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3.30.12
DAHMER
LEAVES WGRD FOR DETROIT'S D...
So who will take his spot?
It's
official: the afternoon jock at what might be the
top rock station in the state is headed to The D.
And I mean both the city and the shitty Classic Rock
station Clear Channel recently launched at 106.7.
Dahmer, who started in nights but got promoted to
days (and let's not forget that he himself was one
of the replacements for Dave Fox who was at GRD for
years until he was fired for making an off-color
comment regarding the Prodigy classic "Smack My
Bitch Up") at 97.9 GRD is leaving for Detroit.
Although I rarely ever listened to him, I do wish
him the best of luck, even if Clear Channel
shitcanned a ton of folks in Detroit yesterday.
Now, the question is... Who will replace him?
True, I give GRD major props for having a cute chick
do nights (and mind you, Jackie is a professional
model to boot) to follow in the footsteps of
long-departed GR chick jocks like Cristi Cantle,
Suzy Cole and Katie Rademacher, but maybe it's
another former KLQ jock that might be rocking
afternoons on a station he - and virtually every
true blue rock fan in Grand Rapids - once despised.
Bill Walters.
Yep! Walt hinted on his Facebook page that he's
interested in taking over afternoons at GRD when
Dahmer leaves. He asked his followers and most of
the replies simply say "do it".
Walters is best known in west Michigan for his two
stints at KLQ, alongside the old Radio X 92.3 in
Kalamazoo (now Classic Rocker WZUU 92.5 The Zoo).
He's also worked at Z93 in Saginaw (where he got
fired for trashing former KLQ jocks Ron and Don at a
station event at The Intersection in Grand Rapids)
and WRIF Detroit. In recent years, Walters got
married and now has a daughter. He reportedly has
been working with his wife's business.
Will Walters get hired at GRD? I hope so! A little
old school KLQ pumped into GRD would kick major ass!
Of course, bear in mind that
the man who fired Walters at both KLQ and Z93,
Matt Hanlon, is now a sales weasel at GRD
parent Townsquare.
2.20.12
FINSTER
GETS BOBBED
Former KLT morning man to
be new morning man for 104.5 Bob FM
Only a
few months after getting fired as 1/2 of WKLT
97.5/98.9's morning show in Traverse City, Finster
is getting back on his feet.
It's been reported that Omelette's ex-partner is
going to be the new morning man at Variety Hits WZTC
104.5 Bob FM in March. The 1,250-watt station
doesn't have the signal other northern Michigan
stations have, and it doesn't stream online (and its
"website" is their Facebook page), but it sounds
like owners MacDonald-Garber - who also owns 106
KHQ, Lite 96 and a few others - have picked up an
opportunity to capitalize on KLT's loss.
KLT reportedly canned Omelette just days after
Christmas 2011 for unknown reasons. However, given
KLT's history of firing morning jocks, budgetary
reasons were probable. Many critics of KLT and
Omelette's show claim that without Finster, Omelette
is just flat-out boring. Without a doubt, the war
between Omelette and Finster will only be
interesting.
---
IN OTHER NORTHERN
MICHIGAN RADIO NEWS: WTCM-AM GETS WALL STREET
NIGHTS: WTCM 580 is now airing The Daily Wrap from
The Wall Street
Journal 9p-12m on a three-hour delay. The
show replaces Lou Dobbs' radio program, which he
personally canceled. Also, the station has cut ties
with ABC News Radio and is now airing news updates
from Fox News Radio. WTCM also airs WSJ's morning
report 5-7 a.m., giving the Rupert Murdoch-owned
news rag five hours of air time daily.
2.1.12
HD RADIO
TROUBLES IN MICHIGAN
Detroit's Bone de-boned, TC
gets more Rush
DETROIT: Looks
like fans of new rock in Detroit are back down to
only two choices - WRIF and 89X - today as
translator station 94.3 The Bone has been forced off
the air. The 99-watt Alternative station, owned by
Martz Communications is still streaming on their
website, but they released a statement on their
Facebook page:
"All good things must come to an end. We're sorry
to say that The Bone has ceased operations today.
Thanks for your support Detroit. You're the best."
The same situation goes for their
Smooth Jazz sister The Oasis, which used to
broadcast on 104.7 until Clear Channel complained to
the FCC that it was interfering with their geriatric
rocker WIOT in Toledo.
Both The Oasis and The Bone broadcasted on the HD
subchannels of WGPR 107.5, which had been owned by
the Freemasons, but recently entered a Local
Marketing Agreement with Radio One to operate the
station. Yesterday, WGPR abandoned their HD
broadcasts, and per FCC rules, if a translator
station doesn't have a full-power originating
station, it cannot broadcast.
It was announced just a few weeks ago that The Bone
would carry the syndicated Bubba the Love Sponge and
Loveline shows. As of late last night, the station
is still broadcasting online.
TRAVERSE CITY: Looks
like fans of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean
Hannity, George Noory and Mark Levin now have an FM
home for those shows... Sorta. The HD-4 subchannel
of Roy Henderson's WLDR-FM 101.9 is now simulcasting
his recently-launched Manistee News/Talk station
WCUZ 100.1 in Bear Lake. The station is supposed to
simulcast with another Henderson acquisition, WMTE
1340 in Manistee, but that station remains silent as
Henderson looks for a new transmitter site for the
silenced station.
This is the first regular format for WCUZ in so many
years.The station has a long history of not staying
on the air partly due to the Manistee area's lack of
ad dollars and Bear Lake seeing better days in the
past. According to an old newspaper article, 100.1 -
then AC WRQT - first fell silent in 1990 due to tax
troubles.
It was AAA WZTU "The Storm" in the 1990s and along
with 92.1 Beulah (now WBNZ), 80s-centered Classic
Hits "Star FM" in 1999 to 2000. Henderson bought the
station in 2000, but it had been silent for most of
the decade as Henderson figured what to do with it.
Like I said, there's no real ad dollars in Manistee,
a town that can't even support a movie theatre. So,
what does Henderson do? Simple: play hardball once
again with arch enemy Ross Biederman and put all of
his talkers on his HD subchannel in hopes of
siphoning listeners away from WTCM.
Oh! WCUZ is also the only station in Michigan that
airs Imus. Oh, brother...
It's sad that talkers with high IQs like Ed Schultz,
Thom Hartmann and Randi Rhodes are all homeless up
north, but Traverse City now has two stations
carrying Rush? Somebody's gotta bring a stop to
this.
1.6.12
DETROIT'S
BONE GETS BUBBA MORNINGS, LOVELINE NIGHTS
Flea-powered Alt-Rocker
becomes Stern pal's first Michigan station
Fans of former Sirius/XM talker Todd "Bubba the Love
Sponge" Clem are happy to hear that he's coming to
Detroit. But, you better live close to the
transmitter to hear him.
This Wednesday, his show will be syndicated to
99-watt Modern Rocker W232CA, aka "94.3 The Bone".
The station, whose signal is a puny, miniscule
fraction of the wattage of heavyweights such as
fellow Alt-Rocker 89X and heritage WRIF 101.1, is
also heard on WGPR 107.5 HD-3. Legally, a translator
station must rebroadcast another station's signal,
so technically, W232CA rebroadcasts WGPR-HD-3's
signal.
Confusion aside, it appears that The Bone's owners,
Martz Communications, is trying to prove that the
fledgling station does have staying power; they also
added on another syndicated show not heard in
Detroit for years: Loveline. That show airs Sunday
through Thursday 10p-Midnight.
Only time will tell if the long-awaited new morning
show and other changes will make a positive impact
on the station. I do like the addition of Bubba, but
I do wonder if he'll be a decent fit, especially
with Detroit not being the most-Stern-friendly
market out there. However, it'll be a great
alternative to Drew and Mike and whatever 89X has
these days.
1.4.12
NORTHERN
MICHIGAN'S WKAD, WMBN FLIP TO SPORTS
93.7 The Ticket displaces
Oldies and Standards
It's not even far into 2012 and the radio dial in
northern Michigan is buzzing.
Earlier this week, Trish MacDonald Garber flipped
two of her stations - Oldies 93.7 WKAD Cadillac
and Standards WMBN 1340 Petoskey - to a
simulcasted Sports format, 93.7 The Fan. The
station uses Fox Sports Radio as their main
network and also carries Dan Patrick and Jim
Rome's shows.
The station also has a local morning show, hosted
by Tom Devitt, formerly of Big Country 102.9. ASSHOLE
The new station displaces the Oldies format WKAD
had since its 2003 sign-on, but it also replaces
the Standards format WMBN had for around 50 years
since it was owned by the Biederman family. When
WMBN moved solely to the FM - then at 96.3 - in
the early 80's, it had been a ratings success, but
found itself back on the AM dial in 1990 when 96.3
flipped to AC as Lite 96. Throughout the 80's,
1340 was WWPZ, which played a hybrid of Top 40 and
Oldies.
With the flip to Sports, this means that for the
first time ever, there are no radio stations in
northern Michigan carrying any type of Standards
format. Then again, some radio experts are saying
that even AC stations - like Lite 96 - might be the
next format to die, especially since many AC
mainstays like James Taylor, Elton John and Michael
Bolton attract an older audience that advertisers
are now avoiding, and that many AC stations are now
playing CHR-friendly acts like Lady Gaga and Britney
Spears. Heck, some even play rap when they do a
flashback weekend.
It's also worth noting that the last Standards
station prior to WMBN's flip happened to be WCCW
1310 out of Traverse City, which flipped to ESPN in
2000.
But, for Sports talk fans, the flip to 93.7 and 1340
is welcome. In Cadillac, 1370 WLJW - formerly WKJF -
flipped from Sports to Religious Talk when the
Biedermans sold that station in 2004. As for the
Straits area, WIDG 940 - which carried Sporting News
Radio - they were also sold to a religious group in
2008.
There's no word if 93.7 The Ticket carries "Huge"
Bill Simonson, but rest assured, he's still losing
affiliates. Just this past week, WCSY 940 South
Haven signed off the air for good, and the station's
towers will be torn down. Apparently, the station
wasn't making money and the tower site was worth
more than the station itself.
1.3.12
2011: THE
GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
In no particular order...
