Howard Stern continues to have the #1 Arbitron rating (for more than 10 years), in the #1 market (New York), in the #1 time slot (morning drive-time).
Eat that, you Howard-imitators.
Check out the latest New York radio opinions on the NY Radio Message Board.
from the NY Post
January 4, 2006
SOMETHING was missing yesterday as David Lee Roth took over for Howard Stern.
In a word: humor.
There were no burps, flatulence, dwarfs, stutterers, strippers, lesbians or robo-spankers.
Instead, Roth spent 90 long minutes letting his 88-year-old uncle Manny — founder of a legendary Greenwich Village nightclub, Café Wha?— ramble down memory lane.
"He's my only guest this morning and probably the only guest I'll have for the first two weeks," the former Van Halen rocker told listeners yesterday.
Roth also riffed at length on such gloomy subjects as what to do about the World Trade Center site, radio censorship, and his adventures as a paramedic.
Missing was a sense of adventure, irreverence, topicality and wacky anarchy.
Stern — and other top-rated morning monsters — has always included embarrassingly probing interviews, eccentric sidekicks, unpredictable comments on the news, station intrigue and, above all, humor. Lots of humor.
Indeed, without Stern, CBS Radio had changed the entire identity of the station — from K-Rock to the all-new "Free FM" (WFNY/92.3).
Some critics — and The Post found several yesterday in the radio and advertising industries — cautioned that it was only the first show by a first-time radio personality.
"It is too early to judge . . . but he clearly has his work cut out," said Talkers magazine publisher Michael Harrison.
"He doesn't have a natural sense of humor, and that's not something that is easily learned," he said.
"It didn't go as smoothly as anticipated from the buildup, but you're dealing with a guy who's never done radio before," said Jerry Levy, president of JL Media, a major buyer of radio ads.
"Stern is a tough — if not impossible — act to follow," Levy said. "You have to give it a little time to see how it shakes out."
Former WCBS-FM DJ Bob Shannon wasn't quite as understanding.
"A new show by a real radio professional would be there from the get go!" Shannon wrote on the widely-read New York Radio Message Board.
The kinks "should all have been worked out before the program ever hits the air."
At one point, during his riff on censorship, Roth appeared to take a poke at his predecessor, who starts on Sirius Satellite Radio next Monday.
"What do we do with our censorship?" Roth asked. "We do do-do jokes and then we yell 'the f-word' [in lieu of the real thing] . . . and we pretend we're shocked [by] two girls kissing."
from the NY Daily News
Howard Stern may be walking a tightrope as he heads for satellite radio, but fans are sticking with him.
He returned to the No. 1 spot on morning radio in the spring Arbitron ratings released yesterday.
Perennial leader WLTW (106.7 FM) remained No. 1 both overall and in the "money demographic" of 25- to 54-year-olds.
The spring ratings, which are particularly critical because they help set advertising rates, also brought good news for Stern's WXRK (92.3 FM), WAXQ (104.3 FM), WBLS (107.5 FM) and WNEW (102.7 FM), which got up to 2% of the audience for only the second time in 10 years.
WCBS-AM (880) and WFAN (660 AM) both got baseball boosts, fueled by a jump in evening ratings for the Yankees and Mets, respectively.
All four major Hispanic stations and both hip-hop stations, WQHT (97.1 FM) and WWPR (105.1 FM), went down.
Since Stern announced last fall that he will start at Sirius satellite in January 2006, he has watched and at times helped fuel a drama over whether he might leave early from Infinity Radio and his flagship WXRK.
Some listeners have felt this talk bogs the show down, while Stern himself has complained that Infinity's fear of FCC crackdowns has prevented him from doing "my real show."
While his ratings are down about 15% from last spring, he still vaulted past WSKQ (97.9 FM) and WINS (1010 AM) into the top spot this time.
Meanwhile, one of the hosts who would love to grab more Stern listeners whenever Howard goes to satellite had a good quarter of his own.
Star of WWPR opened up a slightly larger lead over Miss Jones on rival WQHT, though WQHT ran strongly enough the rest of the day to maintain an overall lead in the hip-hop race.
It was a good quarter for rock. WXRK, which switched during the spring to a more eclectic rock mix, rose in the ratings, as did classic rock WAXQ.
WBLS, which had been slumping and is still working on its morning show, rose from 13th to eighth place overall. Afternoon host Wendy Williams ran especially well.
WABC (770 AM) dropped out of the top 10 after its strong 2004 Election Year surge, and it's too soon to tell how the switch from oldies to Jack will affect WCBS-FM (101.1). The station declined a little overall and went up in the younger demographics, but the spring ratings only included about two weeks of Jack.
from the NY Daily News
July 19, 2005
OVERALL: WLTW (6.1), WSJQ (4.8), WRKS (4.7), WQHT (4.3), WWPR (4.0), WHTZ (3.9), WINS (3.7), WBLS (3.6), WAXQ (3.5), WXRK (3.4), WABC (3.2), WCBS-FM, WKTU, WCBS-AM (3.0), WPAT-FM, WQCD (2.9), WQXR, WFAN (2.6), WPLJ (2.4), WOR (2.3), WCAA (2.1), WNEW (2.0), WADO (1.3), WLIB (1.0).
MORNINGS: WXRK (6.6), WINS (6.3), WSKQ (6.2), WLTW (4.8), WHTZ (4.7), WRKS (4.3), WWPR (4.1), WCBS-AM (4.0), WQHT (3.7), WABC (3.0), WAXQ (2.9), WCBS-FM (2.8), WFAN, WPLK, WKTU (2.7), WOR (2.6), WPAT-FM (2.5), WQXR, WBLS (2.1), WQCD (2.0).
--snips--
from the New York Daily News
By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Power 105.1 morning host Star passed hip-hop rival Hot 97 in the winter Arbitron ratings that came out yesterday, then said his sights are set on higher goals - like moving into many of the major national markets that will be left open when Howard Stern moves to Sirius satellite radio next January.
There is no hip-hop war," said Star, who started at WWPR in mid-January and nudged Power-105 past Hot 97 in the morning for the first time. "I had this obligation and I fulfilled it. But this is just one step, because I have a much broader agenda. I'm also after the kids who listen to Hoobastank and Linkin Park. I'm as much about their culture as I am about hip-hop."
There has been speculation that Stern may leave WXRK (92.3 FM) before year's end. Some of that has been fanned by Stern himself, and Star says he is ready to move in. He added that even if Stern didn't leave, "I'd beat him again like I beat him before."
Stern's show slipped to No. 2 in the winter ratings, for the first time since the fall of 2003.
Taking the No. 1 spot were Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow of WSKQ (97.9 FM), with their highest ratings ever.
If Star gave Power the morning boost it wanted, there was also good news in the ratings for WQHT (97.1 FM).
Hot-97 widened its overall lead over WWPR (105.1 FM), apparently weathering the firestorm sparked by its controversial "Tsunami Song."
"For a station with a new program director in a newly competitive landscape, we couldn't be happier," said general manager/vice president Barry Mayo of WQHT parent Emmis Radio.
