By Tim Feran, The Columbus Dispatch
Radio giant Clear Channel had three of the top five and four of the ten most-popular stations in town in the fall Arbitron ratings. The ratings, in which Arbitron surveyed central Ohio listeners' preferences from Sept. 20 to Dec. 12, showed that Clear Channel's longtime pop-music favorite, WNCI (97.9 FM), dominated the charts with wins in the morning, midday and afternoon periods. The station's success spanned age groups, with top ratings among listeners ages 18 to 34 and 25 to 54.
WNCI's corporate siblings -- country kingpin WCOL (92.3 FM), news-talk hub WTVN (610 AM) and classic-hits station WLZT (93.3 FM) -- were second (in a tie), fourth and seventh. WLZT turned in a particularly strong showing, boosted partly by its Christmas-music marathon.
Holiday music was also part of the reason WSNY (94.7 FM) rebounded from the past year's ratings downturn. WSNY -- which inaugurated its holiday-music marathons more than two decades ago -- surged among several listener groups, including a target audience: women 35 to 54.
Other listeners opted for something completely different -- which helped high-flying hip-hop station WCKX (106.7 FM) to tie with WCOL for second. Classic rocker WLVQ (96.3 FM) also seemed to benefit from those who wanted a break from holiday fa-la-la-ing. The station almost doubled its ratings from the summer in the 18-to-34 age group and increased its 25-to-54 ratings to its best in more than a year.
Two new stations began broadcasting too late to be included in this survey: recently revived progressive talk station WVKO (1580 AM) and Clear Channel's new modern-rocker, WXRS (106.7 FM).
Borg rule Cowtown
Moderators: Hoosier Daddy, The People's DJ, Arp2