THE GOOD:
*Osama killed
*Kadaffi killed
*Kim Jong-il dead
*the Occupy movement
*the end of the Iraq war
*Keith Olbermann
*Oprah Winfrey ends her show
*Stern signed to America's Got Talent
*Beavis and
Butt-head return
*"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
THE BAD:
*Nudity banned at Deja Vu Kalamazoo
*Ted Williams
*Fox News Channel
*Justin Bieber
*Glenn Beck
*Casey Anthony
*Grand Rapids LipDub
*Artie Lange no longer on the Stern show
*the City of Grand Rapids
*AND LOSING:
-actress Anne Francis
-actor Pete Postlethwaite
-"Baker Street" singer Gerry Rafferty
-actor/singer David Nelson
-Rock Concert
host Don Kirshner
-fitness guru Jack Lalanne
-WCCW/Traverse City founder John Anderson
-Country singer Charlie Louvin
-comedian/actor Charlie Callas
-movie composer John Barry
-"Last Tango in Paris" actress Maria Schnieder
-"I Am Curious" actress Lena Nyman
-"Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" star Tura Satana
-Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore
-Seinfeld's Uncle Leo, Len Lesser
-NFL player Dave Duerson
-MLB star Duke Snider
-1940's sexpot Jane Russell
-the last surviving World War I vet, Frank Buckles
-Rocky and
Bullwinkle animator Chris Jenkyns
-high school basketball star Wes Leonard
-Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr
-rapper Nate Dogg
-Country music legend Ferlin Husky
-Batman's Alfred, Michael Gough
-1970's disco diva Loleletta Holloway, also known
for being sampled on Marky Mark's "Good
Vibrations"
-actress Elizabeth Taylor
-former Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine
Ferraro
-actor Farley Granger
-"Running Bear" singer Johnny Preston
-"Dog Day Afternoon" director Sidney Lumet
-audio guru Sidney Harmon
-1970's punk rocker Poly Styrene
-"Poetry Man" crooner and Howard Stern pal Phoebe
Snow
-former Playboy
model and 1950's actress Yvette Vickers
-1930's child actor Jackie Cooper
-baseball legend Harmon Killebrew
-wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage
-Gil-Scott Heron, who was called by some as the
father of rap music
-"Grease" actor Jeff Conaway
-"Dr. Death" Jack Kervorkian
-Gunsmoke
star James Arness
-"Lonely Boy" and "Thank You For Being a Friend"
singer Andrew Gold
-Sirius/XM's Liquid Metal jock Mario Comesanas
-Anal Cunt lead singer Seth Putnam
-The Coasters lead singer Carl Gardner
-TV producer Bob Banner
-Bruce Springsteen sidekick Clarence Clemons
-Jackass member Ryan Dunn
-former First Lady Betty Ford
-Brady Bunch creator
Sherwood Schwartz
-Grass Roots lead singer and guitarist Rob Grill
-Grammy award-winning singer Amy Winehouse
-America lead singer Dan Peek, who eventually
became a Christian pop star
-sports radio talker Papa Joe Chevalier
-football and movie star Bubba Smith
-another "Grease" star, Annette Charles
-Warrant lead singer Jany Lane
-songwriter Jerry Lieber, who wrote a ton of tunes
with Mike Stoller
-songwriter Nick Ashford, who also wrote a ton of
hits with wife Valarie Simpson
-Jimmy Kimmel's uncle, Frank Potenza
-Oscar-winning actor Cliff Robertson, aka "Uncle
Ben" from the recent Spider-Man movies
-Walter Mondale's daughter and radio talker
Eleanor Mondale
-Bob Hope's wife, Delores Hope
-Ziggy creator
Tom Wilson
-Ted Kennedy's daughter, Kara Kennedy
-legendary R&B singer and producer Sylvia
Robinson, who was also called the "Grandmother of
Rap Music" as the owner of Sugar Hill Records
-Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs
-actor Charles Napier
-Indy 500 winner Don Wheldon
-British TV legend Jimmy Savile
-GWAR's "Flattus Maximus", Cory Smoot
-60 Minutes commentator
Andy Rooney
-another former Playboy
model and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"
star Cynthia Myers
-boxer Smokin' Joe Frazier
-rapper Heavy D.
-The Family
Circus creator Bil Keane
-"Pac-Man Fever" singer Gary Garcia of Bruckner
and Garcia
-retail pioneer Fred Meijer
-1970's porn legend Andrea True, also known for
the 1976 disco smash "More, More More"
-comic Patrice O'Neal
-Rowan and
Martin's Laugh-In regular Alan Sues
-MASH
star Harry Morgan
-"Drift Away" singer Dobie Gray
-writer Christopher Hitchens
-radio talker Lynn Samuels
-Saturday Night
Live and The Kids in the Hall writer Joe
Bodolai
-and rock bands White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem and
REM
THE UGLY:
*the horrific shooting in Tucson that involved
Gabby Giffords
*Arnold Schwarzenegger
*the shooting rampage in Grand Rapids that left
seven dead
*Penn State scandal
*The Kardashians
*Jersey Shore
*Republicans
*Rick Snyder
*Lindsay Lohan
*the 1%
12.30.11
FINSTER
FIRED
Popular WKLT morning man
let go; no reason given
On Wednesday afternoon, "Finster", the other half of
WKLT 97.5/98.9 Traverse City's morning show, was
fired. No reason was given for his dismissal, but
understanding KLT's long and storied history,
budgetary concerns might have played a role.
Finster's partner, "Omelette", is still on board;
the show is now called "Omelette and Friends".
What might be tragic in all this is the fact that
Omelette and Finster's ratings have been pretty
good; I heard that they're in first place in the
morning ratings, even beating out The Bear's syndied
stalwarts Bob and Tom. But then again, this is KLT
we're talking about. Tim Murphy had ratings and was
shown the door. Same situation with the late Jim
Ellis. They've forever treated their jocks - with
the possible exception of Terri Ray - like
underwear. Yet, they're always near the top of the
ratings, no matter what they do.
True, I wasn't much of an O&F fan. They were
Stern clones by having their own Wack Pack called
"The Misfits" and even donating to a no-kill animal
shelter ala North Shore Animal League. But still,
Finster's a human and has a family to feed.
All I can say is that I hope Finster can land on his
feet. Once again, Northern Broadcast, a company
known for one abortion after the other, has its head
up its ass.
END-OF-YEAR
ALEXA.COM RADIO RATINGS: DETROIT
89X still tops, but there's
a Grand Rapids surprise
Now, it's time to rank Detroit's radio stations by
their websites' Alexa.com ratings.
(Current ranking/July 2011 ranking/station name,
format, format, etc/Alexa rating (green is an
increase, red
is a decrease within three months)
1-1
|
CIMX "89X"
Alternative
|
169,806
|
2-2
|
WRIF 101.1
Rock
|
309,163
|
3-3
|
WKQI "Channel
9-5-5" CHR
|
328,203
|
4-6
|
WJR 760
News-Talk
|
583,906
|
5-5
|
WJLB 97.9
Urban
|
615,167
|
6-4
|
WGPR "Hot
107.5" Urban (the new WGPR is the old WHTD
102.7)
|
660,373
|
7-7
|
CKLW 800 Talk
|
678,816
|
8-11
|
WCSX 94.7
Classic Rock
|
744,012
|
9-17
|
WMGC "Soft
Rock 105.1" AC
|
777,547
|
10-10
|
WDVD 96.3 Hot
AC
|
810,170
|
11-13
|
CHYR 96.7 Hot
AC
|
1,179,013
|
12-8
|
WDFN 1130
Sports
|
1,323,685
|
13-25
|
WDTW 1310
Liberal Talk
|
1,329,546
|
14-9
|
WDMK "Kiss
105.9" Urban AC
|
1,346,550
|
15-14
|
WMXD "Mix
92.3" Urban AC
|
1,807,036
|
16-U
|
WWJ 950 News
|
1,854,360
|
17-12
|
WMUZ "103.5
The Light" Christian
|
2,638,039
|
18-22
|
WDTK
"NewsTalk 1400"
|
3,172,128
|
19-U
|
WDTW-FM
"106.7 The D" Classic Rock (formerly
Rhythmic AC "106.7 The Beat", which was #20
in July)
|
3,616,554
|
20-24
|
CIDR "93.9
The River" AAA
|
3,722,801
|
21-21
|
WDRQ "Doug
93.1" Variety Hits
|
4,372,087
|
22-15
|
CKWW 580
Oldies
|
5,435,439
|
23-U
|
WPZR "Praise
102.7" Gospel
|
5,669,044
|
24-U
|
WPON 1460
(actually on WCXI 1160) Brokered Oldies
|
5,834,955
|
25-U
|
WCAR 1090
Talk
|
6,782,989
|
26-31
|
WGPR-HD2
107.5 "104.7 The Oasis" Smooth Jazz
|
6,796,517
|
27-30
|
WXYT "97.1
The Ticket" Sports
|
7,575,801
|
28-23
|
WLQV 1500
Christian Talk
|
12,113,773
|
29-29
|
WYCD 99.5
Country
|
22,015,860
|
30-27
|
W232CA
94.3/WGPR-HD3 107.5 "94.3 The Bone"
Alternative
|
22,846,754
|
NOT RANKED
WDZH "AMP 98.7" CHR
WNIC "Fresh 100" Hot AC
WOMC 104.3 Classic Hits
WCHB 1200 Urban Talk
CKUE "95.1 The Rock"
*Once again 89X is #1 for all internet radio fans in
Detroit. However, there's one slight embarrassment
regarding 89X being on top, and it's the the fact
that their ranking, 169,806 is actually lower than
that of WGRD Grand Rapids' 136,126. A station in The
D at #1 getting beaten out by a smaller market
station. In the words of Nelson Muntz: "HA! HA!"
*Well, it looks like the novelty of The Bone is
drying up. With its weak signal and lack of
promotion, will it last another year?
*Meanwhile, its sister station, The Oasis did see a
slight rise in the ratings, possibly due to the fact
that their translator at 104.7 is gone.
*New and better signal or not, the new Hot 107.5 -
formerly at 102.7 - went down a touch.
*Three of Detroit's FM heavyweights - AMP 98.7,
Fresh 100 WNIC and WOMC didn't make the list. Will
there be changes soon?
*The new WXYT 1270 didn't make the list, only
because I couldn't find a URL of their own.
Nonetheless, it'll be a ratings abortion, one way or
another.
PREDICTIONS FOR
2012:
*Arthur P.
WON'T reappear on 106.7 The D,
*WNIC will
remain Hot AC, but with tweaks,
*Billy Bush
will appear on WDVD,
*Clear Channel
will kill off WDTW 1310's Liberal Talk format
*The Bone will
cease operations
*AMP 98.7 will
be dead by Christmas 2012
2011 PREDICTIONS I WAS
RIGHT ON: ALL OF THEM!
*89X
and The Riff didn't change much (although Riff is
reacting somewhat to The D by adding in more
classic rock)
*WNIC's popularity is down thanks to their Hot AC
tweak
*The Beat is gone
*Channel 9-5-5 is kicking AMP to the curb
12.29.11
END-OF-YEAR
ALEXA.COM RADIO RATINGS: GRAND RAPIDS
GRD still leads; WSNX
shares same rating with WFUR
Like we did yesterday with Traverse City, we ranked
Grand Rapids' radio stations by their websites'
Alexa.com ratings.
(Current ranking/July 2011 ranking/station name,
format, format, etc/Alexa rating (green is an
increase, red
is a decrease within three months)
1-1
|
WGRD 97.9
Active Rock
|
136,126
|
2-2
|
WOOD
"NewsRadio 1300/106.9"
|
468,936
|
3-4
|
WHTC 1450
Talk
|
829,315
|
4-3
|
WBCT "B93"
Country
|
853,370
|
5-15
|
WSRW "Star
105.7" AC
|
1,080,614
|
6-14
|
WJQK "JQ 99"
Christian Contemporary
|
1,116,868
|
7-6
|
WTNR "Thunder
94.5" Country
|
1,253,590
|
8-12
|
WLHT "Channel
95-7" Hot AC
|
1,271,822
|
9-7
|
WBBL "107-3
The Ball" Sports
|
1,802,032
|
10-10
|
WFGR 98.7
Classic Hits
|
2,992,452
|
11-11
|
WPNW "1260
The Pledge" Conservative Talk
|
3,265,135
|
12-5
|
WHTS "105.3
Hot FM" CHR
|
3,483,536
|
13-U
|
WMAX "ESPN
96-1" Sports
|
3,671,606
|
14-9
|
WLAV 96.9
Classic Rock
|
3,902,060
|
15-19
|
WYVN "92.7
The Van" Classic Hits
|
4,011,320
|
16-20
|
WJRW 1340
Talk
|
4,854,964
|
17-16
|
WVFM 106.5
Variety Hits
|
5,723,307
|
18-8
|
WTRV "100.5
The River" Soft AC
|
7,280,379
|
19-17
|
WTKG 1230
Talk
|
8,467,393
|
20-18
|
WYGR "GR
1530" Urban
|
9,490,710
|
21-13
|
WBFX "101.3
The Fox" Rock
|
10,569,280
|
NOT RANKED
WLAW "92.5 The Outlaw" Country/Rock
WFUR 102.9/1570 Christian
WSNX 104.5 CHR
WNWZ "Funny 1410" Comedy - just flipped from Spanish
a few weeks ago
*OK, so it appears that Alexa apparently hates WSNX
or nobody cares about going to that station's
website anymore. Who knows?
*WGRD is #1 by a huge longshot (duh)
*Although it's now one of the most-critiqued
stations in town, Channel 95-7 has its internet fans
*The Fox is a big pile of shit nobody listens to, or
even go to their website
*Even though WFUR (finally) re-designed their
website and even introduced a new logo and now even
has webstreaming, it's practically polishing a big,
fat, ugly turd
PREDICTIONS FOR
2012:
*WGRD will still be #1 in the ratings
*Channel 95-7 will still be around with Kidd
Kraddick in the morning
*Cumulus will replace Thunder 94.5 with a re-launch
of KLQ; they might even convince Bill Walters to
return, but they'll make a mistake by getting Lex
and Terry to do mornings
*WFUR will still be a non-factor
*Hot FM will get Billy Bush for nights
*"Huge" Bill Simonson will still be around at the
end of the year
*Matt Hanlon will weasel his way back up to top
management at Townsquare
*Sean Terpstra will be back to being Sean Baligan's
sidekick full-time
*WTKG will still be an abortion
*Funny 1410 will get no ratings
2011 PREDICTIONS I
WAS RIGHT ON:
*GRD's still #1
*and sadly, that's it...
12.28.11
END-OF-YEAR
ALEXA.COM RADIO RATINGS: NORTHERN MICHIGAN
KLT still boss, WCCW, WSRT
MIA
For those who don't know what Alexa.com is, it's
that website owned by Amazon.com that measures the
popularity of websites.With Arbitron still
embargoing the ratings for northern Michigan radio
after all these years, at least we can still know
how popular their websites are.
So, here goes:
(Current ranking/July 2011 ranking/station name,
format, format, etc/Alexa rating (green is an
increase, red
is a decrease within three months)
1-3
|
WKLT
97.5/98.9 "The Rock Station"
|
1,561,672
|
2-1
|
WTCM
"NewsTalk 580"
|
4,780,200
|
3-12
|
WGFN/WCKC
98.1/107.1 and WLJZ/WAVC 94.5/93.9 "The
Bear" Classic Rock |
4,843,302 |
4-9
|
WGFM/WJZJ
"Real Rock 105 and 95-5"
|
5,614,676
|
5-4
|
WKHQ "106
KHQ" CHR
|
5,660,244
|
6-7
|
WLXT "Lite
96.3" AC
|
6,986,651
|
7-U
|
WJZQ "Z93"
CHR
|
7,104,039
|
8-2
|
WMKT 1270
"The Talk Station"
|
7,736,077
|
9-5
|
WJML
1110/1210 Talk |
8,971,574
|
10-17
|
WUPS 98.5
Classic Hits
|
9,314,630
|
11-6
|
WTCM-FM
103.5/93.5 Country
|
9,678,844
|
12-15
|
WLDR "Sunny
Country 101.9"
|
9,999,032
|
13-11
|
WFCX
"94.3/93.5 The Fox FM" Classic Hits
|
11,060,497
|
14-14
|
WCDY 107.9
Hot AC
|
11,873,848
|
15-U
|
WLXV "Mix 96"
Hot AC
|
15,003,871
|
16-U
|
WMKC 102.9
"Big Country"
|
15,777,166
|
17-U
|
WOUF "99.3
The Wolf" Rock
|
18,004,525
|
NOT RANKED
WBNZ "EZ Rock 92.3" - website no
longer exists
WMJZ
"Eagle 101.5" Variety Hits
WZTC "104.5 Bob FM" Variety Hits - no website yet
WSRT "106.7/105.5 You FM" Talk
WCCW-FM "Classic Hits 107.5"
WCCW "ESPN 1310"
WMBN "Unforgettable 1340" Standards
*Even though they don't stream, WKLT rules the radio
roost up north. Even The Bear and Real Rock - both
sisters - saw huge gains. Even 99.3 The Wolf, a
station that hasn't updated their website in months,
plus their web stream has also been down for months
as well, showed up on the list. A wonderful book for
Rock indeed.
*Wow! Z93, once left for dead is on the list this
time. I think part of it's due to the fact that
their webstream actually works on cell phones.
*Talk tumbled this time around, but it won't this
time next year with the elections. You FM fell off
the list altogether.
*Even though they've updated their website and even
the station itself, WCCW-FM was AWOL from the list.
IMHO, WCCW was the most-improved station of 2011.
I'm very happy that they canned their outdated
"OldiesRadio" image and even the fact that they
eliminated all satellite-fed programming from the
station. The station can run live and local on its
own without some fake jock from Colorado pretending
to sound local.
PREDICTIONS FOR
2012:
*You FM will become more liberal
*The Fox FM, now with Rich Nadeau at the helm will
add more 90's to the playlist and will try to
recapture the sound it once had when Mark Elliott
was running it
*Northern Broadcast will return streaming to at
least KLT
*KHQ will add Billy Bush nights and Ryan Seacrest
middays
*No changes at any of the country stations or even
KLT
*Real Rock 105/95-5 will ditch Jay Roberts and go
local nights
*The Bear will hire Finster for middays
2011 PREDICTIONS I
WAS RIGHT ON:
*Neither
the Country stations or KLT changed much
*Ed Schultz was canned on WJML, but hasn't surfaced
anywhere else, at least yet
11.18.11
KEVIN
MATTHEWS CANNED FROM LAV
Plus, WNWZ flips to Comedy
Wow. Within the past few weeks, radio's become fun
again.
Sadly, not in a positive way.
On Thursday, Kevin Matthews announced on his
Facebook page that he had been let go from 97
LAV-FM. He had been holding down mornings on the
Classic Rock station for six years. Effective
immediately, mornings are now handled by LAV vet
Tony Gates and Michelle McKormick.
The Warwick Davis lookalike originally worked at
LAV in the 1980's, but was lured away by a station
in St. Louis. Then, it was off to Chicago, where
he worked at WLUP, WXCD (now WLS-FM) and Howard
Stern affiliate WCKG 105.9. Due to getting fired
from poor ratings in later years, he ended up
doing internet radio broadcasts declaring Chicago
radio "dead".
In 2005, he came back to LAV, despite morning man
Tony Gates getting good ratings. However, LAV's
ratings have been sliding these past few years,
especially due to WGRD's Free Beer and Hot Wings
in the morning. Matthews also announced in 2008
that he's battling Multiple Sclerosis, limiting
his schedule.
Matthews even created shockwaves in December when
Citadel fired WMMQ 94.9 Lansing morning man Rich
Michaels to syndicate his show to that station.
However, the move didn't last long; just a few
weeks ago, Cumulus lifted the show from 'MMQ and
is back to doing a local show in the morning.
Michaels is now hosting a talk show in Miami using
his real name, Rich Minaya.
With WLAV parent Citadel Media being sold to
Cumulus a few months ago, they've been doing some
housecleaning. The biggie so far has been GM Matt
Hanlon not being included in the merger deal; he's
now VP of Advertising for WGRD parent Townsquare
Media.Without a doubt, there could be more changes
to come.
Oh, and it appears that the daily radio program
hosted by Verve Pipe lead singer Brian Vander Ark
is off LAV, too.
In a way Matthews' firing is no surprise to many.
He was one of Hanlon's stable of has-beens and
big-market rejects - ie Dave and Geri, Michael
Grey, Ron and Don, and oh, yes, HUUUUUGE - that he
felt could bring in the ratings for his stations.
While many felt that Matthews' show was a welcome
addition to LAV, many felt that he was nothing
more than a tool for Hanlon, who made him Director
of Program Development at Citadel and the PD of
92.5 The Outlaw.
But, in the end, it's up to Cumulus to fix many
of Hanlon's mistakes, and Matthews was one of
them. I don't know the guy personally and I feel
bad that he's battling MS, but Kevin has seen
better days. Will he work in radio again? Only
time will tell. However, I don't think it'll be in
Grand Rapids. Chicago? Maybe. Who knows? Mancow's
daytimer might be looking for folks.
But of course, there's the trillion-dollar
question: is Huge next on the chopping block?
That's a good question. Bear in mind that
Simonson's syndicated, albeit to a bunch of
smaller stations that otherwise air programming
from ESPN, Fox Sports or Yahoo! Sports Radio (the
former Sporting News Radio/One On One Sports). If
Huge gets the shaft, it's no big deal. It's the
Red Wings and Lions that are keeping WBBL alive,
not that fat ass. I'll betcha that even without
Sean and Killer, Ryan Terpstra on 96.1 ESPN get
maul the fat one back to Sparta.
--
Speaking of funny (but true), yes, WNWZ 1410 is
now all Comedy as "Funny 1410". The station
launched sometime after 11 a.m. Monday morning (it
was off the air for some reason). The Townsquare
Media station was previously Regional Mexican "La
Maquina Musical" and was the first 24/7 Spanish
station in town. However, with two other stations
in town reaching the Spanish audience, 24-hour
WMFN 640 and daytimer WMJH 810 and Grand Rapids
only having a 7% Spanish audience, the flip was
made. Oddly enough, WMFN aired some Comedy when it
was talk several years ago. 1410's flip to Comedy
was made weeks before this year's LaughFest, which
is scheduled to feature Whoopi Goldberg and
Sinbad. IMO, it might not be a huge ratings
grabber, so who knows?
--
11.11.11
NORTHERN
STAR SELLS BACK TO REYNOLDS
NSB exits radio at a loss
Within the next few weeks, Traverse City-based
Northern Star Broadcasting will be no more.
The company, which owns northern Michigan radio
stations Real Rock 105/95-5, The Bear
98.1/107.1/94.5/93.9, Big Country 102.9 and tiny
WCBY 1240 Cheboygan has agreed to pull out of the
unprofitable world of radio altogether by selling
those stations to the man they bought them from in
1998, Del Reynolds.
Yep! Del Reynolds is back to being a player in
northern Michigan radio again after years of playing
engineer and even starting up a Christian station in
Mackinaw City that eventually ended up 1) kicking
him out due to insider politics and 2) getting sold
to Interlochen. Already, Del and his wife Mary are
employed at NSB as VP of Operations/Programming and
GM/VP of Sales/Marketing/Promotions, respectively.
Reynolds has been called one of northern Michigan's
most-beloved broadcasters, starting at WIDG St.
Ignace in the late 60's as a teenager to eventually
owning that station, plus the stations he sold in
1998. However, he sold those stations to what was
Calibre Communications, which was based in Chicago
and run by a man named David Gariano. The deal fell
through, but a new company was formed to take over
the Reynolds stations: Northern Star Broadcasting.
When NSB finally purchased the stations in 1998,
they paid $7 million.
However, it's been a rocky ride for NSB. They also
purchased a boatload of stations in the UP, ran them
into the ground, and sold them to Sovereign
Communications for way less then what they paid for
them. In the case for their northern Michigan
sticks, it's been the same. For an example: in 2000,
The Bear was beating the crap out of KLT in the
mornings with Bob and Tom, The Zone (pretty much
what's now Real Rock) was finally finding its voice
by eliminating chick pop for real Modern Rock and
Big Country was holding its own. A decade later, The
Bear is now an average classic rocker with B&T
getting pummeled by KLT's Omelette and Finster in
the ratings, Real Rock has music stability issues
and Big Country is, well, Big Country. Plus, they
only recently finally got the embarrassment known as
WIHC 97.9 Newberry off their hands, selling it to a
ministry for $150,000.
In the end, NSB sold their stations back to Reynolds
for a whopping $1.8 million.
But then again, I don't blame NSB for selling back
to Reynolds. After all, the economy - especially in
northern Michigan - sucks and if I owned a radio
station up north, I'd have headaches, too.
God only knows what Del and Mary have in store, but
for starters, he already owns a new station in
Cheboygan, WQEZ 97.7, which is stunting with
Christmas music. What will happen to the rest of his
stations will be exciting to watch after the
holidays, especially since when he sold out to
Calibre/NSB, they made many changes here and there
(ie their infamous "K-Garth" stunt when they flipped
KC Country to Big Country, or when they flipped
Smooth Jazz "Coast FM" to The Zone).
One thing I do remember is when Calibre flipped
Coast FM to The Zone, Del was pissed since it was
run off a satellite and it made money with upscale
advertisers. Will this mean the end for Real Rock?
Heck, The Bear's seen better days. Who knows?
But one thing's for certain: a radio station owner's
like a magician: they never tell.
7.7.11
MID-YEAR
ALEXA.COM RADIO RATINGS: DETROIT
Despite new competition,
89X still rules
(current ranking/December 2010 ranking/station
name/Alexa ranking)
DETROIT ALEXA.COM RATINGS - JULY 2011
| 1-1 |
CIMX 88.7 "89X" Alternative |
181,330
|
| 2-2 |
WRIF 101.1 Rock |
230,011
|
| 3-3 |
WKQI "Channel 9-5-5" CHR |
288,035
|
| 4-7 |
WHTD "Hot 102.7" Urban |
502,946
|
| 5-12 |
WJLB 97.9 Urban |
657,116
|
| 6-5 |
WJR 760 News/Talk |
705,693
|
| 7-10 |
CKLW 800 Canadian News/Talk |
748,008
|
| 8-4 |
WDFN 1130 "The Fan" Sports |
882,127
|
| 9-14 |
WDMK "Kiss 105.9" Urban AC |
886,175
|
| 10-8 |
WDVD 96.3 Hot AC |
891,694
|
| 11-11 |
WCSX 94.7 Classic Rock |
917,018
|
| 12-16 |
WMUZ 103.5 Christian Contemporary |
1,263,280
|
| 13-20 |
CHYR "Mix 96.7" Hot AC |
1,320,037
|
| 14-13 |
WMXD "Mix 92.3" Urban AC |
1,638,889
|
| 15-18 |
CKWW 580 Oldies |
1,778,902
|
| 16-6 |
WNIC 100.3 "Fresh 100" Hot AC |
2,182,174
|
| 17-9 |
WMGC "Magic 105.1" AC |
2,296,597
|
| 18-24 |
WGPR 107.5 Urban AC |
2,770,018
|
| 19-30 |
CKUE 95.1 "The Rock" |
3,050,277
|
| 20-21 |
WDTW-FM 106.7 "The Beat of Detroit"
Rhythmic AC |
3,179,606
|
| 21-26 |
WDRQ 93.1 "Doug FM" Variety Hits |
3,226,321
|
| 22-15 |
WDTK 1400 Conservative Talk |
3,711,830
|
| 23-27 |
WLQV 1500 Christian Talk |
5,006,121
|
| 24-19 |
CIDR "93.9 The River" AAA |
5,021,797
|
| 25-31 |
WDTW 1310 Liberal Talk |
5,933,303
|
| 26-17 |
WOMC 104.3 Classic Hits |
6,688,644
|
| 27-U |
WGPR-HD3 107.5 "94.3 The Bone" Modern
Rock |
7,474,434
|
| 28-22 |
WRDT 560 "The Word" Christian Talk |
7,841,649
|
| 29-29 |
WYCD 99.5 Country |
11,334,614
|
| 30-23 |
WXYT-FM/AM 97.1/1270 "The Ticket" Sports |
11,373,742
|
| 31-U |
WGPR-HD2 107.5 "104.7 The Oasis" Smooth
Jazz |
12,066,322
|
| 32-28 |
WDZH "Amp 98.7" CHR |
16,240,758
|
red -
decrease in rank (3 mos.)
green - increase in
rank (3 mos.)
NOT RATED
WWJ 950 News
WCHB 1200 Urban Talk
WPON 1460 Brokered (station is currently dark)
*Despite a new arrival in 94.3 The Bone, 89X is
still the top internet radio site in Detroit. Riff
and Channel 9-5-5 maintained, although
there's some wild and wacky moves in the ratings.
*The Bone and The Oasis were the newcomers this
time around, and both stations didn't do *too* bad
considering their weak signals. Heck, both station
have bigger Alexa rankings than most of the
stations in northern Michigan. However, I do
wonder what impact having new (and
all female) jocks will have on The Bone. Only
Christmas will tell...
*All talk stations lost ground, but the gap
between ultra-conservative WDTK and ultra-liberal
WDTW is narrowing.
*I guess no country fans in Detroit have
computers, and neither does Amp's listeners.
*Looks like WNIC flipping to Hot AC wasn't a
good idea, and neither is having a logo that looks
like a woman's toilet during her period.
Our next ratings will be out this Christmas.
7.6.11
MID-YEAR
ALEXA.COM RADIO RATINGS: GRAND RAPIDS
GRD still rules, SNX
crumbles
(current ranking/December 2010 ranking/station
name/Alexa ranking)
GRAND RAPIDS ALEXA.COM RATINGS - JULY
2011
| 1-1 |
WGRD 97.9 Active Rock |
398,299
|
| 2-2 |
WOOD NewsRadio 1300/106.9 |
456,923
|
| 3-4 |
WBCT 93.7 "B93" Country |
539,713
|
| 4-3 |
WHTC 1450 Talk |
619,023
|
| 5-6 |
WHTS 105.3 "Hot FM" CHR |
1,212,631
|
| 6-5 |
WTNR "Thunder 94.5" Country |
1,300,306
|
| 7-12 |
WBBL 107.3 "The Ball" Sports |
1,330,470
|
| 8-24 |
WTRV 100.5 "The River" AC |
1,660,212
|
| 9-13 |
WLAV 96.9 Classic Rock |
1,729,378
|
| 10-9 |
WFGR 98.7 Classic Hits |
1,893,356
|
| 11-17 |
WPNW 1260 "The Pledge" Conservative Talk |
2,303,221
|
| 12-10 |
WLHT "Channel 95-7" Hot AC |
2,351,933
|
| 13-22 |
WBFX 101.3 "The Fox" Rock |
2,727,663
|
| 14-16 |
WJQK 99.3 "JQ99" Christian Contemporary |
3,730,174
|
| 15-8 |
WSRW "Star 105.7" AC |
4,246,724
|
| 16-15 |
WVFM 106.5 Variety Hits |
4,939,045
|
| 17-14 |
WTKG 1230 Talk |
7,129,384
|
| 18-23 |
WYGR 1530 "The Force" Urban AC |
8,244,991
|
| 19-11 |
WYVN 92.7 "The Van" Classic Hits |
8,538,149
|
| 20-19 |
WJRW 1340 Talk |
9,250,100
|
| 21-21 |
WNWZ 1410 "La Maquina Musical"
Spanish |
10,746,096
|
| 22-20 |
WLAW 92.5 "The Outlaw" Country/Rock |
13,801,743
|
| 23-7 |
WSNX 104.5 CHR |
18,026,250
|
red - decrease in
rank (3 mos.)
green - increase in rank
(3 mos.)
