TORONTO – The fall 2006 BBM ratings book (officially called S4 2006) came out Monday and one of the more notable stories in Canada’s largest market is the boost in ratings at CHFI to a 9.1 share this fall, compared to an 8.6 in the S3 book and a 9.0 in S4 2005. All numbers are A12+.
The difference between the top line shares between periods isn’t all that large, but the talking point is that the Rogers-owned station is now at the top of the Toronto heap. It jumped over CHUM FM in Toronto, which recorded an S4 2006 A12+ rating share of 8.2, down from 8.7 in the summer and 9.1 last fall.
"It’s been a little bit of everything," that pushed CHFI ahead this fall, PD and GM Julie Adam told Cartt.ca Monday afternoon. The morning show (Erin & Mike) is third in the market behind leader Roger, Rick & Marilyn (CHUM) and Paul Cook & Lisa Brandt at 680 News.
Adam said the station’s music mix ("from Barry Manilow to Rob Thomas") its promotions and personalities all contributed to the ratings bump. Ratings increased across all key demos for CHFI, added Adam.
While she said she’s "sick to my stomach every ratings morning," Adam added that the strong ratings, coupled with still-growing revenue for radio, means listeners and advertisers still find much value in "old media."
"Most advertisers looking to target a typical AC listener are not looking to (new media) platforms just yet," she added.
CHFI has had little success with podcasts, for example, but better success at providing a Christmas music stream from its web site since November 1. "Not everybody wants to hear Christmas music on the radio 24/7," she said.
CHUM Radio president Paul Ski added that the effects or the potential of new media is always overstated in the consumer press. "If you look at satellite radio, by their own admission, they say they will reach 10% of the Canadian population, which is reached by the top two radio stations in Toronto," he explained. "Right now they’re at 300,000 – that’s a station in Winnipeg… but for some reason, they’re the media darlings."
Ski also said he isn’t worried about his company’s flagship station backsliding a bit in the top line A12+ figure. "We’re still number one in 25 to 54 female – in fact, we widened our lead," he told Cartt.ca.
"Twelve-plus is not really a demo, that’s a family reunion."
Ski added he was pleased with most of the markets CHUM operates in, especially considering new stations arrived in Ottawa and Halifax. "BOB came back well in Ottawa," he said.
"We don’t make any changes based on ratings anyway," Ski continued, saying major station alterations come when the company’s own research says it’s time. "If we lose three share points in the morning show, we don’t change the show – what if it’s just a ratings anomaly?"
Ski did admit that the performance of BOB Winnipeg (the first of the "play whatever/what we want" stations) was somewhat troubling (see stats below).
The largest ratings jumps came from CBC Radio One which was third in Toronto at 7.3, well above summer’s 5.8. The station is almost in complete recovery, ratings-wise, from the fall 2005 lockout where the S4, A12+ share was 3.9.
CBC Radio shares were up strongly, in some cases, dramatically, all across the country.
In Vancouver, CBC Radio saw a 1.9 share point increase from summer to get to 9.0, but it still trails Corus Radio’s CKNW and its 10.5 share – down from 10.7 in the summer and from 14.8 last fall, when the CBC lockout was on.
To see the full BBM public report, click here. However, here are some top-line notables across the country:
* TEAM 1040 Vancouver (Sports, CHUM): 3.2, up from 1.5 in S3. Thanks in part to the CFL’s BC Lions run to the Grey Cup, we’d assume, since it’s the team’s broadcast partner.
* 103.9 CISN FM (Country, Edmonton, Corus): 9.8, down from 13.3. in S3
* 770 AM CHQR (News/Talk, Calgary, Corus): returned to more traditional levels at 9.8 this fall, up from 7.3 in the summer.
* Vibe 98.5 (CHR, Calgary, Standard): also returned to more traditional levels, but in the other direction, dropping from 11.0 in the summer to 8.9 in S4. It was 9.2 last fall.
* BOB FM (CHWM-FM 99.9, Winnipeg, CHUM): 5.9, down from 8.2 in the summer.
* CJOB (News/Talk, Winnipeg, Corus): 18.4, up from 16.2.
* Rock Détente (CIMF, Rock, Ottawa-Gatineau, Astral): 26.4, up from 23.4 and has the largest share of market of any French station in a major market.
* Majic 100 (CJMJ, Soft Rock, Ottawa, CHUM): 8.3, down from 10.4 in the summer and 11.8 in the fall of ’05.
* Energie 94.3 (CKMF, Top 40, Montreal, Astral): 12.6, up from 10.7 in S3.
* Rock Détente (CITE, AC, Montreal, Astral): 11.5, up from 9.8 in S3.
* MIX 96 (CJFM, Hot AC, Montreal, Standard): 20.3, up from 17.6 in S3, and has the largest share of market of any English station in a major market.
* Rock 104 (CFRQ, Rock, Halifax, Newcap): 13.8, down from 17.8 compared to S1 2006 as the smaller Halifax market is not rated in S2 and S3.
* Z103 (CKHZ, CHR, Halifax, Evanov): 8.5, and this was the first ratings period for the new station, placing it 6th in the 11-station market.
* News 95.7 (CJNI, News, Halifax, Rogers): 1.9, up from 1.5 in the winter. This is Rogers’ newest station, part of a three-station Eastern group.
