news INSIDE >> >> “chasing nine meters” >>WTOP dropped

>> FRANK SAXE
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>> PAUL HEINE
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO
Despite conversion to PPM, ratings “bounce” is alive and well. Last May, long-running smooth jazz bastion KKSF, San
Francisco flipped to classic rock, giving Inner City’s urban AC “The Quiet Storm” KBLX a ratings lift. Among persons 25-54,
KBLX grew from a 2.7 in April to a 3.7 in May, then a 4.1 in June and a 5.2 in July. Then something changed. KBLX fell
precipitously to a 3.5 in August, followed by a 3.1 in September. The ratings roller coaster continued in the fall and winter:
3.7 (October), 4.6 (November), 4.5 (December), 4.7 (Holiday), 4.1 (January). From last May to
news INSIDE >>
January, the station ranked as high as second and as low as eleventh. Welcome to the world of
PPM ratings bounce. One promise of electronic measurement was that it would greatly reduce
>> “Chasing nine
or eliminate bounce caused by sample fluctuations. But in San Francisco and other markets,
meters”
there are sometimes wide ratings swings that can’t be explained by changes in programming.
“Even if KBLX picked up every single person [KKSF] lost, you still wouldn’t get to KBLX’s July
>> WTOP dropped
number,” Inner City Broadcasting-New York VP/GM Deon Levingston says. Between February
$140,000 in spots
and July 2009, the station’s 25-54 AQH persons more than doubled, from 7,500 to 15,100.
>> ESPN’s crossRatings bounce isn’t confined to urban stations. In a big rock and sports market like Chicago,
you wouldn’t expect hot AC to be #1 in men 25-54. But that was the case for Bonneville’s “101.9
media initiative
The Mix” WTMX last summer. The station was tracking in the low-to-mid three-share range in
the demo from October 2008-February 2009. Then it jumped into the low fours in March and
April and the low fives in May, June and July, making it first or second in men 25-54. It’s since fallen off and ranked 14th in
the demo with a 3.0 in January. “There’s always going to be sampling error around whatever sample you select,” Arbitron VP
of research methods and quality Beth Webb says. “The PPM has more stability month to month and is better than the diary
at providing real trends. But we still have sampling variation and panel turnover and that affects the estimates.”
Broadcasters bemoan small PPM sample sizes. While Arbitron is implementing an across-the-board 10% PPM sample
increase for persons 12+, broadcasters say it doesn’t go far enough. “They never fulfilled their promise to put in as many
meters as they did diaries,” says Citadel-San Francisco president/GM and former Arbitron Advisory Council chairman Mickey
Luckoff, referring to Arbitron’s original plan to jointly measure radio and TV audiences with Nielsen, a partnership that was
scuttled by Nielsen in 2006. “The basis on which they sold us this is that you would be able to, at any time, determine whether
a spot or voice was offensive or a program was good or bad.” But Luckoff says that’s impossible when relying on roughly
2,300 meters to measure San Francisco’s 6+ population of 6.7 million. Some station queries for a specific county will turn
up zero listening for one of his stations, he says. “No programmer in his or her right mind can make a decision based on
that kind of a response.” One broadcaster says 4,000-5,000 meters are necessary in a market the size of San Francisco to
allow a reasonable level of slicing and dicing by demographics and geographies. Bob Michaels, Arbitron’s former VP of radio
programming services, agrees larger samples are needed. “There are not enough meters to make everyone comfortable in
the niche that they’re trying to reach. If you’re a black or Hispanic station narrowly targeted to men 25-34 you’re going to have
some issues.” Cumulus COO John Dickey says, “Wobbles are not about consumer behavior but a woefully and inadequately
low sample.” Dickey has suggested that the industry make a trade-off of fewer ratings surveys for larger samples. “You have
about a third of the meter sample than you had with the diary but then you have the meter picking up twice as many stations
as the diary did,” Michaels says. “You’re getting more data from more stations that was not reported in the diary.” Unlike the
diary, which takes a series of weekly samples and adds them together to derive a quarterly sample, the PPM is one largely
constant sample that on any given day is 4-5 times larger than the weekly diary sample.
