from BillboardRadioMonitor.com
Less than six months into its FM talk adventure, Infinity's WBUF Buffalo flips its 90,000 watt signal to "929 Jack FM."
The flip occurred just after Howard Stern's syndicated morning show ended, at around 10:30 a.m. local time.
There's no official word whether the station's legendary call letters, which date back to 1947, will remain intact. The station's talk programming was primarily of the syndicated variety.
WBUF moved from a rock/talk mix on November 29 of last year. "Having Howard Stern mornings, Don and Mike afternoons and 'Loveline' at night has been a very good combination for us, and moving to an all talk format is the natural way to go," WBUF PD John Paul told Billboard Radio Monitor at the time.
"The evolution of WBUF is complete," Paul told a local paper when the station flipped last fall.
More details as they become available.
from The Buffalo News
October 26, 2004
The Lake is rising.
WLKK-FM 107.7, in its first full Arbitron ratings book, cracked the Top 10 of local stations.
No one at Entercom Radio, which runs the Lake, or at the station, expected such high ratings in its debut, virtually unheard of for a station with a new format.
"We thought it would do well but nothing like this; it was probably the biggest debut book in Buffalo radio history," said Greg Ried, Entercom's general manager here. The Lake, which plays a blend of classic rock and alternative music, finished with a 4.3 average quarterly hour share. It was good for tenth place overall in the just-released summer ratings book.
The station had a 1.1 share in the last ratings book, when it was doing a sports/talk format as WNSA. When it became the Lake the station's ratings soared nearly 400 percent.
Hank Dole, the station's program director, said that the objective was to build ratings over the next two years to a 3.0 to 3.5. "We figured it would take two years but we did it in one book," he added. "Now it's a question of where we go from here."
The station's goal was to reach "disgruntled listeners" in the 35-54 age group, Ried said. The Lake finished fourth in the demographic for men in the 25-54 age group and is the second rated rock station in Buffalo, trailing classic rock powerhouse 97 Rock. The Lake easily beat classic rocker WBUF-FM (2.6), which is strongest in the morning with Howard Stern.
97 Rock, WGRF-FM, finished with a 6.9 overall rating, good for third place. WBEN-AM 930, a news/talk station, topped the summer ratings at 10.5, followed by country music WYRK-FM 106.5, at 10.3.
The big story, though, was the Lake.
It offers a wider variety of rock music, limits commercials to eight minutes per hour and avoids trash-talking air personalities. Sometimes it's hard to believe the Lake is a commercial station.
"We are trying to reach a lot of disenfranchised listeners out there who are tired of all the garbage we are putting on the air," Ried said. "Those people are turning to satellite or CD. We want to show there is still a place for them on radio."
The goals for the Lake were simple but revolutionary in today's corporate radio structure. Limit conversational clutter and play different music. Turn on the Lake and you could hear everything from Bob Marley to Pearl Jam.
Will big ratings kill the concept?
"Success is not going to change the Lake," Dole said. "We're not a mass appeal format. Nobody likes us but the listeners. Obviously, they wanted something different, and there is room for what we do."
One noticeable change are the personalities on the air. The station began in the spring with no live announcers. Now it has Doc Phillips, Tina Peel and Loren Hunter. Dole also said the station is determined to play more local music.
Whatever happens, "we're not going to change the principles that make the station work," Dole said. "We respect listeners and are committed to the music."
That describes the Lake formula that led to the ratings success.
"We wanted to break the rules and be different," Ried said. "For too long, everybody in the radio business has been telling people what they want. This time, we decided to listen to listeners and they told us what they want. That's what the Lake is all about."
from fmqb.com
April 29, 2004
FMQB reporterd earlier on dramatic increases for Stern stations in New York, L.A., Chicago, Boston, and Cleveland. Other stations experiencing the Stern affect* include:
FM Talker KLLI/Dallas: 2.7 (13T) - 3.9 (7)
Active Rock KISW/Seattle: 4.1 (5) - 5.7 (2T)
FM Talk WXYV/Baltimore: 3.1 (10) - 4.5 (8)
Active Rock WBZX/Columbus: 5.9 (7) - 7.2 (4)
Rock WBUF/Buffalo: 6.8 (4T) - 7.2 (4)
* Ratings cited above are 12+ morning drive, Fall to Winter.
But not all of Stern's stations trended up in the Winter. Modern Rock KITS/San Francisco slipped from fourth (4.2) to fifth (3.6) in mornings. Ditto WAQZ/Cincinnati: 3.6 (12) - 2.9 (13T).
from the Business Journal of Buffalo
February 2, 2004
No surprises sums up the most recent Arbitron ratings for the region's radio stations.
The fall book, in the 12-plus ad ratings, showed little change among the most-listened-to stations, meaning that WBEN-AM (930) remained in the top spot with a 9.3 rating followed by WYRK-FM (106.5) with a 8.8 and WGRF-FM (96.9) with a 8.2 rating. WJYE-FM (96.1) was fourth with a 7.7 rating while WTSS-FM (102.5) jumped three spots to fifth place with a 6.8 rating.