Mayo also agreed that there is no hip-hop war.
"We only control what we do," he said. "Not what our competitors do. We see growth, so we're on the right track."
Elsewhere in the winter Arbitrons, WLTW (106.7 FM) easily finished first both overall and among 25- to 54-year-olds, the "money demographic."
WLTW program director Jim Ryan suggested that many listeners who turned to Lite last fall for holiday music stayed around in the new year, and that other listeners who switched to talk stations during the election last fall have come back to music.
All the stations that focused on the election went down in the ratings once it was over.
WABC (770 AM), which scored an all-time high rating in the fall, slipped about 20%, which WABC program director Phil Boyce says "wasn't bad. We expected a drop, and we're still in a solid position."
Air America, heard locally on WLIB (1190 AM), also took a hit, as did WFAN (660 AM) morning man Imus, who had his lowest rating in years.
All-news WINS (1010 AM) went up this winter, as did WAXQ, WRKS and WQXR.
Dropping were WPLJ and WQCD, with its "chill" format.
Micky Dolenz, the new morning host at WCBS-FM (101.1), scored about the same ratings as the station had before.
On the hip-hop front, Star edged ahead of Hot-97's Miss Jones, primarily by luring 18- to-34-year-olds who in the past had favored Hot.
"That's a terrific sign for us," said WWPR program director Michael Saunders. "Growth in that segment is exactly what we anticipated when we brought Star in."
A number of 18-34 listeners are apparently turning back to Hot after the morning show, however, because Hot still leads overall with that group.
from the NY Post
April 26, 2005
Don Imus, who dominated New York radio in the pre-Howard Stern era, has hit the ratings skids.
For the first time, Imus came dangerously close to dropping out of the Top 20 in Arbitron quarterly ratings released yesterday.
Now tied for No. 17, Imus was in the top 10 in New York radio just five year ago.
But radio's original bad boy lost a stunning 25 percent of his audience between last fall and winter — his lowest ratings yet and about half the listeners he had 10 years ago.
"One [ratings survey] does not a trend make," said Imus' boss, WFAN programmer Mark Chernoff, "and our radiothon [for children's charities] just raised $3 million — that's a lot of money and a lot of influence.
"The kind of guests Imus interviews shows he's one of the most influential people on radio and, of course, TV as well," Chernoff said, referring to Imus' MSNBC simulcast.
Imus frequently boasts — correctly — that his show is a big reason WFAN ranks among the nation's top-billing radio stations. As long as that keeps up, his job is secure.
"He's never had gigantic numbers, but he's always had gigantic buzz," says Talkers magazine publisher Michael Harrison.
"Much of what you hear reflects Imus' mood and his interests," Harrison said.
"His ratings can come back with gusto at any time, depending on how he feels."
Elsewhere in the winter radio ratings:
* Howard Stern shed 10 percent of his fans and is back to No. 2, behind Spanish-language MEGA (WSKQ).
* Conservative talker WABC plunged after the election but still beats liberal challenger WLIB 3-to-1.
* Night-owl personalities Michael Savage and Lionel (on WOR) and Janeane Garofalo (on WLIB) seem to have swiped listeners from WABC's Laura Ingraham-John Batchelor combo.
* All-news WINS rebounded, rival WCBS-AM sagged again, and Mayor Bloomberg's news/talk WBBR cracked the Top 30 — at 30th.
* Ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz didn't hey-hey or oh-oh WCBS-FM, whose wakeup ratings stayed put.
* In-the-headlines Hot 97 widened the lead in its shootout with Power 105.
* Trouble-plagued WNEW-FM remains trouble-plagued.
from the NY Daily News
January 12, 2005
Howard Stern and WLTW (106.7 FM, Lite-FM) kept their familiar top spots in radio's crucial fall Arbitron ratings released yesterday.
But they were no happier than WABC (770 AM), which rode the election and its aftermath to its highest ratings in a decade, or WWPR (105.1 FM, Power-105), which crept up on rival WQHT (97.1 FM) as it sets to unveil morning host Star on Monday.
WQHT didn't roll over. It was tied for No. 2 overall and stayed a strong No. 1 among its target audience of 18-to 34-year-olds.
Stations that went up included smooth jazz WQCD (101.9 FM) and Hispanic WCAA (105.9 FM), while WRKS (98.7 FM) receded a little from recent highs.
WLTW and WPLJ (95.5 FM) both went up from playing holiday music after Thanksgiving, though WLTW program director Jim Ryan noted that "you don't get a big jump unless you have that position all to yourself."
Both all-news stations, WCBS-AM (880) and WINS (1010 AM), went down slightly despite the election, and despite the fact WCBS-AM had Yankee playoff broadcasts.
Both rhythm stations, WKTU (103.5 FM) and WNEW (102.7 FM), also dropped - WNEW to 1.4% of the audience, last among the city's major stations.
In the close race for No. 1 among advertiser-coveted 25- to 54-year-olds, WLTW stayed slightly ahead of WSKQ (97.9 FM). WSKQ was also second in the morning to Stern, whose share of the audience dropped from 8% to 7%.
WABC program director Phil Boyce noted that afternoon host Sean Hannity had his highest quarter ever, while 'ABC was strong across the board.
"The election was out there for someone to take, and we did it," Boyce said.
Ryan noted that Lite-FM rose after the election, "meaning a lot of our listeners came back to us when it was over. That's a good sign for the coming year."
Overall, WLTW averaged 6% - meaning that in an average quarter hour, 6% of all radio listeners were tuned there - to 4.7% for WSKQ and WQHT, with WWPR at 4.6% and WABC at 4.5%. The rest of the top 10 was WRKS at 4.3%, WHTZ (100.3 FM) at 4.2%, WCBS-FM (101.1) at 3.5%, and WPAT-FM (93.1) and WQCD at 3.4%.
from the NY Daily News
October 19, 2004
Satellite radio-bound Howard Stern soared to his highest ratings since early 2000 in the summer Arbitron ratings released yesterday.
The quarterly figures also smiled on R&B/soul WRKS (98.7 FM), which is challenging WLTW for the No. 1 position among adult listeners; hip-hop WQHT (97.1 FM), which opened up a little distance over still-strong rival WWPR (105.1 FM), and news/talk WABC (770 AM), which rode a surge of election-year interest to its highest ratings in almost a decade.
Oldies WCBS-FM (101.1), which had hit a slump, rebounded into the top 10, and all-news WCBS-AM (880), which has revamped its sound and carries Yankees games, grew from 2.4% of the audience to 2.9%.
Hispanic WSKQ (97.9 FM) took a slight dip, but remained in a tie for second place overall with WQHT and WRKS. All three average 4.9% of the audience to 5.7% for WLTW (106.7 FM).
Lite-FM remained the top station both overall and with advertiser-coveted 25- to 54-year-olds, though the gap has closed in the last year.
"Stations are more bunched up now," said WLTW program director Jim Ryan. "A couple of tenths of a point can make a big difference. We're just happy to be No. 1 in the No. 1 market."