MORE NEWS >> InsideRadio.com
page NEWS Tuesday, March 23, 2010
For some narrowly targeted stations, the PPM means “chasing nine meters.” While San Francisco’s KBLX benefited from
the loss of one of the nation’s original smooth jazz stations, Inner City Broadcasting-New York VP/GM Deon Levingston says
the station’s subsequent ratings decline and rebound cannot be attributed to programming changes. “There were no major
changes in the programming of the station whatsoever,” he says. The fluctuations have more to do with panel changes and
the extreme heft that a small number of heavy listener panelists can wield over a station’s average quarter hours, he says.
Years ago, a Research Director study showed that as little as 8% of a station’s cume accounted for 40% of its quarter hours.
Those percentages appear to have been amplified by the PPM. “A handful of meters is driving a preponderance of a station’s
quarter hours,” Research Director partner Charlie Sislen says. At urban AC WBLS, New York, about 30 meters (of roughly
3,900 in-tab) account for over 70% of the station’s listening, according to Levingston. “Those heavy listeners really determine
the success of a station. If one of them times out and isn’t replaced by a heavy meter, you can have considerable ratings
problems.” According to Arbitron, just nine meters represented black 18-24 males in Dallas in February for a Designated
Delivery Index of 70. (A total 224 meters were in-tab in January to measure the market’s black population.) In fact, Tony
Belzer, VP/GM at Radio One rhythmic CHR “The Beat” KBFB and urban AC “K-Soul” KSOC, says he can attribute a ratings
loss by his competitor and a corresponding gain by his station to a behavior change by just one panelist in the sample. In
one week, for example, Service Broadcasting urban “K104” KKDA lost 27,300 in cume while KBFB gained 23,700. “Tell me
that’s not one meter,” he says. When it comes to programming KBFB, Belzer says it’s a game of “chasing nine meters.” In
tomorrow’s Inside Radio: geographic distribution of meters and programming’s impact on ratings spikes.
Bonneville’s WTOP dropped $140,000 worth of commercials during Washington blizzard. WTOP morning anchor
Mike Moss took yesterday off to make a presentation to members of the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and
Interoperability Council. Moss and a trio of TV broadcasters spoke of airing live emergency information during last month’s
paralyzing snowstorm, which closed the nation’s capital for an unprecedented four and one-half days. In addition to dropping
commercials to air wall-to-wall storm coverage, Moss says the station spent more than $50,000 to put up two dozen WTOP
staffers in hotels, in overtime and in extra coverage costs. He also testified that the station has an editor in charge of the
newsroom 24/7 empowered to drop everything, including commercials, to get vital safety info on the air. “For well over 100,000
people who lost their power in the storm, WTOP was a lifeline. That’s not what I say – that’s what they told us,” Moss testified.
He then lobbed a dig against proposed localism rules: “Please do not burden us with bureaucratic reporting requirements
that will only get in the way of doing our jobs.” VP of programming Jim Farley says the station experienced its highest ever
PPM ratings during the snowstorm – “double-digits in all dayparts both 12+ and 25-54” – eclipsing coverage of President
Obama’s Election and Inauguration.
ESPN to measure cross-media consumer behavior around major sporting events. Cross-platform audience research
is the Holy Grail advertisers crave yet single-source measurement remains elusive. In a first, ESPN is working with four
researchers to attempt to measure media usage and advertiser effects for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa across TV,
radio, Internet, mobile and print platforms. Dubbed ESPN XP, the network says the project is the first time a media company
has attempted to measure all media platforms around a single event. ESPN says it will take what it learns from the ambitious
project and apply it to football in the fall and other sports next year. Participating researchers include the Kelley Fay Group
(measuring word of mouth conversations related to World Cup sponsors); Knowledge Networks (weekly and total exposure
to the World Cup across all platforms, along with shopper data); Nielsen (tracking TV, internet and mobile); and the Media
Behavior Institute. The latter will apply its USA Touchpoints service – which combines an eDiary and observational research
– for the first time in a live market situation. “We want to bring work in this area closer to currency measures and bring the
industry closer to a day when measuring cross-platform behavior is a standard practice instead of a special project,” ESPN
VP of integrated media research Glenn Enoch says.
