A Book and A Buck

Arbitron releases fall 2011 ratings   The Fall 2011 Arbitron Radio Ratings recently came out for the Augusta market. Kicks 99 came out the big winner, pulling in the largest numbers in memory. The big loser was 95 Rock, which was relegated down the dial mid diary. Also for the first time in memory, the Beasley Broadcasting cluster of stations came out with more market share than cross town competitor Clear Channel. What makes that impressive is Beasley did this with no urban stations. You’re up, you’re down. It’s a way of life for radio managers, salespeople, on-air staff, programmers, etc. Little diaries mailed to a random sampling of CSRA residents (which include, for some reason, an actual one-dollar bill) have an incredible sway on their careers. (And paychecks. Most program directors have bonuses built into their contracts based on where they land in each book.) Looking at 12 plus total weeks, which is really just for bragging rights, Kicks had an 11.8 share. The next closest was Kiss FM with a 7.6, then you had WBBQ and WGAC tied with a 7.2 share. The “buying” demo is the 25-54 year olds, and total week Kicks scored a 12.0, Kiss had an 8.6, WBBQ had a 7.9, and one of the real stories of the book was BOB FM, coming in with a 6.7. (and third midday, behind Kicks and WBBQ). Since flipping formats from the moribund 93.9 The Drive, BOB has scored five books in a row of growth. In the most heads-up battle of formats, Top 40 stations HD 98.3 (Beasley) and recent addition Y 102.3 (Clear Channel) continued to scrap for those ladies.   WHHD (98.3) vs WZNY (102.3) 18-49 Female Mornings WHHD 5th WZNY 8th   Midday WHHD 6th WZNY 8th   Afternoon Tied 7th   25-34 Female Mornings WHHD 2nd WZNY 9th   Midday WHHD  2nd WZNY  6th   Afternoons WHHD  2nd WZNY  6th     With most cars coming equipped with IT connections in five years, radio must continue to evolve. Evolve by getting back to its roots. With limitless choices at the fingertips of local consumers, radio must rely on its connection to the community. The operators who keep their stations local, local, local will be able to fight those that don’t will be on the auction block before Atlanta lands another hockey team.You Might Also Like: