from the Boston Globe
August 3, 2001
TV/RADIO NOTEBOOK
--snips--
They're No. 1
May marked a significant milestone for WEEI's John Dennis and Gerry Callahan. The duo's morning show from 6-10 a.m. garnered an 8.7 rating among men 25-54, good for No. 1 in the morning market and outdrawing the syndicated "Howard Stern Show" on WBCN (104.1 FM) for the first time. "That's 50 percent higher than it's ever been," said WEEI program manager Jason Wolfe. "Everything is so much better with this since John and Gerry have been together. There's a better understanding of morning drive time and we've been putting better resources into the show."
--snips--
from the Boston Globe
July 20, 2001
Those WEEI promos touting the station as the No. 1 sports talk outlet in the nation have been pretty impressive in recent years. Consider that every big city (and a lot of smaller ones) have a sports talk station or two or three. If the Boston guys are No. 1 in the country, it says something about them ... or us ... or both.
The flip side is no sports talk station in a major market has delivered the ratings to put it atop its local market.
Now WEEI has taken a big jump in that direction with the results of the spring ratings book. The numbers allowed the folks at WEEI to engage in some celebratory chest-thumping yesterday.
"This is huge," said an exultant Tom Baker, whose many Entercom titles include general manager at WEEI.
What had Baker and program director Jason Wolfe celebrating was an overall set of numbers showing WEEI No. 3 in the market in its target demographic of adults between 25 and 54.
"For the total week, our number of share points was 6.0, the highest in the station's history," said Wolfe. That left WEEI trailing only FM stations Magic 106.7 and MIX 98.5, which have more female listeners. A year ago, WEEI did a 4.0, ranking ninth in the market.
Among the target audience of males 25-54, WEEI's number was 10.4, far ahead of last year's 7.4, keeping its hold on first place in that demographic.
"The Big Show," the afternoon drive-time show with host Glenn Ordway and his variety of sidekicks, was No. 1 among all adults 25-54. Promos trumpeted the news during yesterday's show.
"This is unprecedented in our market to have a sports talk show No. 1 in drive time," said Baker. "We were hoping the ratings would be up again, but I never thought they would be this good. It's the talk of the town."
Ordway & Co. were No. 1 among men with a 10.2 share points and also first among men and women with 5.9 share points.
But, for Baker, the news was good across the board.
The midday "A Team" with Eddie Andelman and Dale Arnold and "Ted Nation" with Ted Sarandis in the evening also were No. 1 among males 25-54.
And the morning "Dennis and Callahan Show" is No. 2 among the male demographic, trailing only Howard Stern on WBCN (104.1 FM). That's a huge success story after Wolfe & Co. pulled the plug on "Imus in the Morning" in the fall of 1999 in favor of former Channel 7 sports anchor John Dennis and Boston Herald columnist Gerry Callahan.
"This day is a credit to Jason [Wolfe] and all the on-air talent," said Baker.
It's also a reflection of having the Red Sox broadcast rights during a season when the team is doing well.
"No question about that," said Baker. "The Red Sox bring the audience to the station, but the key is to turn that audience into full-time listeners. Our talent was able to convert them, to get them to stay."
Wolfe hopes to keep making a numbers racket and keeping the bar high as WWZN (1510 AM) seeks to get a toehold in the local sports talk market.
"In the last nine ratings books, we've been either No. 1 or 2 among men and usually in the top 10 among all adults," said Wolfe. "Being No. 3 overall means we're in competition with the big FMs and WBZ AM."
So now that the ratings numbers are up, will the advertising rates follow? Likely, said Baker.
But Baker takes a different tack for the station's success. "We don't just talk ratings because people who listen to the station keep the button there and don't hit it."
Making it a ratings hit.
--snips--
from the Boston Herald
April 27, 2001
The just-released winter (January-March) numbers for Boston Radio stations already are being referred to as the "No Excuses" ratings book because for the first time since last June they aren't colored by wild-card factors.
Summer ratings (July-September) don't carry much weight because the radio audience's warm-weather listening habits are out of whack with the rest of the year. Then last year's fall (October-November) ratings were influenced by hanging chads and stalling Floridians.
But some alibi artists already have popped up to explain away the winter ratings. Their pitch: It's a female-dominated survey. It's true, the sampling used for the winter ratings didn't get quite enough diaries to accurately represent the area's male 25-34 population.
That may be why male-dominated stations such as rockers WBCN-FM (104.1) and WAAF-(107.3) or sports signal WEEI-AM (850) didn't fare all that well in total audience.
Classic rocker WZLX-FM (100.7) pulled in the most 25-54 male listeners, but it dropped from second to sixth in total 25-54 listenership. Country station WKLB-FM (99.5) also got whupped, dropping from 10th to 12th in the 25-54 totals.
Winter was a great season for all-news WBZ-AM (1030), which benefited from plenty of storm updates. Cold weather also meant hot numbers for WQSX-FM (93.7), WROR-FM (105.7) and 25-54 winner WBMX-FM (98.5).
Hip-Hop was hot stuff for WJMN-FM (94.4), which moved from third to first with the 18-34 set. Rival urban signal WBOT-FM (97.7) also had some sharp moves from 10th to eighth in the 18-34 race.
Mornings still belong to all-news WBZ-AM and Howard Stern on WBCN. Both John Lander at WBMX and Matt Siegel at WXKS-FM (107.9) picked up listeners over the winter, but Lander topped Siegel in the total 25-54 listener count.
The big stations understandably get most of the attention when updated ratings are released. But sometimes big stories come out of the smaller signals.
