By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, filed July 18, 2011
For most Atlanta pop and R&B/hip hop ratings, the spring brought in a bumper crop of good ratings.
The picture was a bit grimmer for other formats.
Among stations that saw noticeable gains during the second quarter: Star 94, Wild 105.7, Kiss 104.1, 97.1/The River and 106.7/Atlanta's Greatest Hits. Among stations that lost steam: 92.9/Dave FM, Praise 102.5 and 94.9/The Bull.
Here's a format-by-format overview of each station:
R&B/hip hop
V-103: The good news for V-103 is the station is still No. 1 in all key demos in typical top-dog fashion. But for the first time in my memory,the Frank & Wanda show was not tops in either 18-34 or 25-54 demographics the same month. They came in second behind Scott Slade on AM 750 and 95.5 FM news/talk WSB among 25 to 54 year olds and the Bert Show on Q100 among 18 to 34 year olds.
Hot 107.9: This R&B/hip-hop station is doing significantly better across the board compared to a year ago. It ranks second 18-34 and ninth 25-54. Rickey Smiley's 25-54 numbers were his best ever in June, and he ranked sixth during the second quarter.
Kiss 104.1: The station's shift last month to a more youthful sound, adding more current R&B tunes for the first time, made a positive initial impact. It finished with a 6.1 share, its best since the Christmas holidays, with its highest ranking (third) since last October.
Majic 107.5/97.5: Majic had beaten its most direct rival Kiss in the 25-54 demographic four months in a row until June, when it fell slightly behind Kiss. The station is doing far better overall than it was a year ago, with Steve Harvey holding fort in the mornings, ranking sixth among 25 to 54 year olds.
Top 40/pop
Star 94: Since program director Scott Lindy took over last fall, this station has steadily climbed back into competitiveness against Q100 and B98.5. Its 25-54 audience share is up more than 50 percent in June from January, moving in rank from 12th to third place, ahead of Q100. A year ago, among 25 to 54 year olds, Star was ranked a tie for 17th. That's an incredible move in one year.
Q100: Despite Star's climb, Q100 has held its own. In fact, its ratings are generally stronger than they were a year ago. The Bert Show is still the bulwark, ranking first among 18 to 34 year olds in June and third among 25 to 54 year olds. For the second month in a row, Q100 lost to Star in the crucial 25-54 demo.
Wild 105.7/96.7: Wild shifted last fall to sound more like 95.5/The Beat, which disappeared in August. It had an initial jump in numbers, then slipped back. Since January, though, the station has been steadily climbing every month. It's target audience of 18 to 34 year olds are now comparable to those of the Beat. The Elvis Duran show has shown steady improvement as well, though it still lags behind the rest of the station. Its night-time numbers with Mama Chula are by far its strongest.
B98.5: Star 94's gains appear to have hurt B98.5 in recent months. In May 2010, this soft rock station ranked third among 25 to 54 year olds. By May of this year, it had fallen to 10th. The station in recent weeks rejiggered its music playlist to sound younger, eliminating 1970s songs and adding more currents such as Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." In June, the station rebounded nicely, moving up to a tie for fourth among 25 to 54 year olds.
106.7/Atlanta's Greatest Hits: This oldies station started sagging last year so management shifted the music in November of 2010 about five years younger. Competing with Christmas stations, it took a major hit but over the past five months, the station has been building audience back. Although its overall rating is still lower than it was a year ago, its 25-54 audience is about the same, ranking 14th in that demo.
Country
Kicks 101.5: The king of Atlanta country had its strongest quarter since people meters were installed in early 2009. Its spring numbers, especially for Cadillac and Dallas in the mornings, were top notch, demolishing the Bull convincingly in most dayparts.
94.9/The Bull: The Bull, which lost its second program director last month in less than a year, is adrift. After beating Kicks briefly last fall in key demographics, the station is now back to where it was in early 2010. Its numbers have been flat for much of the year, then took a nosedive in June. Its 25-54 share of 2.6 last month was its lowest since early 2009.
News/talk
AM 750 and 95.5 FM WSB: The news/talk station typically loses some steam in the summertime when many of its listeners are on vacation and off their normal routines. Its share of 7.8 is its lowest since the Christmas break. But it's still far above its June 2010 share of 5.0 before it added its FM simulcast.
640/WGST-AM: This news/talk station, which added local talent in mornings and afternoons a few months back, has basically seen flat numbers compared to a year ago. It ranks 22nd overall among 25 to 54 year olds and 18th in mid-days, which includes Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
90.1/WABE-FM: All the controversy last fall and this spring first with the firing of Juan Williams, then the video of the NPR fundraiser insulting conservatives may have taken a toll on the station's popularity. Its overall share of 3.1 was its worst since May of 2009. Its 1.8 share among 25 to 54 year olds was its worst since July of 2009. The station was ranked 14th last month, 7th a year ago the same month. (I placed WABE in news/talk though it does have a split format that includes classical music.)
