last link on the left

Introduction

The ratings used by stations are based on surveys conducted by the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, and stations have to subscribe for the service. Listed on this page are general overviews of BBM's surveys for the Edmonton market.

Stations receive much more detailed results, broken down by quarter-hour, age, gender and total time tuned in. The number everybody is looking for is called a "share," a percentage of all people listening to a radio and for how long. In Edmonton, about 2,200 listeners fill in diaries on which the ratings are based.

As is the case with all things statistical, stations are free to create their own spins to serve their needs. For advertisers, the adult group – aged 25 - 54 – is the most important number.

Summer 2008

The "Summer" book (which the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement - BBM - refers to as 2008-S3) measured Edmonton radio audiences from July 7th through 20th and August 4th through 31st, 2008.

Against the backdrop of news of some of the biggest shake ups in local morning radio in years, the Summer 2008 book weighed in with its own surprises.

While most of the new morning lineups had yet to take to air, for two stations that flipped formats in the spring of 2008 the latest ratings were the first indication of where their fortunes may lie.

The Summer book also marked some of the worst numbers for Corus Entertainment in over a decade, with both CHED and CISN missing their usual brass ring grab of first place.

When they're not spinning tunes or tales, most radio folk will say a summer book is a lightweight and not truly indicative of the market. However, total listenership was up, reaching 1,647,000 compared to 1,631,000 in the previous book, suggesting BBM diary-keeping was done in earnest.

And until the Personal People Meter (PPM) enters the Canadian survey industry (measuring listening habits electronically through proximity to radio signals), one sample period is likely just as valid as another.

For your consideration ... the Summer 2008 book:

CFBR - The Bear - 11.6 (9.7 in Late Spring/Early Summer 2008, 11.6 in Summer 2007, a year ago)

Summers seem to favour The Bear with the Astral Media outlet last achieving an 11.6 exactly a year before. While CHED held the dominant spot in 2007, this time The Bear got to rule the roost (to mix a metaphor).

Where the Bear's audience drifted from remains a bit of a puzzle: the book's greatest losers are CHED/CISN/JOE FM ... and CFMG EZ Rock 104.9 – not a likely source given that station's music preference and demographic makeup.

Whether the showing is a quirk or a qualitative index, no doubt Paul Brown will again be seen hanging out at Hudson's on 104th Avenue buying rounds and passing out cigars in celebration. However, with the challenge of new competing morning lineups to be measured in the fall, the celebration might be short-lived.

CHED - 9.7 (11.3 in Late Spring/Early Summer 2008, 11.9 in Summer 2007)

Dark clouds could be spotted over the Corus compound on Roper Road as the broadcaster's four outlets all took a collective hit. Commanding a market share of 32.9 just a few months ago, the four stations slipped to a 24.7 share – the equivalent of a fourth place station's audience (8.2) leaving the building.

CHED dropped to single digit territory for the first time since the 1990s. Without Eskimos or Oilers games to fill its summer schedule, perhaps a bit of the same old same old was creeping in for longtime listeners. That said, in previous years the lack of football or hockey broadcasts didn't seem to affect the news/talk station's summer runs.

While CHED's audience numbers are actually up, they could not match The Bear's much-improved performance.

In a weirdly-timed interview published in the October 2008 issue of Broadcast Dialogue Magazine, Edmonton Corus honcho Doug Rutherford stated, “I like to think it isn't, but rating numbers would tell you that AM tends to skew a little bit older."

Perhaps some CHED listeners have stepped off this mortal coil ... or tweaked their moving coil over to the FM band seeking other fare.

Fingers might also be pointed to stale and tiresome content in the form of The Dave Rutherford Show and Adler Ad Infinitum (his weekend re-run time seems to equal first-time broadcast time), and the fact that the Hair That Roars, usually a star perfomer, seems to be suffering from a touch of Hallzeimers.

