares, 18-34 adults Mix was up 2.1 shares, and 18-34 women Mix was up 5.3 shares. It is so true when people say you can't judge a station on only the 12+.
 
kentuckymedia said:
WRQK what the hell happened?
Click to expand...

Let's see. They took a 24 hour live station and VTed it for about 10 hours a day. They changed Rock 107 to Rock 106.9 (WHY?) They got rid of their #1 rated night guy who had been on local rock radio forever and replaced him with their teenie traffic girl, who voice tracks. Nights took a huge dive in only one book. They put an inexperienced guy in the PD seat. Do I need to continue?
 
"WKBN and WYFM took a bit of a hit, mostly the rocker on this one."

'KBN wasn't off by too much. Y103, HOLY CRAP! Where in the hell did their numbers go!? They've lost ALOT over the last year. Things getting stale over there?


WQXK found the magic stick somewhere,

K105 has been winning for years, they made some gains but have frequently sat at the top spot in the last few years. They took 1st prize in 18-34 as well with Kiss a close 2nd

WHOT winning once again, good to see the staff really get a hold of the market finally!

The last time the staff really got a hold of the market, Tom Pappas was the PD. WHOT should NOT be allowed to report as CHR. They sprinkle a few CHR tracks in after 6pm, but this station is pure Hot AC.
My guess is they picked up nice gains in 25-54 numbers (and Mix is down so that would prove that theory)
The 18-34 CHR numbers are now being battled for by WAKZ and WRBP.


Rock overall had a bad book in Youngstown, the only sign of promise is Rock 104

And they weren't up by much. This station can do big things, but they run largely jockless it seems, and the imaging hasnt changed since they launched in May 2003 (I'm not exaggerating at all either). Cumulus runs them VERY VERY cheap. They do their fair share of concerts at The Wedge though.

As for Canton, WHOF debuts strong. I figured they would, but not THAT strong. LOTSO sampling I bet, as 94 wasn't off too much (and I also heard they increased nicely in the younger demos). Perhaps the WHBC-AM music fans have found home on 101.7
 
Not a shocker that Y-103 took a hit...listened to them lately?...The morning show is awful..very boring! Nothing original. The rotation on the music is way to hot... they must be rotating 400 records. Time for a change in the morning...Kennedy and Sports just don't have it anymore...
Great to see HOT bouncing back..they use to be the markets revenue leader...struggling these past few years.
Just a question...I thought Stop 26 lost WRBP and the stations in Y-town to Beard or Baird Broadcasting?
 
ricardariley said:
My mole (friend, that is) inside one of HBC-FM's competitors told me the 12+ ratings don't tell the story about how Mix is doing. The person wasn't too happy to tell me that 25-54 adults Mix was up .6 shares, 25-54 women Mix was up 2.1 shares, 18-34 adults Mix was up 2.1 shares, and 18-34 women Mix was up 5.3 shares. It is so true when people say you can't judge a station on only the 12+.
Click to expand...

If that's true, they're popping celebration corks in Denver..94-1 kept their core of 25-54, and finally broke through with 18-34 women, where they had lagged for years..impressive numbers for WHOF, who will likely be Mix's compeition thru the rest of the decade..curious about the AM side..did the shift to talk take them younger, as was hoped? Did the ''Fred and Pam'' slide continue? I thought the Indians and the Cavaliers would take them farther..perhaps not..I could see WHBC-AM slide into third overall in the fall..its certainly a realistic possibility..

Curious as to whether or not ZKL can sustain their ratings gain..they've been here before, with a strong Spring book, only to give it all back in the Fall..

I would disagree with the original post..the WHBC combo is not ''dominating the market''..far from it..Clear Channel has a story to tell...add the two ACs numbers, and you can take that to clients and explain what a better buy those two stations are in the long term..WHBC-AM and FM were at one time pulling about 25 percent of the market..those days are gone forever..
 
How can you find out your own ratings in a small market? Our PD/OM keeps them a secret. Other stations have ratings parties if they do well so I hear. "We're #1 in our area" or "the ratings are invalid" are all we ever hear. I couldn't tell you what cume, numbers or any of that means since no one ever shared that info w/ employees. ??? ??? ???
 