Tony Gray, programming consultant at WRKS, underscored the competition by noting Kiss now has 6.1% of 25- to 54-year-old listeners, to 6.4% for WLTW.
"Our goal is to be No. 1 there," said Gray, "and we will get there."
Stern averaged 8% of the overall audience, his highest number since he had 8.7% in the winter of 2000. He has gotten considerable attention the last few months by hammering the FCC and other critics over indecency restrictions that he said have prevented him from doing "my real show."
He cited that frustration earlier this month when he announced that in January 2006 he will be moving to Sirius Satellite radio, a subscription service that does not have the same FCC-enforced content restrictions.
WABC has also gotten a big boost from current issues. It averaged 4.1% of the audience over the summer, its highest ratings since the fall of 1995.
"This is our Super Bowl," said WABC program director Phil Boyce. "We saw this coming 10 months ago when we began promoting ourselves as the official station of the election."
WABC's average number of weekly listeners has remained constant at 1.2 million, says Boyce, but they listen for longer.
"That tells me," said Boyce, "that they can't get enough of what we're providing."
From the Drudge report (a few extra numbers):
HOWARD STERN HOLDS #1 IN SUMMER BOOK NYC... NUMBERS RELEASED MONDAY SHOW STERN TAKING MORNING DRIVE RACE WITH 8.0 RATING [12+ LISTENERS; 10.8 WITH AGES 25-54] FOR JULY-SEPT. WABC CURTIS/KUBY 3.8; WFAN IMUS 2.6...
from the NY Post
October 19, 2004
Critics said it wouldn't happen, but all-liberal WLIB heated up the ratings over summer, seriously challenging talk-radio rivals WABC and WOR.
In total audience, the "Air America" flagship barely budged, but WLIB thrashed WOR and nipped at the heels of top-dog WABC among the 25- to 54-year-old listeners advertisers chase, according to Arbitron ratings released yesterday.
"The elections are giving them an added boost in a largely liberal town [and] they're benefiting from the whole Bush-Kerry thing," said Mark Lefkowitz of the Furman Roth ad agency.
"WABC has proven that it works in election years and not, [so] it'll be interesting to see what happens to WLIB in the first cycle after the November election," Lefkowitz told The Post.
In midday, when both stations roll out their top guns -- WABC's Rush Limbaugh vs. Air America's Al Franken -- WABC's 2.7 percent audience share in 25-54 (ranked 15th) was trailed closely by WLIB's 2.3 (18th). WOR's four-show combo between 10 and 3 had a lowly 0.8 (27th).
(WOR runs Bill O'Reilly at a time that crosses two ratings dayparts and won't be isolated until later in the week.)
In total audience for the entire week, WABC led with 4.1 (7th) to WOR's 2.2 (18th) and WLIB's 1.4 (23rd).
Meantime, Howard Stern -- who's been basking in massive media attention thanks to FCC fines, noisy cancellations, and his loudly-trumpeted move to satellite radio in 15 months -- broke yet another recent ratings record.
Stern's 8.0 percent total-audience share dwarfed runners-up La Mega (6.7) and all-news WINS (6.4).
The shock jock has been criticized by his bosses and affiliates for doing "non-stop commercials" for satellite radio and finally stopped talking about it on his K-Rock show yesterday -- save for one vague sentence:
"I'm in a lot of magazines for a reason that I won't go into on the air," Stern told listeners, "and in each magazine my hair looks worse than before."
from the NY Daily News
July 19, 2004
Howard Stern of WXRK returns from vacation this morning on a wave of good news. Besides starting on nine new affiliates, he has solidified his position as New York's No. 1 morning show. Other winners in the spring Arbitron ratings, which came out Friday and cover April-June, include WLTW, No. 1 overall; WSKQ, first among advertiser-coveted 25- to 54-year-olds; WABC, the top-rated AM station; WBLS, back in the top 10 after a slow winter; WWPR, up to fifth place; and WQHT, which held off Power's challenge to remain the top-rated hip-hop station.
Much of the other information ordinarily provided by Arbitron's quarterly ratings, however, is unavailable this time to anyone except Arbitron subscribers.
Infinity, which owns WINS, WCBS-AM, WCBS-FM, WFAN, WXRK and WNEW, has severed its relationship with Arbitron. So Arbitron told its remaining clients - every other station in town - that the only data it could make public is the overall market share for each station, known as the "12-plus" number.
All other breakdowns - morning and afternoon shares, age group shares - are considered private.
Stations use Arbitron data primarily to sell ads. But they also help promote a station's image and success.
"When you're No. 1, you want to let people know about it," says program director Jim Ryan of WLTW. "A situation like this is frustrating."
But for now, listeners and fans cannot follow many of radio's ongoing minidramas: How did Wendy Williams do against Michael Baisden? Is WNEW making inroads on WKTU? What talk hosts are benefiting from political season?
A few numbers did leak out. Stern, who spent much of the spring counterattacking against the "indecency" crackdown, averaged 7.8% of the audience in the spring, up from 6.7% a year ago.
Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow on WSKQ were second in the morning with 7.3%, and WSKQ was No. 1 among 25- to 54-year-olds with 6.6% of the audience.
"We're having a great run," says WSKQ program director George Mier. "We're succeeding because we're different from everyone else."
Mier said the station's mid-day audience increased after it extended the morning show to 11.
WLTW was second among 25- to 54-year-olds, meaning it was the top-rated station among primarily English-language listeners.
WQHT, which promoted its Summer Jam concert heavily this spring, was first with 18- to 34-year-olds, averaging 9.4%. WWPR was second with 8%.
News-talk WABC, which does well in election years, averaged 3.9% of the audience. All-news WINS, which usually leads all AM stations, had 3.7%.
WLIB, home of the liberal network Air America, had the same share in the spring, 1.3%, that it had with its old programming in the winter.
WNEW slipped a bit, from 1.6% in the winter to 1.5% - a figure that doesn't reflect the station's recent shift from adult contemporary to more rhythmic music.
Out in the suburbs, WMTR (1250 AM) in Morristown, N.J., which switched to "classic oldies" from adult standards, almost doubled its share of that suburban market, from 2.4% to 4.6%.
The spring "book" is critical in radio because it determines advertising rates.
Here are the overall spring Arbitron numbers in New York. The first number represents the percentage of listeners tuned in during an average quarter hour. The number in parentheses is that station's share for the previous quarter.
