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 dcrtv.com
October 18, 2002
--snips--
WMMJ, WJZW And WRQX Gain, WASH Slumps - 10/16 - Clear Channel, despite having eight radio stations in the DC market, posted only one top ten finisher (WBIG) in the overall age 12+ Arbitrend radio ratings, out on 10/16. Radio One's urban oldies WMMJ jumped from spring's 4th into a 1st place tie with Infinity's urban WPGC-FM. Radio One's urban WKYS held steady in 3rd, while Bonneville's all-news WTOP slipped ever so slightly (from a 5.2 share to a 5.1) to 4th place, with Howard University's adult urban WHUR treading water at 5th. ABC's smooth jazz WJZW jumped two spots to 6th place, while Clear Channel's oldies WBIG increased share, but still managed to slide one place to 7th. Bonneville's classical WGMS dipped two notches to 8th, in a tie with ABC's hot adult contemporary WRQX, which jumped from 13th. Infinity's hot talk WJFK-FM was up one to 10th, while Clear Channel's country WMZQ was down one to 11th, in a tie with CC rocker DC101, which stayed level. ABC news/talker WMAL went from 15th to 13th, while CC's soft rock WASH plunged from 8th to 14th, and CC's rhythmic contemporary WIHT dropped one to 15th. Infinity's classic rock WARW jumped one to 16th, Bonneville's modern rocking adult contemporary WWZZ slid one to 17th, while CC sports talk WTEM stayed at 18th. Radio One talker WOL jumped two to 19th, while Infinity's gospel WPGC-AM was up one, to tie for 20th place with Infinity's alternative rock WHFS, which was down one. Also at 20th was Mega's Spanish contemporary WBZS/WBPS. The rest: 23rd country WFRE, 24th religious WAVA, 25th gospel WYCB, 26th Spanish talk/music WKDL/WPLC and country WFLS, 28th talker WTNT, hot adult contemporary WBQB, rocker WIYY, and hot adult contemporary WINC-FM. No sign of WGOP or the Greaseman. In the overall 25-54 age demo, WMMJ took 1st, WHUR 2nd, WPGC-FM 3rd, WRQX 4th, and WJZW 5th. In morning drive, WTOP placed 1st with 25-54ers, WJFK-FM 2nd, WPGC-FM 3rd, WMMJ 4th, and WRQX 5th. WMAL was 16th. Among the same demo, middays belonged to WJFK-FM (D&M), with WRQX in 2nd, and WJZW, WHUR, and WPGC-FM tied for 3rd. WMAL (Rush) was 17th. Same demo for PM drive: 1st went to WMMJ, 2nd to WRQX, 3rd to WTOP, 4th to WPGC-FM, 5th to WHUR. WJFK-FM (waning days of O&A) was 16th. WMAL was 17th. WTOP took 1st place among the age 12+ crowd for AM drive, with WPGC-FM in 1st for PM drive, and WTOP in 2nd.
--snips--
from DCRTV
August 20, 2002
Again. Urban oldies WMMJ jumps a bit for a 2nd place finish, and all-news WTOP places 3rd, holding steady share-wise. Urban WKYS places 4th, adult urban WHUR 5th, oldies WBIG 6th - no big changes. Hot talker WJFK-FM takes a nice leap from 11th to 7th, in a tie with smooth jazz WJZW. Classical WGMS slides from 6th to 9th, with hot adult contemporary WRQX up from 13th to 10th. Country WMZQ places 11th, rocker DC101 12th, and adult contemporary WASH slips from 8th to 13th. Urbanish contemporary WIHT holds steady at 14th, ditto with news and GOP propaganda WMAL at 15th, and modern rockish adult contemporary WWZZ/WWVZ at 16th, and classic rock WARW at 17th, and sports talk WTEM at 18th, and alternative rock WHFS at 19th.
In the 12+ demo, WTOP takes 1st in AM drive, WJFK's Don And Mike are tops in middays (WMAL's Rush Limbaugh takes 11th), with WPGC-FM reigning supreme in PM drive, and WTOP in 2nd.
Among the 25-54ers, WHUR places 1st for the whole day, with WMMJ's Tom Joyner and WTOP in an AM drive tie for 1st, and WJFK-FM's Howard Stern surging to 3rd. D&M are also strong in middays with the older folks, but station-mates Opie And Anthony only place an anemic 14th in PM drive (down from 11th).
WPGC-FM and WTOP tie for top PM drive honors with the 25-54 crowd, again.
More, including Baltimore and Fredericksburg, later.....
from DCRTV
July 22, 2002
JZW And KYS Rise, MAL (And Rush) Plunges - 7/22 - The spring 2002 radio ratings (overall age 12+ demo), out 7/22, show urban WPGC-FM in 1st place, as usual. All-news WTOP jumps from winter's 3rd place to spring's 2nd (even though its audience share remains fairly constant), while urban WKYS takes a big leap from 6th to 3rd.
Adult urban WMMJ dips from 2nd to 4th, with adult urban WHUR going from 4th to 5th (while its audience share rises slightly). Classical WGMS drops a bit from 5th to 6th, in a tie with oldies WBIG, up from winter's 8th place. Smooth jazz WJZW takes a big leap from 14th to 8th, in a tie with adult contemporary WASH, down from 6th. Country WMZQ is up from 11th to 10th, talker WJFK-FM holds level at 11th, in a tie with rocker DC101, down from 10th. Hot adult WRQX holds steady at 13th, urbanish contemporary WIHT is up one notch to 14th, while news/talk WMAL takes a big plunge from 8th to 15th. Modern adult Z104 stays at 16th, classic rock WARW stays at 17th, sports/talk WTEM is up one spot to 18th, alternative rock WHFS is down one spot to 19th, and religious/talk WAVA is up two places to 20th.
In AM drive, among 25-54ers, TOP (Moss/Day) is 1st, MMJ (Joyner) 2nd, RQX (Diamond) 3rd, KYS (Parr) 4th, PGC-FM (Simpson) 5th, JFK-FM (Stern) 6th, DC101 (Segal) 7th, MZQ (Murphy/Cash) 8th, HUR (Monds) 9th, and BIG (Adler) 10th. MAL (Brant/Parks) was 17th. JFK-FM's "Don And Mike" take 1st in middays among the same demo, with MAL's Rush Limbaugh at 17th, down a staggering two full share points compared with spring 2001. And, in PM drive, again 25-54ers, TOP is 1st, PGC-FM and RQX 2nd, WASH 4th, MMJ and HUR 5th, JZW and BIG 7th, KYS and MZQ 9th. JFK-FM's "Opie And Anthony" place 11th, down slightly from winter's 10th, with MAL's Sean Hannity at 16th, down from winter's 11th. More demographic breakdowns are on our News Archive page. More numbers later, including Baltimore.....
from the Washington Post
April 25, 2002
Urban-music stations WPGC-FM and WMMJ-FM maintained their familiar positions atop the Washington area's radio ratings during the first three months of the year, though the gap between the two perennial powerhouses narrowed, according to audience rankings released yesterday.
WMMJ, which carries the syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show" on weekdays, ended in a virtual tie with market-leading WPGC in the overall rankings, as 'MMJ surged and 'PGC slipped in figures compiled by Arbitron.
All-news WTOP AM-FM topped both stations during the combined morning and evening drive-time hours, radio's most popular and lucrative time slots. The news may have cooled in the aftermath of Sept. 11, but WTOP belied the downward trend among all-news stations elsewhere by holding on to listeners who began tuning in last fall.
"We got a lot of new people to sample us in the wake of 9/11 and the anthrax scare, and they found reasons to stay with us," said Jim Farley, WTOP's vice president of news and programming.
Added Farley, "I can only imagine what would have happened [to the station's ratings] if it had snowed."
Snowstorms are a reliable audience-booster for all-news stations. But the Washington area experienced one of its mildest winters ever during the period covered by the most recent rankings.
Among weekday morning shows, Joyner's program surged from fourth to second (behind 'TOP) among all listeners, and took the top spot (displacing 'TOP) among adults age 25-54, radio's key demographic group. Howard Stern's syndicated show on WJFK-FM tied for third in the 25-54 category, with "The Donnie Simpson Show" on 'PGC.
During afternoon drive time, talk station WMAL-AM made the biggest move, vaulting from 11th in the fall to a tie for fourth, thanks to the addition of conservative host Sean Hannity's syndicated program.
The quarterly ratings "book" showed continued weakness for the raunchy "Opie and Anthony" program during afternoon drive hours on WJFK-FM.
The program, syndicated out of New York, is attracting less than half the adult audience that "The Don and Mike Show" drew in the same time period.
'JFK program director and "Don and Mike" host Don Geronimo said it was still too early to compare "Opie's" ratings with those of his own show, which has made a successful transition to middays.
"We're very happy with the way it's performing," he said. "The station is in great shape."
However, 'JFK, which targets a male audience with risque talk shows, is facing the possible defection of its homegrown "Sports Junkies" program, which has developed into a reliable ratings magnet, especially among men, during evening hours.
The station's contract with the program's four hosts -- Eric Bickel, Jason Bishop, J.P. Flaim and John Auville -- expires in three weeks, and negotiations over a new contract are uncertain. Geronimo had no comment.
from The Washington Times
January 21, 2002
Fairfax talk-radio station WJFK (106.7 FM) has plummeted in the ratings since shuffling its afternoon lineup last summer, according to new audience research.
WJFK slid from fourth place among Washington's 33 commercial stations in fall 2000 to 12th place last fall, the Arbitron ratings service said in its latest report, released last week.
The study measured the period from Sept. 20 to Dec. 12.
It was the first local rating report since July, when WJFK moved popular late-afternoon hosts Don Geronimo (whose real name is Mike Sorce) and Mike O'Meara to an earlier time period, replacing them in the lucrative afternoon-drive slot with the New York-based "Opie and Anthony" comedy show.
"There may be some hard feelings from the hard-core Don and Mike fans. They may not be ready to accept this new team from out of town," says Tom Taylor, editor of M Street Daily, an industry trade publication.
When "The Don & Mike Show" aired weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. last fall, it ranked first in its time period. But with "Opie and Anthony," WJFK's ratings dropped to 17th place in that slot.