"In our case, we really are a heritage station," said Joe Chille, Infinity Broadcasting Corp. program and operations manager. Infinity local holdings include WYRK and WJYE. "WJYE has always been a strong station."
WJYE had the largest listenership gains during the fall book, gaining a 1.2 increase in rating points.
Chille attributed that to one of its new programming wrinkles, playing exclusive holiday music from just before Thanksgiving to Christmas day. That covered three of the rating period's 12 weeks.
The fall book is considered a crucial rating period for radio stations. Results help set advertising rates for the first part of the new year.
"It is what we considered an all-important radio book," said Jeff Silver, Infinity general manager.
Advertising agencies watch the numbers closely, said Patty Carroll, media director for Partners in Marketing, an Amherst-based agency whose client list includes the Seneca Niagara Casino.
"For a general buy, the ratings become more critical," she said.
Beyond the 12-plus numbers, ad agencies tend to focus in on specific formats and listening groups. For instance, in the advertising-friendly morning drive time, male (ages 25-54), Howard Stern's syndicated show on WBUF-FM (92.9) is the top show with a 14.7 share.
WBUF, on the whole, comes in 11th place with a 3.4 rating share in the more general 12-plus rankings.
"If we have a certain client who wants a certain audience, we pay closer attention to a station's format and who is listening than more general numbers," Carroll said.
That's why a lot of stations have loyal listeners. One example is WBEN, whose news-talk format attracts an older, more mature audience. Throughout the day, the station's various shows score well in the ratings.
"WBEN has been having good books for a number of years," said Greg Ried, general manager of Entercom Radio of Buffalo, which owns six local stations including WBEN. "The morning show is a significant show for us. It is topical and we're doing what people are talking about."
from the Buffalo News
April 30, 2003
Coverage of the war in Iraq helped boost WBEN-AM 930 to the top of radio's Arbitron winter radio ratings. The news/talk station finished with a 10.7 average quarterly hour share for listeners 12 and older.
The war may be over, but the battles between stations continue.
- WWKB-AM 1520 had a positive response for its return to an oldies format. The station tripled its overall rating to a 1.5 from a .5. Dan Neaverth was the big reason for KB's rise. The veteran local broadcaster, who had been off the air for almost a year, posted a 2.0 morning rating, up from KB's .5 in the last book. Although those numbers are low, they are the best for KB in recent memory.
"We didn't expect to be this high this soon," said program director Hank Nevins. "I thought we would take a little of the audience from WHTT and WECK, and that's what happened."
WHTT-FM 104.1, the dominant oldies station, fell from 6.8 to 6.1 in overall audience. WECK-AM 1230, with its middle-of-the-road format, dropped from 3.9 to 3.3.
- WKSE-FM 98.5 continues to dominate upstart CKEY-FM 101.1, in the battle for youth market. Kiss had an overall rating 7.5 while CKEY, based in Niagara Falls, Ont., 3.2. The ratings for the 18 to 34 demographic may be more telling, showing Kiss with a 16.5 share and CKEY at 5.4.
- WGRF-FM 96.9 leads the classic rock crowd with a 6.0 overall share. Although that's down nearly 25 percent from the last book, WGRF is still far ahead of competitor WBUF-FM 92.9, which posted a 2.6 share. Howard Stern's morning show remains the strength of WBUF, and he is neck and neck in morning ratings with 97 Rock's Larry Norton.
- WGR-AM 550 continues to lead the way in sports/talk, with a 1.9 overall share, compared to 1.4 by WNSA-FM 107.7.
- WYRK-FM 106.5 remains a powerhouse with its country music format. WYRK posted a 9.5 overall share, good for second place.
--snips--
from the NY Daily News
November 13, 2002
Ever wondered how many other people in America are actually listening to, say, Howard Stern at the same time you are?
Tony Sanders, who crunches national numbers for the trade publication Inside Radio, says it's around 1,490,000.
Standard radio ratings, designed for advertisers, use a figure called "cume," which is the cumulative number of persons who tune to a given show or station at some time during an average week.
That's obviously a much higher figure. The national weekly "cume" for Stern has been estimated by the trade mag Talkers at "8 million-plus."
By comparison, Rush Limbaugh is rated at 14.5 million-plus per week, Sean Hannity at 10 million-plus and Dr. Joy Browne and Imus at 5 million-plus.
The numbers of people listening to those hosts at any one time presumably are proportionate to Stern's numbers.
Stern's numbers also mean more than 10 times as many people are listening to him at any given time than are, say, watching cable news channels on television.
Sanders has also tracked Stern's ranking in all of his markets for summer 2002 - though this is just based on his share of the total audience. Like most hosts, Stern scores higher among his specific target audiences, which for him includes younger men.
Overall, Stern is No. 1 in New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Syracuse and York, Pa.