1. WLTW 5.6 (5.8) 2. WSKQ 5.4 (4.9) 3. WRKS 4.7 (5.0) 4. WQHT 4.7 (4.2) 5. WWPR 4.3 (3.7) 6. WHTZ 4.2 (4.7) 7. WABC 3.9 (3.7) 8. WXRK 3.7 (3.3) 8. WINS 3.7 (3.9) 10. WBLS 3.3 (2.9) 10. WKTU 3.3 (3.6) 12. WCBS-FM 3.2 (3.2) 13. WPAT-FM 3.1 (2.9) 14. WQCD 2.9 (3.1) 15. WAXQ 2.8 (3.0) 16. WCAA 2.6 (2.6) 17. WFAN 2.5 (2.2) 18. WOR 2.4 (2.2) 18. WCBS-AM 2.4 (2.6) 20. WQXR 2.3 (2.5) 20. WPLJ 2.3 (2.8) 22. WADO 1.6 (1.4) 23. WNEW 1.5 (1.6) 24. WLIB 1.3 (1.3) 25. WALK 1.1 (1.1)
AROUND THE DIAL: Brandy is the guest deejay today on WWPR (105.1 FM), 3-6 p.m.... Amy Goodman recounts political convention history all week on "Democracy Now!" over WBAI (99.5 FM), 9 a.m.... WFUV (90.7 FM) features Phish tomorrow.... WXRK (92.3 FM) is advertising for an afternoon host to replace Cane.... WAWZ (99.1 FM) had listeners backed up for three miles Friday morning to get gas at 99.1 cents a gallon.... The dangers of megacorporate media are discussed tonight at 7 on "Building Bridges" over WBAI.
from the NY Radio Message Board
I grabbed this from the NY radio message board. I'm not sure how much we will get for ratings in the future thanks to some of the Arbitron embargo that has been put on...
HOWARD STERN ROCKS NYC IN SPRING ARBITRON: RATED #1 WITH 7.8 SHARE IN ALL LISTENERS, (16% increase); RATED #1 WITH AGE 25-54 AT 10.8 SHARE, 7.3 35-64.
from the NY Daily News
April 26th, 2004
Howard Stern rode the indecency hysteria back to the top of the morning radio ratings for the winter quarter, while WLTW kept a solid lead both overall and with the 25- to 54-year-olds who maximize a station's ad revenue.
But the biggest surges in the January-March Arbitron ratings belonged to WRKS and WHTZ.
WRKS rose to No. 2 overall by averaging 5% of the audience - up from 3.6% a year ago. Kiss-FM was led by the Jeff Foxx/Shaila "Wake-Up Club" and Michael Baisden's red-hot afternoon relationship show, "Love, Lust and Lies."
A year ago, the Kiss morning show averaged 2.9% of the audience, tied with the syndicated Doug Banks show on rival WBLS. Now Kiss is at 4.3% and Banks at 2.2%, leading Foxx to say, "This proves New York wants a New York show in the morning."
In the afternoon, Baisden jumped from 4.8% of the audience in the fall to 5.9%, tying him for first place with WLTW. Baisden's increase almost matches the drop for WBLS' afternoon diva Wendy Williams, who fell from 4.7% to 3.5%.
WHTZ's surge from 3.7% of the audience to 4.7% was led by Elvis Duran's Morning Zoo, whose 5.1% audience share was the highest number for a Z-100 morning show in many years.
"Elvis' numbers were unbelievable," said WHTZ program director Tom Poleman. "But it also was a team effort. It's no secret top-40 has been lagging over the last couple of years, so we reinvented the station top to bottom."
Poleman also noted that "there's more rock- and pop-friendly music now that there has been in a while - and a lot going on with pop culture in general. Our decision to associate ourselves with Jessica Simpson certainly paid off."
Poleman likened the situation to a decade ago, when top-40 rebounded after a lull. Both city hip-hop stations went down, raising the possibility some listeners may be sampling top-40 more heavily.
WPLJ also had a good quarter, hitting the top 10 with both 18- to 34-year-olds and 25- to 54-year-olds.
"There was a lot of material for Scott [Shannon] and Todd [Pettengill] in the morning," says WPLJ vice president Tom Cuddy, "and Race Taylor has added personality to our afternoon drive."
WNEW, whose new "Mix" format last fall aimed at WPLJ and WLTW, did well with Christmas music, but this quarter had just 1.6% of the audience.
News/talk WABC, whose program director Phil Boyce likes election years, rose to seventh place overall, led by a big surge from afternoon host Sean Hannity.
Stern's success here was mirrored in Los Angeles, where he was also No. 1.
The winter ratings were not so kind to WBLS or WCBS-FM, whose 3.2% share was its lowest in years. WCBS-FM tightened its playlist in the middle of the quarter, so those changes won't be reflected until the spring ratings.
WLTW's lead dropped slightly. "Give credit to other stations who did well," says program director Jim Ryan. WLTW has resumed its television ad campaign as the spring quarter gets under way.
WSKQ slipped from its splendid fall ratings, but remains ahead of where it was a year ago. Most of the drop at WQHT, which finished fifth with a still-solid 4.2%, reflects the fact its morning show averaged 4.9% a year ago and 3.2% now. Hot hasn't had a permanent morning show since Star and Buc Wild left last April, and station officials have said finding a new one is its "top priority."
Following are winter 2004 Arbitron rankings. The number in parentheses is the percentage of the total audience listening during the average quarter hour.
OVERALL: WLTW (5.8), WRKS (5.0), WSKQ ( 4.9), WHTZ (4.7), WQHT (4.2), WINS (3.9), WABC & WWPR (3.7), WKTU (3.6), WXRK (3.3), WCBS-FM (3.2), WQCD (3.1), WAXQ (3.0), WPAT-FM & WBLS (2.9), WPLJ (2.8), WCAA & WCBS-AM (2.6), WQXR (2.5), WOR & WFAN (2.2), WNEW (1.6), WADO (1.4), WLIB (1.3), WALK (1.1)
MORNINGS: WXRK (7.2), WSKQ (6.9), WINS (6.4), WHTZ (5.1), WLTW (4.6), WRKS (4.3), WCBS-AM (4.0), WABC & WKTU (3.4), WQHT (3.2), WPLJ (3.1), WCBS-FM & WWPR (2.8), WCAA & WFAN (2.6), WOR, WAXQ, WBLS & WPAT-FM (2.2), WADO & WQCD (2.0)
AFTERNOONS: WRKS & WLTW (5.9), WHTZ (4.9), WQHT (4.7), WABC (4.5), WWPR (3.8), WKTU (3.7), WSKQ (3.6), WBLS (3.5), WQCD, WAXQ & WCBS-FM (3.2), WPAT-FM, WPLJ & WINS (3.0), WOR & WFAN (2.7), WQXR (2.4), WCAA & WXRK (2.3)
25- TO 54-YEAR-OLDS: WLTW (6.6), WSKQ (5.9), WRKS (5.7), WKTU (4.6), WAXQ (4.4), WPLJ (4.2), WXRK (4.1), WHTZ (4.0), WBLS (3.6), WPAT-FM, WQCD & WINS (3.5), WCBS-FM (3.1), WCAA & WQHT (3.0)
18- TO 34-YEAR-OLDS: WQHT (9.5), WHTZ (8.3), WWPR ( 7.5), WSKQ (7.4), WKTU (6.5), WXRK (6.0), WBLS & WLTW (4.9), WPLJ (4.0), WPAT-FM (3.8), WRKS (3.7), WCAA (3.3), WAXQ (2.9), WNEW (1.8), WQCD (1.7).
from the NY Post
April 24, 2004
April 24, 2004 -- Howard Stern thundered back to the top of the ratings yesterday, proving once again that any publicity is good publicity in radio.