The numbers don't worry Mr. Sorce, who also serves as WJFK's program director. He says it will take "Opie and Anthony" time to find its audience. "You don't flip a switch and start off with a big rating. It takes time," he says.
And even though WJFK's overall numbers are low, the station still does well among its target audience of young men, Mr. Sorce says.
WJFK may be able to afford to be patient with "Opie & Anthony."
The station, which is owned by a Viacom subsidiary, generated $33.8 million in revenue in 2000, the most of any Washington radio station, according to estimates from Chantilly media research group BIA Financial Network.
Listeners still like "Don & Mike," which now airs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It tied for fourth in its new time period, an improvement over G. Gordon Liddy's 10th-place finish in the slot one year earlier.
WJFK fired Mr. Liddy last July when it overhauled its schedule.
The fall ratings report also showed big gains for all-news station WTOP (1500 AM and 107.7 FM). The station, which has been climbing steadily in the ratings for four years, recorded its best fall ratings in its history, and ranked No. 2 overall.
For the first time, WTOP has the No. 1 morning show. Its morning newsreaders, Mike Moss and Richard Day, now outdraw stalwart DJs Howard Stern, Tom Joyner and Jack Diamond from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays.
WASH (97.1 FM) also saw an increase. The Rockville soft rock station switched to an all-holiday music format for 33 days after Thanksgiving, and tied for sixth place in the ratings, up from ninth place in fall 2000.
--snips--
from the DCRTV Web Site
January 15, 2002
The top spot in the overall age 12+ numbers, as usual, was occupied by urban WPGC-FM with a 6.7 share. All-news WTOP took 2nd with a 5.5 share, up from a 4.9 summer number. Adult urban WMMJ and urban WKYS tied for 3rd, each with a 5.1 share. Classical WGMS jumped from 7th to 5th place with a 4.7 share. Adult urban WHUR and adult contemporary (including 33 days of Christmas music) WASH, way up from 13th place in the summer ratings, tied for 6th place. Oldies WBIG took a nice jump from 11th to 8th, smooth jazz WJZW was 9th, while hot adult WRQX and rocker DC101 tied for 10th. Hot talk WJFK-FM jumped from 14th to 12th, news/talker WMAL sunk from 12th to 13th, while country WMZQ took a big tumble, from 6th to 14th place. Contemporary WIHT was up from 17th to 15th, classic rock WARW dropped from 15th to 16th, modern adult Z104 was down a notch to 17th, sports talk WTEM was up a notch to 18th, new rock alternative WHFS continued its slump to 19th, with gospel WPGC-AM in 20th.
Some other high/lowlights: WTOP took the top spot in the overall morning drive numbers and the top spot in the PM drive 25-54 demo. WJFK-FM's Howard Stern took top honors for men 25-54 in AM drive, while the station's PM drive team of "Opie And Anthony" dropped from 5th to 17th in the overall numbers, and plunged from 2nd to 15th in the 25-54 demo.
All of the above figures may differ slightly from the final numbers, which are due out later today. More, including Baltimore, coming soon.....
from the Washington Times
November 23, 2001
September 11 may not be the day the music died, but it has come pretty close.
At least on the radio. Since the terrorist attacks, news and talk stations' ratings have soared while the audience for many music stations has shrunk. In Washington and other cities, low-key newsreaders talking about the attacks, the war in Afghanistan and anthrax have replaced overcaffeinated disc jockeys as the rulers of the airwaves.
"When there is breaking news, people want that information right away. And there's been a lot of breaking news lately," said Jim Farley, vice president of news and programming for WTOP, an all-news station that broadcasts on both the AM and FM bands in Washington.
WTOP climbed from a 4.6 share in fall 2000 to a 5.4 share between July 26 and Oct. 18, the most recent ratings period measured by the Arbitron Inc. ratings service.
A share measures the number of people who listen to a station and the time they spend listening.
The station's morning anchors, Richard Day and Mike Moss, now attract a bigger audience than stalwart DJs like Howard Stern and Jack Diamond, Arbitron said.
--snips--
from the Washington Post
October 18, 2001
The top morning-drive radio show in Washington no longer belongs to Howard Stern, Tom Joyner or Jack Diamond. Listeners instead prefer the sober sounds of Mike Moss and Richard Day, co-anchors at all-news WTOP, which hits the No. 1 morning spot for the first time.
In the quarterly Arbitron ratings released to stations yesterday, WTOP (1500 AM/107.7 FM) came in as listeners' morning favorite, followed by Russ Parr and Olivia Fox on black-hits WKYS (93.9) and Donnie Simpson on black-hits WPGC (95.5).
WTOP's ascendance can only partially be attributed to listeners craving news after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Yesterday's ratings cover the period from June 28 to Sept. 19, only eight days after the attacks.
Moss and Day "get up early, they go through the Internet, the papers. They try to find what people are going to be talking about that day," says Jim Farley, WTOP's vice president of news. Two early morning reporters also feed Moss and Day, who've been partnered since 1997. Their producer, Mitch Miller, begins work on the morning show at midnight.
Among all listeners 12 and older, WPGC retained its top spot as Washington's favorite station throughout the entire day, followed by WKYS and black-adult WMMJ (Majic 102.3). WKYS and WMMJ are owned by Lanham-based Radio One, and the chain's twin flagship Washington stations enjoyed a solid ratings book. WKYS dominated among its core audience of 18-to-34-year-olds, and WMMJ performed well among its older listeners. WMMJ is home to syndicated morning star Joyner.
"Russ and Olivia do a great show," says Michele Williams, general manager of Radio One's Washington stations. "It's creative and cutting edge. They work hard to be entertaining and compassionate. At Majic, we tweaked it a little bit."
WHUR (96.3), the black adult contemporary station owned by Howard University, also enjoyed a good ratings book. Among listeners 25 to 54 -- WHUR's core audience -- the station tied for first place with rival WMMJ. Most surprisingly -- and encouragingly for WHUR -- the morning show of John Monds, T.C. (Sharon Pitt) and Mo'Nique Imes finished in the Top 5 among 18-to-34-year-old listeners. Country WMZQ (98.7) also scored a strong ratings book.
Powerhouse WJFK (106.7), the guy-talk home of Stern and the "Don and Mike Show," experienced a ratings dip, likely thanks to the station's dramatic lineup shuffle midway through the period. Midday host G. Gordon Liddy was fired, perpetual afternoon winners Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara were moved to Liddy's slot and syndicated New York talkers Opie and Anthony took over the afternoon slot. It appears Don and Mike were able to carry many of their listeners with them. Most surprising was Stern's ratings fall, which dropped him to second place behind WTOP in his core audience -- men 25 to 54.
from the Washington Post
July 21, 2001
Mix 107.3, the adult hits station that plays Gwen Stefani and Sting, Lifehouse and Lee Ann Womack, was the big winner in the spring Arbitron radio ratings report released to Washington stations yesterday.
The ABC-owned station shot from 11th to fourth among all listeners and dominated ratings among its target audience, listeners age 25-54. The ratings report covers the period from March 29 to June 20. The top three stations among all listeners remained unchanged, as usual. They were, in order: black hits WPGC (95.5), black adult-contemporary WMMJ (102.3) and black hits WKYS (93.9).
"Naturally, everyone here is very excited," says Steve Kosbau, Mix 107.3's operations director. "We are a radio station that's been around a long time and people can depend on us. We've got personalities that are very popular and well-entrenched."
The Jack Diamond Morning Show on Mix 107.3 (WRQX) was the top-rated a.m. drive show among 25- to 54-year-olds, beating out -- in order -- the syndicated Howard Stern show on WJFK (106.7), the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show on WMMJ, the WTOP (1500 AM/107.7 FM) news team of Mike Moss and Richard Day, and the surging Elliot Segal show on DC101 (WWDC).
Mix 107.3's afternoon host -- Mike Kaufman -- finished second, but that's to be expected. Everybody finishes second in afternoon drive (3 to 7 p.m.) to WJFK's duo of Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara, who continued their uninterrupted p.m.-drive dominance.
Other strong showings included WPGC, which was not only No. 1 overall but top-rated in several categories; country WMZQ (98.7); and Howard University's WHUR, which did well in middays and in mornings. The station took a big hit since losing Joyner a year ago, but is making steady progress back up the ratings. The morning show that replaced Joyner -- featuring John Monds, T.C. (Sharon Pitt) and comic actress Mo'Nique Imes, rose from 16th to 11th.
It was a bad ratings book for classical WGMS (103.5), which dropped from fourth to 12th among all listeners, 11th to 15th among a.m. drive listeners and from fifth to 13th in middays, where listeners clearly miss deejay Diana Hollander, who the station says is on extended leave.
It was also the first full ratings book for Clear Channel's two new stations in Washington, Top 40 Hot 99.5 (WIHT) and "Dynamite Talk" WTNT (570 AM), the new home of the Don Imus morning show, which moved from sports-talk WTEM (980 AM) with the launch of WTNT. The ratings for both stations were neither "hot" nor "dynamite." Hot 99.5 ranked 18th and WTNT tied for 30th out of 35 stations surveyed by Arbitron.
from the Washington Post
May 15, 2001
Towson, Md.:
Frank, If Don and Mike, Howard Stern, and the Sports Junkies get such great ratings for WJFK, why isn't that station higher up in the ratings? You said that Stern was the leader in the mornings, but I read somwhere else that he was 9th place. Could he be dragging the station down?
Frank Ahrens: Let's take a look at the most recent Arbitrons:
Among men, 25-54, WJFK's target audience, Howard Stern scored a 9.6 share, by far and away the No. 1 morning drive show in that demographic, which is all the station cares about, because it means the station can tell advertisers WJFK is delivering the ears the advertisers want to reach. Stern is the 8th-ranked morning drive show among all listeners, 12 years old and older.
Also, according to the most recent numbers from BIA, a firm that monitors radio revenue, WJFK was Washington's top-billing station last year, billing about $33.8 million. That's what radio companies really care about.