Bright spots remain though, such as Gord Whitehead's show, the charm of C.R. Nichols and the enthusiasm of sportsboy Dan Tencer (but don't challenge him with firsthand opinion of events pre-1998).

One thing for certain, CHED's news audience did not migrate to sister-operation CHQT - iNews880 as was expected by some.

CISN - 9.3 (13.0, 6.3)

The CISN crew must feel like they're riding a rollercoaster. From a pack-leading 13.0 in the spring, up from a near-nadir of 6.3 a year ago and a zenith of 13.3 in the summer of 2005, it must be hard to tell which way is up ... or where the posse is going.

The drop in audience numbers of over thirty thousand parallels that of rival CFCW, also down, suggesting the country format has been in for a rough ride.

However, without CKRA Big Earl's (albeit small) numbers to muddy the track one would have figured the city's two country stations would have benefited from its demise. Perhaps the format's fans didn't cotton to spending time indoors filling out those pesky BBM diairies.

CHBN - The Bounce - 8.1 (8.2, 6)

CTVglobemedia's standalone station continues to do well over the last several books (also pulling in a 7 and a 7.8 since Summer 2007) suggesting nothing's broken and it don't need fixing.

The station's owners are one of several interests waiting for news of a CRTC decision regarding a new FM station or two in Edmonton. CTVglobemedia had pitched an "older brother" concept for The Bounce, with a second station operation 'needed' to help out the nation-wide media corporation's bottom line ... at least locally.

CKRA - 96.3 Capital FM - 6.8 (4.9, 2.7)

The opportunity afforded Newcap when Corus flipped former oldies CHQT to all-news seems to have paid off. The 96.3 mHz frequency hasn't seen numbers in the sixes since the spring of 2005 when they were still Mix 96. Heavy TV and bus advertising (and widely-seen snappy tote bags) helped put the big yellow 96.3 circle (reminiscent of CHED's Sunspot stickers) on the mental radio map.

It remains to be seen whether some more CHED-like magic can rub off with the re-teaming of former Mighty 630 personalities Rob Christie and Audie Lynds whose show debuted September 2nd – just days after the summer ratings shut down. The duo also re-teamed with behind-the-scenes operations manager Pat Cardinal, who rode herd over the pair during their CHED/Power 92 days.

Christie was pirated away from Magic 99 in early August (despite strong denials from 99's Rawlco management that such a move was afoot – or that there was a pending sale of the station to either Rogers or CTVglobemedia).

Rawlco has since filed a statement of claim against Christie and Newcap/Capital FM for $550,000, alleging Christie, whose real surname is Lowe, had signed a 2005 agreement that included a clause preventing him from working at any other Edmonton radio station for one year following any termination. Sounds like a case of "I quit - you're fired" that the patience of Job and the wisdom of King Solomon will have to sort out in court.

96.3 Capital FM also earned a place in radio history as being the last place Chuck Chandler was heard on the air (for a Saturday afternoon 'audition'). He has since moved in with his sons, in Spain.

It also should be noted that the station's phoenix-like rise was under the stewardship of 'temporary' morning show hosts Jason Roberts and Kerry Skelton.

CFCW - 6.7 (7.3, 5.7)

The 790 heritage station comes in at a dependable sixth place while losing about a sixth of its audience in measured numbers. A challenge lies ahead for CFCW should they win an application to move their frequency from 790 to 840 kHz (the station first signed on in 1954 at 1230 kHz, and moved to their present frequency in 1961).

It seems in today's world having a 50,000 watt near-clear channel blow torch doesn't quite cut it anymore (at least not at the 790 frequency) and Newcap hopes 840 will extend their signal farther north. But as one industry insider quipped, "Given the demo for your average CFCW listener (60 to dead) I can't help but wonder if the change will cause mass confusion to break out among their listeners."