MORE NEWS >> InsideRadio.com
page NEWS Tuesday, March 23, 2010
One of health care reform’s beneficiaries may be Rush Limbaugh. Reacting to Sunday night’s passage of the health
care bill by Congress, Limbaugh opened yesterday’s show with his trademark bombast. “America is hanging by a thread,”
he told listeners. “Our freedom has been assaulted. The will of the people was spat upon yesterday.” But Limbaugh quickly
switched gears to Congressional Democrats whose seats are on the line in November’s mid-term elections: “We need to
defeat these bastards... We need to chase them out of town.” However, David Frum, a conservative journalist and former
speechwriter for President George W. Bush, says the bill’s victory is a huge win for conservative talkers. “When Rush Limbaugh
said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say – but
what is equally true – is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed – if they govern successfully in office
and negotiate attractive compromises out of office – Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen
to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.” McVay Media news/talk consultant Holland Cooke says he
was disappointed with the Day After shows of both Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. “Rush sounded like he had a death in the
family,” Cooke says. “Beck was more-animated, but both of them disappointed because they sounded like they ‘lost.’ We
expected more, a distilled, undaunted take on [Sunday] night’s vote.” However Cooke gives Limbaugh points for how well
his slogans resonated during the past year’s contentious health care debate. “I do slogans for a living, so I’m nerdy enough
to be impressed that otherwise-intelligent people were parroting ‘government takeover of healthcare reform’ and other oftrepeated right-wing talking points,” Cooke says.
Dial Global, Premiere continue to dominate network radio ratings. The two companies each placed four ad networks
among the top 10 in Arbitron’s March radio network ratings for persons 25-54. However Dial Global had the edge in persons
18-49, with five of the top 10 to Premiere’s four. Dial Global’s Contemporary, Complete FM and Adult Power networks
ranked No. 1, 2 and 4 respectively in 25-54 while Premiere’s Informed and Modern Women networks ranked No. 3 and 5,
respectively. In the 18-49 demo, Dial Global’s Contemporary, Complete FM and Adult Power were first second and third,
followed by Premiere’s Young Influencers and Informed networks. United Stations also finished in the top 10 in both demos,
while Westwood One placed one of its networks in the top 10 in 25-54. The latest RADAR report covers the period from
January 8-December 9, 2009, during which Premiere reconfigured its 18 networks. Arbitron says more than 189 million
persons 12+ heard one or more network radio commercials each week of the survey period. PPM panelists make up about
37% of the 368,987-person sample
Inside Radio News Ticker... Subway gets “Fresh” with Univison Radio... A yearlong sponsorship of the radio chain’s
concert series includes a Subway-branded microsite (“Subway Aristas Frescos” or Subway Fresh Artists) where participants
can upload a video that incorporates the sandwich maker’s jingle. Visitors will vote on the best entries to win prizes, including
a trip to a Univision Radio concert ... Northern California tower farm for sale... The Santa Barbara Tower Complex, home
to Qualcomm, Entravision Television and EMF Radio sticks, is on the sales block for $2.4 million. The two-tower property is
located in the Los Padres National Forest, 4,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Broker: Media Services Group ... “Hot 97”
crosses online series to TV... Three episodes of “The Wizards NYC” aired last Sunday morning at 10:30am ET on MTV2.