In other cities, it goes like this: Philadelphia, second; Washington, D.C., fourth; Los Angeles, seventh; Baltimore, 16th; Cleveland, second; Buffalo, fourth; Chicago, 10th; Dallas, 11th; Detroit, ninth; Hartford, sixth; Las Vegas, second; Boston, second; San Diego, third; Pittsburgh, third; Seattle, fourth; Rochester, seventh; Miami, fourth; San Francisco, fifth.
--snips--
from the Buffalo News
April 30, 2002
Urban music is up and news is down.
That in a nutshell, tells the tale of the latest Arbitron ratings for radio. The coveted Winter Book, one of the most important for advertisers, was just released and the big winner is WBLK-FM 93.7. It finished first with a 9.7 quarterly hour audience share for all listeners age 12 and over.
WBEN-AM 930, the market's only commercial news station, fell from first place to a tie for third, with a 8.9 share. That was down from an 11.1 share in the last ratings book.
WKSE-FM 98.5, a Top 40 station, finished second at 9.0, while country WYRK-FM 106.5 tied for third at 8.9. News stations have been gaining big ratings since the events of Sept. 11, but the Winter Book showed that the intense coverage of war and terrorism has subsided on radio. That hurt WBEN, which may also have suffered from negative backlash after dumping evening talk host Clip Smith.
WBLK has been on a steady rise for the past year, increasing its overall ratings by nearly 30 percent.
"It's been a great year for urban music," said Skip Dillard, program director at the station. "There's more interest in this music and my goal is to find out what listeners want and to keep giving it to them."
The station is owned by Infinity Broadcasting, which could use some good news. Infinity, a division of Viacom, reported its national revenues had dropped 4 percent in the last quarter, according to the radio Web site All Access. The company has reported declining revenues since the first quarter of 2001, but expects ad rates to rebound this year.
97 Rock, WGRF-FM 96.9, continues to fight off the challenge from WBUF-FM 92.9. WGRF finished fourth overall with a 7.3 share, well ahead of WBUF's 3.2.
Despite the high-profiles of WBUF trash jocks Howard Stern in the morning and Opie and Anthony in the afternoon, 97 Rock finished first in the 25-54 demographic with a 11.1 share. WBUF came in ninth at 4.3, down from 4.8 in the last book. But WBUF does show strength in morning and afternoon drive and with male demographics, especially in the 18-34 age range.
Other ratings highlights:
The sports battle between WGR-AM 550 and WNSA-FM 107.7 is a virtual tie for overall listeners 12 and over. WGR finished at 2.0, down from 2.8 in the last book, while WNSA came in with a 1.9 share, the same as last time.
Local radio legend Danny Neaverth, who was let go by Oldies WHTT-FM 104.1 last month, finished sixth in overall audience for morning drive in his last book with a 6.1 share. WBEN remains the most listened to morning show, with a 13.4 share, followed by WYRK at 9.4 and WBLK at 8.8.
from the Buffalo News
January 18, 2002
The terrorist crisis and war in Afghanistan helped propel news/talk WBEN-AM 930 to the top of local radio ratings.
WBEN finished first with an 11.1 average quarterly hour audience share in the Arbitron fall ratings released this week. It was nearly a 33 percent increase from the station's last book and well ahead of Top 40 station WKSE-FM 98.5, which came in second with an 8.8 share.
"People want news, especially now, and we give it to them," said Greg Reid, general manager for the station owned by Entercom Communications of Philadelphia.
The Buffalo Bills, meanwhile, not only proved to be losers on the field, but the football team also did little to help WGRF-FM 96.9, which pays a bundle for Bills broadcasting rights. 97 Rock finished in fifth place overall with a 7.4 quarterly hour share, down from 7.8 in the summer and 8.7 from last fall.
Despite WBEN's big numbers, rumors concerning its early morning news show and Dr. Laura Schlessinger's future persist at the station.
The appetite for news may jeopardize Dr. Laura's show, heard weekday mornings at 9 a.m. She has been dropped by some news/talk stations around the country and while Reid denied the program will be shelved, he did say it depends on audience demand.
"We have to sit down and evaluate how much of the day we should give to news coverage," Reid said.
The other persistent rumor is that Tom Bauerle, trash-talking morning host at Entercom sports station WGR-AM 550, will move to mornings at WBEN.
The station fired Bill Lacy last summer and never replaced him in the mornings. Reid admitted to hearing about the Bauerle rumor, but when asked if the move will be made, he said, "No." Newscasters John Zach and Susan Rose currently host the morning news program.
It could cause a credibility problem to put the controversial Bauerle in a major role at the news station.
97 Rock continues in a battle with raunchy classic rocker WBUF-FM 92.9. Howard Stern in the morning, along with Opie and Anthony in the afternoon, haven't pushed WBUF close to 97 Rock, but the station finished with a 3.8 overall share, up from 3.4 in the last book.
In the 25-54 age demographic, 97 Rock finished first at 10.8, while WBUF was in fifth place at 4.8.