Haverhill's WXRV-FM (92.5), for example, saw its adult alternative format move from 24th to 18th place among the 18-34 age group, nearly doubling its totals (.8 last fall, 1.5 this winter) along the way.
from the Boston Herald
April 25, 2001
The Hot AC (adult contemporary) station bumped soft-rocker WMJX-FM (106.7) into second place.
Meanwhile, big news in the Big Apple: Howard Stern was beaten in the overall ratings by all-news station WINS-AM, the first time Stern was not No. 1 in New York since 1994.
In Boston, WBZ-AM (1030) regularly draws more listeners than Stern, but this winter Stern (an 8.1 share) barely edged WBZ (a 7.9 share) in the 25-54 contest. It's been years since that race was so hotly contested. - DEAN JOHNSON
from the Boston Herald
February 1, 2001
Writing today's column isn't easy for me.
I was born and raised in Boston, and no radio station has had a greater influence on my life - and my passion for rock 'n' roll - than WBCN-FM (104).
So I'm not making this statement lightly: It's time for WBCN to pull the plug on its long history as Boston's legendary rock station and feature full-time talk.
WBCN has been local radio's neither-fish-nor-fowl station for too long. It's a talk station. It's the New England Patriots' flagship station. And it plays rock music.
And now it's time to finally yank those CD players out of the studio.
It's not as if WBCN hasn't been headed in the direction of an all-talk format for some time. Howard Stern's syndicated morning show is all talk, of course, and runs each day until he wants to go home, which messes with the timing of the midday music shift.
A few hours later, Nik Carter's afternoon drive-time block at the "Rock of Boston" is typically more talk than music. Carter has acknowledged music often just gets in the way of his show's flow.
On Saturday at 10 a.m., New York shock jocks Opie and Anthony will be in town for a live show from the WBCN studios. The appearance by the former WAAF duo is likely a stunt designed to launch a new weekly "Worst of Opie and Anthony" compilation show already airing on the pair's current station, WNEW-FM in New York City. And it's a way to formally mark their Bay State return.
Opie and Anthony have made big names for themselves since being booted from WAAF-FM after announcing during an April Fools' Day prank that Mayor Thomas M. Menino had died. They're radio's hottest property this side of Stern. They're even going to be part of the new XFL's pregame show on NBC.
And Opie and Anthony's soon-to-be-syndicated radio show is being produced by Infinity Broadcasting, which owns WBCN.
WBCN should move Carter to evenings and replace him with Opie and Anthony. Or the station could start out airing the duo on tape, as it first did with Stern. It doesn't matter. Just bring them in. Let Carter do all the talking he wants, put talk in middays and be done with it.
There already is a model for just such a transformation. New York's WNEW was an FM rocker every bit as legendary as WBCN, although it didn't update its sound as effectively as WBCN has. WBCN has become a rock-talk station with football on weekends and music in the odd shifts.
Last year, WBCN made more money than any other music station in the city. But consider the recent ratings: Rocko and Birdsey at WAAF have beaten Carter in important ratings demographics for a full year.
And yes, WBCN won the 18-34 ratings this fall with a 13.9 share of the listening audience. But one year earlier, it won with a 16.4 share. That's a ITAL big ITAL dip.
Take Stern's dominant morning ratings out of that mix and WBCN's hold on the market appears to be shaky.
Although it was once the reason for WBCN's existence, music now appears to be an afterthought. Pulling the switch should be the next step in the station's evolution.
Rather than serving multiple masters, let Carter do what he does best: blab. Bring back Opie and Anthony. (Someone get Menino a glass of cold water, quick!) Leave Howard alone. And if program director Oedipus still wants to play his favorite records, he can do it on the weekends when ratings don't matter.
WBCN will make so much money, it will have to give it away on the streets - and Oedipus, you don't have to give me a penny as your consultant.
from the Boston Herald
January 15, 2001
Boston's radio audience did a lot of talking as well as listening last fall. In the process, it seems to have saved a radio station.
FM talker WTKK (96.9 FM), in need of a ratings boost, earned its highest ratings ever for the period from October through December. The station made the most out of the public's fascination with the Florida election mess and nearly doubled its percentage of listeners, ages 25-54, from last summer.
WTKK's 2.1 fall share of the 25-54 group was way up over its summertime 1.2 total. The latest numbers put the station in 17th place, just behind rival talk station WRKO (680 AM) at 2.5.
The good news couldn't have come at a better time for WTKK, because if the long-running, extremely controversial election story couldn't perk up the station's numbers, then it was time to consider other programming options.
Don Kelley, programming head for WTTK's parent company, the Greater Boston Radio Group, believes the fall ratings are a turning point for the station that just a year ago had racked up an unimpressive .7 share of the 25-54 audience, the group most coveted by advertisers.
News/talk signal WBZ (1030 AM) also enjoyed a fall surge, courtesy of the election. Its 4.7 share of the 25-54 crowd (4.0 last summer) put the station in a tie for fifth in the market.
WRKO saw a small increase in its 25-54 listeners to 2.5 (2.3 last summer), but nothing like its two talk/news competitors, and sports talk signal WEEI (850 AM) dropped from its summer 4.9 share to 4.1, a decline from sixth to ninth place.
WBZ handily beat both WRKO and WTTK in the overall audience race, though all three stations racked up impressive gains. WBZ won the demographic and increased an already big lead over runner-up WXKS (107.9 FM).
WRKO moved from 12th to sixth place with its 4.2 share. WTTK more than doubled its overall totals but still lags behind WRKO in 16th place with a 2.1 share.
