Urban WGCI-FM toppled full-service WGN-AM from its usual No. 1 position among Chicagoland radio stations, according to figures for the summer radio ratings quarter released Tuesday by Arbitron Co.
WGCI beat second-place WGN for audience share 7.2 to 6.8-the AM station`s lowest-ever showing. The last time WGCI topped the traditional leader was in the spring 1988 quarter. In the recent quarter WGCI also ranked first in the 25-to-54 age group, which is coveted by advertisers.
”Ratings are always a bit of a roller coaster, and I expect we`ll see some healthy recovery in the fall,” said Lorna Gladstone, WGN program director, who cited Arbitron`s low survey response rate of 30 percent and summer radio-listening habits as possible reasons for her station`s lower share.
”The numbers tell us that our listeners aren`t going anywhere, as our weekly `cume` (the cumulative number of weekly listeners) is quite high. That indicates that our share will rebound.”
The shares of WGCI morning- and afternoon-drive personalities Doug Banks and Tom Joyner essentially were flat, Arbitron said. But Joyner had a comfortable lead in the afternoon, with a 7.5 share.
WGN morning personality Bob Collins was on top of the morning crowd with a share of 11.0, but that`s his lowest rating since he replaced Wally Phillips in mornings six years ago. That figure, combined with a poor showing in the afternoons by the WGN combination of Spike O`Dell, Al Lerner and Cubs baseball, sealed the outcome.
A number of other Chicago stations also were losers in the summer ratings quarter, a quarter advertisers tend to discount because of atypical listening habits compared with the rest of the year.
While it held onto the No. 4 ranking, country WUSN-FM, which recently was sold, dropped from a 5.5 to a 4.3 share because of declines in morning- and afternoon-drive listening.
Notable winners included WLUP-AM, which was aided by Jonathon Brandmeier`s best share in nearly two years and a record showing by Kevin Matthews.
In other developments:
– WFMT-FM rebounded from a dreadful spring quarter, beating classical-music rival WNIB-FM by 1/10 of a share point.
– Alternative-rock WKQX-FM was essentially flat after switching from its adult-contemporary format in mid-July.
– WJPC-AM, which debuted its all-rap format in mid-July, registered a 0.3 audience share.
– All-sports talk WSCR-AM went from a 1.2 to a 1.4 share.
A share represents the percentage of people over age 12 who listen to the radio from 6 a.m. to midnight.
Arbitron`s summer figures cover June 25 to Sept. 16.
