fall 2007 › edmonton ratings archives › edmonton ratings › radio in edmonton › radio

The "Fall 2007" book measured Edmonton radio audiences from September 3rd to October 28th, 2007.

The Fall book is the one by which advertising rates are set for the coming year. While program directors and station managers usually dismiss other books as not being representative, the news the Fall BBM brings can't be ignored.

Weekly audience numbers shrank ever-so-slightly from 1,642,000 during late summer to 1,633,000 in the fall – but without the return of CKUA's 45,000 listeners to the book it means there was an actual decrease of 54,000.

The BBM rating results were based on diaries returned by 1,828 persons, each one filling out daily listening habits for a seven day period during the survey's eight-week run.

CHED - 11.7 (11.9 in Summer 2007, 11.5 in Fall 2006)

CHED continues to not disappoint their Corus owners with its 17th first-place showing among the 21 surveys of this century. While slipping slightly from Summer 2007 numbers, the station fared well in year-to-year numbers. Total audience is up slightly.

The Mighty 630 seems to have weathered the sudden departure of Gord Whitehead just prior to the start of the ratings period. Program director Syd Smith has been filling in with guests such as Dave Jamieson of the Edmonton Eskimos (who some said sounded a lot like Gord), Edmonton Sun columnist Graham Hicks, former CBC TV sports reporter and now Edmonton Oilers communications VP Alan watt, and Global Television's Gord Steinke. And when Syd took a vacation break in the middle of the ratings period he had sports boy Dan Tencer operating the height adjustment controls on the big morning chair.

With top-name personalities such as Dave Rutherford and Bryan Hall still in place, non-discerning listeners likely didn't notice the shift of newsman Jamie Nye to sports (vacating the chair beside Eileen Bell on the Afternoon News) and the addition of Craig Mattern (brought over from Cool 880) to the general news lineup. Nye is happy with the move, but at last word CHED was having difficulty finding a partner for Bell (with former CHED employees turning down requests to return).

Just after the ratings period closed came word that the CRTC was approached to entertain a "call for application" for a new station in Edmonton. The city is already Canada's best-served radio market and inside media circles there's speculation that someone might try mounting an all-news station in direct competition to CHED and CBC Radio One.

CHED station manager and Corus VP Doug Rutherford then made a call of his own, rounding up his troops and telling them the broadcaster would "defend their turf" and turn sister-station Cool 880 into a news operation.

However, just as news of the Fall 2007 ratings came out CHED's troops suffered the loss of one of their key frontline soldiers. On November 30th Corus and legendary crime reporter Byron Christopher parted ways over what was thought to be an in-house issue of ethics.

Media hawks watching from the sidelines would likely prefer open competition in the news market rather than see the closed-door editorial dominance of one newsroom serving two news stations.

CFBR - The Bear - 10.9 (11.6 Summer 2007, 8.2 Fall 2006)

Down half a point from the usually unpredictable summer books, The Bear posted a strong gain over the key Fall book of the year before. But the best news coming out the survey was the station's ability to fend off the much-heralded return of Terry Evans at K-Rock after a 16-month absence.

Taking the high road, Bear general manager Marty Forbes told the Edmonton Journal: "It's good to have Terry back behind the microphone ... and good competition only makes us better."

Forbes credits The Bear's strong showing to his staff's profile in the community, citing Yukon Jack writing for the Edmonton Sun and Todd James' Minute At The Movies segments aired Fridays on Global's Early News.

"Edmonton is a really busy city and I'm just thrilled the talent reflects our city," Forbes said.

The Bear's morning crew of Paul Brown, Gillian Foote and Yukon Jack seems to have proved the rule that it takes two years for a morning show to capture an audience.

With the ratings period just over Astral Media made public the news that their ownership takeover of Standard Radio was given regulatory approval. Bear fans were no doubt shocked by two-page ads announcing the station was switching to an all-polka format (the second page of the ads suggested Astral was just kidding). Similar ads ran in Vancouver for the chain's 95-Crave FM outlet.

Along with Sonic, The Bear suffered the greatest loss of the ever-shifting overall audience.

