from The Detroit News
Howard Stern has now broadcast for a full week on Sirius Satellite Radio, and despite all the media hoopla, the world as we know it spins on in the starry cosmos.
It might be a good time for us to point out that in Detroit (and several other markets, such as Minneapolis), Stern was not the king of all media.
The fall Arbitron ratings released Thursday showed that in the overall 12 plus age group, even with Stern's show, his Detroit station WKRK-FM (97.1) ranked only No. 15 in the market, with a 2.7 share.
He did best in the 18-54 age group, ranking No. 5, but that still lagged behind WRIF-FM's Drew and Mike (No. 1), WKQI-FM's Mojo in the Morning (No. 2), WJLB-FM's Serch in the Morning (No. 3) andWMXD-FM's Steve Harvey show (No. 4).
So as the book closes on this first week of Stern unleashed and uncensored, how has life changed as we know it?
1. Fewer annoying Stern complaints about the FCC. Now Stern has to find other things to complain about, notably the early buzzing in his headphones; the lack of time, with fewer commercials, for food or bathroom breaks; and how badly his replacement David Lee Roth is doing.
2. Pirate radio is rebroadcasting Stern on FM. It's ironic, considering Stern's history with the FCC, that pirate radio stations in Brooklyn and Queens are apparently rebroadcasting Stern's satellite show on the FM airwaves. "Pirate" stations operate on the ever-shrinking empty parts of the dial, as someone with a couple hundred dollars worth of equipment can broadcast from his or her basement, unless and until the FCC shuts them down. Unless Sirius gets to them first.
3. Sirius for your Rolls. Sirius announced last week that its radios will be packed into all Rolls Royces sold in the United States as standard equipment. We like the image of Rolls owners being able to listen to Fartman, Beetlejuice and other Stern regulars while gliding down the highway in a silvery Phantom.
4. Stern is once again being Stern. If you like Stern's shtick, you were able to finally hear favorite bits such as the sexually explicit Pat O'Brien voicemails unbleeped. You could also hear Cleft Palate asking a Playboy bunny some sexually explicit questions -- if you could understand him.
5. No more accidental encounters. If you don't like Stern, it's much harder for your toddler to tune in to a porn star relating exactly what she'd do to Howard unless you subscribe to Sirius, and you'd have to have the channel set to 100.
The Winter 2005 Arbitron isn’t one Howard Stern is likely to boast about – at least as far as his top three markets go. The syndicated morning man’s 12+ ratings are down in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, according to Arbitron ratings released April 25.
On his Infinity-owned WXRK (K-Rock) New York flagship, Stern fell from a first place 7.0 to a second place 6.4 in the Winter, unseated by "El Vacilón de la Mañana" on Spanish Broadcasting System’s WSKQ (La Mega).
In Los Angeles, Stern slid from a fourth place tie in the Fall (4.6) to finish sixth in the Winter (3.9) on Infinity FM Talk KLSX. And Stern managed only a 2.2 on Infinity FM Talk WCKG Chicago, ranked 16th. That’s down from a 3.0 in the Fall, when he tied for 12th place.
Stern is also down in Detroit (3.2-2.7 on Infinity’s WKRK) and in San Diego (4.9-3.2 on Infinity’s KPLN).
However, in Stern’s Philadelphia stronghold, he gained share (8.7-9.0) on Infinity’s WYSP, remaining in second place. And Stern improved his Boston market position on Infinity’s WBCN, from third in the Fall (5.4) to second in the Winter (6.6).
from the Detroit Free Press
April 27, 2005
ABC-owned news-talk station WJR-AM is back in familiar territory -- on top among all radio listeners, according to figures for the first quarter of 2005 released Tuesday by Arbitron.
How did WJR do it? The station's morning show with Paul W. Smith and one hour of Frank Beckmann was third in the 6-10 a.m. morning race with a 6.9; Beckmann and Rush Limbaugh were No. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a 8.2 mark. From 3 to 7 p.m., Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and an hour of news were tied for sixth with a 4.5. From 7 p.m. to midnight, Sean Hannity and Dr. Laura Schlessinger were fifth with a 5.5 mark.
The first quarter was also kind to Infinity-owned oldies player WOMC-FM . Its second-place finish was rare for winter; the station usually crests during the summer.
