Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2008 > May > 02 > Entry
5/2: Arbitron ratings— Regular Guys up, new morning shows have slow starts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Radio went through some headspinning changes earlier this year and the first ratings results are in.
Not surprisingly, in the period covering January 20 to April 2, the brand new morning shows took a hit while the Regular Guys came back with a vengeance on the new Rock 100.5. In other trends, Hot 107.9 (and the “A” team above) had its best book in years, the primary season fueled WGST-AM’s numbers, and Q100 on its new signal beat Star 94 in the overall 12-plus ratings for the first time ever.
Take note that typically, new shows lose listeners faster than they gain new ones in the short term so the shaky opening numbers for Dave FM’s Zakk Tyler, Star 94’s the Morning Mess and the Bull’s Cletus T. Judd can be discounted. The spring ratings book, occurring now, should be more indicative of how things are going and we’ll see those numbers in July.
Here are some notable trends. (Email me at rho@ajc.com if you want any other breakdowns or comparisons.)
-In the sports radio world, 680/the Fan continues to beat up 790/The Zone in mornings and the Zone’s new Afternoon Saloon was dwarfed by the Fan’s veteran Buck & Kincade, though the move of 2 Live Stews helped their mid-day numbers. (More specific breakdowns are available Monday.)
-Grown Folks 102.5 had another great book. Believe it or not, despite the weak signal, Steve Harvey tied Tom Joyner for third in mornings.
-And watch out for Hot 107.9: The A Team ranked 2nd among 18 to 34 year olds on Hot 107.9, driving the entire station to 4th overall, its best performance in years.
-The RIver continues to flow strongly despite the arrival of Rock 100.5, which didn’t do particularly well outside of the Regular Guys when playing rock music. For instance, mid-days, the River ranked 3rd while Rock 100.5 ranked 25th.
-Speaking of The Regular Guys, despite arriving partway through the quarter, the return of this male-oriented talk show made a strong impact, landing top 5 among 18 to 34 year olds and top 10 among 25 and 54 year olds.
-As a result, Project took a hit, with the new Giant Brian show ranked 19th among 25-54 (compared to 14th in the fall) and 13th among 18-34 (compared to 7th in the fall).
-And Dave FM didn’t take advantage of 99X’s departure. Its numbers were slightly down in mornings where Zakk Tyler debuted. But on the bright side, his numbers among 25 to 54 year olds were flat compared to the summer when the show was led by Holly Firfer and Orf.
-The presidential campaign is helping both WSB-AM and to a great effect,WGST-AM. Both stations saw numbers improve in the winter. It appears Rush Limbaugh especially helped the mid-day numbers for GST, which nearly doubled among 25 to 54 year olds from the fall and the station ranked 7th in that key demo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Again, more specific breakdowns won’t be available until Monday.)
-Eagle 106.7’s departure is only reflected partly through the book but the new True Oldies and Imus appear to have done poorly across the board in the single month that was polled in March.
-Kicks 101.5 didn’t appear to be hurt or helped immediately by Eagle’s departure. And 94.9/The Bull doesn’t seem to have been helped either with numbers down in mornings where the new Cletus T. Judd show was first introduced. (The Bull ranked 14th in mornings in the fall, 18th in the winter.) Its mid-days were slightly down while afternoons were up.
-The Morning Mess had a tough opening quarter, as expected. It ranked 14th among all listeners, down from 7th last summer, the final full book with Steve & Vikki. Among 25 to 54 year olds, Star dropped to 13th from 6th in the summer. With 18 to 34 year olds, Star fell from 10th in the summer to 15th this past summer. The only bright spot: among teens, the show was 4th, same as Steve & Vikki last summer and the only demo the team was ahead of the Bert Show at Q100.
-Indeed, the Bert Show at Q100 survived the move to the stronger signal unscathed. Its ratings were up across all demographics, landing 5th overall and among 25 to 54 year olds and third among 18 to 34 year olds.
-But Star 94 should be thrilled by the strong performance of its afternoon show Cindy & Ray, which beat the new Johnny O over at Q100. The show ranked 5th among all listeners (up from 11th in the fall), 5th among 25 to 54 year olds (up form 9th in the fall) and a whopping third among 18 to 34 year olds (up from 9th). So if the Morning Mess fails to gain traction, Star has a great option for mornings.