All those extra talk/news listeners had to come from somewhere, so it's no surprise that many of the Hub's music signals dipped.
Some music stations did move up, however, including WROR (105.7 FM) and WILD (1090 AM) among listeners ages 25-54 and WAAF (107.3 FM) and WKLB (99.5 FM) with the 18-34 age group.
Though oldies stations across the country took a hit, WODS (103.3 FM) held its ground and actually moved up to fifth place in the 25-54 race.
Soft-rocker WMJX (106.7 FM) had a strong fall and took top honors in the 25-54 contest. WXKS also had a small surge that put it on top of the 18-34 group.
The fall ratings also included another first for Boston radio. Rocker WAAF -beat rival rocker WBCN (104.1 FM) in the race for their core 18-34 male audience.
Look for the already white-hot competition between the two stations to grow even more intense.
Howard Stern on WBCN and WBZ continued to dominate the major morning ratings, with WXKS' Matt Siegel holding on to second with 18-34 listeners.
from the Boston Herald
October 27, 2000
People want to hear fun, upbeat music in the summer . . . and they want to hear a lot of it. Oh yeah, they also want to hear Howard Stern in the morning, plenty of news and sports, and not much in the way of general talk radio.
That's the gist of the summer (July-Sept.) ratings for Boston radio.
Classic rocker WZLX-FM (100.7) won the coveted race for the 25- to 54-year-old audience, and WBMX-FM (98.5) placed second. WJMN-FM (94.5)'s hip-hop sound was tops with the 18- to 34-year-old listeners, and WBCN-FM (104.1) was runner-up. WBZ-AM (1030) still rules the 12-plus or general audience, followed by WXKS-FM (107.9).
Other stations that enjoyed a long, hot summer include WAAF-FM (107.3), WODS-FM (103.3), WBOS-FM (92.9) and WEEI-AM (850).
It was a chilly summer season for WMJX-FM (106.7), WRKO-AM (680) and WQSX-FM (93.7).
Stern dominated mornings among 25- to 54-year-olds, though WBMX's John Lander had a strong second-place showing. Veteran Boston morning man Charles Laquidara's final shifts on WZLX were summertime shows. How did he do?
He went from a 3.5 percent share of the listening audience last spring to a whopping 6.2 share of the 25- to 54-year-old crew, good for fourth place.
--snips--
from the Boston Globe
October 19, 2000
--snips--
Spinning the dial
--snips--
The summer book may not be definitive, but some people are celebrating: WZLX-FM (100.7) jumps to number one among 25- to 54-year-olds, sister station "Mix" WBMX-FM (98.5) is number two. WBCN-FM (104.1) with Howard Stern still dominates mornings, with a 9.4 share of the 25- to 54-year-olds in the 6-10 slot. WZLX came in fourth with a 6.2 share of this audience for Charles Laquidara's last ratings period. WBZ-AM (1030) and WXKS still dominate the 12-plus demographic, and WJMN-FM (94.5) has edged out WBCN among 18- to 34-year-old listeners.
--snips--
from the Boston Globe
July 27, 2000
For some radio stations, such as country WKLB-FM (99.5), the holiday season is looking good. For others, such as WBZ-AM (1030) and WZLX-FM (100.7), well, this year's Christmas stockings may be less full. Although this seasonal hopefulness may seem out of place to some of us, for radio station managers and program directors, the release of the Arbitron spring book last week is the beginning of their biggest season.
Because the summer ratings supposedly reflect vacation, as opposed to typical, listening patterns, it is the spring ratings that advertising agencies look to when setting up their budgets for the holiday season, and for most of the next fiscal year. Out of the four ratings seasons, say station managers, spring (which covers listening from March 30 to June 21) is the book that counts.
Not that there were a lot of surprises in the so-called Arbitrend ratings, which are broken down by age groups and shifts. Despite the flurry of spring promotions, contests, and free concerts designed to boost listenership during this crucial period, the market leaders pretty much stayed in control.
Among the general adult audience, ages 12 and up, WBZ (1030) remains the constant winner, although the news and weather station seems to be losing its edge: WBZ's 7.3 share of the 12-plus audience is a dip below the winter 8.9 and its 10th-place listing among the 25- to 54-year-old audience is a startling low. In second place, "Kiss" WXKS-FM (107.9) beat out perennial rival "Magic." WMJX-FM (106.7) in this latest go-round; the two seem to alternate every quarter. WXKS also won the 18- to 34-year-olds, with a 9.6 share of the audience, although the Top 40 station lost the arguably more influential 25- to 54-year-old audience to the softer WMJX, with only 5.9 percent of the audience to 6.5 for "Magic."
Mornings offer no surprise. Among the 18-34 and 25-54 age brackets, Howard Stern continues to reign supreme, putting WBCN in a comfortable first place with these audiences, and second only to WBZ-AM in the 12-plus category. All in all, the other big players, which also include "Mix" WBMX-FM (98.5) with its strong third place among the 25- to 54-year-olds, and WJMN-FM (94.5), which holds third in the 18-34 age bracket, maintained their edges.
--snips--
from the Boston Herald
May 5, 2000
Boston Radio/Dean Johnson
Some things never change in Boston morning radio. There's Howard Stern and news . . . then there's everyone else.
Stern and all-news WBZ-AM (1030) are again morning radio champs. In the just-released January-to-March winter ratings for Boston, the shock jock earned top honors on WBCN-FM (104.1) with the age 25-54 and 18-34 audiences; WBZ won the general audience title.