As expected, the fourth quarter 2004 leader, Clear Channel's WNIC, dropped to ninth place after its sky-high ratings for nonstop holiday music in November and December were rotated out of the computation.
In other time slot races, WRIF's Drew Lane and Mike Clark led the morning pack with a 7.8 score. Infinity-owned WWJ's Joe Donovan and Roberta Jasina were second with a 7.5. Following the third-place Smith was WOMC's Dick Purtan with a 6.3. Syndicated star Tom Joyner at Clear Channel's WMXD rounded out the top five with a 5.7.
In afternoon drive, Sandy Kovach on Infinity-owned WVMV was on top with a 5.1, followed by a 4.9 tie between Frankie Darcell at WMXD and Tom Ryan at WOMC.
WJLB's Bushman was tied for fourth with WWJ's Jayne Bower and Bill Stevens with a 4.8 to round out the top 5 in that time slot.
In the ad-friendly age 25-54 listener derby, WMXD was No. 1 with a 6.2; WRIF was second with a 6.0, WVMV third with a 5.1, and Infinity's country WYCD fourth with a 4.7.
WRIF's Lane and Clark maintained their large listenership with this 25-54 group, scoring a 10.3 (although that was down from the 11.0 they tallied in 2004's final quarter).
from the Detroit Free Press
July 21, 2004
The second quarter statistics for radio listening released Tuesday came mostly as a surprise to Detroit's six Infinity-owned radio stations.
That's because rating provider Arbitron and Infinity didn't renew their contract, so Infinity can't legally use its rating data. This story may well be the company's first glimpse at how it did over the last three months.
That said, one of the headlines involves Infinity morning star Howard Stern, heard in Detroit on Infinity's WKRK-FM (97.1). Stern, apparently benefiting from the spring Federal Communications Commission fining of his show for violating content standards in Detroit and several other markets, surged into fifth place in the age 25-54 demographic with 5.4 percent of listeners, up from 3.3 percent in the first quarter of 2004. That appears to be his best Detroit performance in that audience segment ever.
Infinity news-provider WWJ rebounded to second overall (see chart) after dropping to a tie for fourth place in the first quarter.
ABC-owned WJR kept the overall crown due to strong general listenership for Paul W. Smith, Frank Beckmann, Rush Limbaugh and at night for Sean Hannity and Dr. Laura.
Greater Media's FM triumvirate of rocker WRIF, classic rocker WCSX and soft rocker WMGC continued to dominate in the age 25-54 sector, especially in the morning. Clear Channel's WMXD syndicated morning star Tom Joyner did sneak into third place in the 25-54 morning race, knocking CSX's Jim Johnson and Lynne Woodison to fourth. WRIF's Drew & Mike dropped from a 12.6 to an 11.9 in the 25-54 derby but still led WMGC's Jim Harper by 5.1.
from the Detroit Free Press
June 23, 2004
Tuesday's Arbitrend radio ratings for March-April-May were largely the opposite of last month's.
That means most of the stations in the top 10 that dropped listeners seemed to have regained them.
ABC-owned news-talker WJR-AM continued to lead among all listeners with a 5.7 percent chunk.
Frank Beckmann's performance as the station's new 9-11:30 a.m. voice looked good. It combined with Rush Limbaugh's noon-3 p.m. show for a 7.1 mark, setting the pace in the 10 a.m.-3 p.m. category.
The most interesting ratings numbers came from deeper examination and different demographics.
For example: Greater Media's FM troika of rocker WRIF, classic rocker WCSX and soft rocker WMGC held down the top three places in the age 25-54 demographic, a group many advertisers crave.
WRIF's 6.5, WCSX's 6.4 and WMGC's 5.0 give the ownership block a healthy 17.9 percent of that listener group.
In the age 25-54 morning race, WRIF's Drew & Mike dropped from a 13.1 to a 12.2 but still had a healthy lead over WMGC's Jim Harper and WCSX's Jim Johnson/Lynne Woodison (plus one hour of Karen Savelly), who tied for second place with a 6.8.
Also noteworthy was a surge at WKRK-FM by syndicated star Howard Stern. Stern scored a 3.3 and an 11th rank in the first quarter. But he has since surged to a 4.6 in Tuesday's report, good for fifth place.