--snips--
Northwest D.C.:
As someone who works in the radio biz (sorry-can't tell you which station -- but it starts with a "W" and ends with an "X" -- hint), I'm wondering why you give stations a break when you're asked about ratings. Last week, you quoted Stern on JFK as #1 in certain male demos. Overall he is trending DOWN, tumbling all the way to ninth place overall. Same with the Junkies, as they have tumbled out of the top 10 in overall nightime ratings. I imagine their on air rumblings have to do with the overll performance of the show. While
targeted demos are key, the overall ratings do paint a picture of a show's power at any given moment. And except for Don and Mike (DAMN THEM) at #1 again, WJFK's other weekday shows are taking gas. In demo they are performing adequately, but in the OVERALL ratings they stink. Stern in ninth place? Who would have thought it? Please post this to show you can be fair and balanced, and I might let you have the two missing calls in my station! P.S.: Favorite Song: "Fly, Robin, Fly" by Silver Convention.
Frank Ahrens: So noted, from WRQZ (Mix 107.3), which competes with WJFK for 25-54 year-old listeners. (Admittedly, WJFK trends male, while Mix trends female). Ratings are a mixed bag...advertisers care about target demos, but yes, overall ratings show a show's power. Fair enough.
from the Washington Post
May 8, 2001
Washington, D.C.:
You wrote about Howard Stern's drop in the New York City Arbitrons. How did he do in the 25-54 "Money" demo in the last D.C. rating book? Has he slipped here also?
Frank Ahrens:
In the most recent Arbitrons, which came out last week, here in D.C., among male 25-54 year-olds, in the 6-10 a.m. slot, Howard Stern was still No. 1, with a 9.6 share. No. 2 was WTOP newsreaders Mike Moss and Richard Day (7.7), No. 3 was DC101's Elliot Segal (6.4).
from the Washington Post
April 27, 2001
To co-opt a phrase from the Reagan Era: A rising Joyner lifts all ratings.
The a.m. numbers at black-oldies WMMJ (102.3) have soared since the station snatched popular syndicated morning man Tom Joyner from crosstown rival WHUR (96.3) last summer.
Now the Joyner Effect seems to be rippling throughout WMMJ: For the first time in several ratings periods, the Radio One station is the Washington area's top-ranked station among all listeners, according to the most recent Arbitron ratings report, released to stations yesterday. The winter report covers the period from Jan. 4 to March 28.
WMMJ, or "Majic," shared the top spot among all listeners with black-hits WPGC (95.5). Joyner's show was No. 2, behind all-news WTOP (1500 AM/107.7 FM). WMMJ's midday show, hosted by Natalie Case, shot from No. 13 a year ago to third place. The afternoon show, hosted by Alvin John Waples, went from No. 17 to No. 3; Mike Chase's nighttime show went from ninth to second place.
"Tom Joyner is certainly an excellent entity to have," said Kathy Brown, regional programmer for Radio One stations in Washington, Baltimore and Richmond. But the station's success "was also about empowering my team to believe they could be number one. And we tweaked the music."
How?
"I'm not going to tell you that," Brown said, laughing. "Then everybody would do it."
WMMJ staff celebrated last night with a party at Zanzibar, a Southwest D.C. waterfront club.
Most important for advertising revenue, WMMJ also scored well among its target audience, listeners 25 to 54. WMMJ was the top-rated station across the entire day among those listeners, edging out adult-contemporary Mix 107.3 (WRQX) and soft-rock WASH (97.1). Joyner was the top-rated morning show in that demographic group, ahead of Mike Moss and Richard Day on WTOP and Jack Diamond on Mix 107.3, respectively.
WMMJ finished afternoons second only to perpetual ratings powerhouse Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara on guy-talk WJFK (106.7). The pair furthered their seemingly indomitable lead by increasing their percentage of the audience by nearly two points over the past year to 7.9.
Among 18- to 34-year-olds, the other important demographic group to advertisers, the top three spots went to black-hits WKYS (93.9), black-hits WPGC and rock DC101 (WWDC). Russ Parr and Olivia Fox maintained their top spot among morning shows in that age group, just beating out Elliot Segal, whose DC101 morning show is the area's biggest gainer over the past year. WPGC's Donnie Simpson finished third.
Other winners in the ratings report include Smooth Jazz 105.9 (WJZW), which recovered from poor numbers in the fall, and news-talk WMAL (630 AM), whose talkers -- Rush Limbaugh, Chris Core and Victoria Jackson -- benefited from the protracted election recount. WJFK's ratings dive was most likely caused by post-Redskins blahs. The station, which is the exclusive local radio broadcaster of Redskins football, experiences a yearly ratings spike during the fall, then returns to summer levels thereafter.
For the first time in memory, syndicated morning man Don Imus fell out of the ratings Top 20. But here's worse news for the I-man: Earlier this month, he was moved from sports-talk WTEM (980 AM) to a station with a weaker signal, WTNT (570 AM).
from dcrtv.com
April 26, 2001
Winter 2001 Radio Ratings
The Washington DC market Arbitron radio ratings for winter 2001, released on April 26, 2001...
[Ed. - Howard is on WJFK - 106.7FM.]
Age 12+, full day:
1. WMMJ - 102.3 FM - adult urban contemporary - 5.7 share
1. WPGC - 95.5 FM - urban contemporary - 5.7 share
3. WKYS - 93.9 FM - urban contemporary - 5.3 share
4. WGMS - 103.5 FM - classical - 5.1 share
5. WTOP - 1500 AM/107.7 FM - news - 4.5 share
6. WMAL - 630 AM - talk/news - 4.2 share
7. WJZW - 105.9 FM - lite jazz - 4.0 share
7. WHUR - 96.3 FM - adult urban contemporary - 4.0 share
7. WBIG - 100.3 FM - oldies - 4.0 share
7. WASH - 97.1 FM - adult contemporary - 4.0 share
11. WRQX - 107.3 FM - hot adult contemporary - 3.9 share
12. WWDC - 101.1 FM - alternative rock - 3.8 share
13. WJFK - 106.7 FM - talk - 3.5 share
13. WMZQ - 98.7 FM - country - 3.5 share
13. WWZZ/WWVZ - 104.1 FM/103.9 FM - contemporary - 3.5 share
--snips--
Age 25-54, full day:
1. WMMJ - 102.3 FM - adult urban contemporary - 7.0 share
2. WRQX - 107.3 FM - hot adult contemporary - 5.1 share
3. WASH - 97.1 FM - adult contemporary - 5.0 share
4. WJZW - 105.9 FM - lite jazz - 4.8 share
5. WJFK - 106.7 FM - talk - 4.7 share
5. WKYS - 93.9 FM - urban contemporary - 4.7 share
--snips--
Age 12+, weekday mornings:
1. WTOP, 2. WMMJ, 3. WKYS, 4. WMAL, 5. WRQX, 6, WWDC, 7. WGMS, 8. WJFK, 9. WMZQ and WASH (tie)
--snips--
Age 25-54, weekday mornings:
1. WMMJ, 2. WTOP, 3. WRQX, 4. WKYS, 5. WJFK, 6. WPGC-FM, 7. WWDC, 8. WASH, 9. WMZQ, 10. WBIG
--snips--
from the Washington Post
April 24, 2001
Wash, D.C.:
What do you think of Howard Stern's ratings drop in NYC? How did he do here in today's book?
Frank Ahrens:
Either very interesting or a blip. Stern dropped out of the top morning show spot in the NYC ratings for the first time since 1994 (didn't see who replaced him). This could be a signal that Stern is slipping, or it might not. I'm always reluctant to write the Stern obit, unlike some of my colleagues at other papers, simply because he is such a huge star, such a powerful earner, such a trendsetter and still has a massive cume audience.
Let's wait another ratings book to see what happens...
--snips--
from CNS Features
March 02, 2001
Today In History for March 02, 2001
By Wire Dispatches
--snips--
In 1981, shock-jock Howard Stern began broadcasting on WWDC in Wash DC.
--snips--
from the Washington Post
January 30, 2001
Laurie: About the obscenity thing --- do you think with Michael Powell at the helm the FCC might actually take a shot at cleaning up the airwaves?
Frank Ahrens: Hi, Laurie. In the past, FCCs under Republican presidents have been more activist in prosecuting and enforcing decency and obscenity standards--it was under the Reagan administration that Stern got into all his trouble.
--snips--
Chevy Chase: Frank, last week you told us who the ratings leaders are in the morning, broken down by men and women 25-54. When you combine men and women, and all ages, who is the overall king of mornings in Washington radio? Is it Howard Stern or Tom Joyner?
Frank Ahrens: Among men and women, 25-54, the top 5 goes like this (in most recent ratings):
1) Mix 107.3 (Jack and Bert)
2) WMMJ (Joyner)
3) WJFK (Stern)
4) WKYS (Russ Parr/Olivia Fox)
5) tie WPGC (Donnie Simpson)
5) tie WASH (just-fired Bill Worthington/Kim Burton)
--snips--
Talk Radio Junkie: I listen to WJFK almost exclusively, from Stern to G. Gordon, to D&M, to the Sports Junkies. Except for Saturday, which is reserved for The Gator Show on 89.3. I would like to say that I wish all talk radio hosts were as good as G. Gordon at identifying "Best Of" shows. Stern & D&M NEVER ID the Best Of. I heard Don say it was so that people wouldn't tune out when they hear it's a re-run. I think that most fans will stay on the best of, knowing that it will be a past favorite. But it is annoying to have to figure out if they are live or not. Opinion?
Frank Ahrens: Yes, you're exactly right. Most shows are not as forthcoming as they ought to be about identifying their reruns.
--snips--
from the Washington Post
--snips--
Joyner-Less WHUR Drops
After years of maintaining a Top Three spot, WHUR tumbled from the stratosphere of local ratings as the full impact of morning man Tom Joyner's August departure hit the black adult-contemporary station.
WPGC, WKYS and WMMJ (102.3) captured the top three positions, respectively, among all listeners in the fall Arbitron ratings report, delivered to stations Tuesday. They cover the period from Sept. 21 to Dec. 13. Joyner moved from WHUR to black-oldies WMMJ on Aug. 28, and most of his listeners appear to have moved with him; WHUR (96.3) fell to eighth.
