from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
January 18, 2004
Radio station KATZ-FM (100.3, the Beat) is winning the ongoing battle for St. Louis hip-hop fans. Recently released Arbitron ratings for the fall show that the Beat grabbed 7 percent of all listeners ages 18-34. That makes it St. Louis' third most popular station for young listeners for almost a year. Competitor WFUN-FM (95.5, Q95) took a big tumble, falling from the fourth spot among young listeners this summer to the tenth spot.
Lee Clear, who manages KATZ and St. Louis' other Clear Channel outlets, says the Beat's fans identify it as St. Louis' original rap station.
"Most people are creatures of habit. If they have a favorite brand, they go back to it," says Clear. "But I want them to stay healthy. The people who like hip-hop need more than one outlet."
Other fall-ratings highlights:
KPNT-FM (105.7, the Point) was dominant among its target audience of young listeners. The station grabbed almost 13 percent of listeners - that's 3 percent more than it drew a year ago and 5 percent more than its closest competitor, KSHE-FM (94.7).
Urban contemporary station KMJM-FM (104.9, Magic) climbed back to the No. 2 spot among older listeners for the first time in several years. KEZK-FM (102.5), still the favorite among older listeners, attracted a large young audience this fall. It went from No. 10 in 18-34 ratings to No. 5.
KMOX-AM (1120), KEZK-FM (102.5) and WIL-FM (92.3) continue to host the region's top three morning shows and rank as St. Louis' most popular stations.
- Diane Toroian Keaggy
from the Riverfront Times
July 16, 2003
EXCERPT:
Shannon and Chymes' antics made national headlines, but nearly a decade later, they're no longer at the top in their home market. Their rating of 3.5 for the winter months of January, February and March puts them behind KSHE (94.7 FM) with a 9.1, WIL (92.3 FM) with 5.9 and KYKY (98.1 FM) with a 4.8. Howard Stern's syndicated show at KPNT (105.7 FM) is at 4.2. Steve and DC's rating among the 25-54 demographic translates into an estimated 9,500 listeners during the average quarter hour.
from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
January 28, 2003
MEDIA MIX: Has Howard Stern lost his luster in this market?
KPNT (105.7 FM), where Stern holds forth, is still the leader among 18- to 34-year-olds from 6 to 10 a.m. in the fall Arbitron radio survey (Sept. 19-Dec. 11). But the ratings have been falling since the spring book - from 15.4 rating points to 12.9 to 12.3. Meanwhile, second-place KSLZ (107.7 FM) has been steadily closing the gap and now stands at 10.0.
Other highlights: Among the all-important 25- to 54-year-olds (Mondays-Sundays) from 6 a.m.-midnight, KSHE (94.7 FM) was Numero Uno with an 8.2, up a tenth of a point; KEZK (102.5 FM) measured at 8.0 compared with 7.4 in the summer book. Alas, among the 25- to 54-year-olds (Mondays-Sundays) from 6 a.m.-midnight, KMOX (1120 FM) plummeted to 5.8 from 8.5. And, Tim Dorsey's KTRS (550 AM) jumped to 4.0 from 3.3. That may have something to do with KTRS airing Blues and Rams games and the baseball season ending for KMOX. Taking a closer peek, J.C. Corcoran's rating during his first survey on KIHT (96.3 FM) since signing on in mid-September hit fourth place among adults 25-54 with a 6.1 compared to the previous rating of 5.4. (Interesting that J.C. is just .2 behind KMOX in the same morning block.)
Steve & DC on WMLL (104.1 FM) garnered 5.0 compared with the previous rating of 3.4. The duo is No. 1 in the market among females 25-34. And, DC Chymes got another honor, having been nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Contemporary Christian Album of the Year for co-producing and co-writing credits on the tune "Christmas Shoes" by the Newsong Band. Among urban stations, KATZ (100.3 FM) pumped out a super 8.9 compared with a 6.5 among 18- to 34-year-old listeners in the 6 a.m.-midnight block. (Each point represents a percentage of all people listening to radio.)
--snips--
from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
October 20, 2002
In recent years, radio stations KYKY-FM (98.1) and WVRV-FM (101.1 The River) have fought for adult pop listeners. Now a new competitor has entered the battle.
After two years of uneven ratings, WMLL-FM (104.1 The Mall) has emerged as a viable adult contemporary station. Recently released summer Arbitron numbers show the station has made big gains among listeners age 18 to 34. And among its target audience of listeners 25 to 34, the station ranks fourth, up from No. 13 last spring.