The shock jock - who was suspended in February, fined in March, and both fined and fired (by Clear Channel) this month - delivered his best numbers for K-Rock in more than three years, according to Arbitron's winter ratings.
Stern, who ranked third last fall, rocketed from a 5.9 percent morning-audience share to a pack-leading 7.2 in winter, surpassing WSKQ's Luis Jimenez and all-news WINS.
"The FCC has no idea [that] they just did the old guy the biggest favor ever," said Gregg "Opie" Hughes, who feuded with Stern until he and partner Anthony Cumia lost their radio gigs after the sex-in-St. Pat's scandal.
"People who haven't checked out Howard in years are tuning him in in droves lately," Hughes said. "Make no mistake about it - controversy will always sell."
WABC's Rush Limbaugh - whose admitted addiction to painkillers got him plenty of headlines, too - also rebounded beyond recent highs.
The grandfather of all shock jocks - Don Imus - had his lowest ratings ever last winter for WFAN, down again from an earlier record bottom last fall.
His 2.6 percent audience share - little better than a third of Stern's new total - ranked 14th among all morning listeners.
Meanwhile yesterday, Infinity Broadcasting Corp., contested a $27,500 fine imposed by the Federal Communications Commission for a 2001 Stern show, saying the penalty is part of a federal campaign to undermine constitutional free-speech rights.
"The commission has abruptly and systematically altered almost every aspect of indecency enforcement in ways that dramatically undermine the lawfulness" of the agency's penalties, Infinity, the second-largest U.S. radio network, said in a filing with the FCC.
In March, the FCC said it would fine Infinity for a 2001 show that described "sexual and excretory" activities at an hour when children may have been listening. If the FCC proceeds with its fine, the first involving the Stern show since 1998, New York-based Infinity can appeal to a federal court.
Clear Channel Communications, the No. 1 U.S. radio network, chose to avoid a dispute with the FCC.
Earlier this year, Clear Channel yanked Stern's show from the six markets where the company was airing the program.
from the New York Daily News
April 24th, 2004
Coming under fire from the FCC has an upside for Howard Stern - bigger ratings.
Stern, who since February has been the target of FCC fines and a touchstone for the indecency debate, rocketed to the top of the morning radio rankings, according to Arbitron figures released yesterday.
Stern's show on WXRK-FM grabbed 7.2% of the listeners tuned in over the age of 12.
He surpassed Spanish-language WSKQ-FM, which had trounced the shock jock during the fall 2003 ratings period.
Indeed, Stern's rollicking morning show generated its highest audience since fall 2000.
And it was a huge spike in listeners from the 5.9% share he had last time.
Some of the increase can be attributed to the intense media attention focused on Stern in the wake of Janet Jackson's breast-baring stunt at the Super Bowl.
After the Feb. 1 game, the FCC fast-tracked indecency rulings - stations carrying Stern have been fined more than $500,000 already - landing Stern in newspapers and on TV.
"I was surprised his numbers weren't higher," said Jim Ryan, program director at WLTW-FM, the top-rated station overall. "Because of the FCC, the indecency thing, I'd have thought he'd go through the roof."
Stern was followed in the mornings by WSKQ-FM, down to 6.2% of the listeners from 8% in the fall. WINS-AM was third, down to 6.4% from 6.9% in the fall. WHTZ-FM was up to 5.1% of the market, and has showed consistent growth over the past year. Rounding out the top five was WLTW with 4.6%.
"This was an awesome book, everybody was clicking," said Tom Poleman, program director at WHTZ. "Elvis Duran had unbelievable numbers in the morning."
Elsewhere in the mornings, WABC-AM's "Curtis & Kuby" were tied for No. 8 with WKTU-FM, each getting 3.4% of the audience. Scott Shannon and Todd Pettingill on WPLJ-FM were No. 11, with 3.1%.
Don Imus on WFAN-AM drew 2.6% of the morning crowd to finish No. 14.
Overall, WLTW was the most-listened-to station, drawing 5.8% of the audience over 12 listening between 6 a.m. and midnight. WRKS-FM followed with 5%, up from 4.4% last fall. WSKQ was down to 4.9%, from 5.8% last fall. WHTZ drew 4.7%, up from 3.7% last fall. And WQHT averaged 4.2%, down from 4.7% last fall.
from the New York Daily News
March 1st, 2004
--snips--
RATINGS: The monthly Arbitrend ratings, interim measurements between the quarterly ratings that really count, show Howard Stern of WXRK (92.3 FM) and WHTZ (100.3 FM) up in January.
Stern has closed in on WSKQ (97.9 FM) for No. 1 in the morning and has pulled ahead among listeners 25 to 54. Z-100 has risen into the top five.
WNEW (102.7 FM) averaged 2% of the audience, way up from a year ago. We'll know in April how many of the listeners who liked its holiday music have stuck around. Its adult contemporary rival, WLTW (106.7 FM), is showing no drop.
from the NY Daily News
January 7th, 2004
|
| Moonshadow (l.) and Luis Jimenez uncorked the bubbly after WSKQ was named morning ratings champ, unseating Howard Stern (below). |
|
Nueva New York flexed another media muscle yesterday as Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow, hosts of "El Vacilon De La Manana" on WSKQ (97.9 FM), blasted past Howard Stern in the fall Arbitron ratings to become the first Spanish-language morning show to hit No. 1.
"Numero uno!" Jimenez hollered into the microphone as the rest of the crew broke into loud applause behind him.
"El Vacilon" averaged 8% of the morning audience, to 6.9% for all-news WINS and 5.9% for Stern. In the summer of 2003, Stern had been No. 1 with 6.8% and WSKQ was second with 6.5%.
WSKQ had an estimated 955,000 listeners tuning in at some point during the week, up from 811,000 in the summer. Stern had 980,000 per week and WINS 1.6 million, but their audiences listened for shorter periods of time.
Champagne corks popped and balloons floated across the WSKQ studio at 10:01 a.m. yesterday when general manager Carey Davis shouted the numbers over the chaos of "El Vacilon," a fast-paced, sometimes raunchy show that focuses on celebrities, lifestyle, sex, listener tales and other familiar morning fare.
"This isn't a 'Spanish' radio show," said Davis. "It's a radio show that happens to be mostly in Spanish."
But Spanish-language and bilingual radio is big business, with four full-time stations serving listeners who comprise an estimated 18.2% of the area's 15 million radio listeners.
Jimenez said a big part of WSKQ's recent surge comes from finding common ground within the Hispanic community.
"We have first- and second-generation immigrants," he said. "We have people from South and Central America and the islands. So instead of trying to say something in 12 languages, we've developed our own language. It ties us all together."
Michael Harrison, editor of the trade magazine Talkers, said English-and Spanish-language radio rarely shared listeners in the past, but that this is changing as immigrants and their children speak more English.
Program director Jim Ryan of overall ratings leader WLTW (106.7 FM) said 20% of Lite's audience is Hispanic, "and that's one of the reasons we've remained dominant: We appeal to everyone."