-Smooth jazz stations nationwide have been taking a dive in the past year or two. Atlanta is no exception. Smooth Jazz 107.5 had its worst ratings in nearly three years., ranking 14th overall.
-In its debut, Classic Country 96.7 just barely showed up in the ratings, ranking 28th.
The top 5 stations in terms of “cume,” or number of different listeners per week:
1- WSB-AM 847,000 (in fall of 2005: (813,300)
2- V-103 837,500 (in fall of 2005: 739,400)
3- 97.1/The River 565,400 (didn’t exist in 2005)
4- 95.5/The Beat 564,900 (in fall of 2005: 496,600)
5- Kiss 104.1 506,800 (in fall of 2005: 400,900)
For those who keep track of ownership, four of those stations are Cox Radio, with B98.5 ranked 7th. Q100’s cume of 432,100 is a huge increase from 251,400 in fall of 2005. And Grown Folks with the talk format has more than doubled its cume from fall of 2005, from 187,100 to 397,800. The Fan has seen its cume grow from 159,400 to 194,500 while the Zone’s cume was flat at about 130K. WGKA-AM saw its cume jump from 64,700 to 90,200 over just over two years. And as the black population grew, virtually all stations targeting blacks saw major increases in cume. Hot 107.9 had a cume of 381,000 in fall of 2005 and 491,300 in winter of 2008.)
The top 5 stations in terms of “time spent listening”
1- El Patron 12 hours, 15 minutes per week (didn’t exist in 2005)
2- La Raza 102.3 10 hours, 30 minutes (same as fall of 2005)
3- WAOK-AM 9 hours (11 hours, 45 minutes in fall of 2005)
4- V-103 8 hours, 45 minutes (9 hours in fall 2005)
5- Kiss 104.1 8 hours, 15 minutes (8 hours in fall 2005)
(Worst? 95.5/The Beat at 4 hours compared to four hours 15 minutes in fall 2005)
Here’s the top 10 morning shows 25-54, 1/10-4/2/08
Rank, show, station (fall rank)
1- Frank & Wanda, V-103 (1) Down slightly
2- Scott Slade, WSB-AM (2) Trending upward
3- Tom Joyner, Kiss 104.1 (3-tie) Down
4- Steve Harvey, Grown Folks 102.5 (3-tie) Up
5- Bert Show, Q100 (5) Up
6- Kelly & Alpha, B98.5 (6-tie) flat
7- Lexie Kaye, 97.1/The River (8) up
8- Yolanda Adams, Praise 97.5 (6t)
9- Cadillac Jack & Kristen//Cadillac & Dallas, Kicks 101.5 (9-tie)
10- The Regular Guys, Rock 100.5 (new)
Here are the top 10 morning shows ages 18 to 34
Rank, show, station (fall rank)
1- Frank & Wanda, V-103 (1) a bit of a falloff
2- The “A” Team, Hot 107.9 (3) a huge increase
3- Bert Show, Q100 (2) up, just not as strongly as Hot
4- Regular Guys, Rock 100.5 (new) Note—they were not on air the entire quarter
5- Scott Slade, WSB-AM (6)
6- Murph Dawg & CJ, 95.5/The Beat (11) Best book since they started a year ago
7- Steve Harvey, Grown Folks 102.5 (8) Flat
8- Yolanda Adams, Praise 97.5 (17t) A bit fluky in terms of strength
9- Los Patrones De La Manana, 105.3/El Patron (9)
10- Kelly & Alpha, B98.5 (12) Numbers held flat from the fall so they didn’t benefit from Steve & Vikki’s absence but will certainly be hurt when S&V take over their jobs July 1.
Comments
By Randall Bloomquist
May 2, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this
We’re Number 15!! We’re Number 15!! And you people said I was a moron. Well…this moron has the 15th highest rated station in Atlanta!
By Chuck Deskins
May 2, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this
Bloomquist….you big moron!! Hogan told us to run the entire cluster into the ground. A monkey could do your job. WGST only has 15 hours of local programming the entire week. Something a monkey like you should be able to handle.
By Beth
May 2, 2008 10:25 PM | Link to this
Not even the 18-34 year old demographic want to listen to the crappy Morning Mess!!!! I think they are much better suited for the 12-16 year old demo. Maybe they should go to a middle/high school and ask!!!! Star94 you suck!!! B98.5 is going to kick you a** when S&V hit the airways!! You blew it BIG TIME letting them go and now u are paying the price!!