Kiss 98.5 remains the top-ranked overall music station in the market and also dominates the 18-34 audience with a 15.4 share, ahead of the 13.7 posted by urban station WBLK-FM 93.7. WGR-AM continues to lead WNSA-FM 107.7 in the quest for sports listeners. WGR came in with a 2.8 overall share, while WNSA posted a 1.9.
from the Buffalo News
October 22, 2001
The latest Arbitron radio ratings show some surprising results:
WKSE-FM 98.5 (Kiss 98) topped the overall audience ratings for listeners 12 and older, for the first time in a decade.
WEDG-FM 103.3 posted its best numbers in more than a year, despite the fact that Rich Wall left as program director earlier this month.
WBUF-FM 92.9 actually lost overall audience and stayed flat in the 18 to 34 demographic, despite the addition of Howard Stern.
WGR-AM 550 rebounded from a weak previous book and doubled the overall rating of sports/talk rival WNSA-FM 107.7 FM.
This is Arbitron's summer book, and radio listening generally declines during vacation time for workers and students. Also, the local audience demand for news and sports is not as great in the summer as the rest of the year.
But the showing of Kiss 98 was impressive, leading all other stations with a 9.3 average quarterly hour audience share. WYRK-FM 106.5, a country station, was second at 9.0 after finishing first in a previous ratings book. All-news WBEN-AM 930 came in third at 8.3.
"It took 10 years but we finally got back to No. 1," said Dave Universal, WKSE program director of the Top 40 station.
Universal said the ratings show that 250,000 people listened to Kiss 98 during an average week over the summer. "I just had a gut feeling that our strategy was working, we wanted to do a lot of promotion and get visibility on the street," Universal said.
The station seemed to be everywhere during the summer months, promoting events and air personalties such as Janet Snyder and night-time host DJ Anthony. Snyder finished third among morning shows with an 8.8 share. All-news WBEN topped the overall morning ratings with a 13.4. and WYRK was second at 8.9.
Rich Wall may be missed at WEDG. The Edge's alternative music format overall ratings jumped nearly 20 percent, and the station also enjoyed a similar ratings spike in the 18-34 demographic, finishing with a 10.7 share, up from 8.9. Wall said he left the station for personal reasons.
Howard Stern, meanwhile, didn't give much of a boost to WBUF. The station's overall morning drive ratings, for listeners 12 and over, actually declined, from 6.4 to 6.1.
WBUF stayed flat in the overall 18 to 34 demographic at 6.0 and fell to 5.0 from 5.5 in the 25 to 54 demo. 97 Rock, WGRF-FM 96.9, paced the 25 to 54 ratings with an 11.6 share.
The battle for sports/talk continues to be a roller coaster ride. WNSA slumped to a 1.2, down from a 3.0 share in the last book. A lack of Buffalo Sabres hockey games had to hurt WNSA, while WGR climbed from 1.8 to 2.4.
from Business First of Buffalo
July 27, 2001
Stern, the sometimes controversial New York-based talk show host, is making the most of his second go-around in Buffalo radio. According to the Spring 2001 Arbitron Co. ratings book, Stern's presence has taken WBUF (92.9) from an also-ran to near the top of the ratings pack.
WBUF brought Stern back to Buffalo in late February, using him as the cornerstone for its rock-orientated format and clearly taking aim at traditional radio powerhouses WGRF-FM (96.9) and its sister station, WEDG-FM (103.3).
In the advertiser-friendly, adult 25-54 morning drive time bracket, Stern took WBUF from a 3.8 share in the Spring 2000 book to a 9 share in the just released Arbitron book.
"It doesn't surprise me," said Tom Bolling, CEO of Wolf Group New York-Buffalo, the region's largest advertising agency. "Howard Stern has got an amazing track record. He delivers what he says he is going to deliver."
Stern, during a March 1 press conference, said he thought it would take an Arbitron ratings book or two to overtake WGRF and WEDG, his principal local rivals.
"I've won everywhere else," he said during the conference.
WGRF also saw its ratings rise, going from an 11.2 share to a 12.6 share, but the biggest hits were absorbed by CILQ-FM (107.1), the Toronto station whose signal is picked up in Buffalo and has been carrying Stern for the past five years and by WEDG. CILQ went from a 4.1 share to a 0.6 share while WEDG dropped from a 6.1 share to a 4.7 share.
Morning drive time ratings are considered critical in advertising circles because many feel that is a station's true strength. Morning drive time often carries listeners throughout the day.
In the more advertiser specific, 25-54 male morning drive time slot, Stern took WBUF from a 3 share last year to a 12.3 share in the Spring Arbitron book.
Before the change, WBUF was programming a dancing oldies format.
In that same category, WGRF also rose from a 14.8 share to a 17.4 share while CILQ dropped from a 6.6 share to a 0.9 share and WEDG fell from a 9.2 share to a 6.6 share.
"The ratings speak for themselves," said Jeff Silver, WBUF vice president and general manager. "The listeners love it and the advertisers love it. Whether you love or hate Howard Stern, you have to recognize just how big he is."
WGRF, in the 12-plus full week ratings, saw its numbers increase from a 13.1 share to a 14 share. WBUF went from a 3.5 share to a 3.8 share, a number that further validates Stern's drawing power.