WSKQ shares listeners with English-language WKTU, among other stations, and Moonshadow cautioned that in a business as fluid as radio, it's unwise to spend much time savoring any victory.
"You enjoy it for a minute, then you go back to work," he said. "Next time you could drop three-tenths of a point and people would be asking what happened."
Jimenez said the same thing about beating Stern - that it's nothing to get complacent about.
"There's only one Howard," he said. "It feels good to finish ahead of him because he's the best. That's what you aim for."
But Davis said finishing first has value beyond temporary bragging rights.
"When the station reached No. 1 overall [in the summer of 1998], it forced people to look at us," he said. "It said to advertisers, 'How can you possibly ignore an audience this huge?' "
"The only surprise today," said Harrison, "would be if a Hispanic station did not eventually finish No. 1."
The top of the morning in N.Y.
The top 10 morning radio shows in New York for fall 2003, as measured by Arbitron. The number is the percentage of the audience tuned in during an average quarter hour:
1. WSKQ - Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow, 8% 2. WINS - All-news, 6.9% 3. WXRK - Howard Stern, 5.9% 4. WLTW - Bill Buchner, 4.7% 5. WRKS - Jeff Foxx and Shaila, 4% 5. WHTZ - Elvis Duran and Morning Zoo, 4% 7. WCBS-AM - All-news, 3.9% 8. WKTU - Baltazar and Goumba Johnny, 3.6% 9. WCBS-FM - Dan Taylor and Karen Stewart, 3.4% 10. WABC - Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby, 3.3% 10. WQHT - DJ Sway, Miss Info, Rich Nice, 3.3%
Meanwhile, out on Long Island...
from Newsday
January 8, 2004
Want yet another demonstration of how different Nassau and Suffolk counties are from New York City? Look no further than the fall Arbitron radio ratings.
In the city, Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow's "El Vacilón de la Mañana," on Spanish-language Mega 97 (WSKQ/97.9 FM), took over the No. 1 spot, dropping Howard Stern on alternate K-Rock (WXRK/92.3 FM) to No. 3 behind news WINS/1010 AM.
But Stern remained king on Long Island, which still has no Hispanic station to call its own. WSKQ's morning show did no better than a tie for No. 16, with adult contemporary K-JOY (WKJY/98.3 FM). Yet the Island's Latino community is young, growing and listening to the radio. In the local audience aged 12 and older, WSKQ ranked a mere No. 23. But in the advertisers' prime age group, 25-54, the station tied for 17 with news WCBS/880 AM. Among those aged 18-34, WSKQ tied at No. 7 with perennial Long Island powerhouse, adult contemporary WALK/97.5 FM.
--snips--
from the New York Daily News
December 30th, 2003
Several radio stations shook up their mornings this year, while WNEW changed formats as if they were socks - and without too many listeners noticing.
It was a good year for WSKQ, whose morning show caught the mighty Howard Stern. But the station that had the best year - again - was WLTW, which was No. 1 by wide margins and will be the country's most profitable station. Again.
--snips--
from the NY Daily News
December 15th, 2003
--snips--
RATINGS NOTES: The monthly Arbitrend ratings reports aren't what really counts in radio, but they can indicate trends, and the end-of-November numbers hold good signs for WSKQ (97.9 FM) and its morning team of Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow.
Mega was a strong second overall, behind WLTW (106.7 FM) and the morning show was well ahead of WINS and Howard Stern on WXRK (92.3 FM).
Meanwhile, Emmis put all three of its stations in the top six: WQHT (97.1 FM) at No. 3, WRKS (98.7 FM) at No. 4 and WQCD (101.9 FM) tied for No. 6.
from the NY Daily News
November 10, 2003
Radio - David Hinckley
--snips--
In between the quarterly ratings that really matter, Arbitron also issues monthly updates, and the ratings for August-October have at least one interesting result: "El Vacilon De La Manana" with Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow on WSKQ (97.9 FM) is ahead of both WINS and Howard Stern in the morning.
from the New York Daily News
October 13th, 2003
WLTW continues to make it look easy in the city radio ratings, and Howard Stern has moved back to his familiar No. 1 spot in the morning.
In the summer Arbitron ratings released Friday, WLTW (Lite-FM, 106.7) dominates in both overall audience share, with 6.6%, and among advertiser-coveted 25- to 54-year-olds, with 7.4%.
Stern, who lost the No. 1 spot to WINS (1010 AM) when Iraqi war news was hot earlier ths year, has taken it back, averaging 6.8% of the morning audience.
But no station enjoyed summer more than WSKQ (La Mega, 97.9 FM) or WRKS (Kiss, 98.7 FM).
WSKQ jumped from 10th to second place overall, averaging 4.5% of the audience compared to 3.5% in the spring. The Mega morning show was also second overall, averaging 6.5% of the audience, and for the first time it beat Stern among 18- to 34-year-olds, 11.7% to 11.2%.
"We couldn't be happier," said vice president Carey Davis. "People responded to good music and laughs in the morning."
Any time an Hispanic station reaches No. 1, says Davis, "It exponentially increases the awareness of our audience."
At WRKS, which jumped from seventh to fourth, vice president Barry Mayo took the staff out Friday for a $700 lunch.
"Kiss has been been growing for a year," he says. "What you have now is that rare station firing on all cylinders."
Mayo points specifically to the morning show with Jeff Foxx and Shaila, which replaced the syndicated Tom Joyner show earlier this year. Their 4.5% share of 25- to 54-year-olds already beats Joyner's highest number, Mayo notes.
He also cites afternoon host Michael Baisden, "who already making a strong run at [WBLS'] Wendy Williams."
Less bright news for Mayo was a dip for the DJ Sway morning show and thus the overall ratings at WRKS' Emmis sister station WQHT (97.1 FM).
The morning show dropped from 4.4% to 3.2%. But since the morning show on hip-hop rival WWPR (105.1 FM) also fell, which would be unusual, it may be that the hip-hop audience was underrepresented in the summer sample.
"We'll want to look closely at that aspect of it," says Mayo.
WSKQ's Davis suggests some Hot or Power listeners may have switched to Mega, which has been wooing them.
Another station that had a good summer is WOR (710 AM), where some lineup changes seem to have paid off. The expanded Ed Walsh morning show moved up to 10th place and a tie with rival WABC (770 AM), while additions such as Lionel and Bill O'Reilly went up.
"Our listeners have strong loyalty," says program director Maurice Tunick. "But they seem to like our adjustments."
Tunick notes this ratings quarter does not yet reflect WOR's late-summer addition of Michael Savage.
WQXR (96.3 FM) took a ratings dip, as it often does in summer. In morning drive, where long-time host Gregg Whiteside was dismissed, the audience share fell to 1.5% from 2% in the spring.
All-sports WEPN (1050 AM), which is aggressively challenging WFAN (660 AM), rose to 0.6% of 25- to 54-year-olds. WFAN fell from 2.5% in spring to 2.1%, still comfortably ahead.