CFMG - EZ Rock - 9.2 (8.4, 7.6)

Safe at work and safe in the ratings, EZ Rock places second on the FM dial behind Astral sister-station The Bear, and audience numbers are up as well for their greatest showing since Spring 2003's 10.8 rating.

Before CHQT flipped to a short-lived Joe AM experiment and their current oldies format, the station enjoyed EZ Rock-like numbers with much the same format. And it seems the EZ audience is not favouring another move (to Magic 99) now that they've found that old familiar sound.

CKNG - Joe FM - 8.7 (8.2, 7.9)

Despite losing raw audience numbers, Corus-owned Joe FM has come in with steady share increases over the last book and the same period in 2006.

The station tweaked its morning show, swapping Rhubarb Jones in to work beside Audie Lynds with Gary James moving to the drive home slot.

Further tweaking was heard just after the survey period ended with songs from the sixties being sprinkled into the mix. Conspiracy theorists might think the station is getting ready to woo listeners from sister-station Cool 880 should that outlet flip to all-news.

CISN - 8.2 (6.3, 9.8)

Country may no longer be king in Edmonton but the format is far from having left the building. Bouncing back from a couple of bad books, the station is back in the saddle with numbers closer to what they have historically enjoyed.

The recent ups and downs of the country audience, and fans of other formats, suggests a large portion of the Edmonton audience isn't shy when it comes to dial twisting and dashboard button stabbing. The city's other country outlet, CFCW, also showed gains over recent poor performances.

CHBN - The Bounce - 7.8 (6.0, 6.8)

Also showing great gains, The Bounce weighs in with their best ratings since launching in early 2005. The modern rock sound first snared CKRA's 96X audience and seems to have also snuck some away from Sonic as well (who posted their worst showing since turning on their transmitter, also in early 2005).

The Fall 2007 book was good news for Adam McKale who moved from middays to afternoon drive, and the numbers also endorse the Pepper and Dylan Show as winners with the station's largely teen audience.

The ratings gain is also good news for former Corus jock and CHQT program director James Stuart. As manager at the Bounce, Stuart is carving out a strong track record for new station owners CTVglobemedia who took over the CHUM property.

The Bounce is also the highest rated station not part of a group (ie Corus - CHED, CISN, JOE-FM, Cool 880 - and Astral - The Bear, EZ Rock, The Team).

CFCW - 6.5 (5.7, 4.5)

Returning to the upper half of the ratings roost, the heritage country station has recovered handsomely from three disastrous 2007 books (they posted a nadir of 3.1 in the Early Summer sample).

Local Newcap GM Randy Lemay has stayed the course and despite the troubles of Big Earl and K-Rock, the staff all think he's done a great job.

CFCW seems to now think its an Edmonton station despite its Camrose roots. In addition to having studios located within West Edmonton Mall, CFCW has also invaded the city's air space by providing traffic reports.

In early September, Newcap brought in the SkyWords Traffic Network service to do aerial battle with the Corus/Global-shared Canadian Traffic Network. Aboard the fixed-wing craft is Ashley Wiebe and Stuart MacIntosh, both Edmonton natives. MacIntosh is a NAIT Radio & TV Arts product, while Weibe went through SAIT and enjoyed a bumpy ride at CHED handling overnight and weekend news chores before getting her wings.

Fresh at the station is newsie Kari Skelton, up from Newcap in Red Deer (she's also heard on Big Earl). And the Ukrainian Hour is now under the firm grip of Edmonton Police Service detective Steven Chwok (who learned his mother tongue at his mother's knees).

CFCW's numbers always carry an asterisk: it's been long thought if northern Alberta rural listeners were sampled the station's rankings would put them on top of the heap.

CIRK - K-Rock - 5.9 (7.5, 7.3)

In cruel fashion, Newcap GM Lemay's redemption with CFCW is followed by the first of one of his two worst nightmares on the ratings board. Despite a heavy TV ad splash and a faux viral marketing campaign, the return of morning man Terry Evans did not signal a return of better numbers for the beleagured outlet.

To be fair, the burden can't rest entirely on Terry's shoulders. Coming back after a 16-month mental health break, a "kinder, gentler" Evans returned to the K-Rock fray halfway during the Fall 2007 sample. A good morning show helps a station's overall numbers, but it's usually the music that matters on a classic rock station.