By Beth
May 2, 2008 10:28 PM | Link to this
Not even the 18-34 year old demographic want to listen to the crappy Morning Mess!!!! I think they are much better suited for the 12-16 year old demo. Maybe they should go to a middle/high school and ask!!!! Star94 you suck!!! B98.5 is going to kick you a** when S&V hit the airways!! You blew it BIG TIME letting them go and now u are paying the price!!
By Boomer
May 2, 2008 10:49 PM | Link to this
Bloomquist & Deskins…you guys kill me and I’ve got to get outta here! Don’t know where the numbers are coming from, but all the folks I know who listened to GST before The King and The Kimmer and his Krew got screwed don’t listen to that station any more. We’re hoping that We Suck & Blither (WSB) pick up the Braves after this season. Damn! I miss The King in the mornings and The Kimmer in the afternoons. Intelligent talk, and humor, have left the airwaves.
p.s. to Will Jones…where you hiding these days? I really want you spit on me, once….
By Don Benson
May 2, 2008 11:10 PM | Link to this
Ok, I get it- I suck.
By Tommy K
May 3, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this
THE REGULAR GUYS DON’T EVEN DESERVE TO BE IN THE SAME PARAGRAUGH AS SOME OF THESE MORNING SHOW FRUIT LOOPS. THEY ARE THE FUNNIEST, BEST DAMN SHOW ON FM RADIO HANDS DOWN.
By Bloomquist & Deskins
May 3, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this
Hey! What did you expect from a couple of morons like us? We exiled The King. We forced The Kimmer into retirement. We fired The Regular Guys. The WGST Weekend All Stars of Sam Memmolo, John Adams, and now Dr. Gene are heard on WGKA. We destroyed Lite FM, 96 Rock and we give you 2 radio stations that cater to illegal aliens. We would let WSB have Rush but his show is owned by Clear Channel.
By Pete Davis
May 3, 2008 11:52 AM | Link to this
Hey Randall,you’ve got something on your shirt…
By Randall Bloomquist
May 3, 2008 3:33 PM | Link to this
I have absolutely no idea why the ratings are up at WGST. I’ve done everything in my power to ruin this station. We all know what a real doofus I am. WGST removed my picture from the website so children do not get frightened.
Operation Chaos: My tenure at WGST
By Chuck Deskins
May 3, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this
Bloomquist - You got the job at WGST because the monkey wanted more money and Colonel Klink was dead. Now shut up you stupid moron and get back to cleaning the toilets in the Building of Death. We did not hire you for your programming expertise.
By Colonel Klink
May 3, 2008 6:07 PM | Link to this
Please don’t associate me with those 2 morons at the Building of Death: Bloomquist & Deskins. After all, they are the Abbott & Costello of Atlanta radio.
By Abbott & Costello
May 3, 2008 6:15 PM | Link to this
Hey Abbott!!! Why are people comparing us to Bloomquist & Deskins? We had talent and those morons have none. Who’s on first? It sure isn’t the programming genius of Bloomquist & Deskins!
By Drew ("Screw") Hayes
May 3, 2008 6:35 PM | Link to this
You people are all Pikers! NOBODY can screw up a station like I can, as proven in Los Angeles and Chicago. Let me at ‘em, ATL…Public Domain Rap Covers, All-Dixieland Mariachi, “The Tone”, or my new customized “all-Georgias” format which combines Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers, Travis Tritt, Otis Redding and the B-52s with a full retinue of Abkhazian folk songs. When do I get MY turn????
By Drew ("Screw") Hayes
May 3, 2008 6:40 PM | Link to this
Waaaaah!!
By Dr. Gene
May 4, 2008 10:23 AM | Link to this
Dr. Gene here….listen to me Sundays at 9:00am on WGKA/920. A station that would never hire Bloomquist & Deskins. In fact, those 2 morons are not allowed to listen.
By Randall Bloomquist
May 4, 2008 12:53 PM | Link to this
Why do people treat me like the scurge of Atlanta radio? Did I do something to offend you?
By JJay
May 4, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this
Is that hack Zakk still on? Wouldn’t know, he drove me from the station. The morning mess.. when will the head honchos realize they will still be a mess (and not in a good way) when all is said and done.? Long live the Regular Guys and SS Steve.. and give credit where credit is due- to Bert and his cronies.
