Arbitrons are out!

[Max]

Just FYI, for all interested parties, the latest arbitron ratings are out for the Louisville area. Check 'em out below:

www.radiodailynews.com/7-5%20louisville.htm

Ratings are available for other markets, as well, from www.radiodailynews.com/rdndaily.htm

[Kevin]

So WRKA beats 103.5. Interesting.

[Mike Griffin]

Thanks for the link Max. Most of the call letters I've never heard of.

Is the old WAKY still WWKY? If so I didn't see it. Is the old WKLO on there?

[Max]

I think you're correct on the first question, but I'm not sure on 'KLO. Ya got me curious, though. Maybe if Johnny Randolph is reading he can shed some light, although he doesn't have that Danville station anymore.

You're right, it's odd how one can live 40-45 minutes away from Louisville, but still find stations he's never heard of.

Back in my youth, the only Louisville stations I was aware of were WAKY, WKLO, WAVE, WHAS, WTMT, WLOU, WINN, WQHI, WQMF, WLRS, WZZX (anyone remember that one, at 101.7?), WFPL, & WFPK.

[Mike Griffin]

I did some Google research:

Now Freq Then
----------------------------
WGTK 970 WAVE
WXXA 790 WAKY
WLLV 1240 WINN
WKJK 1080 WKLO
WAVG 1450 WXVW

I had no clue...

[Max]

Well, come to think of it, you're right...790 is now XtraSports790. How soon I forget...one of the guys who has ordered some t-shirts is PD of both 790 and WKJK 1080.

[Kevin]

I took the Arbitron sheet attached in this link and went thru both AM /FM bands to check each station out.

(I know, I know, I lead a very boring life)

I found two Christian stations that had real good signals and neither is on the Arbitron sheet.

WJIE 88.5
WFBR 93.9 (which is in Mount Washington)

I wonder why no rating? Are they so low that no one bothers to count --which I find hard to believe because where I work there are several people who listen to WJIE.

Hmmmmmmm...

[John Quincy]

WJIE wouldn't show up in Arbitron because it's a non-commercial station. (I can tell by the dial position it is.)

Arbitron only lists commercial stations, even if a non-commercial station is number one.

[Kevin]

So the 88s and 89s on the FM dial are non-commercial. I never knew. Interesting.

[Max]

Most often you will find only National Public Radio or non-profit radio , such as Christian, from 87.9 thru the 92 frequency range. Some Christian stations will have translators above that range. I don't know the rules/regulations surrounding that, though.

[kevin]

On the arbitrons it has like WHAS at 13.1 on the top and WKJK at 0.8 on the bottom. What do those figures actually mean? A precentage of something?

[Kevin]

Duh--I figured it out --it all adds to 100%

I smart.

[Max]

And it all adds up to advertising dollar$$$$. Advertisers take the latest Arbitron reports and decide what stations most people are listening to, so they'll have an idea who should get the biggest slice of pie. It also depends on what the advertisers' product is and what age/social status (demograph) listens to a given station. For example, why would a spot for a bikini shaver or Nare run on a station that spotlights the 'times of your life' (1940's-50's).

[Max]

Here are the latest ratings as of 9/24/05. I've noticed WLUE, the new 100.5, isn't listed, presumably because they made the switch in the middle of the ratings period. The top 2 spots were really a no-brainer.

www.radiodailynews.com/9-26%20louisville.htm

[bruiser]

Do you have the hourly breakdown?

[Max]

Bruiser, I think you'll find that info here:


www.bridgeratings.com/

[Max]

Here are the latest numbers. Check 'em out at www.radiodailynews.com/4-3%20louisville.htm .

[bruiser]

It's always been a mystery to me why WASE doesn't do any better in the ratings.

[Max]

I'm guessing it's their location. No matter how good a format or station is, if you're not physically in the market (in this case, Louisville) your numbers will usually be low, as people in (Louisville) will most often tune to a local station, for news, traffic, advertisements, etc. Obviously these days the music is almost always going to be the bread and butter, but it's those other 'condiments' that kind of make the station more of a 'one-stop'. If you're listening to the local news, you are more prone to believe what a local station says than what another station reporting on your local news is saying. It's also about name recognition. It always has perplexed me as a younger adult why WHAS always was on top...because for the last several years there has been no music. It's about name recognition and credibility. Who do you go to for news, traffic and weather for your location? A local station and in some cases whoever has the reputation for being the best!

I'd also like to think Coyote is a big reason for WAMZ's ratings. The Duke agreed heartily on this one. He also shared his opinion on WHAS and especially since Terry Meiners has come aboard.

Name recognition, location and your station's reputation... for now, WRKA has that sewn up. Maybe after some time WASE may gain some ground on #1 and #3, but will probably always have a struggle with #2, unless they actually move to Louisville, despite having Steven Lee Cook and the talents of Mac Hunter.

[Kevin]

I have been listening to WRKA more lately. What's wrong with them?

[Max]

Nothing! I guess I said something that might have been taken the wrong way. What I meant, was, as one never can tell with listeners' tastes and radio formats, WRKA has things pretty much in control as far as the Louisville oldies market is concerned, but one can never tell for sure...

I've noticed a slight shift in format of WLUE recently. Goes to show radio formats can and do change like the weather!

[Chad]

I think WHAS has gone way down for me. I only listen to Joe Elliott and then Coast to Coast AM anymore. Their traffic is useless since they grounded the helicopter a few years ago. I can get the same reports on other stations that play music. If I want news I tune them in at the top of the hour for 6 minutes then change the station.

[Travis]

The best traffic reports these days are from people calling a given station from their cell phone to report accidents and whatever. It's quick (station willing) and I've even participated in such reports, myself.

Of course, when I find myself being a participant, it's generally too late for me. I'm either at a crawl or plain stuck in whatever is going on.

[kevin502]

check this out:

www.findradio.us/displaystate-KY.htm

[kevin502]

Will Satellite ever receive an arbitron rating? I wonder what it is currently?

[Max]

Here's the latest numbers from Radio Daily News:
ARBITRENDS Trend Report:

www.radiodailynews.com/8-28%20louisville.htm

[coop]

Interesting stuff Max, things that jump out at me are: WAMZ and WHAS just slaughtering everybody and then The Fox tied with WGTK (970) for 14th place... This either means that GTK is doing pretty d**n good or The Fox is toast. Max you know more radio then I what's yourtake on that?

[Max]

With WGTK being talk radio, I don't really know without also knowing their programming versus the Louisville public's tastes. Without being a listener, my best guess is that they really have programming that appeals to the business and political community. Of course, WHAS is talk radio and see how well they do...

As for the Fox, I don't really have a clue, unless the frequency change actually had something to do with it (which I don't believe).

[bruiser]

Poor old 1080 has fallen on hard times. Last place.

[Max]

Arbitrons for Nov. 29, 2006 are out, but the 'Louisville' link on www.radiodailynews.com comes up New Orleans info...probably an HTML mistake.

Standby...