WCBS-AM, which carries the Yankees, averaged 4.3% of the evening audience. WFAN, with the Mets, averaged 2.5%.
WABC (770 AM) took a couple of dips, but afternoon host Sean Hannity surged from 3.6% in the spring to 4.6%.
And this always seems to happen: In her last quarter on WAXQ (104.3 FM), morning host Leslie Gold's ratings went up - from 2.1% to 2.3%.
Following are the summer Arbitron ratings. The figure in parentheses is the percentage of the total audience listening to that station in the average quarter hour:
OVERALL: WLTW (6.6), WSKQ & WQHT (4.5), WRKS (4.2), WINS (4.1), WWPR (4.0), WHTZ (3.9), WCBS-FM (3.8), WKTU (3.7), WBLS (3.6), WABC (3.5), WQCD (3.4), WCBS-AM (3.2), WXRK (3.1), WPAT-FM & WAXQ (2.9), WOR & WPLJ (2.5), WFAN (2.3), WCAA (2.2), WQXR (2.1), WLIB & WADO (1.1), WALK & WNEW (0.9).
MORNING DRIVE: WXRK (6.8), WSKQ (6.5), WINS (6.4), WLTW (5.2), WCBS-AM (4.2), WRKS (3.7), WCBS-FM & WHTZ (3.6), WQHT (3.2), WOR, WABC & WPLJ (3.1), WFAN & WKTU (3.0), WCAA, WBLS & WWPR (2.8), WQCD (2.6), WAXQ (2.3), WPAT-FM (2.1).
--snips--
from the New York Daily News
October 11th, 2003
But the news was just as good for Hispanic WSKQ (97.9 FM), which surged from 10th place to second, and for WABC's afternoon host Sean Hannity, who leaped to fourth place from ninth.
WOR (710 AM) had a healthy jump, particularly for the Ed Walsh morning show. WRKS (98.7 FM) continued a year-long rise that has now brought it to fourth place overall.
Hip-hop stations WQHT (97.1 FM) and WWPR (105.1 FM) both declined, which could mean the sampling was off.
Stern regained the top spot with 6.8% of the audience, edging out WSKQ and WINS.
WNEW (102.7 FM) edged up marginally with its new "Blink" format, but it remains the lowest-rated major station in the city.
WLTW (106.7 FM) averaged 6.6% of the overall audience, more than two full points ahead of second-place WSKQ and WQHT. Lite-FM was even further ahead of second-place WRKS among advertiser-coveted 25- to 54-year-olds.
--snips--
from the NY Radio Message Board
October 10, 2003
Ratings Stuff:
EXCERPT:
In Morning Drive, Stern wins again holding just about steady in the ratings at number one.
WSKQ again takes a BIG jump up (1.5 shares!) to number 2 must ahead of WINS at #3. Bill Buckner on WLTW had a decent summer coming in at #4, up .5. WCBS-AM follows, then Kiss, WCBS-FM and Z 100. Hot 97, without Starr, took a hit in this daypart dropping 1.3 to #9. Ed Walsh on WOR had a terrific summer (how about THAT!) going up .8 to #10 and tying chief competitor WABC (Curtis and Kuby dropped .3).
WPLJ was also tied with WOR and WABC at #10. Just behind by .1 share are WFAN and WKTU at #13. WCAA, WBLS and Power 105 are all tied at #15. Then follows WQCD. Leslie Gold’s last full ratings period on Q 104 landed here at #19 with a 2.3 share (about where she has been for the last year).
Then follows WPAT, WADO, WQXR, WALK, WLIB, WKXW, WMCA and some others. WNEW and WEPN were tied with a .5 at #31.
from the NY Daily News
July 15th, 2003
The young "Blink" didn't create much more than a yawn in Arbitron's spring radio ratings, while Power-105 had a nice surge, WINS stayed ahead of Howard Stern in the morning and WLTW (Lite-FM) once again ran the table.
WLTW, which has been No. 1 in every ratings quarter since summer 1998, averaged 6.7% of the audience to 4.9% for second-place WQHT (Hot-97).
Among advertiser-coveted 25- to 54-year-olds, Lite averaged a remarkable 7.5% - three full points ahead of WBLS, WRKS and WKTU. Since the spring quarter is used to determine ad rates for the year, Lite seems likely to remain the most profitable radio station in America.
"If it weren't for that darned war, we would have really had a good showing," jokes WLTW program director Jim Ryan.
Two stations that did see an earlier surge from the war in Iraq, news/talk WABC and all-news WINS, generally held their gains, though WABC afternoon host Sean Hannity slipped a bit.
In morning drive, the crucial time for radio, WINS averaged 6.9% of the audience to 6.7% for WXRK's Stern, who remains first among his younger target audience.
The morning surprise on two other stations was that they showed very little change.
On WCBS-FM, where longtime host Harry Harrison stepped aside for Dan Taylor, the share actually went up a tick, from 3.7% to 3.8%.
At WQHT, where controversial host Star was under suspension for most of the quarter, the overall share fell from 4.9% to 4.4%. But it held almost even among the station's target audience, 18- to 34-year-olds.
Meanwhile, the Ed Lover and Doctor Dre morning show on Hot-97's rival WWPR (Power-105) rose from 2.9% to 3.2%.
Power pulled into fourth place overall - making this a strong quarter for hip-hop radio, since Hot-97 also went up among its target audience.
"We're pleased any time we're number one," says WQHT program director Tracy Cloherty.
The new "Blink" format at WNEW (102.7 FM), a hybrid of music and entertainment features, is some distance from there. Overall, Blink is averaging 0.7% of the audience, putting it in 26th place. The morning show of Chris Booker and Lynda Lopez averaged 0.4%, which barely hits the radar.
But spokesman Dana McClintock of parent Infinity says officials are "encouraged by the early, and we stress early, results."
McClintock noted the station more than doubled its audience among young women, its target audience, although at this point that simply nudges it past 1%.
Some rival stations agreed that it's still early in Blink's life.
"They're still trying to find themselves," says vice president Tom Cuddy of WPLJ (95.5 FM) - whose own station went up across the board while playing a lot of the music Blink is playing.
from the NY Daily News
July 15, 2003
WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN: Radio's quarterly Arbitron ratings often look different to advertisers, who pay radio's freight, than to listeners.
These are the top 20 stations in the spring Arbitron ratings, which came out yesterday and cover April-June. The number in parentheses is the percentage of the total audience listening during an average quarter hour:
WLTW (6.7), WQHT (4.9), WINS (4.3), WWPR (4.2), WHTZ (4.0), WCBS-FM (3.9), WRKS (3.8), WABC & WKTU (3.6), WSKQ and WBLS (3.5), WQCD (3.4), WXRK (3.3), WAXQ (2.9), WCBS-AM (2.8), WPAT-FM and WQXR (2.7), WPLJ (2.6), WFAN (2.4), WCAA (2.2).
In the morning, when radio has peak listenership, the top stations fall in like this:
WINS (6.9), WXRK (6.7), WSKQ (5.0), WLTW (4.7), WQHT (4.4), WCBS-AM (4.0), WHTZ (3.9), WCBS-FM (3.8), WRKS (3.6), WABC (3.4), WFAN and WWPR (3.2), WKTU (3.1), WCAA and WPLJ (2.8).