NOT RANKED
WMAX "ESPN 96.1" Sports
WFUR 102.9/1570 Christian Music/Talk
*Don't get me wrong, but I think Alexa.com is
just like Arbitron in a sense, especially when it
comes to rankings. Maybe sometimes, it forgets
about a website and doesn't measure it properly.
Who knows? Just ask WSNX.
*Once again, GRD and WOOD hog the top spots with
B93 inching up to #2. I'll betcha that WHTC has
quite a cult following, especially since that
little 1KW peashooter has a bigger internet
following than any station in northern Michgian.
They do stream live, and they have a daily
"Trading Post" show which airs daily 11:30 a.m. to
noon (paging Richard and Sal).
*Bear in mind that this list was compiled long
after the holidays. Faintly, Star 105.7 and The
River traded places.
*It amazes me that Arbitron says that unranked
WMAX ESPN 96.1 has better ratings than WBBL, but
Alexa says otherwise regarding their websites.
Maybe people would rather look at "Huge" Bill
Simonson than to hear him.
*101.3 The Fox rebounded, but they're still GRD's
bitch.
*WOOD is still doing well with its FM/AM
simulcast, but sister WTKG tumbled a bit. Sadlym I
doubt if Brian Kilmeade will be that station's
savior.
*Speaking of saviors, where's WFUR? Then again,
judging by their website, no wonder why nobody
listens to that station. They're lucky that WCSG
wasn't on the list since it's a non-comm (they
would be 10th place if they were playing
commercials).
Tomorrow, we'll look at Detroit.
7.5.11
MID-YEAR
ALEXA.COM RADIO RATINGS: NORTHERN MICHIGAN
With the Arbitrons still
embargoed, somebody's gotta tell the
truth about radio up north
Since it appears that
somebody in northern Michigan's still not
purchasing the Arbitron ratings, we gotta use
the alternative, which is Alexa.com, which
measures traffic on websites. With more and more
cell phones with internet capabilities these
days, local radio now competes even more with
Sirius/XM, Pandora and Slacker and even stations
from other localities.
So, here's how northern
Michigan radio's doing this time around:
(current ranking/December 2010 ranking/station
name/Alexa ranking)
NORTHERN MICHIGAN ALEXA.COM RATINGS -
JULY 2011
| 1-3 |
WTCM "Newstalk 580" |
3,836,120
|
| 2-11 |
WMKT 1270 "The Talk Station" |
4,043,145
|
| 3-1 |
WKLT 97.5/98.9 "The Rock Station" |
4,238,715
|
| 4-5 |
WKHQ 105.9 "106 KHQ" CHR |
4,390,926
|
| 5-2 |
WJML 1110/1210 News/Talk |
4,754,846
|
| 6-4 |
WTCM-FM 103.5/93.5 Country |
4,924,740
|
| 7-10 |
WLXT "Lite 96" AC |
6,838,796
|
| 8-12 |
WSRT 106.7/105.5 "You FM" Talk |
8,205,916
|
| 9-U |
WGFM "Real Rock 105/95.5" |
9,189,920
|
| 10-8 |
WCCW-FM "Classic Hits 107.5" |
10,649,735
|
| 11-6 |
WFCX "94.3/92.5 The Fox FM" Classic
Hits |
10,803,045
|
| 12-U |
WGFN 98.1/107.1 (west northern
Michigan) WLJZ 94.5/93.9 (east northern
Michigan) "The Bear" Classic Rock |
12,933,183
|
| 13-U |
WMBN 1340 Adult Standards |
13,537,916
|
| 14-U |
WCDY 107.9 Hot AC |
14,957,300
|
| 15-U |
WLDR "Sunny Country 101.9" |
15,648,211
|
| 16-U |
WBNZ "EZ Rock 92.3" AC |
20,194,442
|
| 17-7 |
WUPS 98.5 Classic Hits |
22,464,054
|
| 18-9 |
WCCW "ESPN 1310" Sports |
23,814,013
|
red - decrease in
rank (3 mos.)
green - increase in rank
(3 mos.)
NOT RANKED
WTWS
"92.1 The Twister" Country
WJZQ 92.9 "Z93" CHR
WLXV "Mix 96" Hot AC
WOUF "99.3 The Wolf" Rock
WMJZ "101.5 The Eagle" Variety Hits
WMKC "Big Country 102.9"
*This was another great
book for news/talk with WTCM leading the pack.
WMKT also did remarkably well despite what I
feel is one of the weakest talk line-ups in the
state. I think part of it's due to the presence
of Vic McCarty, the former sports anchor at
local NBC affiliate WPBN 7&4. Only WJML lost
ranking, possibly because of Ed Schultz's demise
and Glenn Beck's decline in popularity. WSRT
also grew in ranking, but they're still dead
last in the talk department despite being on two
FM stations.
*Despite their web stream -
along with sisters WFCX and WSRT's
streams - disappearing, WKLT is the top
rocker up north. Part of it's also because they
do podcast their morning show, Omelette and
Finster. They've even recently unveiled a mobile
version of their website, one of the first in
northern Michigan to do so. However, despite
making the list this time, Real Rock 105/95.5 is
still exactly mid-pack in the ratings. I would
like to see KLT get toppled by Real Rock in
the ratings, but as long as 1) they keep their
listeners entertained one minute and
disenfranchised the next by seguing
Rage Against the Machine into Molly
Hatchet, 2) they farm out their night and
overnight jocks from Omaha, 3) they're
ALWAYS late regarding adding new music and 4)
they have a PD/midday jock who sounds like
Ashton Kutcher and looks like Chaz Bono, ain't
gonna happen.
*It's nice that The Bear
rebounded. Thank God they got rid of Tom Devit -
er, Tommy Mayhem, but I think their glory days
are over. Bob and Tom are too old and their
music mix is, well, old too. KLT does a
much-better job since O&F are local and
their Traverse City signal's better. As for The
Wolf, I think they're toast. The station gets no
promotion, their playlist is virtually the same
as it was two years ago, their website's never
updated and when I was up the weekend before
July 4th, their music kept pausing. Oh, and
their webstream hasn't worked in weeks. If I
were that station, I'd flip it to a modern rock
format ala The Zone prior to its flip to Real
Rock. It's amazing how many albums groups like
Florence and the Machine and Mumford and Sons
have sold and yet, nobody up north is playing
them.
*KHQ's still doing quite
well, but Z93's a joke. From what I've heard,
their morning show blows and their imaging isn't
as good as KHQ's. They are pushing themselves
more towards the gay crowd since I heard they
did a Lady Gaga promotion at SideTraxx and they
do air Perez Hilton's countdown on Sunday
mornings (opposite Ryan Seacrest's American
Top 40 on KHQ). Could they be drifting
more towards a 106.7 The Beat of Detroit-like
format in the future? Who knows.
*WTCM-FM naturally leads
the Country pack and WLDR made the list this
time. But where's Big Country? Maybe people
could care less about that Big D and Bubba
show...
*Lite 96 rebounded, and
WBNZ was spotted on the list as well. The only
true major change in the list from last time was
WCCW-FM changing from "Oldies 107.5" to "Classic
Hits 107.5". They even FINALLY replaced their
aging "OldiesRadio" liners and jingles (part of
it's due to a new GM). But new coat of paint or
not, both WCCW and rival WFCX were both flat
(and neither stream).
Tomorrow, we'll analyze
Grand Rapids radio and on Wednesday, Detroit.
4.25.11
DETROIT
GETS A NEW ROCK STATION... KINDA
Will the new 94.3 The
Bone break a one share?
For years, rock fans in
Detroit have been wanting a breath of fresh
air in their selections for rock radio.
When it came to new rock,
Detroiters could choose between 101.1 WRIF or
88.7 CIMX - 89X out of Windsor. But, both
stations have seen their fair share of
shortcomings: The Riff plays an abundance of
classic rock from the 60's, 70's and 80's
while 89X is an alternative rocker forced to
abide by the dreaded CanCon rules, forcing
them to air at least 20% Canadian content to
please the government.
Detroit has some big
companies running their stations: WRIF is
owned by Greater Media while 89X is owned by
Bell Media. Clear Channel owns a lot of
stations in the area, but they're not
interested it seems in giving Detroiters
another choice for rock, especially since
106.7 The Drive was a dud (and for absolute
good reason). CBS ran 97.1 K-Rock/Extreme
Radio into the ground years ago, and don't
even ask Radio One for their help.
Hard to believe it, but
Detroit had some great, kick-ass hard and
alternative stations back in the day: 102.7
Z-Rock, K-Rock, Planet 96.3 and The Edge
@105dotone. Sadly, low ratings and revenue
killed these stations, and The Riff and 89X -
both founded in 1971 and 1989 respectively -
have been the sole survivors after all these
years.
Until now.
Last week, an upstate New
York-based company, Martz Communications
started two small stations in the Detroit
market: 104.7 The Oasis and 94.3 The Bone.
While The Oasis is satellite-fed smooth jazz,
The Bone is an automated modern rocker,
spinning tunes that cover both active and
alternative genres. Some of the artists The
Bone plays include Foo Fighters, KoRn, Rise
Against, Black Keys, Florence and the Machine
and yes, Kid Rock.
What makes 94.3 The Bone
even more special is the fact that they're not
afraid to take shots against both Riff and
89X. As a matter of fact, their website is
(drumroll please) www.89xsucks.com.
www.wrifsucks.com exists, too, but it goes to
Greater Media's Detroit cluster's website. On
the air and their website, The Bone attacks
89X for the fact that they're technically a
Canadian station by law. Even their website
screams America, too, with pictures of young
models draped in American flags and bikinis.
