The first full ratings book since Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason began at WFAN is out, and the station is more than pleased with the results.
In Arbitron's fall survey, which covered Sept. 20 through Dec. 12, the new morning drive team secured better numbers than Don Imus did in the fall of 2006 in the station's primary target demographic of men ages 25-54.
WFAN ranked sixth in the demo with an average 3.9 percent share of the audience, compared to 3.7 for Imus the previous year, and it attracted a total average weekly audience 26 percent higher than Imus'.
Imus' numbers compare more favorably if you count all humans, including old people and women. But the new show not only is serving the core demo nicely but also helping attract younger listeners.
WFAN was up 58 percent from last year in men ages 18-34 during morning drive time.
On ESPN 1050, the national “Mike and Mike’’ show was 15th among men 25-54 with a 2.5 share.
Carton and Esiason finished second to WBAB on Long Island and first in New Jersey.
The “Mike and the Mad Dog’’ show on WFAN ranked first in afternoon drive time with a share of 6.9. Over all days and times, WFAN ranked second in its key demo behind WSKQ, a Spanish-language station.
WFAN ranked first from 7 p.m. to midnight with a 6.1 share, a first for the station.
Comments (10)
Hey Neil, as Mike said check the ratings. We are the Patriots. 3 touchdowns. Ha that was beautiful. No need for a change.
Neil - where did the Fox Sports Radio shows finish? I listen to them on XM in the morning.
It's official. The world is over.
Just goes to show you what dreck the WFAN competition really is.
No matter how much we gripe about 660AM, it is ours and has a distinct New York flavor. 1050AM tries but can be a pale imitation most times. The ESPN brand is not a help on radio here.
Go to any other city in the country and see how lame sports talk radio can be; most of it is affiliated with The Worldwide Leader.
I am sick of Fatso and Froot Loops, but they're like an old bathrobe. No matter how many holes there are in it, we take comfort in that ratty schmatta until it disintegrates in the washer.
Plus on afternoon AM radio there's a bunch of plateaus ... WABC's Limbaugh then Hannity ... then there's 1010 WINS or WCBS/880 ... then you see WFAN.
The boys will be going at it until THEY are sick of it ... or there's an Imus moment [probably at the mouth of Russo].
Ratings [the big picture, age 12+ for the whole day] can be seen at this site:
http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings/
Neil, does that include Devils/Nets broadcasts in the figures?
Steve: yes, i assume it does.
Neil,
Thanks for the info. But they are not syndicated across the Country, and do not command the premium ad rates Imus received when this comparison took place from 2006.
Bruce
Neil- How did Joe and Evan's show do?
Mike: Should have asked but didn't.
I've been listening to the fan since 1990 and although I think Boomer is very entertaining and informative Craig Carton drags the show down with his type of Schtick (sp?). It sounds like the crap on the ESPN morning radio show....very out of place on the Fan and unlistenable. For that reason I do not listen to the Fan in the morning.
Also, you must attribute the ratings bump to some extent to the change in the format, i.e., from Imus to sports talk. I recognize the desire to attract a younger audience by offering an "edge" but that type of content has been detrimental on the whole. The Fan has clung to this mistaken notion for a while. Betting on the likes of Sid Rosenberg was very baffling not to mention troubling to listen to...does the station feel they need to hold onto those listeners that are still looking for a shock jock? Woefully out of date and out of place! And not for nothing, I say screw those young punks let them go to ESPN and be treated like 13 year olds.
I question why station management, i.e. Mark Chernoff, continues to go this route. Does he not want people that are older than 35 or who are capable of formulating a cogent thought to listen? If I want the edgy schtick I will go else where, but I don't want it. I want to listen to informed, thoughtful discussions on sports and Boomer does a very good job to that end. When I did tune into the program it is obvious he was uncomfortable with Craig Carton's schtick and it comes across on the air very clearly. I hope the station will make a change but I am afraid that management is the problem...celebrating 2%-4% of the ratings tells me they seriously do not understand the potential within the market.