Then things get murky. Though the syndicated Stern is still the dominant force in local radio, his audience has dropped since the fall, from 8 to 6.9.
He wasn't alone.
Only three morning shows in the top 10 increased their overall (12 and older) listenership: WBZ's all-news, Loren and Wally on WROR-FM (105.7) and Moes & Blute on WRKO-AM (680). Every other show produced little change or had a ratings decline.
The overall top 10: WBZ, WBCN, WXKS-FM (107.9), WROR, WRKO, WBMX-FM (98.5), WMJX-FM (106.7), WODS-FM (103.3) and WZLX-FM (100.7).
In the age 24-54 ratings, Matt Siegel at WXKS-FM, Charles Laquidara at WZLX-FM, Paul Perry at WODS-FM and Baltazar at WJMN-FM were the top-10 personalities who took a dip. But it was a cozy winter for Loren and Wally at WROR-FM and Dennis & Callahan at WEEI-AM (850). Those morning teams bumped up.
The top 10 for ages 25-54: WBCN, WBZ, WROR, WBMX-FM (98.5), WXKS-FM, WMJX-FM (106.7), WZLX, WEEI, WODS and WQSX-FM (93.7).
In the age 18-34 race, both Siegel at WXKS-FM and Laquidara at WZLX-FM improved, even though they were less popular with most other demographics.
The age 18-34 morning winners: WBCN, WXKS, WJMN, WBMX, WAAF, WZLX, WMJX, WBZ, WBOS-FM (92.9) and WQSX.
from the Boston Globe Online
May 2, 2000
Lots of numbers to go over.
WEEI dominated the winter radio ratings book, not just among men between the ages of 25 and 54, but for all adults.
Long known for its programming aimed at men of questionable intelligence, "The Big Show" with Glenn Ordway (2-6 p.m. weekdays) is now attracting more women of questionable intelligence. In fact, based on ratings for the winter months, Ordway's is the second-most-listened-to program among adults and No. 1 among men. The soft-rock station, WMJX (106.7 FM), beat out Ordway for the overall adult share.
"The A Team," with Dale Arnold and Eddie Andelman, also scored well overall, earning the No. 1 spot with men in its time slot, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and the No. 3 spot overall behind WMJX and WZLX (100.7 FM).
Surprisingly, John Dennis and Gerry Callahan have achieved significant growth during morning drive time, more than doubling the share of "Imus in the Morning" on WTKK (96.9 FM). Dennis and Callahan finished in third place behind Howard Stern on WBCN (104.1 FM) and news programming on WBZ (1030 AM).
WEEI replaced Imus with Dennis and Callahan last year to boost sagging ratings. It has proven to be the right call. Imus is now in 13th place, with a 2.8 share. Dennis and Callahan earned a 6.7 share among men 25-54, a key advertising demographic.
"It's a tremendous, tremendous accomplishment," said WEEI program director Jason Wolfe. "It's huge."
In the fall ratings period, Dennis and Callahan earned a 5.8 share and were No. 4 in the competitive morning drive period. Ordway, despite being called "offensive" by the Globe, managed to increase his rating from an 8 in the fall to a 9.2 in the winter.
--snips--
This story ran on page D06 of the Boston Globe on 5/2/2000.
from the Boston Herald
April 28, 2000
News and soft rock were hot, some rock and Top 40 were not in the just-released Arbitron winter (Jan.-March) radio ratings for Boston. Here's a quick breakdown of the three major audience groups:
General audience (12-plus listeners): The gap between top-rated WBZ-AM (1030) and the second place station is the greatest in recent memory. WBZ earned an 8.9 share of the listening audience. WMJX-FM (106.7) was second, even though WMJX dropped from a fall 5.5 share to 5.4.
WBZ jumped up an entire share point, but every other top 10 station dropped at least a little. The order: WBZ, WMJX, WXKS-FM (107.9), WRKO-AM (680), WJMN-FM (94.5), WODS-FM (103.3), WCRB-FM (102.5), WBCN-FM (104.1), WBMX-FM (98.5) and WZLX-FM (100.7).
25-54 race: WMJX's soft rock is back on top while WZLX's classic rock (last fall's winner) slipped to a third-place tie with Top 40 signal WBMX-FM. The upcoming Kiss Concert couldn't be better timed for WXKS-FM (107.9). It dropped to fifth and could use a boost. The same goes for WBCN and its upcoming River Rave concert. The biggest gain goes to sports talker WEEI-AM (850), with WBZ and WROR-FM (105.7) right behind.
The top 10: WMJX, WBZ, WBMX, WZLX, WXKS, WBCN, WEEI, WROR, WQSX-FM (93.7) and WODS.
18-34 race: The big new wrinkle is the sudden appearance of WBOT-FM (97.7) out of Brockton. The urban station doesn't even cover all of metro Boston with a good signal, but it made its first showing in the ratings - a respectable 2.6 share, good for 12th place ahead of veteran stations WEEI and WROR. WJMN took a tumble, no doubt at least in part because of WBOT. WAAF-FM (107.3) had a great book even though general manager Bruce Mittman was fired before he could enjoy it.
The top 10: WBCN, WXKS, WJMN, WAAF, WBMX, WMJX, WZLX, WQSX, WFNX-FM (101.7) and WBOS-FM (92.9).
from the Boston Herald
February 11, 2000
Who are the winners and losers in the fall (October-December) ratings? Certainly not Arbitron. Because of glitches in Arbitron's ratings system - giving broadcasters more reasons to grouse about the company monopolizes radio ratings - the results were delayed several weeks.
Some of the results:
Winner: WZLX-FM (100.7). The Hub's classic rocker maintained its top position among males and all listeners in the key demographic group, the 25-54 audience.
Loser: WTKK-FM (96.9). Being the first to do anything is often a tough sell, and FM talk radio is no exception. A few stations that finished higher than WTKK-FM: WZID-FM, WGIR-FM, WXLO-FM. Don't know those signals? That's because the first two are in New Hampshire, the other in Worcester. The new WTKK-FM has a long road ahead.
Winner: WEEI-AM's morning show, Dennis and Callahan. The local duo replaced Don Imus and jumped from 15th to 10th with the 25-54 audience.
Loser: WQSX-FM (93.7). The Hub's newest music format - dance hits - didn't really lose much ground. But its numbers have leveled off. The next six months will show whether the station will burn out as some naysayers predicted when it debuted last year.
Winner: WBZ-AM (1030). Ho-hum. The Hub's news/talk station is Boston's most popular, even boosting its 18-34 and 25-54 audiences.
Loser: WAAF-FM (107.3). The rocker was nearly two full share points off its summer totals with the 18-34 audience. Apparently, Korn is not an autumn crop.
Winner: WROR-FM (105.7). Rockin' hits of the '60s and '70s rocked from 13th to ninth on the 25-54 charts. A retooled air staff now wants an even bigger piece of that pie.
Winner: Howard Stern. Love him or hate him, Howard was the top morning choice with both the 25-54 and 18-34 crowd. Only WBZ beat him in the morning among all listeners. His totals also shored up WBCN-FM's (104.1) total numbers.
from THE BOSTON GLOBE
February 10, 2000
By Clea Simon, Globe Correspondent
Spinning the dial
This latest set of ratings is actually almost a month overdue. A new data processing system caused the entire fall survey of 279 radio markets across the country to be delayed by 21 days, say Arbitron officials. The delay was caused by the implementation of a new system, which was part of a planned change and not a Y2K bug, officials say. The extra time "allowed us to introduce a reengineered diary processing system while maintaining the level of quality our customers have come to expect," says Arbitron vice president Thom Mocarsky. . . .
--snips--
from Boston Radio Watch
February 7, 2000
Fall Ratings...
No big news to report out of the fall 1999 Arbitron survey released this week.
WBZ-AM continues in the No. 1 position with a 7.9 share; WXKS-FM (107.9) and WJMN-FM (94.5), Nos. 2 and 3 in the summer 1999 ratings, tied for the No. 2 spot with a 5.7. share; and WMJX (Magic 106.7) remains in the No. 4 spot with a 5.5 share.
The only noticeable moves came from WROR 105.7FM, WKLB 99.5FM and WILD AM 1090 all of which had healthy increases while WAAF 107.3FM showed a downtrend after a steady stretch in the last few books.
As for last summer's much-publicized story concerning Don Imus moving from SportsRadio 850 over to the new FM talker WTKK 96.9FM, the Entercom-owned station which in July balked at paying higher rights fees is having a last laugh six moths later : Imus' ratings nose-dived with the move to its new home on FM. In the target male 25-54 demo group, Imus dropped from 8th to 17th while the new Dennis and Callahan show on WEEI ended up in fourth place, behind Stern on WBCN, Charles L. on WZLX and all-news on WBZ-AM. As for Imus' poor showing, the news is even worse at his homebase in NYC where Imus is quickly fading at a sportsradio powerhouse WAFN-AM(now down to 14th place in AM-drive). The upstart WTKK-FM had a very slow debut -- the new talker wasn't even able to crack a 1-share in the Fall book. That's nothing to cheer about, but talk formats always take time, particularly in a market like Boston where old habits last forever.
--snips--
from the: Boston Herald
Thursday, August 5, 1999
Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men . . . and radio programmers. Just when they think they've come up with foolproof strategies for their stations, something comes along to mess things up.
Like the recently released spring ratings for April through June. The spring book, as it's called, tallies the most important quarter in radio's calendar year. Those numbers decide where the bulk of the holiday advertising money will be spent.
So stations kick out all the jams each spring, and then let the numbers do the talking. Some of those totals speak volumes, and they're not always what management expected or wanted. They're forced to reconsider their assumptions and their plans . . .
*Don Imus' numbers are dropping like a . . . oh, never mind.
Imus and WEEI-AM (850) had a very public spitting contest last month after WEEI said it dropped the syndicated morning man because his ratings are so bad. Amid much invective, Imus immediately inked a new local deal with Greater Media, although for which of that company's signals - WMJX-FM, WBOS-FM, WSJX-FM, WKLB-FM, and WROR-FM - is still unknown.
So, naturally, Imus' 12-plus, or general listener, numbers jumped from a 2.7 share and 12th place last winter to a 3.7 and ninth place last spring.
WEEI is desperate for listeners ages 25 to 54, and Imus' totals were basically unchanged with that group last spring. But he's still not exactly the sinking ship WEEI made him out to be.
*Adult rock signal WBOS-FM (92.9) can't get in gear, so let's put Imus there, add some FM talk and . . . oh, never mind.
There's an adage among on-air staff that your last ratings book is almost always your best. Let's see if that holds true for WBOS.
The station went up across the board, including in the key 25-54 group, its prime audience. WBOS jumped from a winter 2.6 share of the 25-54 crowd, which placed it 17th in the market, to a spring 4.0, good enough for ninth.
WBOS morning host Robin Young racked up similar totals with the 25-54 set. Her ninth-place showing and 3.4 share of the audience is a big improvement over last ignore.
*WRKO-AM (680) morning man Jeff Katz is on occupational life support . . . oh, never mind.
