Posted by chicagomedia.org on June 26, 2009 at 11:43:23:
Mix re-upping Eric and Kathy
MEDIA | Longtime popular WTMX team to get multimillion-dollar contracts, sources say
June 26, 2009
LEWIS LAZARE | Sun-Times Media & Marketing columnist
Sources say hot adult contemporary WTMX-FM (101.9) soon will sign its super hot morning drive duo Eric Ferguson and Kathy Hart to new multiyear, multimillion-dollar contracts.
The payout easily makes Hart the highest-paid female radio star in Chicago, and Ferguson certainly remains one of, if not the most, handsomely paid men in local radio.
Other famous local radio personalities such as Steve Dahl, Eddie Volkman and Joe Bohannon used to command annual salaries of a million dollars or more, but all were cut loose within the past year as radio stations throughout the city were forced to slash overhead amid rapidly declining ad revenue.
But sources say WTMX and parent Bonneville International weren't about to let go of Ferguson and Hart.
The morning drive personalities have over the course of a 13-year history at the station proved to be one of the most consistently successful radio teams ever. They have placed third or better in their time period among adults ages 25 to 54 in 45 of the last 46 radio ratings books -- going back more than 10 years.
What makes their record even more remarkable is that it bridges the eras of the quarterly-released manual diaries formerly used to calculate radio ratings and the monthly-released portable people meter (PPM) introduced a year ago.
When the PPM came into play, it quickly made stars out of some talent on the local radio scene and just as fast sank others, including Dahl, whose ratings tanked after the PPM debut. But Ferguson and Hart have sparkled in both ratings formats.
Why have Ferguson and Hart stayed on top of their game?
Some say it's in part a function of the wonderful chemistry they have on air -- like a married couple -- but they do little, if anything, together after their radio show ends each morning.
But perhaps more importantly, sources say, Ferguson and Hart know exactly who their audience is and smartly tailor their show to reach it. Women always have been the primary target, but the show does surprisingly well with men, too.
Celebrity interviews with movie and TV stars are regularly inserted into the show's daily menu, and the hosts' banter is catchy enough to appeal to a wide base of listeners without lapsing into the offensive.
While Bonneville was eager to keep its star morning drive team, sources say that Ferguson and Hart also very much wanted to remain with Bonneville and WTMX, where they are unquestionably a great fit.
In a radio world that is hemorrhaging increasingly large amounts of red ink, Bonneville remains a classy exception -- a debt-free operation that believes in running its radio stations with a full complement of staff and rewarding employees for a job well done.
Clearly, Ferguson and Hart have now gotten their due rewards.