Beleagured sports talker WXYT finally appeared to get some oomph from Tiger baseball broadcasts. The station scored a 2.8 among all listeners from 7-midnight, the station's best-rated time period. But overall, it had a 1.6, good for 22nd place.
from the Detroit Free Press
May 26, 2004
Shorn of their more risque material by the Federal Communications Commission crackdown on sexual and excretory content, WRIF-FM (101.1) morning team Drew Lane and Mike Clark nonetheless stretched their lead as morning radio kings in the latest Arbitrend monthly snapshot released Tuesday.
Lane and Clark, who've expanded to television via a regular Wednesday vignette on Fox Sports Net Detroit's 10 p.m. sports wrap-up show, had a 9.0 rating among listeners age 12 and older, a 2.1 point lead over second-place WWJ-AM with newscasters Joe Donovan and Roberta Jasina.
But in the key 25-54 age demographic, the boys lured a massive 13.1 percent of the audience, 7.1 points better than No. 2 soft-rocker WMGC-FM with Jim Harper.
WRIF and WMGC are owned by Greater Media, and the company's third Detroit station, WCSX-FM with eye-openers Jim Johnson and Lynne Woodison from 6-9 a.m. and one hour of Karen Savelly, was third in the demographic with a 5.9, giving the group the top three morning shows.
As the chart with this story shows, nine of the top 11 stations lost overall listenership. While WJR maintained the overall lead, its 5.5 score was low for a leader. Its 10 a.m.-3 p.m. overall ratings, while No. 1, were down 0.6, with the new pairing of local talker Frank Beckmann as the lead-in to syndicated star Rush Limbaugh.
WCSX was stronger almost across the board, with a No. 2 ranking all day in the 25-54 age group with a 5.9, second to WRIF's 7.0.
Live talk WKRK-FM continued to impress in the 25-54 age demographic across the clock, from morning star Howard Stern through afternoon drive-timers Deminski & Doyle.
In the sports battle, WXYT-AM's new Spindler & Lund morning show under-performed the departed Don Imus as the station dropped to 25 with a 0.7 rating among all listeners on weekday mornings. The best time period was 7 p.m.-midnight, with a 2.2, thanks to Red Wings and Tigers play-by-play.
Among all listeners, new afternooner drivers Doug Karsch and Art Regner bested WDFN's Stoney and Wojo show by 0.1, although the latter edged them in the 25-54 group by the same margin.
+Overall station rankings:
ARBITRON RADIO RATINGS
All day, listeners age 12 and older, Feb.-April. Percent Station Format of audience
1. WJR (760) News talk 5.5 (down 0.5) 2. WRIF (101.1) Rock 4.9(down 0.1) 2. WJLB (97.9) Urban 4.9 (down 0.4) 2. WWJ (950) News 4.9 (down 0.1) 5. WOMC (104.3) Oldies 4.8 (down 0.3) 6. WVMV (98.7) Smooth jazz 4.7 (up 0.3) 7. WDTJ (105.9) Urban 4.5 (up 0.1) 8. WNIC (100.3) Soft rock 4.4 (down 0.1) 9. WMXD (92.3) Urban adult 4.2 (down 0.5) 10. WMGC (105.1) Soft rock 4.1 (down 0.2) 10. WYCD (99.5) Country 4.1(down 0.1) 12. WCSX (94.7) Classic rock 4.0 (up 0.6) 13. WKQI (95.5) Hits 3.6 (up 0.1) 14. WDRQ (93.1) Hits 2.9 (down 0.2) 15. WDVD (96.3) Modern hits 2.8 (up 0.5) 16. CIMX (88.7) Modern rock 2.4 (down 0.3) 17. WDTW (106.7) Rock hits 2.3 (no change) 17. WKRK (97.1) Live talk 2.3 (up 0.1) <----- Howard 19. WDMK (102.7) Urban adult 2.2 (no change) 20. WDFN (1130) Sports 1.6 (down 0.1) 21. CKWW (580) Nostalgia 1.5 (down 0.3) 21. WGPR (107.5) Jazz-R&B 1.5 (no change) 23. WXYT (1270) Sports 1.4 (up 0.3)
from the Detroit Free Press
April 27, 2004
--snips--
Infinity live-talker WKRK-FM (97.1) also posted listener gains. There, syndicated lighting rod Howard Stern shot up a full point in the age 25-54 bracket from 6-10 a.m. In the 10 p.m.-3 p.m. period at WKRK, Gregg Henson and Michelle McKormick went from 1.6 to 2.8 in that same age demographic and Deminski & Doyle, still facing a major FCC fine for sexual content, returned to the No. 1 position with 5.4 mark, up from the 2.8 they recorded in the last quarter of 2003 for 3-7 p.m.