The big winners in the fall ratings were all-news WTOP (1500 AM), Z-104 and, as usual, guy-talk WJFK (106.7). WTOP's morning news show, helmed by Mike Moss and Richard Day, was tops among all listeners. WTOP and WMAL (630 AM) benefited from the presidential election and recount.
The top three morning shows among male listeners 25 to 54 were Howard Stern (heard locally on WJFK), WTOP and Joyner. Women of that age group picked Jack Diamond and Bert Weiss on adult-contemporary WRQX (107.3), followed by Joyner, and Bill Worthington and Kim Burton's morning show on soft-rock WASH (97.1). (Another ratings winner no longer with the station -- they were fired last week.)
WJFK's Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara continued their Napoleonic domination of afternoon drive, winning virtually every ratings category.
Don and Mike's Protest
Speaking of Don and Mike, the pair's ongoing spat with their counterparts in New York -- afternoon guy-talkers Opie and Anthony -- caused a recent walkoff. On Jan. 9, Don and Mike abandoned their show 20 minutes after it began, forcing WJFK to play reruns.
Don and Mike air live on WJFK from 3 to 7 p.m., and via tape-delay on New York's WNEW from 7 to 11. But they want to appear live on WNEW as well, and that's where the trouble started. WNEW recently fired midday talker Leslie "Radio Chick" Gold. As the New York station prepared to fill Gold's time slot, Don and Mike made their pitch: Move Opie and Anthony and give us their afternoon slot. (Both stations are owned by Viacom/Infinity.)
WNEW said no, and to make matters worse Opie and Anthony (Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia) ridiculed Don and Mike. So Don and Mike pulled their WNEW show, demanding Opie and Anthony apologize. Why isn't that a firing offense? For lower-rated hosts, it would be.
They're still waiting for the apology.
--snips--
from Washingtonpost.com: Live Online
Nov. 7, 2000
--snips--
DC:
Hello Frank! I was reading a copy of Ad-Biz magazine last week and noticed an article about the local Don & Mike radio show. The article stated that last year their home station, WJFK, billed in ad revenue approx $22 million dollars. The article then stated that almost half that ammount ($9.5 million) came from afternoon drive only. Is that ammount normal for an afternoon show (the article seemed to imply it wasn't, and that their show made more than even the morning show, with Howard Stern, estimated to earn $6.5 million a year in ad billing)? Just curious. You should check out the magazine. Look forward to your next column. How come it isn't weekly? --Art
Frank Ahrens: Thanks for the info. Yes, that sounds just about right: I have some 1998 billing data that shows WJFK billing around $20 million, making it, along with WPGC, the area's top-billing station (WHUR was the wildcard...they had Joyner and I don't have their data). Typically, morning shows can account for up to half of a station's revenue, especially when that morning show is Howard Stern, as it is on WJFK. But when you have a wildly successful afternoon show like Don & Mike, who dominate their ratings categories, then they can be the station's big earners. I'm surprised I haven't heard them crowing about it on their show...(I can just hear it now: "We're the 9.5-Million-Dollar-Men!!!")
--snips--
from Washington Post Live Online (Chat)
October 24, 2000
Radio Talk
With Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
--snips--
Frank --
Any chance of your posting (or at least running down) the morning show ratings? I know the 12+ overall numbers are usually in the Post, but I'm curious about some of the morning shows (whose ratings are usually much different than the overall numbers).
Thanks
Frank Ahrens: I mentioned some of them in the story last week, but here's the complete Top 10 Washington-area morning shows for all listeners (men and women) 25-54 according to the summer Arbitron report:
1) WHUR (music-intense show post-Tom Joyner) 2) Jack and Bert on Mix 107.3 3) Howard Stern on WJFK 4) Russ Parr and Olivia Fox on WKYS 5) Richard Day and Mike Moss on WTOP 6) Tom Joyner on WMMJ 7) Dave Adler on Oldies 100 (WBIG) 8) Murphy and Cash on WMZQ 9) Donnie Simpson on WPGC 10) Bill Worthington and Kim Burton on WASH 10) Elliot Segal on DC101.
--snips--
from the Washington Post
October 19, 2000
--snips--
In the "money demographic" of listeners 25-54, post-Joyner WHUR had the top morning show with its music-heavy programming, followed by Jack Diamond and Bert Weiss at adult WRQX and Howard Stern's syndicated show on WJFK. Afternoon listeners in this audience group continued to choose Don and Mike's perpetually top-rated show on WJFK. They were followed by Doug Gilmore and Lorna Newton at WHUR and Mike Kaufman at WRQX.
from Washingtonpost.com: Live Online
September 12, 2000
Below is a transcript of today's discussion.
--snips--
Prof from Vienna:
Did you listen to Stern's radio show Friday morning when Stern and his crew drank themselves silly. If so what did you think of it?
Frank Ahrens: No, but I heard all about it. It's an old radio stunt, usually associated with some sort of drunk driving awareness week. Last week, on his E! TV show (don't know if it was current or a repeate), to illustrate national breast cancer awareness week, or something like that, he had women come on the show and take off their shirts and bras and Stern gave them breast exams.
--snips--
NW DC:
The Stern show on Friday was not done as one of those "look what happens when you drink" shows with a police officer in studio. It was just plain stupid. The King Of All Media has lost it. I reference you to an atricle in last week's Wall Street Journal, on the impending demise of Stern due to ancreased lack of audience in New York, LA, Chicago and others. How is he doing in DC?
Frank Ahrens: I saw the Wall Street Journal article and I'm always leery of writing "Personality X is dead or personality X is really on the upswing" based on ratings, which can fluctuate wildly from quarter to quarter or even from year to year.
Here's what I mean: Howard Stern's last five ratings periods in Washington (each one represents a three-month period) working backwoard from Spring 2000 (March 30 to June 21), go like this: 12.0, 10.3, 13.4, 10.2, 9.5 among men 25-54. These numbers represent the percentage of listeners tuning in Stern. So, even though Stern is down 1.4 pct from half a year ago, he's up 2.5 pct. from a year ago. See what I mean? Stern is dead when he stops making money for Viacom/Infinity and I can't see that happening anytime soon.
--snips--
from the Washington Post
July 27, 2000
The Big Three of Washington music radio--WPGC, WHUR and WKYS, in that order--continued their domination among all area listeners, according to spring 2000 Arbitron ratings released last week.
Classical WGMS (103.5) and adult contemporary Mix 107.3 (WRQX) round out the top five among all listeners, ages 12 and older.
The Arbitron report was delivered to stations last Thursday. It covers the period from March 30 to June 21, which generally is considered the most important by radio stations for setting advertising rates. Ad purchases for the rest of the year will be based on those ratings.
In the "money demographic" of listeners 25-54, syndicated hosts Howard Stern--heard locally on guy-talk WJFK (106.7)--and Tom Joyner, heard on WHUR, finished first and second among men in the mornings. Women in that age group picked Jack Diamond and Bert Weiss's morning show on Mix 107.3 first, followed by Joyner.
Among other morning shows--from 6 to 10 a.m., when stations can earn up to half of their revenue--WPGC's Donnie Simpson climbed to fourth among women listeners 25-54, but dropped out of the top 10 morning shows among men of that age. WMMJ's Les Brown also did better among women than among men in that age group, but climbed in both categories. Overall, WMMJ enjoyed a bump up in most ratings categories. DC101's Elliot Segal, conversely, did better with male than female listeners, but failed to move out of the middle of the pack.
Paula Kasey on Classic Rock 94.7 ruled middays among men 25-54, beating out runner-up G. Gordon Liddy on WJFK. DC101 climbed among men middays, and sports-talk WTEM (980 AM) plummeted, with midday hosts Tony Kornheiser and Jim Rome falling from third to a tie for 10th. Women listening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. preferred Mix 107.3's Celeste Clark and WASH's Scott Brady (97.1), respectively.
WJFK's Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara continued their reign over afternoon drive (3 to 7 p.m.) among men, with nearly double the ratings of the second-place station, Classic Rock 94.7. They also gained female listeners during the ratings period. WMAL (630 AM) talker Chris Core dropped from 15th to a tie for 18th among men, and from 13th to 15th among women. WMAL slid in the overall ratings, as well.
Mix 107.3's Loo Katz was the top choice of female listeners in the afternoon, with WHUR's Doug Gilmore and Lorna Newton finishing second. And from 7 p.m. to midnight, WPGC's hip-hopping Big Tigger ruled among men, while silky-smooth Mike Chase's show on WMMJ was No. 1 among women. WJFK's "Sports Junkies" picked up female listeners, but dropped from first to third among men.
The Numbers Game
The spring 2000 Arbitron ratings for total audience, compared with the winter. A share reflects what percentage of the radio audience is tuned to a particular station over the course of a week. Previous rankings are in parentheses; T denotes a tie.
1. WPGC (95.5), black hits SPRING: 5.9 WINTER: 5.7 (3)
2. WHUR (96.3), black adult SPRING: 5.5 WINTER: 6.5 (1)
3. WKYS (93.9), black hits SPRING: 5.1 WINTER: 5.8 (2)
4. WGMS (103.5), classical SPRING: 4.6 WINTER: 4.5 (5)
5. WRQX (107.3), adult hits SPRING: 4.5 WINTER: 4.1 (7)
6. WBIG (100.3), oldies SPRING: 4.4 WINTER: 3.7 (10T)
7. WMMJ (102.3), black oldies SPRING: 4.3 WINTER: 2.9 (15T)
8. WMZQ (98.7), country SPRING: 4.2 WINTER: 4.2 (6)
WMAL-AM (630), news/talk SPRING: 4.2 WINTER: 4.6 (4)
10. WASH (97.1), soft rock SPRING: 4.1 WINTER: 3.6 (12)
11. WJFK (106.7), talk SPRING: 4.0 WINTER: 3.7 (10T)--snips--
from the Washington Post
April 29, 2000
Washington's powerhouse black stations--WHUR, WKYS and WPGC--retained their customary top spots, in that order, among all radio listeners in the winter 2000 Arbitron ratings, released to stations yesterday.
