Charleston Ratings

[Mr. Jones]

#183 Charleston, WV
Updated 1/31/2008
Fall 07

ARBITRON Quarterly Report
12+ Mon-Sun, 6a-12mid
Pop: 214,100
Black: 0 (0%) Hispanic: 0 (0%) Asian: 0 (0%)

Station Format Owner Spr 06 Fall 06 Spr 07 Fall 07
WQBE Country Bristol 20.5 20.2 18.1 14.4
WVAF AC West Virginia 11.3 11.7 11.1 12.8
WVSR Top 40/M Bristol 6.7 5.0 9.1 9.3
WCHS-A News West Virginia 5.3 9.2 6.4 8.2
WKWS Country West Virginia 7.1 10.3 7.7 8.2
WKLC Rock LM Communications 5.3 6.7 6.4 7.4
WKAZ Adult Hits West Virginia 3.2 1.8 5.7 5.1
WRVZ Top 40/R West Virginia 6.7 4.6 4.4 4.3
WZJO Alternative Bristol 3.5 2.5 4.4 4.3
WMXE Classic Hits LM Communications 4.2 2.5 3.4 3.1
WAMX Active Rock Clear Channel 1.1 1.1 0.7 1.2
WEMM Religious Mortenson 1.1 1.8 1.0 1.2
WKAZ-A Oldies West Virginia 1.1 1.1 2.0 1.2
WRYV Classic Rock Connoisseur 1.1 1.1 0.7 1.2

[The-Hammer]

WQBE Country Bristol 20.5 20.2 18.1 14.4

[Zak Tyler]

damn, last time they went that low they got beat...

best ratings 102 ever had

coach n libby mornings
me mid-days
brett sharp afternoons
hollywood nights

so, besides that 1 book, how long has QBE been #1???

[Big Media]

I am delighted to have something radio related to discuss on the broadcasting board.

I gotta give serious props to LM. Jay has turned Rock 105 from a 3rd class station into a contender. The station sounds better today than it ever did under previous administrations. I know this because I actually listen to it now compared to not at all before (except for B&T, which I have always listened).

Also, I listened to WMXE on my way into work this morning. For some reason, I am not usually able to get this station but I was getting an excellent signal this AM. Anywho, I though the station sounded great and I enjoyed the music:

Styx - Renegade
Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
CCR - Back Door
INXS - New Sensation (I haven't heard this in years. Thanks!)
Seger - Old Time Rock'n'Roll

Thrown in the mix were a couple of very quick and to the point updates (news, traffic, weather, etc). Sadly, I did not hear a single commercial. Great for music fans, bad for radio station owners.




Now that the Mr. Nice Guy is done, what the hell is going on over a Bristol? WQBE is suffering at WVSR's much overdue success. WVSR is another station that I believe sounds better today than it has since the Super 102 days. [/getting nostalgic]

[cgarison]

best ratings 102 ever had

coach n libby mornings
me mid-days
brett sharp afternoons
hollywood nights

Best Electric lineup ever!

[Hoosier Daddy]

I still remember John Boy on V100 at nights ...



[/showing just how damn old I am, Mister!]

[Bob Campbell]

Gosh, I don't want to whine, because it was a great book for 102. But I think the "best numbers" ever still belongs to our crew from the early 90's.
They may be the best in its "Electric" incarnation though. And I hope they do even better.

[Waveguide]

Hoosier Daddy said:

I still remember John Boy on V100 at nights ...

What year was that???
( I just want to show my age too......)

[Dave Allen]

John Boy as in John Bowen?

[Hoosier Daddy]

John Boy as in John Bowen?

John Boy as in the now nationally-syndicated John Boy & Billy morning show.
Before he was famous, John Boy was a regular ole' DJ that worked nights at Charleston's V100.

What year was that???
( I just want to show my age too......)

Very early 80s?

[Hoosier Daddy]

I gotta give serious props to LM. Jay has turned Rock 105 from a 3rd class station into a contender. The station sounds better today than it ever did under previous administrations.

I never doubted it for a minute.
Nunley is destined to be the next Larry Lujack.
Or Bill Drake.
Or Ryan Secrest.

No, wait a minute ...

[Brian Thompson]

Nunley is the master of Rock radio in the market. No one can pilot this ship the same. I'm proud to be part of your team Jay! Congrats!

[Dave Allen]

He is an evil douchebag who must be killed!

Other than that, big love, Big Poppa.....ya dick!

[SPIKE NESMITH!]

He won't admit it, but he is just one of two people I've worked with in 16 years of radio who has an intuitive (and successful) knack for programming.