"Even with a direct competitor, we are extremely excited by the total week numbers," said John Hagar, Citadel Communications operations manager.
Citadel owns WGRF, WEDG and WHTT-FM.
from the Buffalo News
July 26, 2001
It didn't take long for Howard Stern to make a ratings impact for WBUF-FM 92.9.
The aging shock jock, in his first full local Arbitron book, led the classic rock station to its best morning numbers in recent history. The just-released spring ratings show that Stern topped all others in the 18-34 age demographic, with a 14.6 average quarter hour share for morning drive. That was up from a 4.6 in the previous ratings book.
Also, Stern showed ratings muscle in the age 25-54 morning drive demographic, finishing in third place at 9.0, up from 4.9. WGRF-FM 96.9, WBUF's long established classic rock rival, came in first at 12.6, followed by country music station WYRK-FM 106.5, which posted a 10.1 share.
WYRK topped the overall ratings for listeners 12 and over with a 10.2 share. WBEN-AM 930, which led the previous winter ratings with a 10.0 share, fell to second place at 9.4. WGRF came in third overall at 8.7, followed by WKSE-FM 98.5 at 8.4 and WJYE-FM 96.1 at 7.8. WBUF, thanks to Stern, boosted its overall ratings from 2.8 to 3.8.
Stern bombed in Buffalo during the mid-'90s when his nationally syndicated show was broadcast on the old WKBW-AM 1520. Now, Stern has become much more established and found a home with a younger audience at an FM rocker.
"Howard was buried on an AM station," said Jeff Silver, general manager and vice president of CBS radio, which owns WBUF. "Younger people don't listen to AM but they found him on FM. We're very happy."
Silver, who signed a five-year deal with Stern earlier this year, believes the performer will maintain high numbers. "We think Howard will have a long-term impact in this market, like he has in other cities."
The other major ratings story was the overall growth of WNSA-FM 107.7 in its ongoing battle with rival sports/talk station WGR-AM 550. WNSA, which was helped by broadcasting Buffalo Sabres playoff games, posted a 3.0 overall share, up from 1.4 in the last book. WGR fell from 3.3 to a 1.8 overall in the current book.
--snips--
July 26, 2001
Some Buffalo ratings from a Howard fan...
Stern is #1 p18-35 (14.6) p12+ (6.4) p18-49 (10.5) p25-54 (9.0) m25-54 (12.3) w25-54 (5.0)
Howard - Bauerle/Bulldog 12+ 2.6 - 1.7 18-34 4.7 - 1.5 18-49 3.5 - 2.1 25-54 3.1 - 2.3 M25-54 5.1 - 3.4
Sporting news / Art - Bob / Ann (Jim Rome) 12+ 1.9 - 2.4 18-34 4.3 - 2.9 18-49 2.9 - 2.8 25-54 2.2 - 2.9 M25-54 3.6 - 4.9
Schopp - Dickerson (This is big for Schopp. #3 in men 25-54) 12+ 4.1 - 2.1 18-34 7.3 - 1.6 18-49 5.7 - 2.1 25-54 5.1 - 2.2 M25-54 8.5 - 3.5 W25-54 1.1 - .6
Zig / Sabres - Riter
12+ 6.7 - 1.3
18-34 10.2 - 1.2
18-49 9.4 - 1.6
25-54 8.8 - 1.6
M25-54 12.8 - 2.3 (WHTT's best numbers for sabres 8.4.
This is also Hockey Hotline w/ Mike Robetie)
W25-54 3.2 - .6
This has to be anonymous due to the source.
Give me your thoughts, but this seems like a pretty big victory over WGR and good over all considering the talk format on FM and the upward climb from the country format. It has been along time since listeners have tuned to 107.7, and with people being creatures of habit...... tough to change listening habits.
from the Buffalo News
May 4, 2001
Country music took a hit, news and talk rose to the top, and it's too early to gauge Howard Stern's return on local Arbitron radio ratings.
WBEN-AM 930 continued its impressive numbers with a news/talk format, finishing first in the recently released winter book with a 10.0 average quarter hour share for listeners over the age of 12.
"We're very happy about it," said Greg Ried, the station's general manager. "We had a 10.0 share in the last book, and we've done it again. It's hard to get double digits two books in a row."
WYRK-FM, which had topped the fall ratings book, fell to fourth place overall with an 8.5 share. That's down from a 10.5 in the previous book and comes after the country station fired its program director, Rusty Carr, in February despite those impressive numbers.
Stern came back to Buffalo in March at WBUF-FM 92.9, but had only one month in the winter book, which includes January and February. The station switched to a classic rock format but actually dropped in overall audience, from 3.3 to 2.8.
But Jeff Silver, general manager and vice president of CBS radio, which owns WBUF, said the next ratings book will tell the impact of Stern's morning show. "In the last month, we saw a significant increase in morning ratings for Howard," Silver said, noting that the increase was among listeners in the 18-34 age demographic and also those 25-54.
Despite the new competition, classic rocker WGRF-FM 96.9 shows no signs of slowing down.