I agree. 12+ numbers mean nothing. However, I got a chance to see the entire Canton book. Serious changes are in the winds. The people of Stark county have started their shift from their traditional listening habits due to the evolving nature of the Canton market. The folks at Freedom ave. should be jumping up and down with joy over the latest book. The folks at Market ave. south on the FM side should be happy with their latest achievements. The AM side however, admit you made a mistake and go back to the semi oldies format that served you so well for the past decade.
 
The Canton book was excuted poorly by Arbitron. Less than 500 people in the sample?
That's one of the troubles with two book markets, the small response rates. If diaries fall low in a particular demo, you'll see peaks and valleys. Watch Canton each Spring then in the Fall, it's totally different each time. Despite no changes or format switches. (this time is a little different)

In the demos that matter:

WZKL won 18-34 and is a very strong station. Mornings are leading the way. (despite what many of you write on the boards)
Not that teens are a beauty contest, but WZKL had a shares in the mid 30's in teens.

Persons 25-54, WHBC-FM remained strong. WHBC-AM Died in this book. WKDD, WONE, WQXK all solid.
I would think the fall book will be the test for WHBC-FM, after their format switch.

WHBC-AM, in most dayparts persons 35-54 and 25-54 were beaten by WHLO, by three and four shares in some cases.
Morning Drive with Fred and Pam were the only saving grace, despite being down. (the CAVS did well at night)
WHOF- Placed Third in Persons 35-54, that's a strong debut.

Country- WQXK went older this book and WQMX had an impressive book.

WRQK - Lopped off all older men and actually increased cume in younger men. TSL died. The Station finished #1 in men 18-49 and 18-34. While nights were down, the big story was Bob and Tom who went from the upper teens to below a 7.

I realize losing ones job would make them, and perhaps their friends angry. However claiming the departure of one personality, specifically 7pm-Midnight was responsible for the decline of an entire radio station, is a bit...well...foolish.
 
They suffered a noticable loss in their demo.......55-64. They have NEVER experienced a one book drop like that. In overall terms, maybe a fluke with all the sampling going on. They better hope the trend doesn't continue.
 
TomSullivan said:
They suffered a noticable loss in their demo.......55-64. They have NEVER experienced a one book drop like that. In overall terms, maybe a fluke with all the sampling going on. They better hope the trend doesn't continue.
Click to expand...

If WHBC-AMs 55-64 went down to that degree, then Denver is happy..the entire point of going full blown News Talk was to get younger..which WHBC-AM may well have done..as long as Fred and Pam, and their sports programming can carry them, then the AM is still viable to a degree..

WHLO beating WHBC-AM is nothing new..WHLO has been beating or tying WHBC-AM in key male demos for the last few years..one of the key reasons why WHBC finally dumped their full service format..it simply did not work past 10am..period.

Going back to that format would be a disaster...NextMedia, from what my sources have told me, wants to lose the elderly audience..its impossible to sell a 55+ demo when it comes to Agency buys..

NextMedia did what they should have done when they bought the combo in 2000--blew up both stations and pretty much started over..keeping the stronger elements of both stations, and succeeding in drawing younger demos--especially 25-34--to their FM..somebody in Denver finally got it right..with little time left to spare..

Can they ever get what they paid for it? Not likely..can they make money with it? With the right sales management, yes.
 
What Nextmedia should have done is sold both stations to Thom Mandel (owner of Rubber City Radio) when he offered them 28 million a year or so ago. They'll never get what they paid for them.
 
TomSullivan said:
What Nextmedia should have done is sold both stations to Thom Mandel (owner of Rubber City Radio) when he offered them 28 million a year or so ago. They'll never get what they paid for them.
Click to expand...

If the offer had been around 35 million..I think Denver would have taken it..28 million is what they should have paid in the first place..The WHBC combo was never worth 43.5 million to begin with..
 
It would be nice to see Rubber City get that combo. Most importantly, try to keep it as local as possible, maybe even Donnie.
 
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