CFMG - EZ Rock - 6.4 (8.1, 8.4)

Not to be left out of the widespread Summer 2008 morning show shuffle, the once safe-to-work-for station called on popular Global Edmonton TV personality and Magic 99 swingshifter (and CKRA alumni) Seanna Collins to join the breakfast bunch of Shane Michaels and the now new-to-news Cheryl Brooks. However, four's a crowd and since newsie Robin Allen had no 'S' sound in his name, out he went.

"He no longer fit in the structure," Astral honcho Marty Forbes revealed in a short-lived radio forum post. Maybe Allen and still unemployed former EZ Rock/Shine FM morning man Charlie West could start their own wake-up operation somewhere else (outside of working at Starbucks, as has been the case with West).

EZ Rock's slide might be attributed to a drift to new kid on the block 96.3 Capital FM, whose workday-friendly jockless programming seems to be the favourite of retail outlets and dental offices across the city.

CHDI - Sonic FM - 6.3 (4.6, 6.3)

After a pair of heart-stopping low results (this spring's 4.6 and Fall 2007's 4.8), the Sonic folk are back on solid ground. Fresh and edgy, hopes are that Rogers leaves their recently purchased (from the OK Radio Group) station alone.

However ... rumours abound that should their application for an all-news outlet fail, Rogers would flip Sonic and go head-to-headline with iNews880 on the FM band. Stay tuned.

CIRK - K-97 - 5.7 (4.4, 7.5)

With more second comings than a televangelist could ever call upon, the 97.3 mHz frequency not only brought back Terry Evans but the station he once worked for: K-97.

The Newcap re-branding of the classic rock station took place at the behest of program director Gruff Gushnowski and under the watch of the aforementioned Pat Cardinal (who appears to be needing a bigger cap for all the feathers he's been collecting).

Originally signed on as experimental station VE9AI in June 1944, the station was later launched as CJCA-FM in 1949 at 99.5 mHz, simulcasting CJCA-AM programming. In 1962 it began independent programming in stereo, and moved to 97.3 mHz in 1974. A year later it became CIRK-FM and was branded K-97 in the spring of 1979. CKRA (roCKRAdio), K-97's milder cousin, debuted later that same year.

On August 29th, 1997 the K-Rock moniker was adopted but 'audience research' showed folks still called it K-97. Realising that resistance was futile, the station was re-launched at the start of the Summer 2008 ratings period with 'heritage' branding for its 30th anniversary.

All that's missing now is Bruce Kenyon (now in Calgary at CHQR by way of Montreal), with Robin Allen (now available) and Kelly Huxtable (MIA?) to revive the Open CIRKuit talk show to complete the trip down memory lane.

Terry Evans first worked at the station from 1986 to 1992, moved to The Bear from 1992 to 1997, came back to CIRK in 1997, operated Terry Evans Transport Ltd. from August 2006 to October 2007 before again returning to CIRK.

As part of the less-than-extreme K-Rock/K-97 makeover (they simply ditched the 90s music), Evans got paired with Phil Aubrey (formerly afternoons), Melissa Wright was moved to 9-to-2, Rob Berg went back to PM drive with Mike Diesel still assigned to evenings. Odd-person out was former morning-mate Karen Kay, now working news for sister-operation CFCW.

K-97's current rebound from showings in the mid-4s might indicate that "glory days" are ahead (in addition to the Springsteen song being heard on the playlist).

CBX - CBC Radio One - 5.6 (4.9, 4.7)

The nation's broadcaster continues to show flashes of widespread acceptance (nearly matching Spring 2008's 5.8) with audience numbers up slightly. A pleasing information and culture alternative to the Corus combo of CHED/iNews880, CBC Edmonton's two drive shows remain undiscovered delights (the cheque is in the mail, isn't it Peter?).

CKNG - Joe FM - 5.1 (6.7, 8.2)

For years, Joe FM had been a steady performer. But for the past few books, it has been on a steady decline. In 2008 the station was dealt with two blows from the same opponent: the emergence of music format-peer 96.3 Capital FM and the loss of morning man Audie Lynds to the same station (apparently Audie's contract was up and an offer was made he shouldn't refuse).

