Posted by Bud on September 10, 2009 at 13:56:14:
In Reply to: Lazare: WTMX-FM tops August radio ratings posted by Blackjack Loser on September 10, 2009 at 13:55:21:
Lewis Lazare updates his look at the ratings in today's Sun-Times:
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WGN slips in ratings
Putting Harvey in morning slot seems to be paying off at WVAZ
September 10, 2009
LEWIS LAZARE Media & Marketing Columnist
The August Arbitron radio ratings book released Wednesday wasn't what management at news/talk WGN-AM (720) no doubt hoped it would be. After showing some signs of stabilizing in the ratings in June and July, WGN started to slide again in August.
The station scored a 2.9 rating Monday through Sunday in the key 25- to 54-year-old adult demo. The rating for WGN's morning drive, hosted by newcomer Greg Jarrett, was a particularly disappointing 2.1, putting it in 22nd place, down from a 2.6 and a tie for 17th in July. Jarrett, who came from San Francisco, started June 22, replacing John Williams, who moved to mid-morning.
Meanwhile, Clear Channel Radio Chicago Market Manager Earl Jones' decision to move Steve Harvey to morning drive on urban adult contemporary WVAZ-FM (102.7) looks to be working. With a 3.7 rating in August, Harvey has jumped from 16th place in June to a tie for seventh place in the August book. WVAZ-FM (102.7) finished third in the overall rankings in August with a 5.1 rating.
Chicago's hot radio stations in recent months continued to dominate. Bonneville International's super hot adult contemporary outlet WTMX-FM (101.9), again topped the rankings with a 6.1 rating Monday through Sunday.
The station's morning drive team of Eric Ferguson and Kathy Hart were tops in their time slot with a 7.3 rating, although down a few notches from their 7.8 in July.
In fact, the August book was a huge success for both Bonneville and CBS Radio, each of which had three stations in the top 10 for the month. In addition to WTMX, Bonneville's classic hits WDRV-FM (97.1) was fifth overall with a 4.3, and adult contemporary WILV-FM (100.3) pulled a 3.3 rating Monday through Sunday, good enough for 10th place.
CBS Radio's country WUSN-FM (99.5) continues to impress and pull in plenty of listeners with a 5.3, putting the station in second place overall. And to the surprise of some observers, CBS Radio's adult rock WXRT-FM (93.1) jumped from ninth to fourth place overall, scoring a 4.4. All-news WBBM-AM (780), with a 3.9 rating, pulled up a bit in the rankings to sixth place from eighth in July.
And despite the sagging fortunes of the Chicago White Sox, CBS Radio's sports/talk WSCR-AM (670) moved up three places to 14th place overall with a 2.8 rating.