Fall Radio Ratings Are In

Good news for country music WUBE-FM (B105), adult contemporary WRRM-FM (WARM98.5) and alternative rocker "The Sound" (WSWD-FM) means bad news for Clear Channel, the area's largest radio operator here with eight stations. The competitors are putting on the heat, according to fall quarter Arbitron ratings released today.

Clear Channel’s WLW-AM (700) remains the No. 1 station for all listeners – as it has been for eight years -- and Clear Channel's WKFS-FM (KISS107.1) and WEBN-FM (102.7) are No. 1-2 for the 18-34 demographic.

But Bonneville's B105 toppled WLW-AM from the top spot for listeners ages 25-54, a demographic sought by most advertisers. WLW-AM had been No. 1 on that list for over three years.

Travis Moon, B015 program director, attributed the boost to new music from Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and other artists. "We play a lot of great music," he says.

Another factor is the lack of competition. B105 gained 49,500 listeners from a year ago, when Bonneville bought the country "STAR" from Cumulus. Bonneville changed the format to the classic country "WOLF" on WYGY-FM (97.3).

B105 also ranked third with younger listeners (18-34), tied with sister station "The Sound" (WSWD-FM 94.9). "The Sound" had an incredible surge completing its first year, jumping from No. 10 a year ago by nearly doubling its audience.

Bonneville's WKRQ-FM (Q102) was next on the 18-34 list, giving the company three stations in the top five for the younger demographic.

Cumulus also scored well in fall. WARM98.5 and "greatest (rock) hits" WGRR-FM (103.5) placed third and fourth, respectively, in the overall rankings behind WLW-AM and B105.

Cumulus' WFTK-FM (96.5) also hit a record high in fall, jumping from No. 23 in summer to No. 16. But the news came a month after owners dumped Andy Furman the "SupertalkFM" talk format after one year and switched to "96 Rock."

T.J. Holland, Cumulus operations manager here, says most of the station's fall growth came from adding the Tom Gamble-Richard Skinner "Two Angry Guys" morning show Oct. 1.

The "Angry Guys," who remain the morning team for the rock format, increased morning ratings from No. 20 to No. 4 with men ages 18-34. That’s the same target audience for Clear Channel’s WEBN-FM and classic rock WOFX-FM (FOX92.5).

"Tom and Richard had a very strong debut on 'FTK. Having a morning show already fourth in the demo is great. We're absolutely thrilled where '96 Rock is going," Holland says.

On the other hand, Clear Channel’s Radio 94.1 – the former MIX94.1, now operating as WNNF-FM – showed no growth with a 2.9 audience share, the same as summer, while falling from No. 9 to No. 11. A year ago, as MIX94.1, it was No. 7 with a 4.3 share.

And one last note on the fall ratings: WLW's Gary Burbank didn't go out on top. The station waw No. 3 in afternoon drive, behind B105 and WARM98. Burbank was first in summer, and a year ago.

Here are the 12+ rankings and shares, and top 10 lists for the other demos:

12+

1. WLW-AM, 8.8; 2. WUBE-FM, 7.6; 3. WRRM-FM, 7.0; 4. WGRR-FM, 6.2; 5. WEBN-FM, 5.8; 6. WKFS-FM, 4.7; 7. WMOJ-FM, 4.6; 8. WOFX-FM, 4.4; 9. WSWD-FM, 4.1;

10. WKRQ-FM, 3.9; 11. WIZF-FM, 3.8; 12. WKRC-AM, 3.7; 13. WYGY-FM, 2.0; 14. WNNF-FM, 1.7; 15. WAKW-FM, 1.5; 16. WFTK-FM, 1.4; 17. (tie) WDBZ-FM, WLQT-FM, 1.1; 19. (tie) WCKY-AM, WPFB-FM, WHKO-FM, 1.0

22. WDJO-AM, 0.9; 23. WCIN-AM, 0.8; 24. WTUE-FM, 0.7; 25. (tie) WFCJ-FM, WOXY-FM, WSAI-AM, 0.6; 28. (tie) WSCH-AM, WMMX-FM, 0.5; 30. WGTZ-FM, 0.4.

25-54

1. WUBE-FM, 8.8; 2. WLW-AM, 7.6; 3. WEBN-FM, 6.9; 4. WRRM-FM, 6.7; 5. WOXF-FM, 6.0; 6. WGRR-FM, 5.8; 7. WMOJ-FM, 5.6; 8. WKRQ-FM, 5.0; 9. WSWD-FM, 4.7; 10. WKFS-FM, 3.3.

18-34

1. WKFS-FM, 9.2; 2. WEBN-FM, 8.8; 3. (tie) WUBE-FM, WSWD-FM, 8.3; 5. WKRQ-FM, 7.6; 6. WIZF-FM, 7.0; 7. WMOJ-FM, 5.9; 8. WRRM-FM, 5.0; 9. WOFX-FM, 4.1; 10. WYGY-FM, 3.2.