Lynds signed off July 18th and Rhubarb Jones was left to handle mornings on his own until things got sorted out. Looking around for shoulders to carry the morning load (after auditioning such eligible ladies as Access/Help TV babe Jenny Adams) Corus program director Julie James settled on bodybuilder and late night Global Edmonton TV anchor J'lyn Nye.

However, Nye wasn't set to start at Joe until September 29th – nearly a month into the fall ratings period – so it remains to be seen if she can lift the station out of their ratings doldrum (and if she can reset her Circadian rhythms after 14 years of working nights).

CKUA - 3.9 (2.3, n/a)

Whatever the pundits may say about the Summer 2008 book, those at CKUA will be able to point to the document with pride ... and their highest-ever showing. Faithful listeners rewarded the station with diligent diary-keeping (in addition to generous pledging in the spring to afford a TV ad campaign).

CHMC - Magic 99 - 2.1 (2, 3)

Into the void left by the departure of Rob Christie stepped former Global Edmonton TV traffic person Shannon Tyler (late also of CKRA Mix 96, A-Channel, EZ Rock and CISN). Working beside Duncan Paterson, Shannon will balance her new motherhood along with the challenge of raising the Rawlco-owned station's fortunes ... or keeping the transmitter warm enough to woo a prospective buyer.

Rumours have persisted for most of the year that should Rawlco not win their application for a new music and emerging artist format station, Magic 99 would be up for sale. Arguing before the CRTC, Rawlco stated their standalone operation was in need of a second outlet to help defray back-end costs. Such a sale would not be the first in the Saskatchewan-based chain's history.

CFRN - The Team - 1.8 (1.5, 1.8)

As fans go, they might be small in number but they make up for it in loyalty. The Team's greatest loss over the summer was the wooing away of drive home guy Bob Stauffer, replacing Morley Scott as Rod Philip's colour man on Oilers game broadcasts.

How well the former Mo's Sportsbar drink-slinger does – now that he has to keep his mouth in check – remains to be seen but Stauffer's seemingly close connection to the new Oilers boss might work in his fan's favour should they follow him to CHED. As far as Morley goes, he's popped up occasionally as fill-in reading sports for CHED (and only time will if he lands a gig at TSN or Rogers).

Jason Gregor, formerly hosting Just A Game Show at The Team, moved to the afternoon drive slot to fill Stauffer's vacancy.

CBX FM - CBC Radio 2 - 1.7 (2, 2.8)

With nothing but bad news facing fans of Radio 2's classical fare, perhaps they left the building before the fat lady sang her final aria at the end of summer. With the nation's stereo broadcaster now skewing to a younger demo, it will take a ratings period or two to determine a new baseline. Consolation can be taken that, despite the woes of transition, they placed higher than ...

CHQT - iNews880 - 0.6 (1.9, 3.3)

Trumpeted as the greatest advancement in journalism since the advent of daily newspaper delivery, iNews880's first complete book seems to have come up a little ... well, short.

As an oldies station, CHQT never ranked lower than their 2.2 share in the fall of 2005 (Spring 2008's 1.9 caught the station mid-format flip). An old newsroom dictum states "If it bleeds it leads." The top story in the combined Corus newsroom (now numbering 30 staffers) must be the red ink flowing out of the iNews880 operation.

It must be acknowledged that new stations (or stations with new formats) take a while to get established. It is also true that 'newswheel' operations such as iNews880 don't reflect well in the diary format of the current BBM ratings system.

That said, if a compensating factor (such as sporting's degree of difficulty) was applied to iNews880's 0.6 share, even a generous amount of credible fudging wouldn't hide the station's debut underperformance.