Rich Homberg, the WKRK general manager, attributed the leap to his move of finally melding the format with the right programmer. That would be Craig Schwalb, the former New Yorker who replaced Terry Lieberman last year. Lieberman now toils for Clear Channel Detroit.
But that's where Homberg's joy ceases. WXYT-AM (1270) the Infinity-owned sports talker also in his management portfolio, slumped to No. 24 with a 1.1 share, falling behind No. 23 Christian formatted WMUZ-FM (103.5) and No. 22 jazz/R&B WGPR-FM (107.5). Clear Channel sportster WDFN-AM (113) finished No. 21.
from the Detroit News
April 27, 2004
Take note, Federal Communications Commission.
Deminski and Doyle, the afternoon duo who made headlines in 2003 by being fined by the FCC for an 'indecent' broadcast -- way before Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunctioned -- rocketed up from No. 16 to No. 1 in the 25-54 demographic group during afternoon drive time in Arbitron’s winter 2004 quarterly ratings report, released Monday.
'It’s absolutely stunning,' says Dick Kernen, vice president of industry relations at Southfield’s Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts.
Craig Schwalb, program director at WKRK-FM (97.1), credits the duo’s ability to be real.
'They’re the most real show on in Detroit,' he says. 'Every day, every minute, they’re the most real show in the city.'
In the overalls, WJR-AM (760) is back on top of the ratings heap, after briefly relinquishing its crown to WJLB-FM (97.9).
The 'great voice of the Great Lakes' scored a 6.0 rating in the all-day (6 a.m.-midnight Monday-Sunday) ages 12 and older category for January, February and March.
Following WJR is urban contemporary powerhouse WJLB, which dropped eight-tenths of a point to land in the runner-up position, while oldies station WOMC-FM (104.3) moved up two spots to No. 3. Rock-formatted WRIF-FM (101.1) and news talker WWJ-AM (950) shared the fourth spot, both garnering a strong 5.0 rating.
Without the benefit of the all-Christmas format that helped it surge in the fall 2003 ratings book, WNIC-FM (100.3) fell three spots to No. 7, with WMGC-FM (105.1) closing in within two tenths of a point of the station.
In the morning race, WRIF-FM’s (101.1) Drew and Mike reclaimed the top spot over WWJ, which falls to No. 3 behind WJR. 'No wonder they built them their own studio,' Kernen says.
WOMC-FM’s Dick Purtan and WMGC-FM’s (105.1) Jim Harper rounded out the top five, while the embattled Howard Stern jumps sixth-tenths of a point to a 2.5 for No. 15 overall.
Elsewhere in the 25-54 demographic, WRIF sailed to a commanding victory, almost two full points ahead of runner-up WMXD-FM (92.3). Classic rocker WCSX-FM (94.7) leapt from No. 8 to No. 3, with the light rocking WNIC-FM (100.3) and WMGC following close behind.
from the Detroit Free Press
March 30, 2004
--snips--
Further down the list, the syndicated Howard Stern program at WKRK-FM also charted a large age 25-54 uptick from 2.0 to 2.7, indicative that while the broadcasters may be scared, the audience apparently isn't.
--snips--
from the Detroit News
January 9, 2004
Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions continued to do little for WKRK-FM (97.1), which slid to a 1.6 rating, its lowest in more than a year, and down from its summer 2.1.
--snips--
The ratings
Arbitron's local radio ratings for fall 2003. A ratings point represents 1 percent of the radio audience.
--snips--
19. (tie) WKRK-FM (97.1) 1.6
from the Detroit News
April 23, 2003
It looks like Detroit's radio market is up for a flip-flop at the top as the Winter 2003 ratings compiled by Arbitron shows news station WWJ-AM (950) coming in No. 1 overall with a 6.0 share, up from a 5.3 in the Fall book.
Coverage of the war probably helped, said WWJ program director Rich Homberg. He cited three factors in his station's strong showing.
"News awareness is very high, plus we worked on our 'live, local and committed to Detroit' image, and in the winter, traffic and weather is even more important for radio. We always root for really good Michigan winters," Homberg said with a laugh.