Even the new issue of Boston magazine wishes Katz a quick heave-ho. But his 12-plus numbers jumped a full point to a 4.7 share this spring, and his show is now sixth in the market.
*The classic rock format is dead as a dodo and . . . oh, never mind.
Granted, it helps when your chief format competitor makes a major format change and tosses a 3 share out there for grabs. Still, WZLX-FM (100.7) was happy to gobble up many of the old WEGQ-FM (93.7) listeners when that station went to a dance format. And 'ZLX went from seventh to third in the market with the 25-54 set.
Even more impressive, WZLX is tops with males 25-54, a big, big target market for advertisers.
*The oldies format is dead as a dodo. . .oh, never mind.
WODS-FM (103.3) nearly matched WZLX's surge. It was tied with WZLX last winter but this spring racked up a 5.9 share of the 25-54 audience, right on the classic rocker's coattails.
But that magic didn't rub off on oldies station WROR-FM (105.7). That signal dropped from a wintertime sixth to 12th place last spring, and even its Loren and Wally morning show took a hit, from a 5.6 share in fifth place last winter to an eighth place 3.7.
All of this shuffling only reinforces another old radio adage: the first rule of the business is that there are none.
Boston Radio Watch
July-31-1999
Ratings! Ratings! Ratings!....
While the usual suspects -- WBZ-AM, Magic 106.7 and Howard Stern stayed on top in the just-released Spring radio ratings, the deck got some shuffling.
There's a station ratings chart available here: http://commons.somewhere.com/bostonrw/1999/Boston.Radio.Watch.07-31.html#REF0
Boston Herald
Saturday, January 23, 1999
The same wacky trends in the overall fall Arbitron ratings for Boston radio, reported earlier this week, pop up in the individual day parts for most stations.
The just released October-December totals are the first to incorporate an expanded survey area that now includes southern New Hampshire and parts of Worcester County.
Local broadcasters are peeved at the initial results because nearly every music-driven station experienced a solid ratings drop compared to the summer book. They believe the wildly uneven totals are because of a flawed methodology by the Arbitron company that hasn't yet adjusted to the new market boundaries.
Nevertheless, everyone has to live with the results until the winter ratings book for January-March is released in early April.
In morning drive time, for example, Howard Stern was still tops with the 25-54 audience on WBCN, but even he dropped nearly two points from his summer totals.
WBZ-AM's all-news format was second and actually went up, unlike almost all the other top stations. News and sports talk were the only formats that seemed immune to the fall chill that set in at most signals.
Though Don Imus' morning show isn't just jock talk, it's on the sports station WEEI-AM, so it jumped up from a 10th place summertime finish to sixth.
But most music stations got spanked. WMJX-FM's usually solid soft rock format wilted from fifth to seventh place. Both WZLX-FM's classic rock sounds and oldies at WODS-FM showed steep declines with the 25-54 set and drifted down to the bottom of the morning top 10.
Even top 40 wasn't immune. After finally besting rival Matt Segal at WXKS-FM last spring and summer, WBMX-FM's John Lander was beaten by Segal - because Segal's numbers stayed flat and didn't dip like Lander's.
The ratings bounce like Ping-Pong balls throughout the rest of the day parts. WBZ-AM, for example, placed first from 3-7 p.m. with the 25-54 audience for the first time ever. But the 3-7 p.m. king in the summer ratings, WRKO-AM's (and the Herald's) Howie Carr, dropped from a 7.1 share of that audience to 4.4 and ninth place.
What does it all mean? Stations and individual jocks that fared well get to crow about their totals for the next three months . . . and everyone ambushed by the fall ratings get to call "foul" because of the erratic results.
from: http://www.bostonherald.com/bostonherald/entr/17radiw.htm
Boston Herald
10/17/98
The summertime radio survey (July-September) is a strange bird. It carries the least clout with advertisers and the radio industry in general because the public's warm-weather listening habits have little in common with the rest of the year.
But because people spend so much time on vacation, at the beach and pursuing leisure activities, it also means there is an awful lot of radio listening going on.
There was a schizophrenic flavor to the just-released summer ratings. Among listeners aged 25-54 for example, three of the Hub's big contemporary music stations (WBCN, WBMX and WXKS) all dropped a bit. Yet, soft-rocker WMJX was up a tad and stayed at No. 1.
Oldies signal WODS was way up, along with the '70s sounds of WEGQ. But oldies were down at WROR, and the even older sounds of classical music of WCRB-FM took a hit. Country station WKLB-FM did well, and hip-hop hopped up at WJMN-FM. The talk/news at WRKO and WBZ crept up, but not the talk/sports of WEEI-AM.
See why stations get to brag if they do well in the summer but dismiss the book if they falter? It's Alice in Wonderland time.
The morning 25-54 totals continue the no-trend trend. Howard Stern (gasp!) actually dropped nearly a point, though he still was king of the hill by a long shot. WMJX was way up. Matt Segal at WXKS and John Lander at WBMX were off their game. But both Baltazar (at WJMN) and Charles Laquidara (at WZLX) generated real heat.
--snips--
WBZ-AM, WMJX-FM and Howard Stern were kings this spring.
All three were at the top of the ratings in the just-released Arbitron spring book for Boston.
Though both the WBZ and WMJX numbers dropped a little, the stations still won their key demographic races. All-news WBZ is the No. 1 station among the general audience 12 and older, while soft-rocker WMJX is the top choice with the coveted 25-54 crowd. And Stern was the first non-news choice for both groups of listeners in the morning . . . by a long shot.