In a weirdly-timed interview published in the October 2008 issue of Broadcast Dialogue Magazine, Corus honcho Doug Rutherford is interviewed about the state of AM radio. In the article, Rutherford extols the virtues of iNews880. It makes interesting reading for those who have watched local developments closely.

Rutherford tells Broadcast Dialogue's John McKay that Corus invested $2 million in the iNews880 operation. Given the staff turnover at the station since it launched, the funds were likely eaten up by re-fitting the Cool 880 studios, offsetting start up costs such as advertising, and as a ledger balance against future losses.

The investment might also be seen as part of a hedge against a competitor entering the Edmonton all-news field, such as Rogers. Rutherford goes on record to say "Corus just might take its 30-minute-news-wheel style beyond Edmonton. If so, it could prove to be an emerging competitor to the format already established in several Canadian radio markets by Rogers Radio."

McKay points out that at the same time Corus launched iNews880 in Edmonton, they flipped their news/talk CINW Montreal station to AM940 - Montreal's Greatest Hits. Eighteen newsroom jobs were lost.

From Broadcast Dialogue:

Rutherford, 54, concedes Montreal is a very different market from his home town of Edmonton and while for several years they tried news/talk (which still seems to work in the city's French-language milieu), they just couldn't get the “traction” needed there.

“It was a standalone AM station trying to find a niche, and it didn't have the same types of revenue potential or revenue growth that we've got in Edmonton.”

McKay's article echoes issues earlier raised by this web site (see Cool 880 flips to all news and Out with the oldies and in with the news), in particular Corus' adoption of proven Rogers programming elements.

On June 5th, 2008 at CRTC hearings held in Edmonton, Paul Ski, Chief Executive Officer of Rogers Radio, was asked by the Last Link on the Left to confirm reports that Rogers had engaged in legal action and had issued a cease and desist order against Corus Entertainment with regard to the use of Rogers trademarks and programming elements.

Ski offered a polite "no comment" but did say that Rogers preferred to "take the high road" in such matters.

From McKay's article:

And it may also just be a coincidence that Corus “borrowed” Rogers' signature green logo colours.

Some observers say that while iNews880 may never actually turn a profit, any losses would almost surely be less than money lost to a rival all-newser.

But John Hinnen [Rogers vice president and general manager] says Rogers still plans to move into Edmonton with a new FM news op, despite the existing competition.

“They seem to be focusing more on trying to get Internet stuff, but basically what they're doing there is re-purposing stuff from CHED, so it's still the same news voice. And what we're proposing to bring to that market is a new news voice.”

Hinnen says that, unlike Corus, Rogers would be committed to its new licence for seven years.

“We can't change format. And in the case of Corus, their station being an AM station, they could change tomorrow. There's no restriction on them in terms of sticking with the format.

“We're pretty confident we can make a go of it.”

McKay's article also suggests the timeline of events as recalled by Rutherford might be a case of "point of view."

Rutherford denies a widely-held view within the industry that Corus rushed into Edmonton to beat Rogers' plans to duplicate its 660 CFFR Calgary all-news operation, insisting he had proposed iNews880 to Corus nearly two years ago.

“It is a very, very expensive format, and we've invested more than $2 million so far, and we needed to pick the right time in Edmonton's business cycle to be able to absorb those kinds of expenses.

“And so we picked this fiscal and the second half of this fiscal to really get serious about how we were going to make this work, and we had no idea that Rogers had an interest in that format in this market. We didn't know until after the gazetting of applications in Edmonton that their intent was to try and find a licence for such a format here. We were already on the air and doing our thing.”

To outside observers, the timeline went as follows:

CRTC call for applications - November 14th, 2007
Applications published - February 8th, 2008
Corus announces flip of CHQT - March 14th, 2008
iNews880 debuts - May 20th, 2008

Rutherford also makes much of iNews880's use of the internet.

Rutherford says they're trying something different with a station that is actually driven by its Internet site (www.inews880.com) not just a companion to it.