WJR-AM (760), which topped the Fall book, went down from a 6.1 to a 5.9 share, coming in second; hip-hop powerhouse WJLB-FM (97.9) went up to a 5.8 share after earning a 5.3 in the fall, but that brought it to third place behind the news stations.
WOMC-FM (104.3) stayed even at a 5.3 share but slid down in the rankings to fourth. WRIF-FM (101.1) is still dominant among the rock stations thanks in part to strong mornings with Drew and Mike; it surged from a 4.2 share to a 4.7, which put it fifth overall, up from eighth. Smooth jazz WVMV-FM (98.7) is still popular with adults although it slipped a bit, from a 5.0 to a 4.5 share, but that was still good enough to rank sixth in the market, tied with hip-hop WDTJ-FM (105.9). WMXD-FM (92.3) rounds out the bottom of the top eight stations with a 4.4 share, down from 5.1.
from the Detroit Free Press
January 10, 2003
Urban powers WJLB and WMXD notched big ratings increases among all listeners at year's end; WOMC came back down to earth after a stunning summer and autumn. WJR returned to the throne room with the No. 1 ranking. (See chart at right).
In the revenue-pivotal morning race, WWJ's Roberta Jasina and Joe Donovan dropped 0.5 points but remained the overall morning leaders with a 7.7 mark. WJR's Paul W. Smith (plus one hour of Dr. Laura) jumped a healthy 0.8 to 7.4, good for second place.
Drew Lane and Mike Clark, WRIF's randy rousters who both had absences in the quarter, plunged from an 8.2 to 7.0 -- good for third. WOMC's Dick Purtan fell 2 points to a 5.7, good for fourth.
In the lucrative race for age 25-54 listeners, WMXD led the pack with a 6.2 mark, followed by WNIC at 6.0 and WVMV at 5.9. All three recorded upward listener leaps. WOMC was fourth with a 5.7 (down 0.4); WRIF fifth (down 1.5).
In the age 25-54 morning race, Lane and Clark reigned supreme despite a two-point dive to 8.8; Tom Joyner at WMXD was up 2.2 to a 6.6 for second; Purtan was third with a 6.5, down 0.7.
WMGC's Jim Harper notched a healthy 1.1 surge to 5.5, good for fourth place; WWJ was fifth at 5.3. WNIC's Chuck Gaidica lost 0.1 to card a 5.0 good for sixth. WCSX's JJ & Lynne was up 0.2, to 4.7.
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 Detroit News
November 10, 2002
Detroiters have always loved hometown talent in the morning, seen in the longevity of voices like WOMC's Dick Purtan with his 40-year span on Detroit radio and WMGC's Jim Harper, a breakfast time mainstay.
This also is one of the few markets where locals such as WRIF's Drew and Mike bushwhack syndicated New York jock Howard Stern in the ratings. He's heard locally on WKRK.
To Dick Kernan of the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Southfield, this triumph of the local "underdogs" demonstrates what radio does best. "The essence of radio forever has been local," he says. "Howard Stern has been in this market for seven or eight years. The Red Wings have won three Stanley Cups, and he's mentioned it zero times. Drew and Mike are all over the Wings like a cheap suit, and they trounce Howard Stern."
Drew Lane of the Drew and Mike show says it might be something in the water here. "People beaming in from out of town -- Detroiters are suspicious of that," Lane says.
"It's considered kind of arrogant to suggest that Detroiters don't have enough going on that you can beam in a show and they're going to like it."
One syndicated talker who tries to combine frothy entertainment with local activism is Tom Joyner. The Dallas-based host -- best known as the "Fly Jock" -- often broadcasts his morning program from Detroit and many of the other 119 cities his show is heard. (His show is broadcast locally on WMXD-FM). "I wish this cloning thing was happening, then I could be everywhere all the time," he jokes.
Joyner's "Sky Show" traveled to Detroit last month, where he broadcast live from the Fox Theatre. He acknowledges that he's vying for high ratings with true locals such as John Mason on WDMK.
"We're all competing for the ears of Detroit listeners," Joyner says.
"There's a lot of great radio in Detroit, and a great radio tradition. When you can work successfully in Detroit, you're doing something right."
Joyner "gets" Detroit, partly because he loves the music and ends up spending a lot of time here.