New webisodes of the WQHT-produced online reality show stream weekly from the Hot 97 TV channel of the Emmis hiphop station’s web site ... WBAP-FM calls for new Dallas FM talker…Citadel has applied for new call letters for the former
“Platinum 96.7” KPMZ, which became the FM simulcast for “NewsTalk 820” WBAP March 11... Perez vs. Seacrest... In an
interview with Billboard at the South By Southwest music conference, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton said he plans to launch a
weekly music countdown show distributed by Westwood One to compete with Ryan Seacrest’s weekly countdown show. Hilton
currently hosts twice-daily entertainment features syndicated by Citadel Media... John Bell leaves Elvis Duran show... After
more than a quarter century on the “Z100” WHTZ, New York morning show, cast member John Bell offered a heartfelt and
humorous goodbye to listeners of the “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show” yesterday... WTOP, Washington bids farewell to
Frank Herzog ...Herzog started at WTOP 41 years ago as a $2-an-hour copyboy. He returned as a news anchor five years
ago after being the radio voice of the Washington Redksins and the Washington Bullets (now the Wizards).
MORE NEWS >> InsideRadio.com
page RATINGS
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Winter 2010 ARBITRENDS Ph 1
Hartford-New Britain-Middletown, CT (#50)
The top four all fall, but “Lite 100.5” holds onto first place.
Rank Station
1
WRCH
2
WTIC
3
WWYZ
4
WZMX
5
WHCN
6
WTIC-F
7
WDRC-F
7
WKSS
9
WCCC-F
10 WDRC
11 WMRQ-F
12 WAQY
13 WPLR
13 WKCI-F
13 WRYM
16 WPOP
16 WYBC-F**
18 WPKX
19 WLAT
20 WEEI-F
20 WEIB
22 WFAN
23 WMAS-F
Format
soft AC
news/talk
country
rhy. CHR
classic hits
hot AC
oldies
CHR
rock
talk
modern rock
classic rock
rock
CHR
tropical
sports
urban AC
country
tropical
sports
smooth jazz
sports
AC
Owner/LMA
CBS Radio
CBS Radio
Clear Channel
CBS Radio
Clear Channel
CBS Radio
Buckley
Clear Channel
Marlin
Buckley
Red Wolf
Saga
Cox Media
Clear Channel
Eight Forty
Clear Channel
Yale
Clear Channel
A.F. Gois
Entercom
Cutting Edge
CBS Radio
Citadel
Fall
10.5
8.2
8.5
7.0
5.2
4.6
5.5
4.2
3.8
1.8
2.3
1.8
1.6
1.2
1.0
1.0
0.6
0.7
1.9
0.7
0.7
0.8
**
NDJ
9.9
8.0
7.2
6.8
5.3
5.1
4.5
4.5
3.6
2.4
2.2
1.9
1.3
1.3
1.3
1.2
1.2
1.0
0.9
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.4
**WYBC-F has a JSA with Cox Media Group.
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY (#53)
“Country 106.5” WYRK (+0.7) extends its lead on #3 WBLK.
Rank Station
1
WBEN
2
WYRK
3
WBLK
4
WKSE
5
WGRF
6
WJYE
7
WHTT-F
8
WGR
8
WEDG
10 WTSS
11 WBUF
12 CKEY
13 WLKK
13 WWWS
15 WXRL
16 CFZM
17 WDCX-F
17 WWKB
19 CHTZ
20 CFNY
21 CILQ
21 WECK
23 WJJL
23 WLVL
25 CIXL
25 CKFM
25 WUFO
New Orleans, LA (#52)
Format
urban AC
urban
news/talk
AC
country
CHR
talk
classic rock
urban AC
rhy. CHR
rock
oldies
Black gospel
Black gospel
oldies
hot AC
sports
Span. hits
talk
Black gospel
Span. hits
ethnic
CHR
Owner/LMA
Clear Channel
Clear Channel
Entercom
Entercom
Clear Channel
Entercom
Clear Channel
Entercom
Citadel
Citadel
Clear Channel
Fleur De Lis
Clear Channel
Southwest
Citadel
Citadel
Entercom
Sunburst
Bakewell
Clear Channel
Crocodile
Coastal
Clear Channel
Fall
14.1
11.8
9.1
6.1
5.0
4.5
6.3
4.5
4.2
3.0
3.2
1.9
2.1
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.4
**
Fall
10.8
8.1
7.5
6.4
6.0
5.9
5.9
4.8
4.2
4.2
3.2
2.5
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.1
1.0
0.9
1.2
0.6
0.8
0.5
0.5
**
**
**
**
NDJ
10.3
8.8
7.5
6.9
6.1
5.8
5.3
4.7
4.7
4.2
2.9
2.3
1.7
1.7
1.4
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.0
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.4
Richmond, VA (#55)
Clear Channel’s urban combo remains 1-2 with urban “Q-93”
up 0.3 shares; sister “Rush Radio” slips 1.6 shares.