The station came in third overall with an 8.7 share, the same as the last ratings book. Also, 97 Rock finished first in the 25-54 age group, with a 13.1 share. WYRK was second in that group at 9.9, down from 12.5 in the fall book, while WJYE-FM 96.1 came in third at 8.8 for its light vocals format.
WKSE-FM 98.5 showed strong audience gains. Kiss, which features a contemporary hits format, came in second in overall audience with a 9.1 share, up from 8.0. That means Kiss is the most-listened-to music station in this market.
"That was our best (overall) share in nine years," said Dave Universal, the station's program director. Kiss finished first in the 18-34 demographic with a 16.2 share, up from 13.1, and was fifth in the 25-54 age group with a 6.8 share, up from 6.3.
It looks like WGR-AM 550 is winning the battle of the all-sports stations with WNSA-FM 107.7.
WGR posted a 3.4 overall share, up from 2.8 in the last book. WNSA stayed flat with a 1.4 overall share.
Static: Billy Vote has joined the WKSE morning team. Vote says in his bio that he worked as a White House intern during the Clinton years. Vote succeeds Nicolas Picholas, who left Kiss in February and is now hosting a morning show at a Toronto station.
from the Buffalo News - Financial Edition
April 4, 2001
KEVIN J. SUPKOSKI
Fredonia
[Ed. - a sad cammentary from someone blaming the other guy...time for you to return to the Dr. Laura show, Mr. Smith.]
from the Buffalo News - Financial Edition
March 22, 2001
It is an equally sad commentary that the Federal Communications Commission cannot regulate what is being heard on many stations. Radio entertainment does not have to be this way. Listeners deserve better.
ARTHUR J. SMITH
Buffalo
from the Buffalo News
March 6, 2001
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., and radio shock jock Howard Stern have little in common, but in the past week both of them were involved with the use of the controversial N-word on nationally broadcast programs.
It's a sign that what may be the last public language taboo - the use of racial and ethnic slurs - is beginning to fade.
Such epithets were never included in comedian George Carlin's list of seven dirty words, but over the past few years have become much more common in public discourse.
Some recent examples:
-- Byrd used the term "white n-----" twice Sunday during an interview on the television show, "Fox News Sunday."
Byrd, 83, is the Senate's senior Democrat and has been in Congress for 43 years. He later apologized for using the term.
-- Howard Stern made his Buffalo radio debut last week on WBUF-FM 92.9. During his opening show, a caller phoned and derided black people, using the "N" word numerous times. The word was not bleeped out by Stern's New York studio and was broadcast all over the country, including Buffalo.
The local station would not comment, but it is owned by Infinity Broadcasting, which also runs WBLK-FM 93.7, one of the first black FM stations in the country and a historic radio outlet in the African-American community.
--"The Sopranos," one of the most popular and honored television series on HBO, regularly uses ethnic and racial slurs in dialogue among the cast of characters.
-- Eminem became one of the most popular recording artists in the world by using epithets so offensive they can't be printed in a family newspaper.
Eminem's recent performance on the nationally televised Grammy Awards show included several words that were bleeped by the network, but also had other controversial words that were not bleeped out.
Though such language may still be shocking, it is becoming more common.
"Language by itself is not intrinsically evil," said Peter Siedlecki, an English professor at Daemen College. "But someone like Eminem exploits language for its shock value."
The problem is compounded when a figure of public stature like a U.S. senator - uses such words on national television.
"There are a lot of white n------," he said on Fox. "I've seen a lot of white n------ in my time. I'm going to use that term," Byrd said Sunday in response to a question about race relations.
Byrd issued an apology after the program: "The phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today's society. As for my language, I had no intention of casting aspersions on anyone of another race."
That wasn't enough to totally satisfy Kweisi Mfume, president of the NAACP, who told Associated Press that Byrd's remarks were "both repulsive and revealing."
"The fact (Byrd) felt comfortable enough on nationwide TV to refer to any group in that manner suggests that any progress he has made on race is relative," Mfume was quoted as saying.
It all comes down to the context of language.
"It's still a matter of taste," Siedlecki said. "We can respond to this kind of language on a logical level and, intellectually, you can defend it.
"But we also respond to it on a personal level, and that's when it is more shocking, especially with someone like Byrd. We don't expect him to talk like that."
Howard Stern comes with a different set of expectations.
"He takes advantage of language to play adolescent games," Siedlecki said.
Stern is not the only problem. Today, radio is populated by a host of shock jocks and sports talk hosts who regularly use crude language.
"I'm very open-minded but I can't believe what I'm hearing on the radio," said Harv Moore, who used to be a morning rock jock himself.
He was co-host, with Robert Taylor, of the Taylor and Moore program, which ran from 1979 to 1989 on the old WPHD-FM.
They relied on double-entendre and wit, something that seems outdated in these harsh times.
The fact is that today's public language discourse demands different standards.
But Byrd's sin may be that he misunderstood those standards. Not everything we say and think in private is appropriate on the national airwaves, even in an era of entertainment defined by the likes of Howard Stern and Eminem.
