from The Commercial Appeal
January 31, 2004
If you wonder why WHAL-FM 95.7 switched from oldies to urban gospel about a year ago, look no further than last fall's Arbitron ratings.
WHAL (Hallelujah 95.7) finished second in the overall fall ratings with a 7.1 average quarter-hour share of the audience, behind K 97 (WHRK-FM 97.1).
In the fall of 2002, when it still was an oldies station, it eked out a 1.8 share, good for 17th place in the ratings. It has been doing much better since the switch.
Those ratings reflect all listeners age 12 and older during the total day (6 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Sunday), a category that no station uses to sell advertising, but that gives listeners a rough scorecard for their favorite stations.
An average quarter-hour share is the percentage of people listening for at least five minutes during a 15-minute period. Stations were surveyed from Sept. 18 to Dec. 10.
Demographics reigns supreme in broadcasting, and Hallelujah 95.7 also hits the key demographics on all cylinders. It's the top-rated station in the 25-54 demographic, the one most stations try to reach.
It also is the top-rated station among those 25-54 in weekday morning drive time, 6-10 a.m. And its' listeners aren't all (relative) geezers. KHAL's morning show also is No. 1 among 18-49-year-olds.
Among all listeners older than 12, WDIA had the top-ranked morning show, followed by WHAL, K 97, Kix 106 and Smooth 101.1.
The next five in the morning were Rock 103 (WEGR-FM 102.7), Hot 107.1 (KXHT-FM 107.1), WLOK-AM 1340, FM 100 (WMC-FM 99.7) and WREC-AM 600.
As for those golden 25-54 demographics for the total day, Rock 103 came in second, followed by Smooth 101.1, K 97 and WDIA.
Among the 25-54s during morning drive, WHAL was followed by Rock 103, WDIA, Smooth 101.1 and K 97.
--snips--
from the Memphis Commercial Appeal
May 6, 2003
The folks over at Hallelujah 95.7 are shouting out thanks of a different nature these days. The station's ratings are heavenly.
When FM 95.7 switched from oldies to gospel recently, some oldies fans felt dispossessed. But the folks over at Clear Channel radio in Memphis knew what they were doing. In the winter 2002 Arbitron ratings, WOTO-FM 95.7 finished in a tie for 13th, with a 2.7 share of the listening audience age 12-older.
In the winter 2003 Arbitron book, the station's first under the new format, Hallelujah 95.7 tied for second place in the ratings, with a 6.4 percent share of the audience.
To no one's real surprise, K 97 (WHRK-FM 97.1) finished first in the so-called 12-plus ratings, with an 8.7 percent share of the audience.
Radio stations don't pay as much attention to the 12-plus ratings, because they don't sell advertising based on that broad category of listeners. But the ratings do give listeners a broad idea of their favorite stations' popularity.
Stations pay much more attention to the 25- to 54-year-old demographic, and there, too, Hallelujah 95.7 shone. It finished first, with an 8.2 percent share of the audience.
Following are the 12-plus ratings for stations that rated high enough to make it into the fall book:
1. K 97, 8.7 share. 2. (tie) WDIA-AM 1070 and Hallelujah 95.7, 6.4 share. 4. Kix 106 (WGKX-FM 105.9), 6.0 share. 5. The River (WRVR-FM 104.5), 5.2 share. 6. Hot 107.1 (KXHT-FM 107.1), 5.1 share. 7. Soul Classics 103.5 (WRBO-FM 103.5, 5.0 share. 8. V 101.1 (KJMS-FM 101.1), 4.8 share. 9. FM 100 (WMC-FM 99.7), 4.3 share. 10. News Radio 600 (WREC-AM 600), 4.1 share. 11. WLOK-AM 1340, 3.8 share. 12. Rock 103 (WEGR-FM 102.7), 3.7 share. 13. The Buzz 94.1 (WMBZ-FM 94.1, 3.5 share. 14. 93X (WMFS-FM 92.9), 2.8 share. 15. Smooth Jazz 98.9 (WJZN-FM 98.9, 2.7 share. 16. 98.1 The Cat (WSRR-FM 98.1), 2.3 share. 17. Easy 680 (WJCE-AM 680), 1.9 share. 18. WGSF-AM 1030, 1.7 share. 19. Memphis Pig (WMPS-FM 107.5, 1.4 share. 20. Sports 56 (WHBQ-AM 560, 1.2 share. 21. Talk Radio 990 (KWAM-AM 990), 0.9 share. 22. WCRV-AM 640, 0.7 share. 23. WBBP-AM 1480, 0.6 share. 24. (tie) WAVN-AM 1240, KHLS-FM (Blytheville, Ark.), WTCK-AM 1210, WMC-AM 790, 0.5 share.
The top 10 stations in the 25-54 demographic for the total day (defined as 6 a.m. to midnight):
1. Hallelujah 95.7, 8.2 share. 2. K 97, 6.6 share. 3. WDIA-AM, 6.2 share. 4. V 101.1, 6.0 share. 5. Soul Classics 103.5, 5.8 share. 6. FM 100, 5.2 share. 7. Kix 106, 5.1 share. 8. Rock 103, 5.0 share. 9. The River, 4.9 share. 10. The Buzz 94.1, 3.8 share.