"I'm probably in and out of Detroit a good six times a year doing something," he says. "Sometimes I'm in Detroit 'just because.' I spent New Year's Eve there. I wasn't working, I went to the Fox New Year's Eve to see the Dramatics."
While he and his cast have fun on the show, Joyner also educates his audience on important issues in the black community as well as his pet causes, such as voter registration and raising money for historic black colleges and universities.
Although John Mason isn't pulling the numbers on WDMK that he did during his 15 years over at WJLB, he's staking out his live and local turf against Joyner and the other syndicated competition.
Mason still talks about how he scrapped three hours of programming on his WJLB show one morning two years ago to let angry listeners call in and vent about the suspected shoplifter who was killed by a security guard at Fairlane Town Center.
"Being local and understanding the local community made a tremendous impact there," says Mason, who joined WDMK in July 2001. "Ten thousand people came out (for a rally), not to beat up on Fairlane, but to say 'Look, I may not look like your average West Bloomfield shopper, but I deserve respect.' "
Mason took a lot of heat for his activism. "But it changed things," he says. "Two, three years later, people feel better about going to Fairlane."
Lane of the Drew and Mike show says he believes Detroiters like homegrown talent for the same reason such a large percentage seem to stay in their home state.
"There's a perception that Detroit is a crappy place, but people here know better," says Lane, who is going into his 11th year with WRIF. "And they appreciate it when radio talent could leave town to seek greener pastures but they don't."
from the Detroit Free Press
October 15, 2002
For the first time ever, the Infinity-owned station moved into first place among all listeners in the Arbitron radio ratings for the July-August-September quarter released Monday. It nudged news/talk WJR-AM (760) from the throne by 0.1 listener percentage points. (See chart at right.)
Programmer Bill Stedman credited "years and years of work" coming to fruition. "I couldn't be more proud." Stedman cites major promotions, most notably the station's link to the August Woodward Cruise, for driving the summer numbers. Leading the way was morning bulwark Dick Purtan, who carded a 7.7 among all listeners (good for third place) and 7.2 in the key age 25-54 demographic, good for the No. 2 position.
Other summer stars? WRIF-FM's (101.1) Drew Lane and Mike Clark were hot stuff. The Blue Boys of the morning were tied for first (with WWJ-AM's Roberta Jasina and Joe Donovan) among all listeners; D&M were alone at the top among the 25-54 crowd.
Also noteworthy was Howard Stern's first top 10 performance at WKRK-FM (97.1) in quite awhile. Stern was tied for ninth overall in the morning with a 3.5 mark. His rank surged from 15th.
WNIC-FM (100.3) chalked up a major 1.4 point surge among all listeners to move from 11th place in the last quarter to sixth overall. The ratings ascendancy appears due to new long commercial-free soft rock music blocks.
WNIC's "Chuck Gaidica and the Breakfast Club" morning show also moved from 11th place to fourth among age 25-54 listeners. The show shucked some on-air personnel during the end of the ratings period and emphasized music in the morning as well.
The battle for urban listeners got closer, thanks in part to some ratings softness at WMXD-FM (92.3).
Smooth jazz WVMV-FM (98.7) cooled off a bit in the summer listener race, but it remained a top 5 performer.
[Ed. - It appears Howard's not in the Top-10 in the morning ratings. Per John Smyntek, Howard went from "2.8 to 2.0, a significant drop".]
from the Detroit Free Press
April 24, 2001
It was the worst of times and the best of times for WOMC-FM's (104.3) certifiable morning radio legend, Dick Purtan.
With the first quarter of 2001 came plenty of personal bad news: the death of longtime producer Gene Taylor and the passing of Purtan's father-in-law and mother-in-law in Buffalo, N.Y.
But on the up side was another record performance ($864,518) at the February radiothon for the Salvation Army and a major ratings uptick for Purtan and his station.
In ratings figures released Monday by Arbitron, Purtan moved to 5.9 from a 4.8 in the last quarter of 2000, good for fifth place in a tightening battle for morning-show supremacy.
Among the advertiser-craved listeners ages 25-54, Purtan's move to 5.9 from 4.9 was even better rank-wise, putting him in third.
In a conversation earlier this month, Purtan said he was very pleased with the way his gang of mirthmakers was progressing after Taylor's untimely demise from a severe asthma attack in January, and gave credit to daughter Jackie Purtan, the former Second City performer who has absorbed some of the writing load along with Al (Al Muscavito) Moscovitz.