But these overall ratings are widely called radio's "beauty contest," because they are less important than being near the top stations in a specific desirable demographic.
If a company wants to advertise a certain product - cars, soda, computers, whatever - it will ask its ad agency to buy spots on the stations that most effectively reach the target audience for that product. The most popular target audiences are 18 to 34 years old and 25 to 54.
The results there are often quite different from the overall standings:
18-TO-34: WQHT (11.0), WWPR (7.8), WHTZ (7.0), WKTU (6.3), WXRK (5.8), WSKQ (5.5), WLTW (5.3), WBLS (4.8), WPLJ (3.8), WPAT-FM (3.6).
25-TO-54: WLTW (7.5), WBLS, WRKS and WKTU (4.5), WAXQ (4.3), WSKQ and WXRK (4.2), WCBS-FM (4.0), WPLJ (3.9), WQCD and WINS (3.7).
from the NJ Star Ledger
July 15, 2003
The spring ratings book for the New York metro radio market offered few surprises yesterday.
The most noteworthy development was the rebound by WWPR (105.1 FM). The Clear Channel-owned urban format station gained ground on WQHT (97.1 FM), which is owned by Emmis Communications. Hot 97, as WQHT is known, is the top-rated station with listeners 18-34 in the market with an 11.0 share. In second place is Power 105, which has a 7.8 with the 18-34 listeners. WWPR gained almost a full point between the winter and spring books with listeners 18-34.
Unlike television, where share points indicate a percentage of households using their TVs, the Arbitron AHQ share indicates a percentage of overall listeners in the market. The New York market has approximately 15 million listeners, and includes north and central New Jersey and Connecticut.
For those who thought the departure of controversial Hot 97 morning man Star would hurt the station in the ratings, the station only lost .2 points from winter to spring. Hot 97 is second in morning drive with listeners 18-34 with an 11 share, just behind Infinity-owned WXRK (92.3 FM), which features Howard Stern at that time. K-Rock has an 11.2 share for the mornings. One area where Hot 97 made some gains was in the afternoon drive slot, with Sunny garnering a 10.7 to lead the market with listeners 18-34. Sunny is filling in for Angie Martinez, who is out on maternity leave. The winter rating for the slot was 9.3.
As for the overall numbers for listeners 12 and older, WLTW (106.7 FM) won its seventh consecutive ratings book with a 6.7 share. It was followed by WQHT with 4.9, WINS (1010 AM) 4.3, WWPR 4.2, WHTZ (100.3 FM) 4.0, WCBS (101.1 FM) 3.9, WRKS (98.7 FM) 3.8, WABC (770 AM) 3.6, WKTU (103.5 FM) 3.6, WSKQ (97.9 FM) 3.5, WBLS (107.5 FM) 3.5.
Talk radio, which had shown some gains in the winter book in relation to the runup to the war in Iraq, held steady in the spring, with WABC (770 AM) and WCBS (880 AM) showing little change in the new book. South Jersey radio analyst Julian Breen, who was an assistant program director at WABC some years back, said WCBS had lost some share points from last spring.
"I think when the Yankees weren't on Cablevision, more people were listening to games," Breen said. "The team doesn't seem to be doing much for CBS this year." WCBS posted a 2.8 share, down from 3.3 last spring.
WNEW (102.7 FM), better known as Blink, posted a slight gain from winter to spring. The Infinity-owned station went from .5 to .7 in the overall ratings, and rose from .8 to 1.2 with listeners 18-34.
from the New York Daily News
June 9, 2003
New York's most popular morning radio host was talking about sex - as usual - on his show last week.
More specifically, he was taking calls from listeners about the strange noises people make while doing it.
When a caller went into graphic detail about his romp with a deaf and mute woman, the morning guy and his studio cohorts encouraged the listener to mimic her guttural moans of passion over the air.
Then the host did his own over-the-top imitation of a hearing-impaired woman in the throes of ecstasy.
Howard Stern, right?
No, this was Luis Jimenez on "La Mega" (WSKQ/97.9-FM), whose "El Vacilón de la Mañana" (which roughly translates to "The Morning Party") has now topped the mighty Stern here in the ratings.
And he's accomplished this by beating the self-proclaimed King of All Media at his own game: being outrageous.
"We don't try to be like Howard Stern - we're funny more than shocking," Jimenez told the Daily News. "We only care about making people laugh. We actually don't like to offend. It's the last thing we want to do."
Broadcast in Spanish from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., Jimenez's show scored a whopping 6.2 in the most recent Arbitron ratings - beating Stern, who had a 6.1 (the numbers refer to the percentage of the radio audience).
The shows have been fighting for morning supremacy for several years, often trading places in the ratings.
"What gets me is that people think that just because the show is in Spanish, [our ratings] somehow don't count," says Jimenez, who has been the host for 10 years. "But we see it as an even bigger victory for a Spanish show to be No. 1 over a Howard Stern."
Jimenez, joined by sidekick Moonshadow and a group of cronies with names like Boca Chula, Shorty and El Papi Chulo, fills the show with jokes, skits, song parodies and the occasional prank call heavy on sexual content.
Much of the humor is rife with double entendres - in Spanish.
There's a technician who mans a bleep button that's supposed to keep expletives off the air, but his reflexes are notoriously slow. In just about every show, vulgar Spanish words - mostly slang for male and female genitalia - sneak by.
With a straight face, Jimenez explains that what might be a dirty word for one Hispanic nationality has a totally different, clean meaning for another. "There's nothing wrong with these words," he says.
Jimenez was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Florida as a teen. A childhood friend, George Mier, helped him land a part-time job in production at an Orlando radio station. When Mier became program director at WSKQ in 1993, he offered Jimenez a job.
Jimenez had a string of co-hosts and sidekicks, but it wasn't until he was paired with Junior Hernandez in 1998 that the morning show's popularity soared.
He says the low point of his career was when Hernandez died unexpectedly that year. "I quit right after his death. There was no way I was going to go back on the air and try to be funny when my partner just died ... but they told me the show must go on."
On the strength of "El Vacilón's" bawdy appeal, WSKQ is now in a three-way tie for third place in the overall ratings with a 4.2% share, behind music stations Lite-FM (WLTW-FM) and Hot 97 (WQHT-FM).
"El Vacilón" is the No. 2 morning program, behind the all-news AM station WINS (6.6%). ("Stern" is first among the highly coveted 25- to 54-year-olds; "El Vacilón" is second.)
Some of Jimenez's antics have landed him in trouble - but they had to do with on-air pranks, not sex.
Two years ago, police stormed La Mega's W. 56th studio when Jimenez said gunmen had burst in and shot several workers. Another time, his claim that the Lincoln Tunnel was flooded caused a flurry of panicked calls and tied up rush-hour traffic.
"The [station execs] just said, 'Be careful,' " says Jimenez. "Other than that, they let us do our own thing."
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