The spring ratings book is the most important of the year for two reasons. First, it's the only one that really matters for the rest of '98. The summer ratings (July-September) are too out of whack with people's regular listening habits to carry a lot of weight. The fall ratings (October-December) end too late to affect the way advertisers spend their holiday season budgets.
So spring is it, and that's why stations generally pull out all the stops: big concerts, cash giveaways, wild stunts, whatever gets people to listen.
But the first rule of radio is that there are no rules, which is why a quick look at the accompanying chart shows that some stations that paid out big bucks for springtime events (WXKS-FM) actually dropped anyway and others showed little or no gain for their investment (WODS-FM, WCRB-FM). Then there are stations like WBMX-FM, WZLX-FM, and WROR-FM who stuck mostly to getting things right on the radio and showed big jumps.
And though it wasn't among the Hub's Top 10 signals, rocker WAAF-FM chalked up its best numbers ever, including a 3.0 share of the 25-54 pie, up a full point over last winter, despite losing its top-rated, controversial afternoon team Opie and Anthony in the first week of April.
They were popping the Champagne corks at WBMX last Friday when the numbers came out. The station had the perfect gift for soon-to-be new owner CBS: big totals.
It beat longtime Top 40 rival WXKS in the 25-54 race, and morning man John Lander also topped veteran WXKS personality Matt Siegel among the 25-54 group. It wasn't a huge win. Lander earned a 6.6 share of the audience to Siegel's 6.4. But it was enormous in symbolic terms. It's the first time Lander has ever beaten his rival, and a year ago Lander was at 5.2 while Siegel had a comfy 7.0. Of course, both totals pale in comparison to Stern's. Though WBZ is still first in the morning among the general audience, his 10.4 share at second is way ahead of Siegel's 6.0 at third. Stern's 25-54 numbers are just ridiculous: 12.3 to WBZ's second place 8.1.
Stern's numbers are so potent that, when averaged in with the rest of its broadcast day, he is the prime reason WBCN's overall totals are so strong.
Robin Young's totals at WBOS-FM were flat and still have not surpassed Ken Shelton's ratings there last spring. WZLX's Charles Laquidara dropped to 10th in the mornings with the 25-54 group from last spring's seventh-place showing.
Other winners this spring: WROR and its morning crew Loren and Wally, and WEGQ-FM's morning crew. Losers: WKLB-FM and WRKO-FM.
Along with all the radio Goliaths, there was a David or two this spring. They must be going wild at WXRV-FM in Haverhill. The River went from a winter 1.0 share with the 25-54 crowd to a 1.5 share this spring. In terms of sheer percentages, the suburban adult rock station had the best spring book in Greater Boston.
Thanks to Rob for these morning drive numbers...
According to Dean Johnson in the May 13th Boston Herald Howard (WBCN) is second in 12 plus with a 9.8 behind News/Talk outlet WBZ (12.7). In the 25-54 race Howard is number 1 with a 11.9.
Morning Numbers (Arbitron)
12 plus 25-54
WBZ News/Talk 12.7 WBCN Modern 11.9 Howard
WBCN Modern 9.8 Howard WBZ News/Talk 8.3
WXKS CHR 6.2 Matty WXKS CHR 6.9 Matty
WJMN CHR 6.0 Baltazar WBMX AC(Modern) 6.4 John Lander
WMJX AC 5.5 WMJX AC 6.0
WBMX AC(Modern) 4.7 John Lander WBUR NPR News 4.9
WRKO Talk 4.4 WJMN CHR 4.4 Baltazar
WEEI Sports 4.3 Imus WROR AC/Oldies 4.4 Loren and Wally
WBUR NPR News 4.2 WZLX Rock(Classic) 4.1 Charles Laquidara
WODS Oldies 3.5 WODS Oldies 3.9
According to Arbitron, WBZ (1030 AM) remains the most popular Boston station among all radio listeners ages 12 and up, despite a big drop since the fall period. Magic 106.7 (WMJX) still ruled in the race for adults aged 25 and 54 and also moved into second place among all listeners. In the morning rat race, syndicated radio champion Howard Stern remains the king of the Boston airwaves on WBCN (104.1 FM).
Elsewhere in the winter ratings, Boston's Top 40 stations had a strong showing, with Top 40/Rhythmic WJMN (94.5 FM) and Top 40/Mainstream Kiss 108 (WXKS 107.9) both enjoying gains of almost a half-point each. The presence of Stern in the morning continues to boost WBCN, who climbed to 5.5 from 5.2, and classical WCRB (102.5 FM) skyrocketed from 4.0 to 4.8.
Not all stations, however, will feel like bragging about the new ratings books. All-talk WRKO (680 AM) dipped from 6.4 to 5.7, as did oldies outlet WODS (103.3 FM), which dropped from 5.0 to 4.3. A pair of rockers also stumbled somewhat, with classic rocker The Eagle (WEGQ 93.7 FM) and the mainstream WAAF (107.3 FM) both sporting noticeable declines.
BOSTON RADIO TOP TEN STATIONS Place Station Winter Fall 1. WBZ-AM 7.9 9.4 2. WMJX-FM 6.8 6.0 3. WJMN-FM 6.6 6.2 4. WXKS-FM 6.3 5.9 5. WRKO-AM 5.7 6.4 6. WBCN-FM 5.5 5.2 7. WCRB-FM 4.8 4.0 8. WODS-FM 4.3 5.0 9. WBMX-FM 3.9 3.6 10. WEEI-AM 3.2 3.4Ratings Courtesy The Arbitron Company. All rights reserved.