Purtan attorney Henry Baskin quipped that, when "Purtan's ratings drop, it's an aberration. When they go up, it's gospel."
Soft-rock WNIC-FM (100.3) maintained the overall listener lead and the age 25-54 lead, although the WWJ-AM (950) all-news morning team of Joe Donovan and Roberta Jasina knocked WNIC's Jim Harper and the Breakfast Club out of the No. 1 morning spot, 8.5 to 8.3.
Following Harper were WRIF-FM's (101.1) tarty Drew & Mike with a 7.7, WJR-AM's (760) Paul W. Smith with 7.0, Purtan at 5.9 and WJLB-FM (97.9) in what will be the departed John Mason's final quarter there, at 5.3.
Rounding out the top morning 10 were Tom Joyner at WMXD-FM (92.3) at 5.2, WDRQ-FM's (93.1) billboard-heralded Jay Towers with a 3.7, WKQI-FM's (95.5) Mojo in the Morning at 3.6 and a 10th-place tie at 3.5 with country WYCD-FM (99.5) and smooth-jazz WVMV-FM (98.7).
New sportster WXYT-AM (1270) appeared to be drawing listeners quickly from the old all-sports monopolist, WDFN-AM (1130), effectively doubling the Fan's listenership with XYT's 2.3 mark. Crowed WXYT chief Rich Homberg: "I wonder if they (WDFN) still qualify for press credentials."
WDFN pooh-bah Peter Connolly offered that WXYZ suffered a large slide among male listeners 24-49. "They sunk 10 rank spots," from 7 to 17, among that valuable audience segment, countered Connolly.
But that was largely due to the male-heavy exodus of Rush Limbaugh and other talk programming during the quarter.
Classic rocker WCSX-FM (94.7) rebounded somewhat from what operations manager Ralph Cipolla thought was a post-election exodus of his audience from music to news-talk formats, an affliction that also appeared to bother other music formats late last year.
"I wish we could go through a quarter where nothing would happen news-wise," Cipolla said.
from the Detroit Free Press
April 15, 2001
I once stopped a dinner party cold by admitting I occasionally listened to Howard Stern's radio show. The women, especially, reacted as if I had just expressed admiration for the Third Reich. Later, one of the husbands admitted that he, too, occasionally lingered longer at Stern's spot on the dial than a man of his cultivated tastes should. "Underneath all the nastiness," he said, "there's real wit."
For many, it's way too underneath to matter, but anyone who listens to anything other than National Public Radio on their morning drive knows Stern is a trailblazer. In the past week alone I've been radio-regaled by realistically simulated porn-star sex (Mancow's syndicated show), a barely bleeped expletive-filled rant by the late Richard Nixon ("Imus in the Morning") and an invitation by WRIF's Drew and Mike for listeners to share their most revolting reminiscences of bowel movements gone bad. Compared to these, Stern, who is continually cautioning guests and callers about being too graphic, seems increasingly schoolmarmish.
The FCC cracks down
Stern has reason to be skittish; he's been repeatedly fined by the Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that responds to public complaints about the public airwaves. Now Stern appears to be getting some company on the whipping post. Last week, in a rare statement of policy, the FCC issued a set of indecency guidelines for broadcasters, spelling out what it considered unfit for public consumption. Previously, the criteria has been as arbitrary as that used by the Motion Picture Association of America to bestow ratings on movies.
Moreover, the FCC used specific examples: A Stern riff about having sex with animals -- "I was sodomized by Lambchop" -- was cited as an example of a broadcast being too graphically explicit.
But even a fleeting reference to a subject like sex with a minor, said the FCC, was unacceptable. The FCC also said it would consider intent: If a skit or monologue was designed to shock it could earn the station a warning, a fine or the revocation of its license.
A new family hour?
Broadcast industry insiders read the guidelines as an announcement of a new sheriff in town, one less indulgent and quicker on the trigger than the last; new FCC chairman Michael Powell is a George W. Bush appointee. According to the media industry magazine Inside, the new administration is also hinting of a crackdown on extreme porn. And now there's talk of pressuring the TV networks to restore "family hour," which reserved 8-9 p.m. for shows that didn't rely on sex and potty humor for giggles.