Rock
Dave FM: Dave, which plays what is called adult alternative music, has seen the gains it made in 2010 into the spring evaporate in a mere three months. Ranked ninth overall in March, the station fell to 18th in June, from a 4.2 share to a 2.3. That's the worst result for Dave since December 2009. Its 25-54 share has fallen nearly by half as well, from 6.2 (third) to 3.2 (13th). Why is this happening? Hard to say since Dave's format and on-air staff has not changed at all. The top 40/pop stations are doing better so perhaps that's where the listeners went.
Project 9-6-1: It often seems to work this way. Right before a morning show is dumped, it gets great ratings. That was the case with Shaffee and Klinger, who pulled in the station's best 18-34 numbers ever in April and May. Then Kidd Chris, who was given more freedom to show his personality, arrived in late May. As is typical in these cases, ratings dropped in June as people who don't like the change tune out. The morning 25-54 ranking fell to 18th, Project's worst since February, 2010. In its target 18-34 demo, it held in sixth place but the share fell from 5.0 to 4.2. It's unfair, of course, to judge Chris, given he just started. New morning shows usually take time to build audience, whether it was the Bert Show or Rickey Smiley, both now hugely popular.
Rock 100.5: Overall ratings have been pretty flat in recent months for the classic rock station. Year over year, the Regular Guys numbers are down sharply. In June 2010, the show was eighth among 25 to 54 year olds and sixth among 18 to 34 year olds. Last month, the show had fallen to 15th 25-54 and a tie for seventh 18-34.
97.1/The River: This 70s-heavy rock station, which has gone to 50 minutes of consecutive music per hour in recent weeks, garnered its best 25-54 numbers since people meters were installed in early 2009. It ranked 10th in that demo, broaching a 5 share for the first time.
99X now at 99.1: This rock station moved from 97.9 to 99.1 in early June. In the short term, the move showed mixed results. It fell to a 0.5 share among 25 to 54 year olds, ranking 27th, its worst performance in that demo since it has been one of these weaker "translator" signals. Among 18 to 34 year olds, its 0.9 share is better than it was in April or May but is still on the lower end of how the station has been performing the past two years. (The station many years ago was at the much more powerful 99.7 spot on the FM dial.)
Christian
Fish 104.7: This Christian pop station's overall numbers and those in the 25-54 demo have been fairly consistent the past year, though in the mornings, Kevin & Taylor now draw a younger audience than the show did a year ago.
Praise 102.5: After an incredible stretch of 18 months in the top 5, this gospel station slipped to sixth in June with its lowest overall share (5.1) since Christmas, 2009. It also fell out of the top 10 among 25 to 54 year olds for the first time since 2009 (though it was ranked third as recently as March in that demo). But a modest one-month drop after such a strong run is hardly a cause for alarm.
J93.3: This Christian pop station skews southward and doesn't have a full-market signal. It also went non-commercial in the spring. Its ratings were more or less flat in the second quarter, ranking 23rd overall in the market.
Sports talk
680/The Fan: The station nearly triples the Zone's ratings overall but if you isolate it to 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., the race is much tighter. Among 25 to 54 year olds, the station averaged a 2.0 share in that time period. The Zone? A 1.4. The Fan at night has a better signal and airs the Braves so it's no contest then. The Fan's strongest time period is mid-days, which includes Colin Cowherd and Matt Chernoff and Chuck Oliver.
790/The Zone: Although the station is eclipsed nowadays by the Zone in most time slots, it did win the 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. battle among 25 to 54 year olds during the second quarter thanks to a combo of the 2 Live Stews and the Pollack & Bell show just edging out Buck & Kincade.
Hispanic
105.3/El Patron: Blame it on the immigration laws or the economy or both, but this Hispanic station has shed a lot of listeners over the past 18 months. It has lost half its audience since early 2010. In January, 2010, the station ranked third in its target 18 to 34 year old demographic both overall and in the mornings. Last month, it had fallen to 14th and 11th respectively.
Top 25 stations 6+, June 2011
1. V-103
2. WSB
3. Kiss
4. Q100
5. Star
6. Praise
7. Hot
8. (tie) B98.5, Kicks
10. Majic
11. River
12. Fish
13. Atlanta's Greatest Hits
14. WABE
15. (tie) Bull/ Wild
17. Project
18. Dave
19. (tie) El Patron/The Fan
21. Rock 100.5
22. WGST-AM
23. J93.3
24. The Zone
25. La Raza 102.3
Top 20 25-54
1. V-103
2. WSB
3. Star
4. Kiss
5. Q100
6. Majic
7. B98.5
8. Kicks
9. Hot
10. The River
11. Praise
12. Fish
13. Dave FM
14. Project/Atlanta's Greatest Hits (tie)
16. Bull
17. Wild
18. El Patron
19. Rock
20. WABE
Top 15 morning shows, 25-54 (6 a.m. to 10 a.m.)
