This was originally Tuesday, May 2, 2017 by Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk
News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB continues its dominant run in 2016, with another solid month in March ratings.
The station drew a 9.5 rating, down from 9.9 in February and a peak of 10.7 in January but still far ahead of everyone else. It's been No. 1 every month since January 2016. R&B/hip-hop station V-103 held second place for the ninth month in a row with a 6.3 rating, followed by a tie between R&B station Kiss 104.1 and a surging rock station 97.1/The River.
Christian station Fish 104.7 continues a solid run over the past 10 months or so, finishing fifth. Kiss rival Majic 107.5/97.5, in sixth place, had its best month since February of last year.
The three top country stations all saw ratings increases. Kicks 101.5, which overtook 94.9/the Bull for the lead in November, had a solid month, finishing at a 4.1 rating, good for 10th. The Bull rebounded to a 3.4, up from 2.9 in February. (The Bull averaged a 3.9 in 2016.) WTSH 107.1, which averaged a 0.8 in 2016, has seen its monthlies go up from 1.2 to 1.3 to 1.5 this year. Combined, the three country stations pulled in a 9 rating.
Among 18 to 34 year olds, Hot 107.9 was No. 1, taking the reins back from V-103. In mornings in that demo, the Bert Show is the big show in town, finishing in double digits for the fifth month in a row with a 10.4, beating Rickey Smiley on Hot 107.9 with a 7.8 and his former colleagues over at Star 94.1 Jeff and Jenn (4.1). (Bert, after losing steam, post Jeff Dauler, has now solidly regained his footing.) Among younger listeners, the big surprise is at No. 4: "Morning Edition" on WABE-FM. Fish's Parks Stamper is No. 1 mid-days while V-103's Big Tigger is the 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. winner. Greg Street (12.4) at night on V-103 beats out the Durtty Boyz on Hot (10.8).
With 25 to 54 year olds, V-103 keeps its long-standing lead. Excluding the Christmas time period, V-103 has been No. 1 in that demo every single month except for one since people meters were installed in 2009. In mornings, the Bert Show was No. 1 for the fourth time in five months with a 7.7, edging out Scott Slade at WSB (7.3), Ryan Cameron and Wanda Smith at V-103 (6.9) and Morning Edition at WABE (6.6). The mid-day leader in this demo is English Nick on 97.1/The River. Big Tigger of V-103 is tops in the drive-time period, with Greg Street dominant at night.
In the top 40 battle, B98.5 is the most listened to station (4.6), followed by Q100 (4.1), Power 96.1 (3.6) and Star 94.1 (3), which had its worst month since April, 2015. Among 18-34, Q100 is the winner (6.5), with a rebounding Power at 5.8, then B98.5 (4.9) and Star (4.3). With 25-54 year olds, Q100 also is the most popular station (5.5), ahead of B98.5 (4.8), Power (3.5) and Star (3.1).
B98.5, WSB, The River and Kiss and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are all part of Cox Media Group.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Remember Mitch Elliott from former oldies station Fox 97.1? He performed all sorts of roles at Fox, including producer of the Randy & Spiff show and mid-day host. He was at Fox for 16 years but left in the early 2000s before Fox disappeared in 2003. Mitch's latest gig in Portland is at adult alternative station 101.9 Kink: Uniquely Portland as a morning co host. "Hard working, very talented, did voices for us," said Spiff Carner. "I'm glad he's landed on his feet out there."
He's not the only former Atlantan at Kink: Sean Demery, the original afternoon host at 99X when it launched 25 years ago, is program director and afternoon host.
As the press release notes: "Mitch Elliott is a native of Atlanta who began his radio career at WRAS. From there he moved to WFOX where he would learn the craft while working in positions ranging from overnights to Assistant Program Director and Afternoon Drive. After nearly 16 years at WFOX, the Northwest was beckoning to Mitch for a change. He spent three years doing mornings at KLSY in Seattle before finding his forever home in Portland, OR. After a very successful 10-year run as the afternoon drive-time show at KRSK and two nominations and one win for Best Radio Show in Portland (as voted on by readers of Willamette Week), Mitch is thrilled to have found his new radio home on 101.9 KINK."
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Herman Cain will be doing his show remotely from Woodstock on May 11. He will tape his show before a live audience that evening at the Gazebo at the Park at City Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. If there's rain, it will move to The Chambers at City Center. The address is 101 Arnold Mill Road.
The event is free. He will take questions from the audience. He will also be selling his latest book "The Right Solutions: What the President, Congress, and Every Candidate Should Be Working On."
Cain is heard from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily on WSB.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Syndicated radio host Steve Harvey, heard locally on Majic, has committed to IHeartMedia's Premiere Networks for a multi-year contract extension. The press release did not say how much time he has committed to radio but typically veteran hosts like him get a minimum of three years and as many as five.
He is about to move his studios from Atlanta to Los Angeles, which will be a major challenge logistically because a bulk of his 90-plus radio stations are east of the Mississippi River. He is going to have to wake up even earlier than most morning hosts to do his show at 3 a.m. PST.
He has been syndicated since 2005 and has been on Majic since then. He is heard weekly by an estimated 7 million listeners.
Harvey chose to move to the West Coast because of his commitments to his new syndicated talk show there and other TV hosting obligations such as "Little Big Shots" on NBC and "Celebrity Family Feud" for ABC. (For now, regular syndicated "Family Feud" remains shooting in Atlanta.) Since 2012, his current talk show has been produced in Chicago, where he frequently did his radio show as well.
The radio show just added J. Anthony Brown, previously on Tom Joyner's morning show. His addition, without subtraction, definitely impacts an already crowded main cast, now at six people. The other four cast members are Shirley Strawberry, Nephew Tommy, Carla Ferrell and Junior.