If President Bush is looking to clean up Dodge, he's not making a big, Joseph Lieberman-like show of it: The new FCC guidelines were announced with such little fanfare that most major media outlets didn't even report them. And if Drew and Mike were being reined in by frightened management, you wouldn't know it from this week's shows, in which female anatomy was, as always, a major subject. I, of course, was listening for professional reasons; all those other listeners are there only for the wit.
from the Detroit Free Press
January 12, 2001
WNIC-FM's Jim Harper and the Breakfast Club ended its half-year exile from the coveted No. 1 morning radio slot with the release of the Arbitron ratings for the final quarter of 2000 on Thursday.
Among listeners aged 12 and older, Harper and crew carded an 8.7 mark, surging ahead of the previous dawn kingpins, WRIF-FM crudites Drew and Mike, who scored an 8.0.
In their back-and-forth battle for news-hungry listeners, WWJ-AM's Roberta Jasina and Joe Donovan moved back ahead of WJR-AM's Paul W. Smith, 7.8 to 7.0, ranking third and fourth respectively. WJLB-FM's John Mason was fifth overall and first among urban listeners with a 5.4 mark.
WOMC-FM's Dick Purtan was sixth with a 4.8 but down from summer's 6.3; that's fairly normal at the summer-surge station.
Among all listeners during all charted time slots, WNIC maintained the No. 1 spot with a 7.6 slice of the audience. (Chart at right reflects daylong ratings.) And there were plenty of interesting stories elsewhere in the book.
First among those was Young Country WYCD-FM, which counted up a fabulous final quarter, moving from a 3.6 to 4.9 overall and a 3.2 to 4.5 mark in the morning with its "First Shift" team.
A happy WYCD general manager Maureen LeSourd attributed some of the fall surge to a summer anomaly where country listeners might not have been adequately sampled by Arbitron. "I think our staff has really developed a lot and were very focused. And we did a marketing campaign with a salute to the Big 3 automakers that helped us as well," she said.
Urban WDTJ-FM continued to climb the ratings ladder, moving from a 4.1 to 4.7 and way up from the 3.1 it recorded in fall 1999.
The newly sports-themed WXYT-AM (1270) appeared to benefit from Lions and Red Wings play-by-play with its 3.0 rating in its last quarter, with nonsports talk through most of its day. Hot talker WKRK-FM (97.1) was up in the morning with Howard Stern (2.8 from 1.7) and overall (2.2 over summer's 1.5).
from the Detroit Free Press
December 13, 2000
In Arbitrend ratings for the months of September, October and November released Tuesday, WJR tightened its grip on second place among all listeners ages 12 and over, moving from a 5.6 to a 6.0. That trails pacesetter WNIC-FM (100.3), which carded a 7.7.
WJR's Paul W. Smith's morning effort made a positive leap from 6.7 to 7.2, good for fourth place. WRIF's Barons of Bogue, Drew Lane and Mike W. Clark, were the a.m. leaders again but dropped from a 9.0 to 8.7 percent of the listenership. WNIC's Jim Harper & The Breakfast Club was second with an 8.5 mark; WWJ-AM (950), with Jasina & Donovan, was third with a 7.6.
Young country WYCD-FM (99.5) continued to bounce back from its dip this summer, with a 4.2 mark overall and a move from 3.5 to 3.9 in the morning with its new "First Shift" combine.
Detroit's urban race remained tight. WJLB-FM (97.9) was third overall with a 5.4, topping WDTJ-FM (105.9), in eighth, overall with a 4.3. WGPR-FM (107.5) and WDMK-FM (102.7) didn't make the top 20 overall.
Other curiosities: WPLT-FM (96.3), which showed some evidence of breaking out in the summer, slumped again. It scored a 1.8 overall, down from a 2.1 and from a 1.8 to 1.6 in the morning with Johnny Edwards and crew. WKQI-FM's (95.5) Mojo in the Morning edged WDRQ-FM's oft-billboarded Morning Revolution 3.7-3.4. Afternoons 3-7 p.m., belonged, as usual, to WNIC's Chris Edmonds.
Howard Stern, whose contract with Infinity Broadcasting expires later this month, finished 13th overall at WKRK-FM (97.1) with a 2.9, up from 2.3. Industry sources reported Tuesday that Stern said his chances for contract renewal are now 60 percent.
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