But there's one huge
problem with The Bone: good luck getting their
signal.
You see, 94.3 The Bone is
by American law a translator station, relaying
the signal of another station. So, Martz
apparently went to the folks at WGPR and
leased their HD2 and 3 subchannels to run
their programming on. Apparently, WGPR, owned
by the black Freemason group, is cool with
having smooth jazz and alternative on their
station, especially since WGPR tried a smooth
jazz/R&B hybrid on their main signal a few
years ago. As for modern rock, bear in mind
that The Electrifyin' Mojo had Depeche Mode
and The B-52's on the 1's and 2's back in the
day.
Of course, I can't name a
single person who has an HD radio. Why even
bother having one when there's smartphones and
whatever doing a better job as-is with music?
As for 94.3 - whose call sign is the
crazy-sounding W232CA - they broadcast with a
whopping 99 watts. Plus, from what I've heard,
their transmitter is not in the best area to
broadcast a modern rock format in Detroit. On
one side, there's the ghetto and on the other
side, there's the affluent section with snobby
rich folks.
Tragically, even though
The Bone ain't too bad sounding and they have
a nice variety, this station's gonna be
another tragedy in the world of modern radio.
If it gets a .3 or .4 share, it'll be damn
lucky. Otherwise, the folks at Martz have
thrown their money away.
Starting a new rock
station in Detroit: it's a good idea... On
paper.
3.27.11
THE
RETURN OF THE METAL
After a long absence it
seemed, metal returns to Grand Rapids
Heavy Metal music, how I
missed you so.
On May 28, 2009, after
years of bad management and poor ratings,
Citadel Active Rocker WKLQ 107.3 was killed to
make way for the FM debut of Sports-talker
WBBL, which would finally abandon the AM band
for good when Chamber of Commerce Talker WJRW
debuted on August 20 after several months of
finishing off their contract with ESPN, which
moved to Clear Channel's 96.1.
Since KLQ's departure,
Citadel's competitors have worked hard to
bring KLQ's disenfranchised audience over to
their stations. Clear Channel started adding
more 90's and 2000's recurrents over on
Classic Rocker 101.3 The Fox, only to see it
become a ratings joke. Meanwhile, the big
winner is Townsquare Media's WGRD 97.9, which
not only scored a winner with the Free
Beer and Hot Wings show, but also
transitioned their format from a hit-based
Alternative Rock station to a mainstream
Active Rocker, even though they still play
some alt-rock faves, plus they still use the
slogan "Grand Rapids' Rock Alternative". Now
that they're the only radio station in town
playing new rock, GRD is now the #1 rock
station in town, and they've even had the
honor of being the #1 radio station in the
market a few times per Arbitron.
But, one thing was
missing from GRD: Metal.
One plus KLQ had over GRD
was the fact that they had a metal show. At
first, it was on Thursday nights at midnight (Metal
@ Midnight), and then it moved to
Sundays as The Metal Shop of Horrors.
But due to budget cuts, it was replaced with
Lou Brutus' Hardrive show. When KLQ
died its sick, sad pathetic death, the metal
went with it and Grand Rapids was left without
a station to grind with bands such as
Sepultura, Slayer, Otep and others.
But a few weeks ago, GRD
started to fetch metalheads a bone when they
added Full Metal Jackie to the air,
Sunday nights at 10 p.m. The show is hosted by
Jackie Kajzer, who has done metal shows on
radio for years. What's interesting to know is
the fact that the show's syndicated by
Envision Radio Networks, the same syndicator
of Free Beer and Hot Wings. While the
show is not local, it's proven that GRD's past
as the chick rock station of Grand Rapids is
long gone.
Metal isn't just making a
comeback on Grand Rapids radio, but the bar
scene as well. When I moved here to GR nearly
a decade ago, two places that had the balls to
do metal were Stooge's and Ten Bells. Places
like those would feature local bands, one of
them that was quite rememberable for me was
Sadomaschiochism, a dark death metal band with
songs such as "Worship the Dark" and others
that would scare the crap out of the west
Michigan Dutch establishment. But of course,
Stooge's became the gay bar Rumors and Ten
Bells was shut down by the city due to a lack
of tax payments and is now a Fraternal Order
of Police lodge.
Overall, I felt that the
bar scene of Grand Rapids was starting to
severely deteriorate in the past few years.
Most of the newer bars I've visited just
didn't do it for me, because of a lack of
crowds, good booze, location, music, people
and so on. I used to love going to the bars of
Eastown - Billy's and Mulligan's - but a black
dude named "Eddie" changed all that (I don't
want to tell THAT story for the 10,646,624th
time). The Meanwhile on Wealthy isn't too bad
since there's parking at the Wealthy Market
across the street and they have a great
selection of indie brews, but the place gets
crowded in an instant and most of their
customers tend to be, well, assholes. Plus,
one time, I was chased outside by of all
people, a fat black prostitute who kept crying
"I need a friend! Will you be my friend?"
Sorry, I'm not interested in getting AIDS
tonight. The downtown pubs - my fave being
Stella's - ain't bad unless you want to spend
two hours trying to get a good parking spot.
A few weeks ago, I went
to the Taproot concert at The Orbit Room and
there were flyers advertising a metal show for
last Saturday at the Whiskey Lounge. I
figured, "OK, I haven't been to a metal show
in ages", so I went. The last time I went to
the Whiskey some years back, I was beyond
disappointed. They did have a rock show that
night, or so they advertised it was. Turned
out that it was a fucking country band, and I
drove through ice and sleet to see them on a
Saturday night. Plus, the burrito they handed
me was the wrong one. Afterward, I read about
the crap that went on at the Whiskey, such as
the fact that it's in a bad neighborhood, just
a stone's throw away from the projects.
But, after giving the
Whiskey a grace period of a couple of years, I
gave them redemption. Not only were the bands
they had there excellent for the $5 cover, but
they had great drink specials and the Whiskey
Burger was to die for. The bands Sin Theorem
and Page 66 were great, especially Sin's cover
of "America, Fuck Yeah" from Team America:
World Police. Plus, unlike the
Meanwhile, the chicks there were flirty and
nice. Maybe the Mumford and Sons dried them up
vaginally, but who knows?
Even more, the waitress
at the Whiskey told me that Saturday nights
are now Metal nights. Ladies and gents, I now
have a favorite bar in Grand Rapids. Plenty of
parking, great bands, great food, great
people, and so on. I do wish that they carried
Short's Beer, though, but not all bars are
perfect. I wish them the best of luck.
Through rain, snow or
shine, Heavy Metal will never die.
2.23.11
NO MORE
OLDIES FOR WCCW
Northern Express ad
reveals new name/logo
If you have this week's issue of
Traverse City's Northern Express
newspaper, or at least look at it from their website, find
the ad for TCRW - Traverse City Restaurant Week.
On the sponsors section on the bottom of the ad,
the logo for WCCW 107.5 is shown.
But, it's not the logo that the station has had
for some 20 years, and it doesn't mention "Oldies
107.5".
That's right! WCCW is now joining the mass of
stations dumping that outdated phrase "Oldies" and
going with "Classic Hits". The new logo is the
phrase "107.5/Classic Hits" with "WCCW" over the
"107.5".
In fact, it kinda looks like this:
WCCW
107.5/Classic
Hits
(I know, if I could screen
capture the page, I could just copy the logo.)
Restaurant Week is next week, so could the
switchover from Oldies to Classic Hits happen
then? WCCW has been Oldies/Classic Hits since the
mid-80's as "92(.1) Gold" but when the station
moved to 107.5 in the early 90's it became "Oldies
107.5" and adopted their long-time logo. The
station's "OldiesRadio" jingles and sweepers have
been in use since 1996 when Ross Biederman's
Midwestern Broadcasting bought the station.
However, the station now has a new GM and it may
play a role in the changes.
2.18.11
CUMULUS TO
BUY OUT CITADEL
Deal to be worth $2.6
billion, virtually every radio market
south of US 10 in Michigan
The good news for us Stern fans is that the
nightmare known as Citadel Broadcasting is about
to end.
The bad news: it's gonna get bigger.
It was announced yesterday that Citadel
Broadcasting has agreed to be purchased by
Cumulus Media for $2.6 billion. The deal
would include Citadel's 243 radio stations,
Citadel Media (the old ABC Radio Network) and its
networks, such as the Michigan Talk Network.
Combined, the two companies would own a staggering
590 stations.
Here in Michigan, both companies have a massive
presence; if the merger gets completed, Traverse
City will be the only rated radio market in the
whole state where the new company won't have any
stations. In all, 39 radio stations will be
affected by the merger, including seven more in
Toledo.
Here in Grand Rapids, Citadel owns Thunder 94.5,
97 WLAV, 105.3 Hot FM, 107.3 WBBL and 1340 WJRW,
plus several more in the Muskegon area. Cumulus,
on the other hand, owns several stations in the
Kalamazoo and Battle Creek area.
As many of us Stern fans can recall, BOTH
companies are VERY anti-Stern because when he was
on terrestrial radio, they yanked him off the air.
When Cumulus bought up a bunch of stations in the
early 2000's, some carried the Stern show and
almost immediately took him off the air. One
market was Toledo where they not only took off the
successful hard Alternative format of 106.5 The
Buzz, but they flipped the station to a more
mainstream sound almost ala 104.7 WIOT called Rock
106. When Stern was canned, they replaced him with
the ill-fated Lex and Terry. Eventually, Cumulus
abandoned the format due to poor ratings. After a
stint as Modern Rocker The Zone, it's now Sports.
Hmmmm.... Could this mean that HUUUUUUGE might be
coming to that station?
Let's not forget that this is the same Cumulus
who banned The Dixie Chicks from their station
just because of Natalie Maines' Bush-bashing just
after the War on Iraq began. Thanks to their
decision, many other Country stations have
followed suit.
Here in west Michigan sadly, I think that one of
the survivors of this merger will be good 'ol GM
Matt Hanlon since his formats are very
Cumulus-friendly (classic rock, country, stale
CHR, sports and talk). It's a good question
whether or not CEO Farid Suleman will survive the
ax, but between him and the Dickey family, it's a
slow race as to who's the better CEO.
Aren't you glad you're a subscriber to Sirius XM?