And if you bought turfed K-Rock morning men Steve Zimmerman, Jim Jerome and Bill Cowen enough beers, there might be consensus that the antics of program director Lochlin Cross may have added to the station's current woes.

Under his watch, Cross has seen K-Rock slip from its Fall 2006 post-Evans book 7.3 share to a historic station-low of 4.1 in Late spring/early summer 2007, then rise to 7.5 in the second Summer 2007 book with the Zimmerman-Jerome-Cowen show intact, then to the present 5.9. "What The Hell Happened to K-Rock" indeed.

With an inverse morning show in place (two gals and a guy), GM Lemay spoke to the Edmonton Journal just days before the release of the Fall 2007 book.

Lemay said initial positive response via listener phone-ins was cause for optimism. "If our research shows us anything ... Terry's audience was ready to welcome him back with open arms," Lemay predicted.

While the first post-Evans return book wasn't what was hoped for, only time will tell. "Maybe next year at this time, I'll be back driving around Alberta," Terry told the Journal, referring to his job working for the Walter Zipcut trucking company. And time might wound all heels.

"It's kind of a relief that we've stemmed the flow," Lemay told the Journal after the results came out. "We think we'll continue to grow."

CBX - CBC Radio One - 5.1 (4.7, 6.0)

Likely baffled by the bewilderingly bold numbers of the Summer book (9.8 – anomaly anyone?), the best the broadcaster could do to extend the media buzz of their apparent audience gain was come up with a new slogan.

"Everything Edmonton" was how the station branded itself, part of a network-wide identity re-vamp that introduced “Totally Toronto,” “Truly North” (for the Yukon), "Completely Calgary," “Completely Winnipeg,” "So Montreal," "So Nova Scotia," “So Newfoundland and Labrador” and "Everything New Brunswick" (seems the creative juices could only be stretched so far).

While the Last Link on the Left normally lauds alliteration, for local listeners the new lingo sounded lame. Which is a shame.

CBC Radio One in Edmonton hosts two great shows during the AM and PM drive slots. Local management was likely hoping for better numbers now that the station was being simulcast on the concrete and steel penetrating FM band at 93.9.

As for the future of the slogans ... sometimes good ideas have to fail, as Promo Girl would have once said.

CHDI - Sonic FM - 4.8 (6.3, 5.7)

From sonic boom to sonic bust ... after posting a station high of an 8 share in the Summer book, the fall season wasn't kind to the kids at the modern rock station. The 4.8 rating is the Rogers foothold in the local market's worst showing.

While Garner Andrews remains with strong numbers, personnel shuffles between Sonic and sister station CKER World FM likely affected loyal listeners (popular host Graham Scott slipped down the hall just as Adam Thompson returned).

The dramatic dip might be due to the diary format of the BBM survey which requires dutiful and daily diligence. The post-internet generation, instantly gratified via text messaging and other web conveniences, likely views the keeping of a written record as something akin to household chores and visiting grandma.

Unless the BBM introduces technology-based people tracking, stations that skew to a younger demographic might not be paid their rightful dues. So while program director Al Ford picks all the right notes, the station might not see a rewarding return in votes.

CHQT - Cool 880 - 3.8 (3.3, 3.5)

Would it kill Corus to invest a little promotion money into this station?

A lot of effort was poured into Cool 880 just as the survey period started. Bob Layton and Ed Mason are doing their best to pump out morning news behind Chuck Chandler in a mild recreation of the Drake-Chenault boss radio / CKLW Big Eight formats of the late-sixties and early-seventies.

The ever-solid Gord Robson drives folks home in the afternoons, and the station added b-sides and long-forgotten tunes to the playlist: it's not your father's oldies station anymore.

There's a great program schedule floating around on the internet that can't be found on the official Cool 880 site that highlights the sweeping program changes made under director Lesley Primeau's watch.

Wolfman Jack has been (almost finally) buried in 1:00 - 6:00 a.m. graveyard slot, Gord does live requests from 6 to 7 nightly, Motown Midnights have moved in, the History of Rock and Roll has been doubled to 2 hours on weekends, Dick Bartley's American Gold has returned after a nearly 5 year absence and there are two Top 40 specific year countdowns weekly.