Morning drive time is the most important part of the day to many stations, because it sets the tone for the station, tends to bring in the most money, and often is a station's signature program.
The top 10 morning shows in the 12-plus ratings are:
1. WDIA-AM, 9.4 share. 2. Kix 106, 7.8 share. 3. K 97, 7.3 share. 4. V 101.1, 6.4 share. 5. Hallelujah 95.7, 6.0 share. 6. The River, 5.2 share. 7. FM 100, 4.8 share. 8. Rock 103, 4.6 share. 9. (tie) News Talk 600 and WLOK-AM, 3.7 share.
--snips--
from The Commercial Appeal
February 11, 2003
K-97 remained top dog among local radio stations in the fall Arbitron ratings. K-97's sister station WDIA-AM 1070 finished a close second among all listeners ages 12 and older.
The so-called 12-plus ratings mean little to the radio stations themselves (no advertising is sold based on that category), but they do provide a rough guide for listeners to gauge the relative popularity of their favorite radio stations.
WDIA is the most popular station in ways that do count, coming in first among listeners 25-54, one of the prime advertising demographics. WDIA also is first among 25-54-year-olds in the morning hours, an important part of the day to stations and advertisers.
The Arbitron survey took place between Sept. 19 and Dec. 11, 2002.
Here are the rankings and share of the 12-plus audience. They cover 6 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Sunday. [Howard is on WMFS.]
1. K-97 (WHRK-FM 97.1), 8.6 share. 2. WDIA-AM 1070, 8.1 share. 3. Soul Classics (WRBO-FM 103.5), 6.1 share. 4. Hot 107.1 (KXHT-FM 107.1), 6.0 share. 5. The River (WRVR-FM 104.5), 5.5 share. 6. V-101.1 (KJMS-FM 101.1), 5.3 share. 7. Rock 103 (WEGR-FM 102.7), 5.0 share. 8. Kix 106 (WGKX-FM 105.9), 4.9 share. 9. NewsRadio 600 (WREC-AM 600), 4.7 share. 10. WLOK-AM 1340, 4.5 share. 11. (tie) The Buzz (WMBZ-FM 94.1) and FM 100 (WMC-FM 99.7), 3.9 share. 13. Star 98 (WSRR-FM 98.1), 3.0 share. 14. 93X (WMFS-FM 92.9), 2.5 share. 15. Smooth Jazz 98.9 (WMBZ-FM 98.9), 2.2 share. 16. The Memphis Pig (WMPS-FM 107.5), 2.0 share. 17. 95.7 FM, 1.8 share. 18. TalkRadio 990 (KWAM-AM 990), 1.7 share. 19. (tie) WCRV-AM 640, WHBQ-AM 56, and WMC-AM, 1.2 share. 22. Easy 680 (WJCE-AM 680), 0.9 share. 23. (tie) KAMJ-FM 93.7 (Gosnell, Ark.), KIYS-FM (Jonesboro, Ark.), WKRA-FM (Holly Springs, Miss.), 0.5.share 26. (tie) WBBP-AM 1480 and WGSF-AM 1210, 0.4 share.
The 25-54 demographic is one of the most desirable among radio advertisers. Here are the top 10 stations for the total day in that age group.
1. WDIA, 8.4 share. 2. Soul Oldies, 7.6 share. 3. V-101.1, 6.5 share. 4. The River, 6.4 share. 5. Rock 103, 6.3 share. 6. K-97, 5.7 share. 7. FM 100, 4.7 share. 8. The Buzz, 4.6 share. 9. Star 98, 4.5 share. 10. WLOK, 4.4 share.
The top 10 morning shows (6-10 a.m., Monday-Friday) in the 25-54 demographic:
1. WDIA, 10.4 share. 2. Rock 103, 8.3 share. 3. V-101.1, 6.8 share. 4. The River, 6.5 share. 5. Soul Classics, 5.5 share. 6. (tie) K-97 and FM 100, 5.3 share. 8. Star 98, 4.3 share. 9. The Buzz, 4.2. 10. WLOK-AM, 4.1 share.
--snips--
from All Access
NET NEWS as of July 5, 2001
--snips--
Who is going to be the first to spin the format wheel in MEMPHIS to a younger end Top 40/Mainstream?
Nothing is confirmed, but there are 16 tons o' rumors in the market that INFINITY Active Rocker WMFS and CLEAR CHANNEL Oldies WOTO are eyeballing their formatic options. The biggest obstacle for WMFS would be where to put HOWARD STERN!
But, could all this be a moot point if WKSL suddenly reversed and filled the void, again?
from fmqb.com
April 30, 2001
from THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
August 15, 2000
--local TV stuff snipped--
K-97 stays on top
K-97 keeps rolling along. Once again, it was the most popular radio station in Memphis during Arbitron's spring survey, which took place March 30 and June 21.
Among all listeners age 12 and above, K-97 averaged an 8 percent share of the audience, seven days a week. Hot 107 was in second place, with a 7.6 share, followed by WDIA-AM 1070 with a 7.5 share, Soul Oldies with a 6.6 share and Rock 103 with a 6.4 share.
