Steve & Vikki rock the ratings at No. 4

Over the summer, Atlanta gave Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke a collective welcome back hug.

The veteran radio pair, who were dropped from Star 94 last year, came back on soft-rock station B98.5 in July and debuted a solid fourth place among 25- to 54-year-olds, according to Arbitron ratings covering June 26 to Sept. 17.

“I can’t imagine a better performance out of the gate,” said B98.5 program director Paul Ciliani. “They’re both very talented people that work very hard at what they do. They still love getting up at that ungodly hour, and they don’t go home till the job is done.”

In the meantime, the replacement team from Indianapolis at Star 94 failed to gain traction. On air since January, the Morning Mess ranked just 18th among 18- to 34-year-olds, the target audience, beaten by unlikely rivals such as Mayhem in the AM at sports station 790/the Zone, classic hits station 97.1/the River and even Don Imus on True Oldies 106.7.

The afternoon team Cindy & Ray continue to be Star’s shining stars, remaining at No. 5 among 25- to 54-year-olds.

In other notable trends in the summer book:

> Three stations that have seen their numbers fall the past 12 to 18 months rebounded over the summer: Smooth Jazz 107.5 and the two major Christian stations Praise 97.5 and 104.7/the Fish.

> There wasn’t as much boot-scoot boogying on the radio over the summer as both 94.9/the Bull and Kicks 101.5 slipped in the ratings, with Kicks falling out of the top 10 for the first time in recent memory.

> After a promising reintroduction to the marketplace earlier this year, the Regular Guys lost traction. The Rock 100.5 morning team dropped to ninth from second among 18- to 34-year-olds and 11th from sixth among 25- to 54-year-olds.

> In the sports station battle, the Zone got the upper hand over 680/the Fan. The 2 Live Stews had its best performance in at least a year, finishing fourth among men 25 to 54 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the Zone’s Afternoon Saloon soundly defeated the Fan’s Buck & Kincade from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

> After beating Tom Joyner on a weaker signal in the spring, Steve Harvey on Grown Folks 102.5 fell back to fifth place among 25- to 54-year-olds, while Joyner moved up to No. 2 ahead of WSB-AM and behind dominant Frank & Wanda on V-103. The “A Team” on Hot 107.9, before being dismantled for Rickey Smiley in the fall, had a strong ratings performance as well.

Starting this fall, the way Arbitron measures ratings, which are used by advertisers, are undergoing a major shift. Gone are paper diaries in which respondents are asked to recall what they heard the past week. Instead, respondents are given meters which measures actual listening.

The results in other markets show that people listen to more stations but don’t listen as much as they reported under the old system. The first Atlanta monthly results come out Nov. 5.

MORNING SHOWS

The top 10 morning shows among 25- to 54-year-olds: rank, show, station, format (spring rank)

1. Frank & Wanda, V-103, R&B/hip-hop (1)

2. Tom Joyner, Kiss 104.1, R&B (4)

3. Scott Slade, 750/WSB-AM, news/talk (2)

4. Steve & Vikki, B98.5, soft rock (7)*

5. Steve Harvey, Grown Folks 102.5, R&B/talk (3)

Among 18- to 34-year-olds

1. Frank & Wanda, V-103, R&B/hip-hop (1)

2. The Bert Show, Q100, Top 40 (2)

3. The A Team, Hot 107.9, hip-hop (4) **

4. Yolanda Adams, Praise 97.5, gospel (12)

5. Steve Harvey, Grown Folks 102.5, R&B/talk (6)

* In the spring, Kelly & Alpha were the morning show

** This fall, the A Team was replaced by Rickey Smiley

SOURCE: Arbitron