We have become so saturated with locker room and street talk over our airwaves that attacking someone's race, gender and sexual preference is turning into an accepted form of entertainment.
The sad fact is that the line between entertainment and bigotry is shrinking.
from the Buffalo News
February 27, 2001
Howard Stern made his debut at WBUF-FM 92.9 on Monday with a little bit of Buffalo bashing.
The highly-paid shock jock, who signed a five-year deal last week with WBUF, insinuated this is a hick town area suffering from anti-Semitism.
"It's not America up there," Stern chortled at one point during the morning show.
"It's not even New York," shot back Robin Quivers, part of Stern's morning team.
Later, Stern added in a sarcastic tone of voice, "We are now officially the morning show of New York State, thanks to being on in Buffalo. I have been dying to be on in Buffalo."
He then told a story of his only trip to Buffalo back in Stern's college days at Boston University, nearly two decades ago.
"We were going up to Buffalo from Boston and I went with three of my most drug-addicted friends," Stern said on the air. "We got stopped by the police, we were doing about 90 miles an hour."
Stern said he and another friend were forced to stand by the side of the road while two others were taken to a judge's home by a cop.
"They were pulled off into what appeared to be Andy of Mayberry's home," Stern said, as country music played in the background." He claimed that the judge "fleeced" his friends because they were Jewish and from New York City.
That's not the kind of Buffalo boost Infinity Broadcasting, owner of WBUF, was hoping for when it signed Stern and last Friday switched the station's format from Dancin' Oldies to Classic Rock.
But knocking a new market is typical Stern.
"He likes to come in to a new city and say outrageous things," said Joe Gow, director of communications studies at Alfred University who has extensively written about pop culture and music. "His show is all about controversy."
Stern, whose previous local gig ended in ratings failure during the mid-'90s at WKBW-AM 1520, is also heard on Toronto's CILQ-FM 107.1.
Infinity, which has turned WBUF into a kind of black hole of failed music formats, was desperate to increase the station's ratings.
WBUF is now in a radio war with 97 Rock, a longtime ratings powerhouse. Not to mention CILQ, which still broadcasts Stern.
"There are three reasons we made this change: Howard Stern and Howard Stern and Howard Stern," said Jeff Silver, vice president/general manager for Infinity in Buffalo. He might have listed three more reasons: male demographics, male demographics and male demographics.
Silver is aiming for males 20 to 40 years old, who like Stern's brand of raunchy humor and off-color language. Stern had been racking up respectable numbers for males in Buffalo with those listening to the Toronto station.
WBUF debuted a playlist over the weekend heavy on such classic rock radio staples as Led Zeppelin, the Who, Eric Clapton and Queen. Younger acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Verve Pipe were also played.
The station, however, is not about classic rock, but Howard Stern. He will be on weekdays from 6 to 11 a.m.
No one at 97 Rock would comment about its new competitor, but Silver was talking tough about going after Larry Norton in the morning at WGRF-FM, and the Shredd and Ragan morning team at alternative rocker WEDG-FM 103.3.
Both those morning programs have dominated male listeners for rock music in this market.
"But they've never had any competition before," Silver said. "Clearly, we're going after 97 Rock and the Edge in the morning."
When asked if Stern can top the local announcers in ratings, Silver replied: "Without a doubt."
During the past six years, WBUF has gone through such formats as Smooth Jazz, Alternative (Alice) and Dancin' Oldies. Each started off strong but eventually sank in the ratings.
WBUF finished in 11th place overall with a 3.3 average quarterly hour share in the lastest Arbitron fall ratings book. 97 Rock was third with an 8.7 share. In the 25 to 54 demographic, for morning shows, WBUF, 4.3, barely beat Toronto's CILQ, 4.0, while 97 Rock was 11.4 and the Edge 4.8.
Another factor for Infinity, which owns five stations in this market, is that it doesn't want to compete against itself. Dancin Oldies may have taken listeners away from Infinity's WBLK-FM 93.7's Urban Contemporary format. Alice was a soft alternative sound and may have hurt WJYE-FM 96.1, a light vocal station also owned by Infinity.
"No matter what they tried at WBUF, they always wound up with a 3 share of the audience," said Tom Schuh, former program director at WHTT-FM. Overall, Schuh believes Stern "will do pretty well but I don't think he will beat the local, high-profile morning shows here."
Gow agreed.
"I think Stern will probably be like the XFL; he'll get a lot of attention and ratings in the beginning but after awhile the audience will drop off and he'll just get his main fans."
Silver would not say how much Stern is being paid by WBUF. One radio source estimated it is at least $250,000 a year, and the contract is guaranteed for five years.
Money may not be an issue, but controversy, language and subject matter could be a problem for WBUF with Stern.
On his program Monday, one man called into Stern's show and repeatedly used a racial slur. Other topics included sexual organs, and the arrest of a previous Stern guest for running a prostitution service.
Still, Silver isn't worried about the content of Stern's program.