These 12-plus numbers don't mean much to the stations, except for bragging rights, because all advertising is sold on demographics, not raw ratings.
The 25-54 demographic is one of the most desirable in radio. In that category, FM 100 led, with a 9.4 share, followed by Rock 103, with an 8.4 share, Smooth 101.1 with a 7.6 share, Soul Oldies with a 7 share and K-97 with a 6.1 share.
Among morning shows, WDIA was the most popular among all age groups. Rock 103 came in second, followed by FM 100, K-97 and Smooth 101.1.
John Boy and Billy got dropped
Speaking of radio, a number of readers want to know what happened to Star 98's morning team of John Boy and Billy, a syndicated show out of Charlotte, N.C.
They bombed here, that's what happened.
Their contract expired July 31, and the station didn't renew it. Charly Kayle, most recently of Little Rock, started Monday as the new morning personality.
"She's really strong, focused, very upbeat, very likable on the air," said J. L. Fisk, the station's program director.
He also said she is the first of a number of people who will contribute to the morning show. He hopes to have more folks on the air in the next month or so.
In retrospect, the decision to not have local talent in the morning was a big mistake.
As for John Boy and Billy, they tanked. In the 12-plus ratings, their show tied for 17th in the market, and in the 25-54 demographic, they were tied for 11th place.
"We wanted the show to be a huge success. Unfortunately, it just never did get off the ground, ratings-wise," Fisk said. "Plus, we felt we had lost a lot not having a local radio show."
Tom Walter sent me this email:
I only have the ratings for the 12-plus audience, and stern is in 10th place, with a 4.3 percent share of the audience. That actually isn't bad. I suspect if I had the, say, 18-34 ratings, or the teen ratings, stern would do a lot better than that.
from THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
August 14, 1999
Tom Walter
--local TV stuff snipped--
On to radio.
For the spring survey, which ran from April 1 to June 23, here are the top five stations among listeners 12 and older:
1. WHRK-FM 97.1, an 8.8 average quarter hour share of the audience; 2. WDIA-AM 1070, a 7.2 share; 3. WRVR-FM 104.5, a 6.6 share; 4. WEGR-FM 102.7, a 6.5 share; 5. KXHT-FM 107.1, a 6.1 share.
Here are the top five morning shows among listeners 12 and older:
1. WDIA, a 9.2 share; 2. WEGR, a 9 share; 3. WHRK, an 8.7 share; 4. WRVR, a 6.8 share; 5. WMC-FM 99.7, a 6.3 share.
--snips--
Howard or WMFS are nowhere to be found in this story, so I assume they're below 5th place somewhere. If you know their exact ratings, please use the email link at the bottom of the page. Thanks!
WHRK-FM 97.1 remains the top-rated radio station in Memphis, according to the Winter Arbitron ratings. It averaged an 8.3 percent share of the total listening audience above the age of 12. The winter ratings period ran from Jan. 8 to April 1.
WMC-FM 99.7 tied WHRK for the lead in the morning. The two stations averaged a 12-plus share of 8.0.
For the measured day (6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week), KJMS-FM 101.1 came in second place in 12-plus, with a 7.4 percent share of the audience. WDIA-AM 1070 was third, with a 7.3 share. WRVR-FM 104.5 was fourth, with a 6.7 share, while WMC-FM was fifth, with a 6.5 share.
WDIA, which had the top-rated morning show in the fall, fell to third place in the 12-plus numbers, with a 7.8 share. WEGR was fourth, with a 7.6 share, tied with WLOK-AM with a 7.6 share.
One of the most important demographics is age 25-54. In that category, KJMS is in first place, followed by WRVR, WMC-FM, WDIA and WEGR.
In the mornings among listeners 25-54, WEGR had the top program, followed by WMC-FM, WDIA and WLOK. KJMS and WHRK were tied for fifth.
stations to watch would be kxht and wjoi owned by dr george flynn...kxht's hiphop format moved the station from #18 to #4 overall since implemented back in the summer.....new to air is wjoi play(ing) in a top40/dance/urban mix, the station certainly is getting a notice from the under 30 audience and could pull a couple percent from wmc fm....
wrxq fm the only alternative station left in town will have to come up with something new to get back up the ratings list...
of course howard is the life blood of wmfs fm the heavy metal station...
wrec since taking the rights to rush has inched up in the ratings closer to wmc am...
memphis just isnt the same place since clear channel bought up all of our radio stations...
also a pirate station in town has received media attention broadcasting to a small area the the university of memphis has definately offered some folks with a new alternative.....the(y) are speaking of warning letters they have from the fcc but havent given it up yet....wonder how long they can keep it up....you bet i will keep checking 94.7 to see...
seems the fcc has suddenly made a decision to go after many pirate stations in the past few months in other cities.
Thanks to michael for the updates.
The first ratings from Memphis! The Fall book has Howard with a 5.6 share in the 12+ demographic, good for 6th place in the market.
Back to ratings.
This page © 1996-2004 by The Complete Howard Stern Links!