Category Archives: Radio

Vancouver Radio Ratings, Spring 2009. A Sea Change.

Radio, Vancouver

Vancouver Spring 2009 radio ratings

The Vancouver 2009 Winter radio ratings were published this morning, and the news is huge! For the first time ever, Canada’s public broadcaster, the CBC, has emerged as the top-rated radio station in the market, besting long-time market leader CKNW by almost a full percentage point. Only four short years ago, in 2005, CBC Radio One scored a paltry 5 percentage points, behind eight other stations. Now, CBC Vancouver is number one!
Tom Monaghan, VP media director of Vancouver-based advertising agency Cossette Media told the Globe and Mail’s Fiona Morrow that recent developments in the city’s radio scene had made an impact on the figures, noting the arrival of The Peak and some re-branding among other stations.

“It’s a balancing out of the marketplace,” he told Morrow. “And, to be honest with you, it’s CKNW’s audience that has declined – it’s not that we’re seeing a dramatic increase with the CBC, and it’s a relatively small increase anyway.”


Taking a look at the ratings above (click on the graphic at the top for the fullscreen graph), apart from the local CBC radio outlet, AM650 (formerly CISL) emerges as the other big winner, tripling their ratings in the past year with a move to the low-key “All Time Favourites” format, a format they assumed when Jimmy Pattison’s AM600 went dark in the autumn of 2008.
In the morning slot, 6 – 9 a.m., CBC Radio One pulled in an unprecedented 16.9, with JACK a distant second at 9.4, and the other morning shows emerging as also-rans, averaging 5.1 (the Team) to 7.7 (QM-FM). News1130 registered 9.0 in the morning, with Rock 101 and Virgin tied at 6.4, CKNW dipped to 6.1, JR-FM held steady at 5.7, with Virgin and CFOX tied at 5.3. CFUN, AM730, CISL and The Peak are the bottom dwellers (1 point each). CKCL, 104.9 (oldies), remains stuck at 3 percentage points.
Otherwise, for the most part, the 2009 Winter radio ratings book is stand pat. One supposes that the Team 1040 (CKST) has reason to celebrate (as the Canucks do well, so does the Team), reaching 4.0 for the first time. And Jimmy Pattison can’t exactly be thrilled with a rating of 1.0 for The Peak, his new triple-A radio station (can’t sell many ads with a 1.0 rating).
PugetSoundRadio has published a further demographic breakdown of the numbers, which shows perennial favourite 103.5 QM-FM and 96.9 JACK-FM in the lead 25 – 54, and CHQM out in way out in front with women 25 – 54.
The folks at RadioWest (from whom we appropriated the graphic) have also begun to weigh in on the Winter 2009 radio ratings book, the commentary in the early going focusing on the “erosion of the once Giant 98.”
With the portable people meter coming to Vancouver as early as this fall, to record local radio ratings, we’ll see what effect, if any, the new technology has on recording radio listening preferences on the Lower Mainland.

Vancouver Radio Ratings, Spring 2008

Radio

VANCOUVER RADIO RATINGS SPRING 2008

In another ho-hum Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings book, radio in Vancouver continues in the listenership doldrums that has gripped the medium for the past decade and more. For all that, there is some provocative movement in this latest ratings book, ranging from a re-ascension of CKNW, to a new, august place for country music in the hearts, minds and ears of those resident in Metro Vancouver.
CKNW experienced its best ‘book’ in a couple of years, mostly due to the increased listenership brought in by mid-afternoon talk show host, Christy Clark. Even given the loss of the broadcast rights to the Vancouver Canucks and the BC Lions a couple of years back, CKNW continues to hold its own, even if it has the oldest (and continuing to age) audience among the fraternity of Vancouver over-the-air broadcast radio stations.
JRfm continues its ascendancy in the Vancouver radio listenership stakes, finding both a younger and more diverse audience, while 95 Crave — thanks to the appointment of programming genius, Brad Phillips, as General Manager / interim Program Director — incrementally increases its audience from book to book. The issue that Crave owner, Astral Media, has to address is what to do with perennial oldies loser, 650 CISL, which has languished near last place in the ratings for a number of years now.
Perhaps, when Jim Pattison shutters his oldies outlet, 600AM, later this year CISL will pick up some of its displaced, ever-aging audience.
In other news around the dial, Clear FM took a hit, dropping almost a full percentage point, probably due to the loss of Fred Latremouille in the morning and the failure of Charlee Morgan to find her own audience, while CBC 690 also took a somewhat unexplainable hit in the latter part of the spring. Otherwise, it’s pretty much same ‘ol, same ‘ol in Vancouver radio.