"Howard is no more controversial than anything else you would find on the Buffalo radio dial," he said.
from FMQB.com
February 26, 2001
"It's Rock and Howard Stern," 'BUF GM Jeff Silver told fmqb. "Hopefully that whole seven share flipped over to us this morning." Silver is referring to the seven shares of Men 18-34 and Men 25-54 that Stern pulls in Buffalo via CILQ (Q107)/Toronto. Stern's arrival on WBUF's airwaves marks his return to a proper Buffalo signal after a failed go-round on WWKB-AM.
WBUF PD John Paul remains in place. There is no local airstaff at this point. Here's what the station (formerly "B92.9, Buffalo's Dancin' Oldies") played following Stern's debut show: Lynyrd Skynyrd "Sweet Home Alabama," Creed "My Own Prison," Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here," The Doors "Love Her Madly," Ozzy Osbourne "Crazy Train," Eric Clapton "After Midnight," Supertramp "Breakfast In America," Led Zeppelin "All Of My Love," BTO "Let It Ride," and Stone Temple Pilots "Interstate Love Song." Currents, such as Dave Matthews Band "I Did It," U2 "Walk On," and 3 Doors Down "Loser" have been popping up in rotation.
WBUF started stunting on Thursday night (2/22) by playing a sample of Queen's "We Will Rock You" famous hand claps, with a personality called Crazy Jeff ranting in between loops. The object of WBUF’s not so affectionate rants has been crosstown rocker, Citadel's WGRF (97Rock). Among the on-air taunts: "I need a barf bag when I listen to your station! Man, you guys suck." "Let’s face it, Buffalo needed a real Rock station," and "The better Rock station, no burned out disc jockeys." Also getting the abusive treatment were 97Rock morning man Larry Norton, middayer Anita West, and night jock Tom Tiberi, who Crazy Jeff said "looks like he smoked about 50 pounds of pot before he had his picture taken." Rock music, which hasn't been heard on the long-lived WBUF call letters since it dropped its Rock format in 1980, returned as of Friday (2/23) at noon when the A-Z of Rock was launched.
-Michael Parrish
from North East Radio Watch
February 26, 2001
*It's gone from AC to smooth jazz to modern AC to rhythmic oldies -- and now Buffalo's WBUF (92.9) has come full circle to the rock format they last had more than twenty years ago.
The Infinity-owned station abruptly killed off its "Dancin' Oldies" format and "B92.9" nickname on Thursday, slipping into a day of stunting with Queen's "We Will Rock You" and taunts against Citadel's "97 Rock" (WGRF 96.9) before relaunching Friday (2/23) at noon with Genesis' "Abacab" (not, as the Buffalo News had it, "Turn It On Again"!)
The new "Rock 92" brings Howard Stern back to the Buffalo airwaves half a decade after his less-than-successful stint on WWKB (1520), filling the rest of the day with a mix of rock tunes that seems, thus far, to lean rather heavily towards the 80s. (Buffalo listeners have had access to Stern for the last few years through Toronto's CILQ, Q107, for whatever that's worth...)
The changes at WBUF give some competition to Citadel's rock cluster of WGRF and modern WEDG (103.3) for the first time in years; it was probably inevitable that some kind of change would come to 92.9 after a Fall book that landed it at the bottom of the Buffalo FM barrel, behind even little WECK 1230 in the 12+ numbers.
--snips--
from the Buffalo News
February 24, 2001
Starting Monday, Stern's syndicated morning show will air on the new "92 Rock," which signed on Friday with the Genesis song "Turn it On Again" and a classic-rock format eager to erode the ratings of the market's perennial leader, WGRF-FM, 97 Rock.
This marks Stern's second attempt to crack the Buffalo radio market. In January 1993, WWKB began airing his morning show only to garner dismal ratings. He was replaced in January 1996 with syndicated country programming.
Stern resurfaced on the FM dial in the summer of 1997, at Toronto's longtime classic-rock station CILQ (Q-107). His ratings since have been better, though uneven, reflecting a pattern that still finds Stern No. 1 in New York, for example, but slipping in Los Angeles and elsewhere, according to the Arbitron ratings.
Whether Stern can make a dent in Buffalo rock radio's coveted adult demographics by coming at listeners from both ends of the dial - 92.9 and 107.1 - remains to be seen.
- Lauri Githens
February 23, 2001
I've heard through the grapevine that Howard will be coming to Infinity's "92-9 WBUF Buffalo's Rock Station."
The station just flipped formats from "dancin" oldies at noon today.
Thanks to robk for sending this story in...
from fmqb.com
February 23, 2001
from Buffalo Business First
February 23, 2001
Breaking News
As part of the format change, popular syndicated radio host Howard Stern will be returning to the Buffalo airwaves. Stern's show, which was previously aired on the former WKBW-AM, will make its local debut on Monday. His show has aired for several years from Toronto.
"Howard Stern is a giant and a living legend," said Jeff Silver, WBUF vice president and general manager.
Back to Ratings
This page © 2001-2005 by The Complete Howard Stern Links!