By jd
May 4, 2008 6:14 PM | Link to this
It always cracks me up these ratings. Especially when every guy I know listens to 790 religiously. Yet they always stay below 680 in the ratings. Just makes me wonder. Also isn’t it always about the $$. According to a column a month or so ago 790 makes major cash… Here’s my analogy… If 10,000 people eat Burger King in a day and 5000 people eat Ruth’s Chris on the same day… Which restaurant makes more money in that day and in the end which restaurant is actually better?
By jd moron
May 4, 2008 6:26 PM | Link to this
jd, go back to flippin burgers because you sure don’t understand radio.
By The Brain
May 4, 2008 6:29 PM | Link to this
Rodney let me get this right. The Bull has spent millions of dollars on TV and outdoor and is ranked 20th after being on the air for 15 months. So when in your mind would it be safe to say that the station sucks? Will it be the spring book? Summer book? Fall book or do we wait until next year?
By Snake
May 5, 2008 7:28 AM | Link to this
Deskins go back to Tampa you stupid as*hole! You are waste of flesh. I hate you and your family.
By baloney
May 5, 2008 9:15 AM | Link to this
How in the world does Scott Slade get these rankings? It’s because it’s the only game in thown, the only ball on the court, the only piece of arshe in the bar etc. He is the most annoying of all radio personalities with his constant rambling of the time and the repeat of the time, and the constant reminder of trafiic and weather every 6 minutes. I wish we had a choice but since they have the strongest signal there will never be another station that can compete. Too bad.
By Chuck Deskins
May 5, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this
Why is everyone picking on me? Do what we do at the Building of Death: BLAME BLOOMQUIST. Why do you think we have him cleaning the toilets? He has no talent to do anything else.
I do not want to go back to Tampa.
You people better stop complaining or I’m going to get real mad and program all the stations to cater to the illegals. I can’t understand anything those people say, so I won’t know if they are insulting me!
By JTD
May 5, 2008 11:15 AM | Link to this
GIANT SHOW RULES.
REGULAR GUYS SUCK.
By JM28
May 5, 2008 12:01 PM | Link to this
Rodney said “Grown Folks 102.5 had another great book. Believe it or not, despite the weak signal, Steve Harvey tied Tom Joyner for third in mornings.”
You can tell Rodney works for Cox since 102.5 WAMJ (Grown Folks Radio) has been consistently growing over the past 2 years and all he can say is how it is surprising based on a weak signal. I wonder what Rodney will say when WAMJ surpasses WALR in ratings? He will probably call it a fluke…HA! I guess we will find out soon.
By onlycritter
May 5, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this
ATL radio = C-r-a-p. Bring on XM.
By Thrash
May 5, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this
It’s official, Stupid94 can quit advertising themselves as “Atlanta’s #1 Hit Music Station” as that honor now goes to Q100 with a 2.8 over Stupid94’s 2.7. Amend your sweepers accordingly…
By TPM
May 5, 2008 2:11 PM | Link to this
Kelly seems to be MIA on the Kelly & Alpha show lately.
By lalal
May 5, 2008 2:29 PM | Link to this
SSS & Norma Lee should start their own show. Two rednecks would be humerous. YEAH COME ON!!!
By lalal
May 5, 2008 2:29 PM | Link to this
SSS & Norma Lee should start their own show. Two rednecks would be humerous. LMAO YEAH COME ON!!!
By Colonel Klink
May 5, 2008 7:35 PM | Link to this
As I was telling Sgt Schultz the other day, you can’t spell MORON without RaNdall BlOOMquist!
By mark
May 5, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this
the problem with Star94 (both in the am and pm) is that I can’t let my children listen to it, ever. The are constantly talking about sex. At least Steve and Vikki was appropriate for families to listen to on the way to school.
By atl20g
May 5, 2008 9:46 PM | Link to this
5 words….. BRING BACK RANDY AND SPIFF……
By Bud
May 6, 2008 7:47 AM | Link to this
Dont forget that moron Chris Williams at the station formerly known as 96 Rock. What a great idea, lets kill both 96 Rock and 105.3 the Buzz… pure genius! I hope you know a good real estate agent, you will need him soon. Stupid brain dead loser. I hope you crash your race car and suffer.