Huge props to RJ and the V100 gang, too. I never thought I'd see ANYONE come close to toppling QBE and now the V is, as we say in the west of Scotland, 'up tae a bawhair awa' from the top spot.

[Radio Guy]

Don't write off WQBE too fast, take note that the Wolf only went up
by a bump, therefore the country listeners did not go to another country
station. I doubt that country listeners decided V-100 or Electric 102.7
is better.

It's actually who's willing to pay the most to get Arbitron to place the
books in more favorable neighborhoods to help their ratings up or
hurt their competition.

The only winner is Arbitron, who laughs all the way to the bank.

[Zak Tyler]

It's actually who's willing to pay the most to get Arbitron to place the
books in more favorable neighborhoods to help their ratings up or
hurt their competition.

that's a completely baseless accusation.

if you were serious making that statement, then obviously you are fairly new to the business. you really don't think that radio, as a business, would allow such a practice by, basically, the only accepted radio ratings standard for the last few decades or so. the standard by which the industry sets it's cost per point. the basic life-blood of the bottom line. granted it's not a perfect system, but it's the only one we've got, AND we've got a panel to regulateand check-up on arbitron. it's called the Media Rating Council. here's an axample of what they do. http://www.mediaratingcouncil.org/PR11- ... Update.pdf

now if you really weren't serious, please disregard the above.

[/soapbox]

[Arp2]

Don't write off WQBE too fast, take note that the Wolf only went up by a bump, therefore the country listeners did not go to another country station. I doubt that country listeners decided V-100 or Electric 102.7 is better.

Do a little study of retail. Or marketing. Just a little will do.

Radio is a product that can be used, not used, or substituted for. Just as retailers have home sales in the nesting/hibernation indoor part of the year and bathing suit and shorts sales in the warm and long-day outdoor part of the year, radio has offerings that flow through the different parts of the year, too, because people's needs, desires, and usage have a fairly predictable flow to them. And just as one can shop at such different places as K-Mart, Wal~Mart, Target, Sears, Macy's, Nordstrom, and Saks for the "same thing" (say, what we generically call "clothing" or "fragrances"), one can "shop at" seemingly very different radio stations for the "same thing" (say, what we might generically call "music," "entertainment," "information," or "companionship").

It's simultaneously very real and serious and absolutely meaningless. It has much more to do with the consumers of the product than the providers of the product.

On top of that, a genre's offerings might have a little something to do with things, too.

[Dave Harman]

A look at the progression of ratings decline of WQBE shows more than a surface comparison of whether the Wolf gained in this book. It is obvious that WQBE is suffering from the cumulative effects of having a direct competitor, and will continue to fall unless the correct adjustments are made. Also, the fact that V100 won the 25-54 demos across the board is most significant.

It doesn't matter whether your direct format competitor is the one who is catching you, it matters that a long time history of dominance has ended. THAT's significant.

[Jay Nunley]

It's simultaneously very real and serious and absolutely meaningless. It has much more to do with the consumers of the product than the providers of the product.

On top of that, a genre's offerings might have a little something to do with things, too.

This is why rock stations generally have had a down trend in fall and winter books. This seems to be changing.

Another point to make is that one book (even in a two book market) does not make or break a station nor is one book indicative of a station crashing and burning or becoming a monster ratings grabber. Persons 12+ is certainly an indicator and it is the number we all like to look at and discuss, but how a station is doing over the long term in its target demo is a lot more important as both a report card for the station and in terms of ad revenue.

It's also smart to look at cume and tsl. A PD or air talent can be doing a kick ass job and tsl will go way up, but if there is little marketing and promotion cume stays flat or declines. This will completely offset the good work of the programming staff. A great marketing campaign and smart, well targeted promotions will increase cume and overall sampling, but if the programming and air talent are weak or off target the tsl declines and that offsets the dollars and planning used to market and promote.

Calling out the doom or the dominance of any station based on one trend is silly. I will use my friends at WQBE as an example because they were mentioned earlier in the thread. A station like WQBE may have the occasional down book, but it won't be that way two books in a row. They would have to totally suck in every way for years to really crash and given the air talent, programmers, and other staff involved that simply isn't going to happen.

By they way, Dave Allen at WVOW in Logan got a 63.3 share in the county by county data. While it is true that he should easily get a 35 share in his particular competitive matrix a 63.3 share is rather astounding.

[Big Media]

By they way, Dave Allen at WVOW in Logan got a 63.3 share in the county by county data. While it is true that he should easily get a 35 share in his particular competitive matrix a 63.3 share is rather astounding.

Proof that LOCAL radio works. Either that or Dave is paying off Arbitron (see Radio Guy's post above).