Summer radio ratings surprising
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share thisWILK-AM had a surprisingly strong showing in the summer quarterly Arbitron ratings book that was released this week, coming out on top in five of the nine categories it measures.
However, the new report left some scratching their heads and looking for answers.
"I can't explain this book. It is too weird for me," said Rich Mates, who spent 16 years in broadcasting and was a media writer for The Times-Tribune for nearly 24 years before he retired in 2005.
Mr. Mates said while WILK's strong showing is a bit surprising, WARM-AM, which scored a 0.9 overall share, was just one of the issues that left him wondering about the accuracy of the report.
"WARM raises a red flag for me and many in the industry. The station had been off the air (temporarily) and its signal is still bad. You can't hear the station well because of static," Mr. Mates said. "Then you have WILK. The numbers would have you believe that, all of a sudden, WILK caught fire. All of this makes me question the rest of the Arbitron numbers."
Brett Beshore, general manager of local Shamrock Communications radio stations, a division of Times-Shamrock Communications, which also owns The Times-Tribune, said one explanation for the latest quarterly numbers could be that Arbitron heavily sampled areas where signals of radio stations, such as WEZX-FM (Rock 107), WQFM-FM (The Q) and others, don't reach.
For instance, WHLM-FM in Bloomsburg, WCTO-FM in Easton, WAEB-FM in Allentown and even WHTZ-FM, New York City's Z-100, scored stronger-than-usual numbers in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market.
"It does make a huge difference as to where Arbitron distributes its diaries," Mr. Mates said.
Mr. Beshore said the ratings were "interesting" and also noted that Rock 107 had a "terrific" book.
"In the advertising demo that counts (adult 25-54), Rock 107 was second and ahead of WKRZ, Magic, The X, and WILK," Mr. Beshore said.
Ryan Flynn, vice president and market manager for Entercom, which owns WILK, WKRZ and Froggy 101, maintains WILK's strong showing was a result of its great on-air talent, show content and personal connection to its audience.
"We have made a commitment to cover the local issues. ... We are also the exclusive home for Rush Limbaugh in this market," Mr. Flynn said. "Overall, it was a very good book for our cluster."
But, the double-digit rating for Rock 107 in the men 25-54 category would typically win that book, Mr. Beshore said.
"WILK came out of left field and out of 6th place (in the previous book) and netted a 12.5 share to edge us out by four tenths of a point," he said.
A breakdown of some of the more important categories are as follows:
- In the adults 25-54 category (the one advertisers use to set rates), WGGY-FM (Froggy 101) scored a 9.8 share while Rock 107 was second with a 9.6 share.
- In the men 25-54 category, WILK scored a 12.5 ratings share, edging Rock 107, which scored a 12.1 share.
- In the women 25-54 category, WKRZ-FM scored at 15.3 share followed by WMGS-FM at 14.9.
- WILK also won the adult 35-54 category with a 11.1 share. Rock 107 finished second with a 10.8.
- Overall (listeners 12 years old and older), WILK scored a 10.1 share to outdistance WMGS-FM (9.5), WKRZ-FM (9.4), Froggy 101 (7.8) and WBSX-FM (6.1) and Rock 107 (6.1).
A share is the percentage of those listening to radio in the area who are tuned to a particular radio station.
Times-Shamrock's other area stations, The Q (1.9) and WEJL-AM (1.2), were up over the previous summer.
Contact the writer: sbrown@timesshamrock.com
11 posted comments
Report bye bye, 16 October 2009 kl. 14:50 What? Did you ever listen to nancy and kevin in the morning?n I geuss they are conservatives huh? lol...If you think they are right wing then you are so left you might come back around to the right.
I'd like to see an old traditional country station on the air.