---
1.13.11
THE
NORTHERN MICHIGAN WISH-LIST: ONE YEAR LATER
So many has been
accomplished, yet so much more needs to be
accomplished
Over a year ago, Michael
Moore wrote an article in the Traverse City
Record-Eagle, asking people to get
involved in making the city better, not just for
its residents, but people who live there as kids
but move away due to the lack of jobs. His list
included making Northwestern Michigan College a
four-year school, finding ways to make things
cheaper and even improving the nightlife in the
city.
So far, some of Mike's
proposals have worked but there's a ways to go.
However, I created my own list, and I'm happy to
say that some inroads have been made. Let's look
at the proposals I've made and see where
northern Michigan stands a year later.
1) TRAVERSE CITY
NEEDS TO HAVE A RESTAURANT OPEN 24/7. Sadly,
STILL, at last check, only some of the fast food
joints and the casinos are doing it. Then again,
Traverse City ain't doing too well with
restaurants as-is. After all, with such places
as the Flap Jack Shack and Auntie Pasta's
closing, opening a new restaurant in the Cherry
Capitol's kinda iffy for now.
2) ELLSWORTH (AND
OTHER TOWNS THAT DON'T HAVE ONE) SHOULD
CONSIDER RE-OPENING THEIR GROCERY STORES AS
COMMUNITY-OWNED. The good news is
that Ellsowrth DOES have a grocery store again,
but it's not owned by the community. Instead,
it's owned by the same family that caused the
store to shut down originally almost 10 years
ago. It's hard to tell how they're doing, but it
better stay put.
3) NORTHERN
BROADCAST (OWNERS OF KLT, THE FOX AND YOU FM)
SHOULD SELL OUT, PLUS CONVERT YOU FM TO
PROGRESSIVE TALK. Sadly, NBI just
doesn't get it. KLT's their only ratings champ
while The Fox is too busy being a rip-off of
WCCW. The good news is that You FM does air
Stephanie Miller but made the huge mistake of
bringing in Dave Ramsey, Dr. Laura and a ton of
no-namers. Dr. Laura's gone, but does anybody really
listen to Dennis Miller?
4) TRAVERSE CITY
NEEDS A NEW MOVIE THEATRE TO REPLACE THEIR
SHITTY 1980'S PRE-STADIUM SEATING-ERA PILES OF
SHIT. Sadly, it ain't happening, at
least yet. I did hear a rumor that they
wanted to build a new theatre blocks from
downtown, but that was years ago. I guess for
now, TC is stuck with 19 screens of outdated
uncomfortness and pay the same price as those
who do here in Grand Rapids. But hey! The State
has a balcony. Does that count as stadium
seating?
I guess the moral is that
TC does have a way to go, but like I said,
inroads have been made. Besides, Rome wasn't
built in a day.
1.10.11
MORE BIG
CHANGES ON NORTHERN MICHIGAN TALK RADIO
WTCM ditches Bohannon,
Miller, Hunt goes daily
With four talk stations, northern Michigan's talk
radio situation just might be one of the
most-competitive of any market in the state.
Last Monday as the new year began, three out of
the four gabbers up north - WTCM 580, WMKT 1270
and 106.7 You FM - made some changes to their
schedules. The biggest change went to the
struggling You FM, which debuted last Spring,
which lost Dr. Laura to Sirius/XM. The station
gained several shows from WTCM, all from Westwood
One: First Light (6-7 a.m.), America
in the Morning (8-9 a.m.), Dennis Miller
(3-6 p.m.) and Jim Bohannon (10 p.m.-12 midnight).
Sans Dennis Miller, all the aforementioned shows
had been on WTCM since the 1990's.
America's Morning News loses two out of
its three hours (7-8 a.m.) and Jerry Doyle
(8-10 p.m.) and Lou Dobbs (midnight - 1
a.m.) lose an hour each.
As for 'TCM, they've ganked Wall Street
Journal This Morning (5-7 a.m.) from
WMKT and added Allen Hunt's growing show 9
p.m.-midnight. Mark Levin also gains an hour (now
6-9 p.m.) while Coast to Coast AM's
first hour from the night before is re-aired
midnight-1 a.m.
Quite possibly for the first time in the
station's history as a talker, ALL shows on WTCM
air live and its entirety. Not too shabby for a
radio station that just celebrated its 70th year
on the air and is still owned by the same family
that started it all those years ago. Not to
mention, unlike good 'ol WOOD here in Grand
Rapids, they still have five hours of local
programming daily.
Oh, and WTCM is also a proud supporter of many
causes such as several TC developments, including
Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival.
Even though both WOOD and WTCM air Rush 'n
Hannity, I think we know who the clear winner is.
1.3.11
BUBBA'S OFF
SIRIUS/XM!
Satcaster yanks all references
to Tampa jock off their website; is
Ferrell next?
It's official: there's at
least one person whose contract hasn't been
re-signed by Sirius/XM.
Bubba the Love Sponge is off
the air on Sirius, and is now doing an
uncensored show on a website called www.radioio.com.
In the past several weeks, Bubba - real name
Todd Clem - told his fans that his chances
of re-signing with the satcaster was slim,
especially since for the past few years, his
show was practically a simulcast of his
morning show heard over the air on five
radio stations.
Of course, it was Stern who
gave Bubba a job at the satcaster after both
were forced off the air from Clear Channel's
radio stations because of Janet Jackson's
Super Bowl nip-slip. Bubba was given a new
lease on radio life, but his pay at Sirius
wasn't enough to pay his bills, which was
why he ended up back on terrestrial radio.
Apparently, there's no non-compete in his
contracts.
But, is Ferrell next to jump
ship on Howard 101? According to Bubba, yes.
On his Twitter page, the former WGRD Grand
Rapids jock replied to a fan: "Scotty ferrel
has HowardS agent and he's gone too smart
ass".
There has been some
speculation as to whom will replace Bubba on
Sirius, including Jay Thomas and Elliot
Segal, who ironically is currently the
morning jock of a former station Stern
worked at, Washington DC's DC 101.
Stay tuned...
12.30.10
2010: THE
GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
THE GOOD:
"Pants On The Ground"
Health Care Bill Passes
Ted Stevens Died
The Jet Blue Attendant
Howard Stern Re-signs With Sirius
Antoine Dodson
Chicago Blackhawks
Don't Ask Don't Tell Overturned
Double Rainbows
Smartphones
THE BAD:
Artie Lange's Suicide Attempt
Jay Leno
Chilean Mine Disaster
Economy's Still Bad
Justin Bieber
LeBron James
Bubba's Contract Problem With Sirius/XM
Lindsay Lohan
Taylor Swift
Losing Art Clokey, Jean Biden, Dannie Flesher,
Teddy Pendergrass, Glen Bell, Kate McGarrigle,
Pernell Roberts, J.D. Salinger, Jack Brisco, Miep
Gies, John Murtha, Doug Fieger, Charlie Wilson,
Rudy Larriva, Andrew Koenig, Corey Haim, Merlin
Olson, Peter Graves, Alex Chilton, Fess Parker,
Robert Culp, Johnny Maestro, John Forsythe, Chris
Kanyon, Malcolm McLaren, Dixie Carter, Pete
Steele, Tom Ray, Michael Pataki, Guru, Lynn
Redgrave, Ernie Harwell, Lena Horne, Frank
Frazetta, Ronnie James Dio, Paul Gray, Art
Linkletter, Gary Coleman, Howard Post,
Dennis Hopper, Rue McClanahan, John Wooden, Jimmy
Dean, Manute Bol, Sen. Robert Byrd, Bob Probert,
Bob Sheppard, George Steinbrenner, Peter
Fernendez, James Gannon, John Callahan, Theo
Albrecht, Mitch Miller, Bobby Hebb, Lorene
Yarnell, Patricia Neal, Lance Cade, Robert Wilson,
Michael Been, Luna Vachon, Robert Schimmel, John
Kluge, Edwin Newman, Eddie Fisher, Gloria Stuart,
Greg Giraldo, Tony Curtis, Stephen J. Cannell,
Dick Griffey, Solomon Burke, Barbara Billingsley,
Tom Bosley, Bob Guiccione, Ari Up, Charlie
O'Donnell, Sparky Anderson, Jill Clayburgh, Dino
DeLaurentiis, Leo Cullum, Leslie Neilson, Ron
Santo, Don Meridith, Richard Holbrook, Blake
Edwards, Captain Beefhart, Fred Foy, Neil Rogers
and Teena Marie
THE UGLY
Haiti Earthquake
Pat Robertson
Tea Party Movement
Gabby Sidibe
BP Oil Spill
Glenn Beck
Sarah Palin
Republicans
Jersey Shore
Crystal Bowersox
12.29.10
YEAR-END
ALEXA RATINGS: DETROIT
The #1 internet station in
Detroit? Why, it's a station that's
mid-pack in the Arbs
Finally, we've made it! It's time to reveal which
radio stations in Detroit have the most-popular
websites.
Oh, and for those who live in those other markets
we've ignored (i.e. Lansing, Flint/Tris,
Marquette, Laramie, etc.) and want their own
lists, simple, just go to Alexa.com and make one
of your own.
Now, to the list!