The surprise comer in total listenership (ages 12 and up) was WMAL (630 AM), which shot from a 12th-place tie in the last ratings report to fourth place. The new ratings cover the period from Jan. 6 to March 29.
In the niche-oriented radio industry, stations strive hardest to get top ratings in tight age and gender categories. In the coveted 25-54 "money" demographic, the big winners yesterday were guy-talk WJFK (106.7), black adult contemporary WHUR (96.3), black hits WKYS (93.9) and sports talk WTEM (980 AM).
"Going back to August, we've made a concerted effort to be first in scores and breaking sports news, and we've been really hammering that home," says Tod Castleberry, WTEM's operations director. He added that the feud between midday hosts Tony Kornheiser and Jim Rome has sparked listener interest. An hour from Rome's WTEM show was given to Kornheiser last year, and Rome has been bristling ever since.
"Tony's been good-natured and playfully kidded with [Rome], and Rome's been more in an attack-dog mode," he says. "Certainly, audiences are picking up on that."
Syndicated host Tom Joyner, heard locally on WHUR, rebounded from an off fall 1999 ratings period by winning the top spot for morning shows among listeners 25-54. He was followed by syndicated jock Howard Stern, heard locally on WJFK. Joyner led among women and Stern among men.
WJFK's Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara continued their afternoon-drive dominance among all listeners, especially men 25-54. And the Sports Junkies, heard at night on WJFK, was the top-rated show among men 25-54.
In the afternoon, women 25-54 most often tuned to Mix 107.3's (WRQX) Loo Katz, followed by WHUR's Doug Gilmore. At night, WHUR's Quiet Storm format, hosted by Kevin James, was tops among women, followed by WKYS's Coco Brother and the Live Squad.
Sports talk WTEM (980 AM), usually a bottom-dweller in the ratings, enjoyed a nice report. Syndicated morning man Don Imus rose from 16th to tie for seventh among the station's target audience, which is men 25-54. Rome and Kornheiser rose from 13th to third in the same category. (Among men 35-54, the WTEM midday time slot was No. 1 in the market for the first time, says Castleberry.)
On the other side, black oldies WMMJ (102.3) slid in most ratings categories, including the morning show with Les Brown. And DC101 (WWDC) had a down report among all listeners 25-54.
THE NUMBERS GAME
The winter Arbitron ratings for total audience, compared with the fall. A share reflects what percentage of the radio audience is tuned to a particular station over the course of a week.
Previous rankings are in parentheses; T denotes a tie.
1. WHUR (96.3), black adult WINTER: 6.5 FALL: 5.0 (3)
2. WKYS (93.9), black hits WINTER: 5.8 FALL: 4.8 (4)
3. WPGC (95.5), black hits WINTER: 5.7 FALL: 5.8 (1)
4. WMAL-AM (630), news/talk WINTER: 4.6 FALL: 3.7 (12T)
5. WGMS (103.5), classical WINTER: 4.5 FALL: 4.0 (9)
6. WMZQ (98.7), country WINTER: 4.2 FALL: 4.2 (6T)
7. WRQX (107.3), adult hits WINTER: 4.1 FALL: 4.2 (6T)
8. WJZW (105.9), smooth jazz WINTER: 3.8 FALL: 3.7 (12T)
WTOP (1500 AM, 107.7 FM), all news WINTER: 3.8 FALL: 3.4 (14)
10. WJFK (106.7), talk WINTER: 3.7 FALL: 5.2 (2)
WBIG (100.3), oldies WINTER: 3.7 FALL: 3.9 (10T)
--more stations snipped--
from the Washington Post
February 9, 2000
Guy-talk WJFK (106.7) cracked the triumvirate of black music stations that typically dominate area radio, according to the most recent ratings.
The fall Arbitron report, which covers the period from Sept. 23 to Dec. 15, was delivered to stations yesterday. Though black hits WPGC (95.5) and WKYS (93.9) and black adult-contemporary WHUR (96.3) assumed their usual near-the-top spots among all listeners 12 years old and up, it was WJFK--which targets a mostly white, male audience--that landed at No. 2.
The station's surge was powered by syndicated morning man Howard Stern, whose announcement last fall that he and his wife are divorcing obviously didn't harm his popularity. His show was No. 1 among all area morning shows. (WPGC's Donnie Simpson's was second.) WJFK midday host G. Gordon Liddy retained his top spot among the station's target audience--men, ages 25 to 54. And afternoon-drive hosts Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara were No. 1 across all men's ratings categories, scoring a monster 13.3 share among the show's target audience.
"We are so different from other stations that can specifically attribute [a ratings rise] to a TV ad campaign or a large cash giveaway," says WJFK Program Director Jeremy Coleman. "With us, it's sort of like having star athletes who are really, really in their game."
--snips--
from the Washington Post
October 21, 1999
Three of Washington's black FM stations claimed their usual spots atop the most recent quarterly Arbitron ratings, released yesterday, covering the period July 1--Sept. 22.
Black-hits stations WPGC (95.5) and WKYS (93.9) and black adult-contemporary WHUR (96.3) finished 1-2-3 among all listeners 12 and older. The stations have constituted the top three for more than a year.
The summer survey, referred to as the "summer book," is often considered the least important to stations, inasmuch as many listeners are on vacation during the period and fewer ad-buying decisions are made based on this quarter's ratings. The spring book is considered the most important.
But still, pride is at stake.
Russ Parr and Olivia Fox, who run the morning-drive show at WKYS, claimed the top spot for morning shows among all listeners 12 and older, bumping Tom Joyner--last quarter's No. 1--to third. Joyner is heard on WHUR. Syndicated shock jock Howard Stern, heard locally on talk-sports WJFK (106.7 FM), was No. 2.
In the moneymaking category of men 25-54, Stern took the morning-drive top spot, with nearly twice the audience of Joyner, who finished second. WJFK again ruled afternoon drive in this demographic, as the "Don & Mike" show took top honors. (Among all listeners, Adimu Colon's show on WPGC was top-ranked for afternoon drive.)
WJFK, whose daily lineup consists of Stern, G. Gordon Liddy, Don & Mike and the Sports Junkies, claimed most male-oriented demographics.
The most noticeable climber in the survey was smooth-jazz WJZW (105.1 FM), which recovered losses it suffered in the spring book. The female-skewed station, which usually gets its biggest numbers during midday as an at-work station, rocketed from 14th to third place in afternoons for men 25-54. And it jumped from 17th into a tie for seventh place for morning drive among the same audience. It climbed among all listeners, as well.
Steve Kosbau, director of operations for WJZW and sister station WRQX-FM, credited three summer promotions for the ratings climb: the Capital Jazz Fest in June, the station's fifth-anniversary concert in September and the ongoing win-a-trip-a-day contest.
All-news WTOP (1500 AM) and news-talk WMAL (630 AM) remained stable in the top 10 for all listeners in their crucial morning-drive slots. Classic-rock WARW (94.7 FM), which has reconfigured itself since the February firing of Doug "Greaseman" Tracht, continued its ratings slide for its target audience--men 25-54--in Tracht's old morning-drive slot. Over the past five ratings periods, the station's rank in that time slot has gone from being tied for second to tied for 15th, in yesterday's report.
from the Washington Post
Don Imus's morning radio show is syndicated in more than 90 cities. Three hours of it are broadcast daily on cable TV's MSNBC. He draws headlines by embarrassing the president and first lady at the Radio & Television Correspondents' Dinner, which is repeatedly broadcast on C-SPAN. He appears on the cover of Newsweek, which proclaims him "Lord of the Air." For all the exposure and media coverage he gets, it would be natural to think that Imus is a popular radio personality in Washington.
Natural, but wrong.
In Washington--which ought to be a top audience for Imus, given his substantial emphasis on politics--he barely shows up in the quarterly Arbitron ratings. The most recent numbers were delivered to area stations Wednesday, and they displayed the customary middle- to bottom-of-the-pack finish for Imus, who is heard on sports/talk WTEM.
For all listeners in his time slot--6 to 10 a.m.--Imus ranked 20th of 27 stations surveyed (combining the simulcast signals of WTOP and WWZZ). Syndicated host Tom Joyner, who is heard on WHUR, finished first, with Howard Stern (WJFK) close behind. The morning shows on WGMS (classical) and WJZW (smooth jazz) finished ahead of Imus. He tied with the morning show on WAVA (Christian).
But that's not the best way to look at the I-man's ratings. Radio stations, and the programs on those stations, aim at very tight demographic groups. Radio is a leader in the media phenomenon known as "narrowcasting," or niche marketing.
WTEM targets men between 25 and 54, a powerful consumer group. Therefore what matters most is where Imus ranks among the other morning hosts who also aim at that demographic. If he scores high ratings in that category, WTEM can tell its advertisers that Imus is cleaning up among the listeners they most want to reach.
But he's not.
Among men 25 to 54, Imus tied for 15th with Les Brown (WMMJ). In this key category, Stern finished first by a landslide, followed by all-news WTOP. Also finishing ahead of Imus were Joyner, Russ Parr (WKYS) and Donnie Simpson (WPGC), Gary Murphy and Jessica Cash at country WMZQ, Dave Adler at Oldies 100 and Tim Brant and Andy Parks at news/talk WMAL.
What gives?
The conventional wisdom in radio is that high ratings mean more advertising dollars: The more people who listen to your station, the more you can charge to air commercials. In large cities, a 1 percent increase in listeners can equal a $3 million hike in annual revenue. And vice versa: It's not unusual for deejays and program directors to get fired over a slight dip in ratings from quarter to quarter.
In Boston, WEEI announced it would drop Imus in August. The station's program director proclaimed that the I-man had lost his edge, not to mention his ratings among 25-to-54-year-old men. The station figured Imus wasn't worth the $1 million it was paying him, according to industry sources.
But he was quickly snapped up by crosstown rival WBOS, albeit for less. In Boston--the nation's eighth-largest radio market--Imus's show often scored among the top five for men 25-54, which was good enough for WBOS.
Imus isn't even required to crack the top 10 in Washington, the nation's ninth-largest market. Here, Imus makes less than $500,000 a year, sources say, and is a moneymaker for WTEM, even with his low ratings.