Thanks to Rob for sending this:
In the February 4th Boston Herald Dean Johnson writes that Howard Stern has a 24 share on WBCN to second place's WAAF's Greg Hill's 10.7 share in men 18-34.
Sometimes a tie is really OK. So says John Ivey, the program director for WXKS-FM (107.9), whose station was tied for first with WMJX-FM (106.7) in the Arbitron ratings released yesterday that ranked stations for listeners between ages 25 and 54.
"I think this is the sixth [ratings] book that we've been in the top three, but it's great to hit No. 1," said Ivey. And he discounted the idea that the so-called summer book, in which listeners rank stations for a three-month period, July through September, is not the one that matters most to advertisers.
"Maybe it isn't thought of heavily by advertisers, but you look at the consistency," he said. "They're all important books for one reason or another."
After WXKS and WMJX, oldies station WODS-FM (103.3) ranked third among adults, followed by WBCN-FM (104.1), WROR-FM (105.7), WBZ-AM (1030), WBMX-FM (98.5) and WJMN-FM (94.5) tied, WZLX-FM (100.7), WEGQ-FM (93.7) and WBOS-FM (92.9) tied, WEEI-AM (850), and WRKO-AM (68O).
News radio WBZ, meanwhile, continued its solid hold on No. 1 among all listeners age 12 and older. The station was followed by WXKS, WJMN, WMJX, WRKO, WBCN, WODS, WCRB-FM (102.5), WBMX, and WROR.
For the "morning drive" hours - most stations' most listened-to time period - WXKS ranked first among women ages 25-54, followed by WBZ, WMJX, WROR, and WBMX. Howard Stern on WBCN commanded the most male adult listeners, followed by Don Imus on WEEI, Charles Laquidara on WZLX, then WBZ, and WODS.
During the evening hours, David Boucher on WMJX ranked first among adults, followed by David Brudnoy on WBZ and the Red Soxon WEEI. Rounding out the Top 5 were WJMN and WEGQ.
While jumping to a 8.8 share, the show is still in 2nd place.
The Howard Stern Show is in 2nd place with a 6.7 rating in the 12+ demographic.
The show has gone to a 3rd place, with a 6.4 rating in the 12+ demographic.
Maybe Howard Stern is King of All Media, as his fans claim.
His show on WBCN-FM (104.1) weekday mornings dominated his target audience of 18-to-34-year-old men in the Arbitron ratings released yesterday.[Ed: Overall, 12+, Howard was in 2nd place with a 6.6]. Stern had 17.4 percent of the male listeners in that group; Matt Siegel on WXKS-FM (107.9) ranked second with 8.6 percent and Charles Laquidara on WZLX-FM (100.7) garnered 7.4 percent. Don Imus on WEEI-AM (850) trailed in 10th place. The quarterly numbers reflect listenership for the months of June through August.
As much as Stern grabs male listeners in the morning, David Allan Boucher on WMJX-FM (106.7) wins among women at night. His "Bedtime Magic" show grabbed 13 percent of women 25 to 54, while the nearest competitor, WXKS, had just 6.8 percent.
Male listeners at night were tuned in to the Red Sox, as their flagship station WEEI ranked first, followed by David Brudnoy on WBZ-AM (1030), with Boucher, WZLX and WEGQ-FM (93.7) rounding out the top five.
Among listeners 25 to 54 all day, WMJX ranked first, followed by WXKS, WODS-FM (103.3), WZLX-FM and WBMX-FM (98.5). Among the broader category of listeners 12 and older, the top stations were WBZ, WJMN-FM (94.5), WRKO-AM (680) and WXKS-FM tied for third, and WMJX.
This story ran on page d6 of the Boston Globe on 10/10/96.
And in a recent update to the Boston situation, it would seem Howard has the last laugh after all. Take that, John Ellis. Check this out, courtesy of Clay's hard work...
From the Boston Herald-Friday, August 16, 1996:
STERN SAILS:
Shock jock Howard Stern, who didn't make the huge splash everyone expected when he went on mornings at WBCN-FM last April, is starting to move up the charts, apparently using rival Don Imus as his step stool.
In the latest ratings for May, June and July Stern went from a 5.6 to a 5.9 with audience members aged 25-54, while Imus sank from a 6.3 to a 5.0. With men over 18--the Stern-Imus heartland--Howard went to second place with an 8.1, up from 7.5 last month. Imus dropped from 9.0 to 7.9.
Thanks to Mark for this story.
The spring Arbitron ratings book for Boston has been released. According to the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, among the 25-54 age group for the 6 AM to 10 AM time slot, Howard Stern on WBCN-FM pulled a 7.9. Don Imus, on WEEI-AM pulled a 10.1. The overall winner in that time slot and age group was the man Howard replaced at 'BCN, Charles Laquidara, who last spring was moved to one of Infinity's other Boston FM stations, WZLX, to make room for Stern. Charles pulled a 10.9 in the latest book. (Ed.- The actual 12+ numbers are something like: CL - 7.1; Imus - 6.5; HS - 5.7)
The ratings period was for March, April and May. Howard did improve on WBCN's winter ratings, the last period when Laquidara was at that station, from Charles 7.6 winter rating to Stern's 7.9 spring rating.
I'll make a couple of observations: this is the first ratings period in which Howard has been on the air in the morning in Boston; Charles Laquidara is a legend in Boston radio. He's been around forever--he was on the air at WBCN when Howard was attending college at Boston University. Charles move to WZLX was highly publicized. I saw little or no promotion of Howard's move to mornings at 'BCN.
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