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Vancouver Spring 2006 Radio Ratings

Radio, VanRamblings

VANCOUVER SPRING 2006 RADIO RATINGS

Well, folks, the Spring 2006 radio ratings are in, and perennial favourite CKNW took the biggest hit. Although the chart to the left shows a precipitous drop for ‘NW in this latest radio ratings book, if you take a look at the audience ratings in the advertiser friendly 18 – 49 demographic, CKNW was devastated this latest book, this year over last.
From the latest ratings book, what pundits have said for some time now would appear to be true: the majority ‘NW audience is 55+, and the new powerhouses in the Vancouver radio market are JACK-FM (otherwise known as CKLG-FM), Corus-owned Rock 101 CFMI, pop-rocker Z95 (CKZZ), QM/FM and the younger skewing, The Beat.
Oh for the halcyon days when you could actually listen to CKNW. With ‘NW now in freefall (as VanRamblings predicted last fall), there’s some speculation that CBC could catapult into the number one position in the not-too-distant future. Whatever the case, with CKNW having lost the Canucks and the Lions to the Team 1040 (CKST, which took quite a hit, as well), look for ‘NW to plummet even more by this time next year.
The Spring ratings chart above is divided into S1 and S2. Survey 1 was taken January 9 to March 5, 2006 while Survey 2 was conducted April 17 to June 11. Survey 3 was completed July 3-16 but won’t be out til Oct. 2nd.
JACK’S ratings have fallen by 50% this year over their best days, while Z95 (CKZZ) seems to be on its way back, and The Beat (CKBT) gained audience share. Overall, this ratings book portends a shakeup in our radio market.

Radio Ratings: ‘NW Thrives in Face of CBC Strike

Radio

VANCOUVER-RADIO-RATINGS-FALL-2005

Click on the picture above for a larger, more readable version of the ratings table

The latest Vancouver radio ratings were released earlier this week, and the results were largely ho-hum.
CKNW — which has never sounded as inane as they do at the moment (and that’s going some) — triumphed with a splendid 14.8 rating, meaning that at any given time 14.8% of those tuned into radio in the Greater Vancouver area had their radio tuned to the once Mighty 98, ’NW. All VanRamblings can say is, “Thank goodness our XM Radio was hooked up today.”
In the all important adults 25 – 54 tuned in Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. til 10 a.m., the news broke down like this …

More results of note in this ho-hum Board of Broadcast Measurement book: AM 730 MOJO Sports Radio, although still in the basement, somehow managed to double their ratings, while The Team 1040 Sports Radio still beat their pants off, taking it to their competition.
Rafe Mair leaving failed to raise a blip in AM600 CKBD’s ratings. CKWX News 1130 continues to have decent books, as does Jimmy Pattison’s JR FM.
What else is there to report? With Gerry ’O Day as PD and morning host on CISL 650 the station treads water, as does CFOX and ‘they oughta put it out of its misery’ CFUN. The ‘fight’ for teen listening dominance between Z95 and The Beat remains a standoff, with the latter emerging the victor.
VanRamblings is simply glad the CBC (hallelujah) is back: Rick Cluff and the whole Early Edition crew, Mark Forsythe and BC Almanac, and even the newly expanded version of On The Coast, with the ever dreadful Priya Ramu (maybe she’s nice in person, but she sure doesn’t come across that way on radio … where’s Katherine Gretzinger when you need her … come back Katherine, come back … we miss you … thank goodness Ms. Gretzinger’s a CBC fill in host occasionally, both locally and nationally). All said, VanRamblings reasonably expects that the CBC will regain its previous august ratings position in the next (winter) ratings book, with CKNW and AM730 taking the biggest hit, returning to their past, most recent ratings.
Did VanRamblings mention we’re listening to XM Radio? M-m-m-m, good.