The Disco Diner slot has been dealt a long-overdue death and has been replaced by the Malt Shop on weekday noon hours. And there is also the return of radio vet Roxie Malone-Richards, back from maternity leave.

But it might all be for nought should Corus sniff competition on the news horizon. Despite the recent good intentions, QT's owner may have simply parked the frequency on a contingency (see CHED item above).

CHMC - Magic 99 - 2.8 (3.0, 4.1)

After two years on the air ... the magic might be gone ... and with extreme prejudice.

The hopeful glimmer of the Fall 2006 book has been slowly dimmed by ever-worsening results. Did Edmonton audiences forget the charm of one-time morning master Rob Christie? Did the sleep-inducing TV ads discourage potential listeners? Did the enthusiasts who looked forward to the original CRTC promise of performance of a jazz station finally give up?

Saskatchewan-based owner Rawlco Communications has likely exhausted its patience with the non-performing station. Either a dramatic overhaul will take place (all-Hawaiian music?) or look for the station to be sold to a concern that hasn't maxed out their two AM/two FM limit in the market.

CKUA - 2.7 (n/a, n/a)

After opting out of the costly BBM exercise for several books, community-funded CKUA returned to the ratings razzle-dazzle seemingly just to confirm their fan base was a solid as ever ... and just in time to help mark the station's 80th anniversary.

A pair of fundraisers in 2007 gave the station enough cash to partake in the insane vanity world of the commercial radio ratings game. But the station probably already knew the strength of their province-wide and internet listenership.

To paraphrase Louis Armstrong, if the wide appeal of the station has to be explained ... then it cannot be understood.

CKRA - Big Earl - 2.4 (2.7, 3.7)

It needs to be said. Someone has to take this lame horse of a station to a corner of the pasture and shoot it. Two's company but three's a crowd with the greenhorn seemingly regulated to always be on the outside looking in over the fence of the country radio market.

Despite a stomach churning TV ad blitz designed to be either humourous and/or provocative, the sell wasn't appealing and if Big Earl ever had a following it likely escaped through the back door of the barn in shame.

It remains to be seen how much longer Newcap general manager Randy Lemay can sustain the misery before accusations of radio cruelty can be levelled.

Exactly five years ago the 96.3 frequency enjoyed a fifth-place 9.6 share ... what was somebody thinking?

CFRN - The Team - 1.6 (1.8, 1.3)

With CHED's Bryan Hall and Dan Tencer blasting out their opinions on the local radio ratings leader, the local thinking sports fan can only seek refuge at The Team – unfortunately for the station the numbers aren't there.

As part of the Astral Media purchase that snagged The Bear and EZ Rock, The Team's new owners may have the deep pockets and inclination to outbid CHED for rights to broadcast the games of one of Edmonton's two pro-league sports franchises.

The Team already has the Oil Kings games, with AJ Jakubec handling call of the play, and the station might build on that performance with the substantial investment needed to attract a larger audience. As they say: you cannot win if you do not play ... in the big leagues.

Marking two years on the dial, Camrose-based CAM FM must appear on the Edmonton survey as part of some sort of bulk discount provided to Newcap. Again, both CAM FM listeners seemed to have submitted BBM diaries.

A different pair of listeners wrote that CBX FM - CBC Radio 2 was their favoured station, along with the two that recorded CHFA - Radio Canada as their most-listened to.

Curious dial twisters have likely come across programming at 89.3 on the FM dial. The signal belongs to CFIE – Aboriginal Voices Radio, part of Canada's National Aboriginal Network. CFIE seems to have been testing the frequency for what seems like ages (while begging for CRTC extensions). No word yet on a launch date.

For more detailed data about the Fall 2007 book, read the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement report (opens as a .pdf), the Canadian Broadcast Sales BBM trending and share of hours tuned reports (which both open as a .pdf) or the imsradio report (which oddly enough also opens as a .pdf). General demographic data can be seen in this snapshot taken from Broadcaster Magazine.

The results of the next Edmonton ratings period (January 7th to March 2nd, 2008) is set to be released April 7th, 2008. Stay tuned.

radio - edmonton ratings archives - fall 2007