1. Scott Slade/Neal Boortz, WSB
2. Frank & Wanda, V-103
3. The Bert Show, Q100
4. (tie) Cadillac & Dallas, Kicks; Rickey Smiley, Hot
6. Steve Harvey, Majic
7. Tom Joyner, Kiss
8. Cindy & Ray, Star
9. (tie) Yolanda Adams, Praise; Kevin & Taylor, Fish
11. (tie) Kaedy Kiely, River; Vikki & Kelly, B98.5
13. Morning Edition, WABE
14. Jimmy & Yvonne, Dave
15. The Regular Guys
Top 10, mid-days 25-54 (10 a.m.-3 p.m.)
1. Ramona DeBreaux/Ryan Cameron, V-103
2. Neal Boortz/Clark Howard, WSB
3. Jordan Graye, B98.5
4. Heather Branch, Star
5. Sari Rose, Kicks
6. (tie) Cynthia Young, Kiss; jockless, The River
8. Carol Blackmon, Majic
9. Brittany, Q100;
10. (tie) Maria More, Hot; Darlene McCoy, Praise
Top 10 afternoons, 25-54 (3 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
1. Ryan Cameron/Greg Street, V-103
2. Clark Howard/Sean Hannity, WSB
3. Chase Daniels, Star
4. (tie) Michael Baisden, Majic; Kelly McCoy, B98.5
6. Dave Clapper, The River
7. Emperor Searcy, Hot
8. Art Terrell, Kiss
9. Johnny O, Q100
10. Tim Michaels, Kicks
Top 10 shows, 25-54, 7 p.m. to midnight
1. Greg Street/Quiet Storm, V-103
2. Charles Mitchell Slow Jams, Kiss
3. Fill ins, Star 94
4. Durtty Boyz, Mizz Shyneka, Hot
5. SiMan, Majic
6. Praise
7. The River
8. Erick Erickson/ David Ramsey, WSB
9 (tie) Billy Bush, Q100; Delilah, B98.5
Top 20 18-34
1. V-103
2. Hot
3. Q100
4. Star
5. Wild
6. Project
7. Kicks
8. Majic
9. (tie) Bull, WSB
11. (tie) Kiss, B98.5
13. The River
14. El Patron
15. Praise
16. (tie) Rock, Fish
18. Dave
19. Atlanta's Greatest Hits
20. Fan
Top 15 morning shows 18-34
1. Bert Show, Q100
2. Frank & Wanda, V-103
3. Rickey Smiley, Hot
4. Cadillac & Dallas, Kicks
5. Scott Slade/Neal Boortz, WSB
6. Kidd Chris, Project
7. (tie) Cindy & Ray, Star; The Regular Guys, Rock
9. Elvis Duran, Wild
10. Kevin & Taylor, Fish
11. (tie) Steve Harvey, Majic; Patrones de la Manana, El Patron
13. Yolanda Adams, Praise
14. Tom Joyner, Kiss
15. Jason & Kristen, The Bull
Top 10 mid-days, 18-34 (10 a.m.-3 p.m.)
1. Ramona DeBreaux/Ryan Cameron, V-103
2. Brittany, Q100
3. Maria More, Hot
4. Heather Branch, Star
5. Sari Rose, Kicks
6. JB/David J, Wild
7. Aly, Project
8. Carol Blackmon, Majic
9. (tie) Madison, Bull; Boortz/Howard, WSB
Top 10 afternoons 18-34 (3 p.m.-7 pm.)
1. Ryan Cameron/Greg Street, V-103
2. Emperor Searcy, Hot
3. Johnny O, Q100
4. Chase Daniels, Star
5. David J/Mama Chula, Wild
6. Chris Williams, Project 9-6-1
7. Michael Baisden, Majic
8. Tim Michaels, Kicks
9. (tie) Lance Houston, Bull; Rhodell Lewis, Praise
Top 10 shows, 18-34, evenings 7 p.m. to midnight
1. Greg Street/Quiet Storm, V-103
2. Durtty Boyz, Mizz Shyneka, Hot
3. Mama Chula, Wild
4. Substitutes (no full-time jock right now), Star
5. Billy Bush, Q100
6. Jordin Silver, Project 9-6-1
7. Charles Mitchell Slow Jams, Kiss
8. SiMan, Majic
9. Mostly Braves games, Rock 100.5
10. Delilah, B98.5
SOURCE: Arbitron, May 25-June 22, 2011