DETROIT ALEXA.COM RATINGS
| 1) |
CIMX 89X Alternative |
203,235
|
| 2) |
WRIF 101.1 Rock |
250,036
|
| 3) |
WKQI Channel 9-5-5 CHR |
317,867
|
| 4) |
WDFN 1130 The Fan Sports |
334,560
|
| 5) |
WJR 760 News/Talk |
407,350
|
| 6) |
WNIC 100.3 AC (just flipped to Hot AC
"Fresh 100.3") |
425,744
|
| 7) |
WHTD Hot 102.7 Urban |
501,101
|
| 8) |
WDVD 96.3 Hot AC |
810,022
|
| 9) |
WMGC Magic 105.1 AC |
838,525
|
| 10) |
CKLW 800 News/Talk |
907,522
|
| 11) |
WCSX 94.7 Classic Rock |
916,357
|
| 12) |
WJLB 97.9 Urban |
937,955
|
| 13) |
WMXD Mix 92.3 Urban AC |
1,049,865
|
| 14) |
WDMK Kiss 105.9 Urban AC |
1,225,284
|
| 15) |
WDTK News/Talk 1400 Conservative Talk |
2,373,748
|
| 16) |
WMUZ 103.5 The Light Christian |
2,477,447
|
| 17) |
WOMC 104.3 Oldies |
3,008,645
|
| 18) |
CKWW 580 Oldies |
3,357,944
|
| 19) |
CIDR 93.9 The River AAA |
3,433,178
|
| 20) |
CHYR Mix 96.7 Hot AC |
3,674,902
|
| 21) |
WDTW 106.7 The Beat Rhythmic AC |
3,844,673
|
| 22) |
WRDT 560 The Word Christian Talk |
3,861,168
|
| 23) |
WXYT 97.1 The Ticket Sports |
3,942,693
|
| 24) |
WGPR 107.5 Urban AC/Jazz |
3,967,486
|
| 25) |
WPON 1460 Brokered |
4,529,979
|
| 26) |
WDRQ 93.1 Doug FM Adult Hits |
4,793,901
|
| 27) |
WLQV Faith Talk 1500 Christian Talk |
5,049,913
|
| 28) |
WDZH Amp 98.7 CHR |
6,070,766
|
| 29) |
WYCD 99.5 Country |
9,706,650
|
| 30) |
CKUE 95.1 The Rock |
17,942,756
|
| 31) |
WDTW 1310 Liberal Talk |
20,692,380
|
| 32) |
WWJ 950 News |
21,090,972
|
*Well,
there you have it. 89X, #17 in the current
Arbitrons, is the top radio station on the web
with The Riff at a close second. It's worth
noting that WNIC just recently flipped format
to Hot AC after years of being an AC. It'll be
exciting to see how that station will be doing
at the end of 2011.
*Gee, looks like people are abandoning Detroit
radio in droves! Most of the stations are in the
red column. Oddly enough, the just-flipped WNIC's
in the green.
*Speaking of WNIC and Fresh 100.3, is it me, or
does their logo look like the inside of a girl's
toilet during her period?
*Despite the fact that WXYT's leading them in the
Arbs, WDFN's still doing quite well with internet
users.
*WWJ might be Detroit's top station, but their
website's a different story.
PREDICTIONS FOR 2011:
*No changes for 89X and WRIF
*WNIC will fall like a rock in the ratings, both
Alexa and Arbitron
*Clear Channel will give The Beat one more year
*Channel 9-5-5 will still make Amp their bitch
---
One thing I've learned from doing these three
lists is that that it proves how totally lame
northern Michigan radio is when it comes to rock.
Detroit has 89X and Riff in the lead while WGRD
rules Grand Rapids. Personally, I think that four
radio stations that burn out Bob Segar, Ted Nugent
and Kid Rock is a bit much. If I were programming
Real Rock 105.1/95.5, I wouldn't eliminate the
classics, but I would fine tune it to make it
sound more like WGRD. Just because the 20- and
30-something rate up north is low doesn't mean
that their influence is low. Right now, Real Rock
is pretty much a cheap Riff clone and the ratings
here show. From what I've heard, their Arb ratings
eroded since their debut a year ago.
Just a thought...
12.28.10
YEAR-END
ALEXA RATINGS: GRAND RAPIDS
WGRD rocks, The Fox is,
well, something else
Yesterday, we analyzed northern Michigan's radio
stations. Now, it's Grand Rapids' turn.
BTW, green means rising, red means declining.
GRAND RAPIDS ALEXA.COM RATINGS
| 1) |
WGRD 97.9 Active Rock |
646,517
|
| 2) |
WOOD NewsRadio 1300 |
688,378
|
| 3) |
WHTC 1450 News/Talk |
760,837
|
| 4) |
WBCT B93 Country |
778,545
|
| 5) |
WTNR Thunder 94.5 Country |
957,363
|
| 6) |
WHTS 105.3 Hot FM CHR |
1,533,923
|
| 7) |
WSNX 104.5 CHR |
1,625,718
|
| 8) |
WSRW Star 105.7 AC |
1,715,983
|
| 9) |
WFGR Classic Hits 98.7 |
1,860,744
|
| 10) |
WLHT Channel 95-7 Hot AC |
2,200,818
|
| 11) |
WYVN 92.7 The Van Classic Hits |
2,463,001
|
| 12) |
WBBL 107.3 The Ball Sports |
2,713,303
|
| 13) |
WLAV 96.9 Classic Rock |
3,221,612
|
| 14) |
WTKG 1230 Talk |
3,281,215
|
| 15) |
WVFM 106.5 Variety Hits |
3,373,381
|
| 16) |
WJQK JQ99 Christian Contemporary |
4,258,616
|
| 17) |
WPNW 1260 The Pledge
Conservative/Christian Talk |
4,439,960
|
| 18) |
WMAX ESPN 96.1 |
4,646,459
|
| 19) |
WJRW 1340 Talk |
7,068,621
|
| 20) |
WLAW 92.5 The Outlaw Country/Rock |
7,820,626
|
| 21) |
WNWZ 1410 La Maquina Musical Spanish |
8,767,100
|
| 22) |
WBFX 101.3 The Fox Rock |
9,272,003
|
| 23) |
WYGR 1530 The Force Urban AC |
16,630,768
|
| 24) |
WTRV 100.5 The River Soft AC |
21,750,636
|
*Looks like GRD has the
internet arena all to themselves. Since they're
the only radio station in town playing new rock,
it's no wonder they're number one. As for The
Fox, 22nd place in our ratings and mid-pack in
the regular Arbitrons is a pure sign that Clear
Channel better do something to that stick.
*I'll betcha that WOOD's numbers are in part due
to their recent brouhaha regarding their recent
firing of Scott Winters and Michelle McKormick for
Glenn Beck, AND the fact that they're adding an FM
sister where WMUS is at the moment.
*Looks like those Hollanders love their WHTC!
LOL.
*Hot FM overtaking WSNX in the internet ratings
shows that maybe WSNX oughta go full-blown
rhythmic and give the kids stuff to Hot FM. Just
sayin'.
*WJRW getting its ass kicked by the likes of WPNW
and The Van from Holland - not to mention WTKG -
shows that Hanlon made a horrid investment with
this heap of junk. They should have kept WBBL at
the 1340 frequency.
*One station in Grand Rapids didn't make the
list. I won't name which one, but the letters "FU"
appear in their callsign.
PREDICITONS FOR 2011:
*GRD will maintain its top position
*The Fox will flip formats
*WYGR will somewhat explode with their FM signal
*WTKG will skewer more liberal and will dump both
Glenn Beck and Dave Ramsey
*WJRW will be mostly syndicated talk by the end of
the year
*Hot FM will rise in the ratings
*96.1 will try to bid for some Detroit sports from
WBBL
Tomorrow: DETROIT
12.27.10
YEAR-END
ALEXA RATINGS: TRAVERSE CITY
WKLT rules, other rock
stations, well, drool
For the next three days, we're going the analyze
radio stations in three Michigan markets -
Traverse City, Grand Rapids and Detroit - to
determine which stations in town are hot according
to the ratings website Alexa.com. We typed in the
URL of each station's website and this is what we
got.
Bear in mind that Traverse City is embargoed from
the regular Arbitron ratings service, so this is
what we can get right here:
NORTHERN MICHIGAN ALEXA.COM RATINGS
| 1) |
WKLT 97.5/98.9
"The Rock Station" |
2,469,542
|
| 2) |
WJML 1110/1210
Talk |
3,674,507
|
| 3) |
WTCM "NewsTalk
580" |
3,833,871
|
| 4) |
WTCM-FM 103.5/93.5
"Today's Country Music" |
4,327,374
|
| 5) |
WKHQ "106 KHQ" CHR |
4,335,496
|
| 6) |
WFCX "94.3/92.5
The Fox FM" Classic Hits |
5,234,739
|
| 7) |
WUPS 98.5 Classic
Hits |
7,893,406
|
| 8) |
WCCW-FM "Oldies
107.5" |
7,957,790
|
| 9) |
WCCW "ESPN 1310"
Sports |
11,299,912
|
| 10) |
WLXT "Lite 96.3"
AC |
11,424,841
|
| 11) |
WMKT 1270 Talk |
13,955,906
|
| 12) |
WSRT "106.7/105.5
You FM" Talk |
14,166,299
|
| 13) |
WJZQ "Z93" CHR |
18,931,359
|
| 14) |
WMJZ "Eagle 101.5"
Variety Hits |
19,533,622
|
| 15) |
WTWS "92.1 The
Twister" Country |
20,905,282
|
*Of
the four major rock stations in northern
Michigan, only KLT made the list at #1. That,
IMO is due to the popularity of Omelette and
Finster. Honestly, I think that part of it is
also due to the fact that their music is bland
enough to listen to at work.
*As I mentioned, only KLT made the list out of
the four rock stations, the other three being The
Bear, Real Rock 105.1/95.5 and 99.3 The Wolf. It's
also worth mentioning that NONE of Northern Star
Broadcasting's stations - not even Big Country
Hits 102.9 - made the list. I think it's somewhat
sad that Real Rock didn't make the list and that
KLT's way on top. Personally, I think a lot of
it's due to the fact that all four rockers in town
play way too much moldy classic rock and hardly do
anything for the 20- and 30-somethings. After all,
they're constantly wired to the internet and
probably listen to better stations online and on
Sirius/XM.
*All four talkers made the list, but it's
laughable that the only FM on the list, WSRT is
dead last of the four. Maybe it's because they
don't stream online. Maybe WJML is the top talker
because both their over-the-air signals suck.
*Tiny WTWS out of Harris-er, Houghton Lake is on
the list but Big Country and WLDR - both
100,000-watters - aren't. Weird.
*KHQ is kicking Z93 to the curb, BIG-TIME.
However, I've noticed that they're hired former
KHQ and The Zone jock Jake Kelly to do nights. If
that doesn't help, I would expect the Z to flip to
a simulcast of WTCM-AM or WCCW-AM.
*Maybe if both WCCW-FM and WSRT streamed, ratings
would go up for both stations.
*As for WCCW-AM's site (which BLOWS), I think
their traffic's decent due to the fact that, well,
it's Red Wings season.
PREDICTIONS FOR 2011:
*No major changes for any of the country
stations
*No changes at KLT
*A certain PD at a northern Michigan station whose
name rhymes with a Howard Stern alter ego will be
let go
*Z93 and WSRT will be given at least one more year
*99.3 The Wolf will flip to variety hits, possibly
to the satellite-fed Sam-FM
*Ed Schultz will totally disappear from WJML and
WSRT will pick him up
---
___________
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