“The single biggest difference ... is the involvement of the Internet,” explains Rutherford. “What we wanted to do is create a situation where after three or four months of the station being on the air, you wouldn't be able to tell if the website was driving the radio station or the radio station was driving the website. We needed to marry those two platforms.

“Most news-talk radio stations have a website which is an add-on to their programming. We wanted not to make it an add-on but make it just a central focus of the radio station.”

[Rutherford] says iNews880 is also making use of what it calls citizen journalists and volunteer bloggers who provide content to the website but also get interviewed on air, another vital cost-saving alternative to funding an army of professional reporters in the field.

“They're doing it right now for the experience and for their participation, but I think as things grow and as they play a bigger role those are things (salaries) that we will be looking at.”

As part of his lead in the article McKay writes, "Talk is cheap, they say."

On the morning after the Summer 2008 ratings were released, at about 9:40, an iNews880 reader was heard reporting on a legal matter in the United States.

A man was appearing in court, the result of an "in-DICKT-ment," the female reader mispronounced.

While Corus may have a $2 million stake in iNews880, the stake in the heart of their credibilty comes out of the mouths of underpaid and unqualified babes in the broadcasting woods.

For more detailed data about the Summer 2008 book, read the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement report (opens as a .pdf).

The all-important Fall book (by which advertising rates are set) is being sampled September 1st to October 26th, with a release date set for November 27th, 2008. Stay tuned.

In a rare example of Graham Hicks having to eat crow in print (or at least online), the Edmonton Sun columnist had to backtrack on remarks made in his initial blog entry covering the ratings.

"Some say Rawlco will bail and put the station up for sale," Hicks wrote of Magic 99's future while also suggesting that coffee-buddy Rob Christie should be considered as the prize in 96.3 Capital FM's quest for a "name" morning man.

In a later blog entry, Hicks related how Rawlco President Pam Layland called him to dispell (sic) rumours the company was selling its struggling but-still-new radio station.

"Still-new" is a relative term. Given the impact The Bounce and Sonic 102.9 have had in the same time period, Magic 99's "best before" date has come and gone – and Hicks was likely being diplomatically apologetic when choosing his words.

"There's no way Rawlco will sell," Pam told Hicks. "Rawlco has a long-term perspective and being privately held, we can be patient. We're committed to Magic 99, and very proud of the station."

Regarding Christie and possible employment at 96.3 Capital FM, Layland was protective.

"Rob is committed to Magic 99 and its long-term success. He's staying with us," she told Hicks.

Conspicuous from the fray was a quote from Hicks' pal Christie. Perhaps another coffee date is in order ... or perhaps Hicks already knows something.

"Time will tell ... " was how Graham ended his retreative posting. Is the Magic 99 morning coffee mug half full or half empty?

Within days of the BBM results being released came word that 30-year CHED/CKNG veteran (and current Joe-FM morning host) Audie Lynds had flown the Corus coop to join 96.3 Capital FM.

The move sees Lynds re-team with Newcap operation manager Pat Cardinal (who spent time at CHED and CKNG when it was known as Power 92).

The pairing had industry insiders wondering if the other shoe in this move had yet to be dropped: re-uniting Lynds with former air-mate Rob Christie (see item above).

Under Cardinal, the Christie/Lynds combo earned top ratings. It remains to be seen if the new Newcap boss can loosen the purse strings to accommodate the dream morning team – perhaps at the cost of live talent during other dayparts at the station.

Also surprising to insiders is that Lynds wasn't bound by a non-compete clause in his Corus contract. Memos were probably written to Toronto HR honchos within seconds of Audie's departure from the building on July 19th, 2008.

back to menu

Edmonton Radio Ratings Archives

edmonton radio ratings archives
Bragging rights and pink slips from years gone by.

Related Pages

edmonton radio news
Selected recent events in Edmonton radio history.
edmonton television ratings
TV bragging rights and pink slips.

radio - edmonton ratings

there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics -- mark twain