By JTD
May 6, 2008 8:01 AM | Link to this
Bud… “the Buzz” is now Project 961. They play almost the same playlist as 105.3 used to. And, it’s the home of the greatest morning show in Atlanta!
THE GIANT SHOW!!
By Damian
May 6, 2008 9:29 AM | Link to this
Project 961 is not “theBuzz”…I don’t recall ever getting an hourly dose of AC/DC on 105.3 or 96.7. The Project isn’t the worst station in Atlanta, but it’s not nearly as great as theBuzz was.
By JTD
May 6, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this
Damian…what’s wrong with an hourly dose of AC/DC or Zeppelin, or Pink Floyd..Ozzy,? I could go on.
Korn, Alterbridge, Puddle of Mudd, Foo Fighters, Tool, etc, etc would not exist without the groundwork that those bands laid in the 70’s and 80’s.
By Damian
May 6, 2008 11:32 AM | Link to this
Nothing at all wrong with Floyd, AC/DC, or Zepp. But their collective catalogs are much deeper than the handful of songs that Proj 961 (and Rock100.5, too) hit us with over and over again. Back when there was 96Rock, 99-X, and theBuzz, you had one station for each rock format, Classic, Alternative, Aggressive/Progressive respectively. Now we’ve got one Classic station (100.5) and one that just doesn’t know what it is (96.1). And as great as the old school bands are, there’s plenty of great new bands. I’ve heard all the old stuff so much, and since I even own many of the discs—I can listen to them any time I want. I like for the radio to pique my interest in new material—whether it’s from a well established band, or an upstart. Rearranging the order of the same 40 or so songs every day is, IMO, nothing to get excited about.
By Rock 100.5 Fan
May 6, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this
I’m sorry to report Normo Lee had died fans. She will be missed by few. Amen
By Rock 100.5 Fan
May 6, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this
I’m sorry to report Normo Lee had died fans. She will be missed by few. Amen
By used to listen to 790
May 7, 2008 3:33 PM | Link to this
If 790 had a signal you could here outside the perimeter or during non daylight hours maybe they wouldn’t be getting their A**es kicked by 680
By daddyo
May 7, 2008 8:47 PM | Link to this
Rock 100.5 Fan Norma Lee didn’t died. Where did you hear such news.?
By rednecks
May 7, 2008 10:41 PM | Link to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajbUTTmIqWo
By Paula
May 8, 2008 8:38 AM | Link to this
Let me get this straight? Kelly and Alpha had the #10 show in the prime demo of 18-24, but B98.5 dumped them and is bringing in Steve & Vicki which get NO listeners in that demographic? Wow, makes a lot of sense……..
By Vern
May 8, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
How long can something be “new?” The River has been “new” for two years now. How annoying. And they need to change their TV spot.
By Bob
May 8, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this
@Paula - Its called follow the money. Advertisers are experimenting with the idea that the 1-24 demographic may not be where all the action is.
Personally, I don’t care for S&V - nor the “music” played by 94.1 after the genre know as popular music died in 1987; however, there are a lot of 20-40 something parents who do want S&V, because they offer family friendly content. (See Mark’s post above. By mark May 5, 2008 9:36 PM)
By Paula
May 8, 2008 11:38 AM | Link to this
Let’s face it - the demographic that would listen to Steve and Vicki’s “silliness” doesn’t listen to the radio - they are too busy.
By kenny
May 13, 2008 9:42 PM | Link to this
When Steve & Vikki left Star 94 I told you here to look for them on B98.5 in 2008. Here’s another sure thing: Cindy & Ray will be moved to mornings at Star by early 2009. The Morning Mess is the worst thing on Atlanta radio. The only one who’s even marginally talented is the chick. That Marco guy is truly a pathetic idiot and Big Fat Mikey needs to be working at Best Buy. What was management thinking? It is sad what they have done to a once great radio station.
By kenny
May 13, 2008 9:43 PM | Link to this
When Steve & Vikki left Star 94 I told you here to look for them on B98.5 in 2008. Here’s another sure thing: Cindy & Ray will be moved to mornings at Star by early 2009 (minus that smart ass b*** that’s recently joined them). The Morning Mess is the worst thing on Atlanta radio. The only one who’s even marginally talented is the chick. That Marco guy is truly a pathetic idiot and Big Fat Mikey needs to be working at Best Buy. What was management thinking? It is sad what they have done to a once great radio station.