"This is a legitimate showing for the Mall," said Rick Balis, chief programmer for the Mall's owner, Emmis Communications. "The Mall is not going away."
For a while, it appeared that the Mall would do just that. The station has struggled to find its identity, shifting from a new wave format to an '80s pop sound to its current incarnation, a mix of pop from the mid-'80s to mid-'90s. The station plays artists such as Sarah McLachlan, U2 and the Gin Blossoms, who have a presence on competitors Y98 and the River.
The transformations have been so fast and frequent that even the station's Web site features photos of Blondie, the GoGos and the Lemonheads, artists rarely heard on the Mall. But Balis said the station is sticking with its current sound and has no plans to play contemporary hits, the mainstay of Y98 and The River.
"At this point, we are providing something nobody else is doing in the market," said Balis. "If we play the same music the River and Y98 does, we'll all just be really homogenous."
The station recently acquired the Steve & DC morning show from sister station KIHT-FM (96.3). Though Steve & DC have not pulled the big morning numbers they once did, the duo still is expected to give the station a boost.
Competitors have made note of the Mall's climb but say St. Louis is large enough to support three adult pop stations.
"Everyone has their little niche. If everyone does their job, we all do all right," said Smokey Rivers of Y98.
Other Arbitron notes:
* The recent summer radio ratings look almost identical to last year's report. KMOX-AM (1120), KEZK-FM (102.5) and WIL-FM (92.3) are St. Louis' top three stations, as they were a year ago.
* Top morning shows among listeners 18 to 34 are the "The Howard Stern Show" on KPNT-FM (105.7), "The MJ Morning Show" on KSLZ-FM (107.7) and "The Bob & Tom Show" on KSHE-FM (94.7). Among listeners 25 to 54, morning programming on KMOX, KSHE and KEZK-FM grabbed the most listeners.
from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 28, 2002
Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed "king of all media," has conquered St. Louis.
Recent Arbitron ratings show Stern attracted 15.4 percent of all young listeners this spring - an almost unheard of performance on morning radio.
Since its debut in St. Louis in 1998, Stern has performed well here. But even local affiliate KPNT-FM 105.7 (The Point) is surprised by the show's performance.
"The truth is it is probably a statistical fluke, but generally, the show is just really, really big, despite the fact that some people bellyache about it," said Emmis executive John Beck, who manages the Point and St. Louis' other Emmis stations.
The other big winner among young listeners was the WVRV-FM 101.1 (The River) morning show featuring Trish Gazall. Unlike Stern, WVRV attracts women and plays a lot of music. The station claimed 9 percent of all listeners between the ages of 18 and 34, up from 7 percent last season.
"The shows couldn't be more different, but they both do what they do well," said WVRV manager Mark Edwards.
Gains for the Point and the River meant losses for KSHE-FM 94.7, KSD-FM 93.7 and KYKY-FM 98.1, which each took big ratings hits among young listeners in the morning.
Other notes
* KMOX-AM 1120 remains the No. 1 station in St. Louis. The news-talk outlet grabbed 12.1 percent of all listeners, a jump from 9 percent last season. Still KMOX is off from the 13.1 share it pulled a year ago.
"A lot of news-talk stations across the country bounced back nicely this book," said Al Peterson, news-talk editor at Radio & Records, a leading trade publication.
* Easy-listening stalwart KEZK-FM 102.5 continues to rank as the No. 1 music station, serving 7.4 percent of all listeners.
* The addition of syndicated yackers Don Imus and Bill O'Reilly has yet to give KFTK-FM 97.1 much of a ratings boost. The station attracted 1.1 share, the same percentage as last season.
* Classic rock station KIHT-FM 96.3 and its flagship program, the Steve & DC show, have been losing listeners during the past year. Among key 25- to 54-year-old listeners, the station slipped from 6.1 percent of the audience last spring to a 4.1 percent. The Steve & DC show has slipped from an 8.1 percent to 3.9 percent.
* WSSM-FM 106.5 is looking to hire a low-profile morning show host within the next two weeks.
"People come to 106.5 for the music first. We want someone who will compliment the music and not get in the way," said Mark Edwards.
Edwards says the station also will play fewer instrumental songs in favor of more vocal jazz. WSSM ratings among key 25- to 54-year-old listeners dropped from a 5.1 last season to a 3.4 this spring.
More St. Louis Ratings and Updates are available here.
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