CHED stays atop ratings
rock stations stumble
Sandra Sperounes
The Edmonton Journal
Friday, November 28, 2008
EDMONTON - Is Edmonton losing its taste for rock?
The city's three rock radio stations all stumbled in the fall ratings, according to Bureau of Broadcast Measurement.
The Bear 100.3 FM, which was No. 1 in the summer, dropped to third place -- with a 9.6 share of listeners. That's a drop of two points from July and August, which is usually considered the worst time for attracting listeners.
Sonic 102.9 FM garnered a 4.8 share -- a decrease of 1.5 -- while the return of K-97 wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms. The classic-rock station, formerly known as K-Rock, only pulled in a 4.4 share -- or a drop of 0.7 from the summer.
A share is based on the number of people (aged 12 and older) who tune in and the length of time they listen. The fall survey was conducted between Sept. 1 and Oct. 26. A random sample of listeners was asked to keep diaries for a week.
The Bear's general manager and vice-president, Marty Forbes, says this survey method is often to blame for rock radio's declining numbers. Many radio executives think the diary system is inaccurate, but electronic diaries are expected to be introduced soon and could reduce these weird ratings blips.
Last year, for example, the city's two country stations inexplicably lost a large chunk of their listeners, according to a BBM survey, but they've since rebounded -- with CISN 103.9 FM now in second place. It scored a 10.6 share in the fall ratings.
Once again, 630 CHED, an all-talk station, topped the list with an 11.4 share.
The Bounce 91.7 FM notched a 9.2 share, its highest rating since launching in 2005. The Top 40 outlet is the only one of the city's newest stations to be attracting more listeners with every survey.
Both Sonic and Magic 99.3 FM, which also hit the airwaves in 2005, are floundering, which doesn't bode well for the next round of stations expected to launch.
Last month, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved four new commercial radio licences, including an alternative-rock format and an outlet geared to women.
ssperounes@thejournal.canwest.com
BY THE NUMBERS
Here's a rundown of the stations and their fall ratings (compared with their summer numbers):
1. CHED -- 11.4 (9.7)
2. CISN -- 10.6 (9.3)
3. The Bear -- 9.6 (11.6)
4. The Bounce -- 9.2 (8.1)
5. EZ Rock -- 7.8 (6.4)
6. CBC Radio 1 -- 7.1 (5.6)
7. CFCW -- 6.6 (6.7)
8. Capital FM -- 6.4 (6.8)
9. Joe -- 6.1 (5.1)
10. Sonic -- 4.8 (6.3)
11. K-97 -- 4.4 (5.7)
12. CKUA -- 3.0 (3.9)
13. CBC Radio 2 -- 2.3 (1.7)
14. Magic -- 1.7 (2.1)
15. CFRN -- 1.5 (1.8)
16. iNews 880 -- 1.0 (0.6)
17. CHFA -- 0.2 (0.0)