Rank Station
1
WYLD-F
2
WQUE-F
3
WWL*
4
WLMG
5
WNOE-F
6
WEZB
7
WRNO-F
8
WKBU
9
KMEZ
10 KKND
11 KYRK
12 WTIX-F
13 WYLD
14 WPRF
14 WMTI
16 WDVW
17 WWWL
17 WFNO
17 WBOK
20 WODT
21 KGLA
22 KLRZ*
22 WFMF
Format
Owner/LMA
news/talk
Entercom
country
Regent
urban
Regent
CHR
Entercom
classic rock Citadel
soft AC
Regent
classic hits
Citadel
sports
Entercom
rock
Citadel
hot AC
Entercom
adult hits
Regent
rhy. CHR
Niagara
classic rock Entercom
urban oldies Entercom
country
Dome
standards
MZ Media, Inc.
relig/c. Christ Crawford
talk
Entercom
rock
Groupe Astral
modern rock Corus
classic rock Corus
talk/sports
Culver
oldies
M.J. Phillips
talk/sports
Culver
classic hits
R. B. Comms.
hot AC
Groupe Astral
Blk gos/urb ACSheridan
NDJ
14.1
12.1
9.5
6.2
5.1
4.8
4.7
4.3
3.6
3.5
3.2
2.7
2.0
1.4
1.4
1.2
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.4
0.4
Santa delivers Clear Channel’s “LIte 98” a 1.7 share bump,
but Radio One urban AC “Kiss FM holds onto first place.
Rank Station
1
WKJS*
2
WTVR-F
2
WRVA
4
WKHK
5
WBTJ
6
WCDX
7
WPZZ
8
WRVQ
9
WKLR
10 WRXL
11 WWLB
12 WBBT-F
13 WMXB
14 WDYL
15 WRNL
16 WLFV
17 WXGI
18 WGGM
19 WBBC-F
19 WLEE
Format
urban AC
AC
news/talk
country
urban
urban
Black gospel
CHR
classic rock
modern rock
adult hits
oldies
hot AC
modern rock
sports
country
sports
Blk gos/relig
country
news/talk
Owner/LMA
Radio One
Clear Channel
Clear Channel
Cox Media
Clear Channel
Radio One
Radio One
Clear Channel
Cox Media
Clear Channel
Main Line
Main Line
Cox Media
Cox Media
Clear Channel
Main Line
Red Zebra
Hoffman
Denbar Comms.
Davidson
Fall
10.6
7.0
6.8
8.2
7.5
6.2
5.4
4.2
3.6
3.5
3.5
2.9
2.0
1.5
1.0
1.4
0.7
**
0.5
0.4
NDJ
9.5
8.7
8.7
8.1
7.8
5.6
5.3
4.1
3.8
2.9
2.7
2.2
2.1
1.4
1.0
0.9
0.7
0.5
0.4
0.4
*Simulcast: WKJS/WKJM.
*Simulcasts: WWL-AM/FM. KLRZ/KLEB.
12+ AQH Shares, Mon-Sun, 6 am to midnight.
May not be quoted or reproduced without prior written permission from Arbitron. Copyright 2009. Formats of stations listed reflect the analysis and groupings of M Street
Corp. and may differ from the station’s opinions or interpretations. Complete Ratings are reported daily online at www.StationRatings.com. Ratings are reported at 5pm daily.
MORE NEWS >> InsideRadio.com
page MEDIABASE
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
page CLASSIFIEDS
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
GENERAL SALES MANAGER - CBS - LAS VEGAS
SALES MANAGER
CBS Radio Las Vegas is in search of a motivated and enthused
General Sales Manager to lead the sales
team of Newsradio 840 KXNT. If you
love developing and selling great ideas
for a wide variety of local businesses, this
may be the perfect situation for you. The
ideal candidate will possess experience
in, and a passion for news/talk radio
sales and sales management and an understanding of digital media
and NTR programs and events. Live in a great place and put your
experience to work in a great organization. We need a special leader
to take Las Vegas news and talk leader to new heights! Previous
sales management experience in news/talk radio required. Bachelor’s
Degree or equivalent experience. Must have a valid driver’s license
and reliable transportation.
Classic Rock Station WZOW in
South Bend, IN is looking for
a Sales Manager. Applicants
should have a successful history
of managing local and national
radio sales, hiring, training,
executing promotional plans and
working with programmers.
Submit your resume/application online: www.cbsradio.com.
CBS Radio is an equal opportunity employer.
Qualified candidates should
send cover letter/resume to:
[email protected]
Subj: “Management Position”
EOE
PROGRAM DIRECTOR - DETROIT
CBS Radio Detroit has an immediate opening for Program Director
for its heritage all news station WWJ NEWSRADIO 950. We seek a
dedicated programmer to guide and lead this station to further growth
in 2010. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to overseeing all
programming departments including digital.
Required Skills/Experience: Ability to recruit and develop “A” talent.
Strong understanding of PPM. Creating a strategic plan. Understanding
how digital is used throughout our brand. All news experience
preferred. Knowledge of Detroit Market preferred. Must have
proven track record of ratings
success in spoken word/news
talk format. Bachelor Degree
required. Please apply online
to: www.cbsradio.com. CBS
Radio in an EEO employer.
SEEKING NEW CHALLENGE
Employed Market Manager of multi-station Midwestern cluster.
2009 was our best year – up over 20%, and THIS year is up 15%.
Proven track record in major, large and medium markets as GM,
DOS, or GSM that includes radio and cable. Seeking Market
Manager/General Manager position in large/medium market
Southeast, South Central, or Southwestern U.S. CSS trained,
creative, good communicator, motivator, superb sales trainer, with
the ability to consistently hit sales and programming objectives.
I will bring your cluster to new levels of success. Need a proven
winner? Send a note to: [email protected].
All communication confidential.
INSIDE RADIO, Copyright 2010. www.InsideRadio.com. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be copied, reproduced, refaxed, or retransmitted in any form. Address: P.O. Box 442, Littleton, NH 03561. To
advertise, call 800-640-8852. Classifieds, email: [email protected]. Subscribe to INSIDE RADIO for 12
months. Monthly subscription $39.95 billed to your credit card. Call (800) 248-4242 to subscribe. Managing
Editor, Frank Saxe [email protected] 800-290-6301/Senior Editor, Paul Heine [email protected]. GM/
Publisher, Gene McKay 800-640-8852.
MORE NEWS >> InsideRadio.com
LOCAL SALES MANAGER
CHICAGO
Q101 Chicago is currently
seeking a Local Sales Manager
assist the General Sales Manager
(GSM) in managing the locals
sales team and maximizing
revenues
through
serving
customer needs. The ideal
candidate should have excellent
sales and presentation skills, a
passion for new technology and
four years media sales or agency
account services background.
The person will also possess
the ability to work closely with
several different departments
within the organization. Find
more qualifications at www.
insideradio.com.
Send your resume to:
[email protected]
or, fax 312-245-9785.
NO phone calls please. EOE.
Emmis Communications is
one of FORTUNE magazine’s
“100 Best Companies To Work
For in America”.
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