There are any number of reasons for Imus's lack of popularity in Washington. First, he is on an AM station in an FM town. Washington leads the nation in FM signal penetration, but it is a lousy AM market. Even though WTEM has a mighty 50,000-watt signal, folks in Washington simply are not predisposed to tune to the AM band.
Also, Imus's typical listener is a white man around 47 years old. Imus, unlike Stern, has little crossover to black or young listeners. Then there is the issue of the Arbitron diaries, a shopworn excuse for anybody's low ratings. Bennett Zier, WTEM's general manager, says Imus's listeners may be less likely to fill out the ratings diaries and return them, which might mean there are more people listening to Imus than are accounted for.
So who exactly does listen to Imus? And how does he stay on the air in Washington?
"There's an old radio expression," Zier says. "Don't count the people who listen; the people that listen count."
Imus's guest list reads like a Who's Who of the media and political elite: "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. Network news anchors Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw. TV reporters Cokie Roberts, Andrea Mitchell and Mike Wallace.
And then there are the pols: Bill Bradley. John Kerry. Chris Dodd. Bob Dole. John McCain. Al D'Amato. Even Bill Clinton went on Imus's show before the 1992 New York primary. Imus called him "Bubba."
Lump these names together and you've just about defined the term "opinion-makers." Imus's listeners are the tiny club of men and women who make or report on government decisions--and who all seem to know each other.
"Imus more than pays for himself in ad revenues," Zier says. "There's not a better guy to sell a computer or an F-14."
In other words, the members of a Senate subcommittee may not listen to one word of WTEM's sports programming, but they do listen to politicians and media folk on Imus's show, which is sandwiched around ads for defense contractors. Meanwhile, over on WJFK, Howard Stern is howling while a woman takes off her underwear in his studio.
Imus's ratings suggest that his Washington audience consists essentially of the people who appear on his show and the people they bump into on the Hill or at Georgetown parties.
This is a surprising evolution for Imus, who pioneered the shock-jock shtick in Cleveland and New York in the '70s and '80s. Nowadays you're more likely to hear him, at 59, soberly discussing politics or government than bad-mouthing the New York Knicks. He gets guests who would make Jim Lehrer drool. He makes bestsellers out of books on his reading list, books about culture and the media and public affairs. He is active in charitable foundations. His audience is wealthy, smart and well connected.
All of which fits the exact profile of a radio host who might easily have a morning show on . . . public radio.
from the: Washington Post
Washington's "Jam'n Oldies" radio station made a big splash during its first full Arbitron ratings period, just as that format has in every other market where it has debuted.
WJMO (99.5)--the former WGAY, which switched its format in April from easy listening to oldies--appeared near the top of several categories in the spring ratings reports, which were delivered to stations yesterday.
"When we first put Jam'n on the air, we knew it was the perfect format for D.C. because it mirrors the market," says Bennett Zier, general manager of WJMO. The station targets ages 35-49 and aims for an audience that is about 60 percent white.
The format--a playlist composed mainly of Motown and '70s dance hits--was devised by Chancellor Media Corp., which owns WJMO, and has been rolled out in large cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York over the past few years.
WJMO's success seemed to come largely at the expense of black oldies WMMJ (102.3), which took a ratings dive in the period from April 1 to June 23.
Occupying their customary top spots for all listeners 12 and older were black adult contemporary WHUR (96.3), black hits WPGC (95.5) and hip-hop WKYS (93.9), which finished first, second and third.
Elsewhere, WJFK's "Don and Mike Show"--which routinely dominates the afternoon-drive slot among men--captured that time segment's No. 1 spot among all listeners for the first time. WJFK (106.7) management tastefully rewarded Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara by sending two strippers to the studio yesterday for an on-air celebration during the talk show. The grunts and moans emanating from the radio were reminiscent of a porno movie soundtrack.
During the high-revenue morning-drive time, Howard Stern--carried on WJFK--retained his customary top position among men 25-54, the most coveted demographic group for advertisers. The syndicated shock jock was followed by all-news WTOP (1500 AM) and syndicated host Tom Joyner, carried on WHUR. Dropping in the ratings were the morning shows at DC-101 (WWDC)--where a new host, New York's Elliot Segal, will debut on Aug. 16--and Classic Rock 94.7 (WARW), which completed its first ratings period after firing Doug "Greaseman" Tracht for telling a racist joke on-air. During morning drive, women 25-54 preferred Joyner, followed by the Jack Diamond and Bert Weiss show on Mix 107.3 (WRQX) and Dave Adler on Oldies 100 (WBIG).
On the news side, WMAL (630 AM) enjoyed its best spring ratings period in four years, reports John Butler, the station's operations director. WTOP's ratings stayed relatively stable after a significant rise during the last ratings period, which included the impeachment of President Clinton and the NATO campaign against Serbia.
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
from the: Washington Post
June 29, 1999
By Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
--Snips--
Sound Bites
* DC-101 (WWDC) has hired a new morning host to replace Dave Zyck, who was fired in September. The new guy, Elliot Segal, is half of "Elvis and Elliot," the morning team at New York's Top 40 WHTZ, and had sought to break out on his own. He will begin Aug. 16 in the morning-drive slot, 6-10 a.m. In New York, the team helped take WHTZ--which was mired deep in the ratings--to consistent Top 10 finishes in the quarterly Arbitrons.
Segal is a high-volume shock jock who has claimed that, if he had his own show, he could beat reigning morning man Howard Stern, who--along with WHUR's Tom Joyner--rules the ratings in Washington. A New York personality in his own right, Segal, 30, has dated Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." WHTZ and WWDC are both owned by Chancellor Media Corp. DC-101 has cultivated morning shock jocks--Stern got his start there, and was followed by Doug "Greaseman" Tracht. Buddy Rizer, who had been hosting DC-101's morning show, will maintain an on-air presence elsewhere in the schedule, the station said.
from the: Washington Post
Wednesday, April 28, 1999
Black radio stations continued their ratings dominance among all Washington-area listeners, with WPGC (95.5 FM) and WHUR (96.3) tied for first in the winter Arbitron rankings released yesterday. Hip-hop WKYS (93.9) came in a close third.
Still, the rankings for January through March showed how Washington radio listeners reacted to an event-filled period in which a president was tried in the Senate, the bombing of Yugoslavia began and a prominent deejay was fired.
All-news WTOP (1500 AM) had its best ratings since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, climbing during all parts of the day, including substantial gains in the crucial morning drive time, where a station can earn half of its revenue.
Jim Farley, WTOP's vice president for news, attributed the gains to the station's impeachment coverage, the Balkans war "and snow and ice."
"This is the result of three years of fine-tuning and getting it to sound like a very contemporary news station," he said. Part of the station's success is owed to morning anchors Mike Moss and Richard Day and their afternoon counterparts, Shawn Anderson and Mary Jo Powell, as well as "man about town" Bob Madigan, Farley said. And the station's Internet presence helped, as well--WTOP's Web site got 900,000 hits on one particularly snowy day, he said.
The WTOP newsroom celebrated yesterday with pizza and Pepsi--no beer, said Farley, because the station is owned by Bonneville Radio, which in turn is owned by the Mormon church.
WGAY (99.5) enjoyed a bang-up ratings period in its last quarter as an easy-listening station, climbing strongly across most time slots and listener categories. The numbers may offer some solace to Mark O'Brien, the station's former general manager, who was replaced by WTEM GM Bennett Zier when the station switched formats to "jammin' oldies" earlier this month. O'Brien now runs soft-rock WASH (97.1).
It was also during this ratings period that WARW (94.7) morning man Doug "Greaseman" Tracht was fired for making a racial slur. His firing, however, made no apparent dent in the classic-rock station's ratings.
Tom Joyner, who is heard on WHUR, was again the top-rated morning drive host among the revenue-generating 25-to-54-year-old listener category, easily outdistancing No. 2 Howard Stern, heard on WJFK (106.7). Jack Diamond and Bert Weiss (Mix 107.3), Donnie Simpson at WPGC and Dave Adler at Oldies 100 (WBIG) rounded out the top five. In the afternoons, the "Don and Mike Show" on WJFK kept its top position, winning more than two dozen individual demographic categories. Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser, whose ESPN Radio show is heard on WTEM (980) in the afternoons, showed a strong jump among male listeners.
THE NUMBERS GAME
The winter Arbitron ratings for total audience, compared with the fall. A share reflects what percentage of the radio audience is tuned to a particular station over the course of a week. Previous rankings are in parentheses; T denotes a tie.
FALL WINTER
1. WPGC (95.5) (urban hits) 5.6 (1T) 6.2
WHUR (96.3) (urban adult) 5.6 (1T) 6.2
3. WKYS (93.9) (urban hits) 5.4 (3) 5.8
4. WMMJ (102.3) (urban oldies) 5.0 (5) 4.4
5. WRQX (107.3) (adult hits) 5.1 (4) 4.3
6. WBIG (100.3) (oldies) 4.4 (8) 4.2
7. WGAY (99.5) (easy listening) 3.2 (14T) 4.1
8. WJFK (106.7) (talk) 3.5 (12T) 4.0
WMAL-AM (630) (news-talk) 4.2 (9) 4.0
10. WMZQ (98.7) (country) 4.5 (7) 3.9
11. WWDC (101.1) (rock) 3.5 (12T) 3.7
WTOP (1500 AM, 107.7 FM) (all news) 3.2 (14T) 3.7
13. WASH (97.1) (soft rock) 4.7 (6) 3.6
WGMS (103.5) (classical) 3.6 (11) 3.6
15. WWVZ (103.9) (Top 40) 2.7 (16T) 3.4
WWZZ (104.1) (Top 40) 2.7 (16T) 3.4
17. WJZW (105.9) (smooth jazz) 4.1 (10) 3.0
18. WARW (94.7) (classic rock) 2.2 (20) 2.3
19. WHFS (99.1) (rock) 2.3 (19) 1.9
20. WTEM-AM (980) (sports talk) 1.3 (22) 1.7
21. WPGC-AM (1580) (gospel) 1.5 (21) 1.4
22. WAVA (105.1) (Christian) 1.0 (23) 1.3
23. WWDC-AM (1260) (nostalgia) 0.7 (27T) 0.9
WFRE (99.9) (country) 0.9 (24T) 0.9
WIYY (97.9) (rock) 0.9 (24T) 0.9
from the: Washington Post
WHUR (96.3 FM) and its black adult format tied with hip-hop WPGC (95.5 FM) as the top radio stations among Washington listeners, according to the fall Arbitron radio ratings released yesterday. WHUR was also at or near the top of several other categories broken down by age and gender.
