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Thursday, January 18, 2007
1/18: Fall ratings bet on black
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The fall ratings results for Atlanta radio were especially odd this year because of all the format changes and the shift in population to reflect more blacks and Hispanics. And you can see it in the numbers.
I haven’t seen all the breakdowns but I have general 12 plus, 18-49, 25-54 and 35-64 numbers and a few morning show ratings. If there’s anything specific you want to see, I can try to get it.
Winners
Praise, 95.5/The Beat, Jazz, Viva, 102.5 and V-103 all had strong results, partly juiced by the changes in population sampling for minorities. V-103 was No. 1 across the board in most key demos. It’s a powerhouse that bounced back from a relatively slow summer. 102.5 was No. 11 25-54, its best showing yet with the talk show format and Steve Harvey lifted mornings from 16 to 6 in that demo.
Viva bounced back from a poor summer and ranked 6th 18-49. Jazz had its best book ever, ranking 8th overall, 7th among 25-54. Praise is still down from earlier in the year but is a solid top 10 player.
The Beat had one of its best books in years, ranked 7th overall, 7th 18-49 and 4th 18-34. For the first time, the Beat beat V-103 in teens and had its highest cumulative audience in history: 589,000. Its morning show also had its best showing 18-34, ranked No. 6 with the new host Murph Dawg.
Nonethless, Kicks 101.5 also did well in its final book before the Bull came barrelling onto the scene in mid-December. It was top 5 in all key demos, including mornings 18-34 and 25-54.
And Fish had a good ratings book, tied for 9th among 25-54.
99X rebounded from its worst-ever book over the summer but was still 20th overall, nothing to write home about. The arrival of Project 9-6-1 could hurt the station. Again, it’s too early to tell. The new Morning X had an encouraging debut, ranked tied for 7th among 18 to 34, up from 20th during the temporary summer show with Leslie & Axel.
Losers
Star had its worst book in its history, dropping to 14th overall and 18-49. Rival Q100 (not a ratings loser but I’m talking about it here for contrast) helds its own, just a smidge behind Star at 16th place 12 plus, and 12th 18-49 and 6th 18-34. (Q100’s cumulative audience is up to 396K from 240K a year ago and it beat Star for the first time ever 18-49 women. The Bert Show had its best showing among 18-34 ever, ranked No. 2 only behind V-103)
WSB-AM had a bad fall but still ranked no. 2 overall and No. 1 35-64. WGST, which blew up most of its personalities in November, actually held steady, ranking 20th overall. The sports stations were neck and neck.
The River took a hit after three straight strong books out of the gate. It dropped to 11th overall, though it’s still top 5 25-54. But with 96rock out of the picture, it might see a rebound in the winter.
96rock/Project 9-6-1 dropped to 16th overall though in December, when Project came on line, its 18-34 numbers indicated a big jump. It’s too soon to say how this one will play out.
Dave fell back after a solid summer, more or less matching its fall 2005 numbers.
Eagle, which has had a relatively poor year overall, is way down year over year, ranking just 15th among 35 to 64. The arrival of the Bull certainly won’t help but 96rock’s departure might benefit the station. Again, it’s hard to say where Eagle will go in 2007.
Lite’s farewell book was actualy pretty weak despite Christmas, more than 30 percent down over the fall of 2005. The changes in population sampling didn’t help. And even B985’s numbers were down year over year but it did rank 7th 25-54. Both stations had relatively poor ratings years in 2006 across the board.
Hot and Kiss, despite the demographic diary shifts, were kind of flat overall. I can’t say if they’d be deemed winners or losers. Although the A Team on Hot only dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 among 18-34, its ratings have dropped by 1/3 the past nine months. Tom Joyner, among 25-54, had a solid book, ranked No. 3.