But black oldies WMMJ (102.3 FM) was the survey's big comer, moving from 12th place to fifth overall and challenging WPGC's nighttime hegemony, finishing first in the 7 p.m.-midnight slot. WMMJ made gains in nearly all categories, weekday and weekend, day and night. The station even picked up ratings points in morning drive time, where a succession of hosts was tried through the fall as the station sought a replacement for the fired Doug Gilmore before settling on motivational speaker Les Brown.
Steve Hegwood, vice president for programming of Radio One, which owns WMMJ, says the station readjusted its song playlist three months ago in response to listener surveys. It looks like it paid off, he says.
"I think we selected the best oldies for our target demo," Hegwood says, meaning listeners ages 25-54. Also, he credits a fall contest in which the station gave away $25,000.
Another Radio One program, the Russ Parr morning show on WKYS (93.9 FM), finished first among all listeners ages 18-34, though Tom Joyner's morning show on WHUR continued to be the listener favorite of all ages.
"It's a happy day for Radio One," Hegwood says. A station's ratings determine how attractive it is to advertisers and where ad rates can be set.
Adult contemporary WRQX (107.3 FM) also enjoyed a strong ratings period, topping the workday time slot among listeners 25-54, followed by easy-listening WASH (97.1 FM), smooth jazz WJZW (105.9 FM) and oldies WBIG (100.3 FM), all of which showed gains in work-time listening.
Steve Kosbau, WRQX program director, attributed much of the station's success to the June 1 reuniting of Jack Diamond and Bert Weiss on the station's morning show, which finished second among all listeners as well as those ages 25-54.
Top-40 WWZZ (104.1 FM) showed notable losses, edging downward in several categories. Classical WGMS (103.5 FM) dropped from fifth to 11th overall.
But the big loser appears to be syndicated talk.
Howard Stern's morning show on WJFK (106.7 FM) took a nosedive among male listeners over 18 and suffered a substantial hit among all listeners 25-54. Don Imus's show, heard on WTEM (980 AM) also edged down, as did conservative talkers Rush Limbaugh on WMAL (630 AM) and G. Gordon Liddy on WJFK. But WJFK's "Don and Mike Show" continued to be the area's favorite among 25-54-year-old listeners, and finished seventh overall.
The fall Arbitron ratings cover the period from Sept. 24 to Dec. 16.
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
from the: Washington Post
October 20, 1998
Frank Ahrens
Arbitron Ratings
There were few surprises in the summer Arbitron rankings, released last week. The top three in the big-money morning drive slot -- WHUR (96.3), WJFK (106.7) and WPGC (95.5) -- remained the same, with WJFK and WHUR tying for first. And in the overall rankings, WPGC -- which was tied with WHUR for the top slot in the spring Arbitrons -- edged slightly upward to claim the No. 1 position alone.
Big movers in the overall rankings -- all listeners 12 years old and older -- were news/talk WMAL (630 AM), which rose from 12th to fourth, and urban adult WMMJ, which dropped from sixth to 12th. Oldies WBIG (100.3) rose from eighth to third in the 25- to 54-year-old age bracket.
THE NUMBERS GAME
Here are the summer Arbitron radio ratings for total audience, compared with the previous spring. A share reflects what percentage of the radio audience is tuned to a particular station over the course of a week. Previous rankings in parenthesis; T stands for tie.
Spring '98 Summer '98
1. WPGC (95.5) (urban hits) 6.1 (1T) 6.3
2. WHUR (96.3) (urban-adult) 6.1 (1T) 5.6
3. WKYS (93.9) (urban-rap) 5.2 (4) 5.3
4. WMAL-AM (630) (news-talk) 3.6 (12) 4.6
5. WBIG (100.3) (oldies) 3.7 (10T) 4.5
WGMS (103.5) (classical) 3.9 (8T) 4.5
7. WRQX (107.3) (adult hits) 4.0 (7) 4.3
8. WMZQ (98.7) (country) 5.5 (3) 4.2
9. WJFK (106.7) (talk) 3.9 (8T) 4.1
10. WASH (97.1) (soft rock) 4.2 (5) 4.0
WJZW (105.9) (smooth jazz) 3.4 (13T) 4.0
The radio ratings horse race is tied once again, as WPGC shot up in the spring Arbitron ratings, led by morning man Donnie Simpson. WHUR's Tom Joyner slipped in the mornings, although the station as a whole remained on top.
A look at the numbers over the last year shows four stations dominating the competition for mass audience -- WPGC and WKYS, with their young black sound; WHUR and its adult black approach; and country WMZQ, which made a strong comeback this spring.
Soft-rock WASH, which had its best numbers ever last winter, slipped to a still-strong fifth place. Also down: news-talk WMAL, back to reality after an unusually strong winter book.
On the plus side, WARW, the long-foundering classic rock station, made impressive progress, especially among 25- to 54-year-old listeners and particularly in the morning, when the Greaseman had his first strong numbers since returning to Washington last year. In a town where rock stations generally fare poorly, all three of Washington's rockers did well, especially WARW and alternative WHFS. Hard-rocker DC-101 managed to maintain its audience as it switched owners.
Here are the top-rated morning acts among listeners aged 25-54: Joyner on WHUR, Howard Stern on WJFK (building nearly to a tie for first in the morning), Jack Diamond and Bert Weiss on Mix 107.3, Gary Murphy and Jessica Cash on WMZQ, Simpson on WPGC, Kim Burton and Bill Worthington on WASH, WTOP's news, the since-fired Mark Kessler on Oldies 100, and the Greaseman on WARW.
THE NUMBERS GAME
Here are the spring Arbitron radio ratings for total audience, compared with the previous winter. A share reflects what percentage of the radio audience is tuned to a particular station over the course of a week.
Winter '98 Spring '98
1. WHUR (96.3) (Urban/Adult) 6.1 6.1
1. WPGC (95.5) (Urban Hits) 5.5 6.1
3. WMZQ (98.7) (Country) 4.8 5.5
4. WKYS (93.9 FM) (Urban/Rap) 4.9 5.2
5. WASH (97.1) (Soft Rock) 5.5 4.2
6. WMMJ (102.3) (Urban/Oldies) 4.2 4.1
6. WWVZ/WWZZ (104.1) (Top 40) 4.1 4.1
8. WRQX (107.3) (Adult Hits) 4.5 4.0
9. WGMS (103.5) (Classical) 4.3 3.9
9. WJFK (106.7) (Talk) 3.4 3.9 - Howard's station
11. WBIG (100.3) (Oldies) 3.8 3.7
11. WTOP (1500, 107.7) (All-News) 3.4 3.7
13. WMAL (630 AM) (News/Talk) 4.6 3.6
14. WJZW (105.9) (Smooth Jazz) 3.5 3.4
14. WGAY (99.5) (Easy Listening) 3.4 3.4
16. WWDC-FM (101.1) (Rock) 3.4 3.3
17. WARW (94.7) (Classic Rock) 2.1 2.8
18. WHFS (99.1) (Alternative) 2.1 2.5
19. WTEM (980) (Sports Talk) 1.0 1.4
20. WAVA (105.1) (Christian) 1.0 1.0
20. WPGC-AM (1580) (Gospel) 1.1 1.0
22. WWDC-AM (1260) (Nostalgia) 0.5 0.8
23. WOL (1450) (Black Talk) 0.7 0.7
24. WACA (1540) (Spanish) 0.6 0.5
© 1998 The Washington Post Company
Howard has been chosen as the "Best Radio DJ" for the Washington, D.C. area in The Washingtonian magazine.
Adult contemporary WASH (97.1 FM) also posted big gains, jumping from 4.3 to 5.5 to give it a tie for second place with urban contemporary WPGC (95.5 FM). Country WMZQ (98.7 FM) took fifth place, dropping from a 5.1 to a 4.8. News/talk WMAL mounted an impressive gain, from 4.1 to 4.6, to give it a sixth place ranking. WMAL's airing of Rush Limbaugh's right-wing talkfest is the most listened-to radio program during mid-days.
Rounding out the top ten are adult contemporary WRQX (107.3 FM), who finished seventh with a 4.5 share; classical WGMS (103.5 FM), landing in eighth with a 4.2; urban oldies WMMJ (102.3 FM) claiming ninth place with a 4.2; and contemporary Z-104 (WWVZ 103.9 and WWZZ 104.1 FM) jumps from a 3.7 to a 4.1 for tenth place. Oldies WBIG (100.3 FM) dropped from 4.1 to 3.8 for eleventh place, while smooth jazz WJZW (105.9 FM) took twelfth place with a 3.5.
Rocker DC101 (WWDC 101.1 FM) took a plunge from 4.0 to 3.4, falling into thirteenth place. Talk/lite jazz WJFK (106.7 FM) also took a big hit, plunging from 4.6 to 3.4 for fourteenth place. Much of WJFK's troubles can be attributed to the fading ratings of Howard Stern, who has lost more than 20 percent of his audience since last fall, according to the Washington Post.
All-news WTOP (107.7 FM and 1500 AM) posted a 3.4 to tie for fourteenth place with adult contemporary WGAY (99.5 FM). However, 'TOP's morning news vaulted to third place in the morning drive slot.
Classic rock WARW (94.7 FM) continued to suffer the ratings blues, dropping from 2.6 to 2.1, with the Greaseman showing a ratings decline. Modern rock WHFS (99.1 FM) continued its ratings slide, plunging from a 2.3 to a 2.1.
Sports talk WTEM's ratings still reside in the basement. Despite a flip to a more powerful 980 AM dial position, the station actually dropped from a 1.1 to a 1.0. WWRC (570 AM), the former occupant of 980 AM that dropped its talk format for business news, posted a 0.6, down from a 0.9 last fall.
All hail Monica Lewinsky! That has to be the sentiment at radio stations in Washington and across the country as the latest round of Arbitron ratings shows powerful audience increases for news and talk stations from January through March.
The White House controversy produced big boosts in listenership for WMAL's Rush Limbaugh, making the station No. 1 in middays. The allegation that Lewinsky had an affair with President Clinton was also good for all-news WTOP, vaulting the station into the No. 3 spot in morning drive time, behind WHUR's syndicated "Tom Joyner Show" and WMAL's Brant and Parks talk program. The same phenomenon powered news and talk stations to big numbers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Audiences appeared to crave hard news rather than the yuks served up by morning bad boys. Howard Stern tumbled badly on WJFK, losing more than 20 percent of his share of the audience since last fall. The Greaseman on WARW was also down; Don Imus on WTEM edged up slightly, but not enough to save station manager Lewis Schreck's job. He was sacked last week.
The big winners locally were soft-rock WASH -- which had its best performance ever, behind only Joyner and Stern among adults in the morning, and landing a remarkable second overall -- and adult-urban WHUR, which took over the top spot after a year-long seesaw battle between urban-hits stations WPGC and WKYS. KYS suffered a severe drop, while PGC was flat.
WASH's 24-year-old program director, Darren Davis, exulted in the victory and credited the new Bill Worthington and Kim Burton morning show, as well as the station's Take WASH to Work contest, an $80,000 giveaway that drew 111,000 entries from listeners. "To beat [Mix 107's] Jack Diamond was icing on the cake," Davis said.
Other winners: Classical WGMS continues to draw new listeners and WJFK's Don and Mike strengthened a virtual stranglehold on the male audience in afternoon drive.
Losers: Oldies 100's new morning show, G. Gordon Liddy's midday talk on WJFK, and all three rock stations -- hard rocker DC-101, classic-rock WARW and alternative WHFS. Does this reflect declining quality in new rock music or the continuing retreat of young people away from radio and toward CDs?
THE NUMBERS GAME
Here are the fall Arbitron radio ratings for total audience, compared with the previous fall. A share reflects what percentage of the radio audience is tuned to a particular station over the course of a week.
Fall97 Winter98
1. WHUR (96.3) (Urban/Adult) 5.2 6.1
2. WASH (97.1) (Soft Rock) 4.2 5.5
WPGC (95.5) (Urban Hits) 5.6 5.5
4. WKYS (93.9) (Urban/Rap) 6.3 4.9
5. WMZQ (98.7) (Country) 5.1 4.8
6. WMAL (630 AM) (News/Talk) 4.1 4.6
7. WRQX (107.3) (Adult Hits) 4.3 4.5
8. WGMS (103.5) (Classical) 4.0 4.3
9. WMMJ (102.3) (Urban/Oldies) 4.0 4.2
10. WWVZ/WWZZ (104.1) (Top 40) 3.7 4.1
11. WBIG (100.3) (Oldies) 4.1 3.8
12. WJZW (105.9) (Smooth Jazz) 3.4 3.5
13. WWDC (101.1) (Rock) 4.0 3.4
14. WJFK (106.7) (Talk) 4.6 3.4
WTOP (1500, 107.7) (All-News) 3.3 3.4
16. WGAY (99.5) (Easy Listening) 3.7 3.4
17. WARW (94.7) (Classic Rock) 2.6 2.1
WHFS (99.1) (Alternative) 2.3 2.1
19. WPGC (1580) (Gospel) 0.7 1.1
WYCB (1340) (Gospel) 0.9 1.1
21. WAVA (105.1) (Christian) 0.9 1.0
WTEM (980) (Sports Talk) 1.1 1.0
23. WOL (1450) (Black Talk) 1.2 0.7
WUPP (94.3) (Country) 0.3 0.7
25. WACA (1540) (Spanish) 0.4 0.6
WWRC (570) (Business) 0.9 0.6
26. WWDC (1260) (Nostalgia) 0.5 0.5
January 14, 1998
Score another one for WKYS and its Russ Parr morning show, as the local rap and urban hits station jumps past perennial favorite WPGC and morning man Donnie Simpson in the continuing struggle for dominance in the Arbitron ratings.
The fall ratings book, released yesterday, saw WPGC, which had rebounded last summer with its new "Representing hip-hop and R&B" slogan, plummet, particularly in the crucial morning drive hours.
"They thought they could out-street and out-black WKYS," trumpeted Steve Hegwood, vice resident for programming at WKYS's parent company, Radio One. "For us, this is a lifestyle, not a marketing strategy." WPGC program director Jay Stevens did not return a call seeking comment.
The two top black music stations control more than 21 percent of all 18- to 34-year-old listeners. Add Howard Stern to that equation and nearly one in three young Washingtonians is accounted for -- an impressive achievement in a town with more than 30 radio stations.
Stern's New York-based gabfest rules, winning the title of Washington's favorite morning show over Parr by a wide margin. The syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show," heard here on WHUR, dropped from first to third, losing considerable audience in the fall book.
Other morning gainers: the new Mark Kessler show on Oldies 100 (despite continued complaints by listeners loyal to predecessor Jim London), DC-101's steady rock diet, Dennis Owens's classics on WGMS, and Mix 107.3's Diamond in the Morning. Biggest morning loser was Simpson, followed by Joyner and the Greaseman on Classic Rock 94.7.
Stern's station, WJFK, got its usual fall boost from Redskins coverage, shooting into second place among adults, 25-54, behind leader WHUR. WGMS rebounded strongly from a few off months. And all-news WTOP benefited from the addition of its FM frequency, which brings the station to pockets of Virginia it previously couldn't reach. Among rockers, DC-101 showed broad strength, while both WHFS and WARW remained stagnant.
THE NUMBERS GAME - The following are the Arbitron ratings for the fall period compared with the previous summer. Ratings reflect overall preferences of listeners 12 and up.
Summer '97 Fall '97
1.WKYS (93.9 FM) (Urban/Rap) 5.9 6.3
2.WPGC (95.5) (Urban Hits) 6.3 5.6
3.WHUR (96.3) (Urban/Adult) 5.7 5.2
4.WMZQ (98.7) (Country) 5.0 5.1
5.WJFK (106.7) (Talk) 3.6 4.6
6.WRQX (107.3) (Adult Hits) 3.9 4.3
7.WASH (97.1) (Soft Rock) 3.9 4.2
8.WBIG (100.3) (Oldies) 4.4 4.1
WMAL (630 AM) (News/Talk) 4.2 4.1
10.WGMS (103.5) (Classical) 3.0 4.0
WMMJ (102.3) (Urban/Oldies) 3.9 4.0
WWDC (101.1) (Rock) 3.2 4.0
13.WGAY (99.5) (Easy Listening) 4.2 3.7
14.WWVZ/WWZZ (104.1) (Top 40) 3.8 3.5
15.WJZW (105.9) (Smooth Jazz) 3.6 3.4
16.WTOP (1500, 94.3) (All-News) 3.0 2.9
17.WARW (94.7) (Classic Rock) 2.6 2.6
18.WHFS (99.1) (Alternative) 2.4 2.3
19.WOL (1450) (Black Talk) 1.2 1.2
20.WTEM (570) (Sports Talk) 1.0 1.1
21.WAVA (105.1) (Christian) 0.8 0.9
WWRC (980) (News/Talk) 1.1 0.9
WYCB (1340) (Gospel) 1.5 0.9
24.WPGC-AM (1580) (Gospel) 0.7 0.7
In morning drive, good-guy "fly-jock" Tom Joyner over on WHUR continues to "rule", followed by Stern in second, and WPGC's Donnie Simpson staging a comeback (according to the Washington Post), perhaps riding the crest of the station's new found popularity. Russ Parr and the Harden/Brant/Parks combo at news-talker WMAL-AM (630) bring up the rear tying for fourth.
Thanks to Roger for sending this in...
July 16, 1997; Page D10
The Washington Post
Kiss-FM, the Washington radio station that appeals most directly to young black listeners, soared to the top of the ratings for the first time in more than eight years, according to the spring Arbitron book released yesterday.
The station's hometown sound of rap, hip-hop and go-go, accompanied by Russ Parr's funny, street-savvy morning show, propelled WKYS (93.9) from third to first in total audience. The area's three most popular stations -- WKYS, WPGC (95.5 FM) and WHUR (96.3 FM) -- have predominantly black audiences.
Kiss won the top spot in good part by taking listeners from longtime No. 1 WPGC, a more Top-40 oriented station, radio executives said. "We are the alternative to PGC," said Steve Hegwood, vice president of programming for Radio One, the Lanham-based company that owns Kiss, WMMJ (Majic 102.3), and black talk WOL (1450 AM). "Our game plan is to dominate the African American audience 12-64."
Although Tom Joyner's syndicated show on WHUR continues to win the largest morning drive-time audience, Kiss's Parr won the coveted 18-34 demographic, a development that Hegwood credited to the program's local focus. "That show is all about how people live here in D.C.," Hegwood said. "It is very local."
The other major change in the ratings came at the expense of WMAL (630 AM), which plummeted from fourth to 12th in total audience. The talk station -- which features its genial morning show of chatter and service from Harden, Brandt and Parks, as well as syndicated talk from Rush Limbaugh and "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger -- suffers from an aging audience and a market in which many listeners simply never think of switching to the AM dial.
In the morning drive time battle, Joyner and Parr were followed in total audience by Howard Stern on WJFK (106.7 FM), Donnie Simpson on WPGC and country music on WMZQ (98.7 FM).
Howard finished with a #1 rating, a 6.9. The second place station, which is the all-news station, grabbed a 5.5 share.
Howard is the #1 rated morning jock, in every demographic, in the July Arbitrends. In the official Spring Arbitron's, Howard had a 6.3 share, good for 4th place.
Howard tied for first place in the morning drive period among listeners 25 to 54 years old with a 6.9 share.
After all these years, and with a bad transmitter location, Howard is finally getting the respect and ratings his show deserves. In the last full ratings book, Howard's show placed 2nd with a 6.7 share, just 1/10 of a point behing the Urban music station in the 12+ demo. With all people age 18-24, the show has a 12.2 share.
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