Friday, November 30, 2012

'Old School' still hot in Charlotte radio ratings

"Old School" 105.1 is continuing to perform well since its debut two months ago, reaching No. 10 in the latest Arbitron rankings for Charlotte.

After buying the station for $7.75 million, Radio One switched formats in September from Spanish to classic hits. In the October Arbitrons, it landed at No. 11.

"Old School" knocked rival WBAV-FM  (“V” 101.9) from the top, but the CBS mainstay has returned to No. 2 in the rankings and is up slightly from October. 


WKKT-FM ("Kat" 96.9) rides atop the Arbitron rankings for the third straight month, though competitor WSOC-FM (103.7) remains close behind.


WBT-AM (1110) continues to rise, landing No. 6. It is up 26 percent in ratings since August. Sister station WLNK-FM (107.9) is also on the upswing, at No. 7, up 13 percent since August. 


Top 40 WNKS-FM ("Kiss" 95.1) continues to falter, landing at No. 15. "Kiss" is down nearly 20 percent in overall ratings this autumn.


Top morning drive-time shows this ratings period are Steve Harvey on WBAV-FM; Paul Schadt on WKKT-FM; "Charlotte's Morning News" on WBT-AM; "Bob & Sheri" on WLNK-FM; Rob Tanner on WSOC-FM.


Here's the latest rankings from Arbitron and the percentage of audience among all listeners as calculated by Arbitron.


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1. WKKT-FM ("Kat" 96.9) 7.4 
2. WBAV-FM ("V" 101.9) 6.6 
2. WSOC-FM (Country 103.7) 6.6  
4. WPEG-FM ("Power 98" 97.9) 6.5
5. WRFX-FM ("Fox" 99.7) 5.8 
6. WBT-AM (News/talk 1110) 5.3 
6. WLNK-FM ("Link" 107.9) 5.3 
8. WLKO-FM ("Lake" 102.9) 4.9 
8. WKQC-FM ("K" 104.7) 4.9 
10. WOSF-FM ("Old School" 105.1) 4.5
11. WPZS-FM ("Praise" 100.9, 92.7) 4.2 
12. WHQC-FM ("Channel" 96.1) 4.1 
13. WFAE-FM (NPR 90.7) 3.8 
14. WEND-FM ("End" 106.5) 3.7 
15. WNKS-FM ("Kiss" 95.1) 3.5 
16. WRCM-FM ("New Life" 91.9) 3.3 
17. WMIT-FM ("Light" 106.9) 2.3
18. WFNZ-AM ("Fan" 610) 1.6 
19. WDAV-FM (Classical, 89.9) 1.1 
20. WBCN-AM (Talk, 1660) 0.8
21. WNSC-FM (NPR, 88.9) 0.4
21. WSGE-FM (Gaston College 91.7) 0.4
Ratings do not include WXRC-FM ("Ride" 95.7), which does not subscribe to Arbitron.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Matt, Ramona exiting 'Fox News Edge'


Matt Harris and Ramona Holloway will be stepping down in two weeks as hosts of "Fox News Edge" (10:35 p.m. weeknights, WCCB, Channel 18). It’s become too much of a strain as they continue their "Matt & Ramona" afternoon show on WLNK-FM (“Link” 107.9).
"I’m sleepy," says Holloway. "No matter how we slice it, we get off The Link at 7, go home and get dinner and get out of radio clothes and into fancy TV clothes and get off at 11."
Harris and Holloway hosted "Edge" for two years, then left in 2006 to concentrate on radio. They returned after Christopher Frederick, better known as "Brotha Fred," and Morgan Fogarty left "Edge" in January 2011. Fox Charlotte is looking for replacements, says news director Ken White.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Simms says it's time for her to leave WBT mornings

Stacey Simms, a staple of morning radio for a decade on WBT's "Charlotte's Morning News," will leave the station in December.

Simms, 41, said Monday that she's at a stage in her life where she wants to spend more time with her children, a sixth-grade daughter and second-grade son. She gets up at 3 a.m. weekdays and usually heads for bed before 8 p.m.

"As they're getting older, it's not working out. ... I can't ask my middle-schooler to go to bed at 7:30. Believe me, I've asked," she said.

She will talk to listeners about her decision on Tuesday's show, she said.

"Since 2002, Stacey has been instrumental in the development and success of Charlotte's Morning News and has always displayed the highest level of professionalism, and dedication, to WBT,"  Rick Feinblatt, Greater Media's senior vice president, said in a statement Monday.

Stacey Simms
In 2002, Simms replaced Danny Fontana as co-host on the morning broadcast with Al Gardner. She moved into the position from WBTV (Channel 3), where she specialized in health reporting.

Simms' departure is the latest in a string at WBT-AM (1110). Over the last three years, the station has parted ways with Gardner, who went to a morning radio job in his native Philadelphia, program director Carl East, and hosts Vince Coakley, Tara Servatius and Pete Kaliner. Simms currently shares morning news duties with Bo Thompson and sports commentator Jim Szoke.

Simms has suffered health setbacks over the past year. In April, she took time off because she was run down and learned that medication she was taking for a back injury was causing liver problems. She had recovered from that when she was hospitalized over the summer with gastro-intestinal trouble. She lost about 20 pounds before healing and missed work for two months. She said she's over all that, but it was a setback because she lives a healthy lifestyle -- golf and jogging were part of her routine.

Simms said her contract expired with WBT in September, but she and WBT agreed to keep going on a month-to-month basis after she'd been out so long. She said she'd been thinking for the last three years that it was time to get out of a 5 a.m.-to-9 a.m. shift so she could spend more time with her children.

Simms is well-known for her advocacy on diabetes awareness. Her 7-year-old son, Benny, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago. She wrote a cookbook, "I Can't Cook, But I Know Someone Who Can," with chefs from the area that raised more than $12,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and has served on its board.

Simms joined WBTV in 1999 from the NBC affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y.

Simms will sign off on Dec. 14. Greater Media said a search for her replacement is under way.



Thursday, November 8, 2012

'Old School' a hit in first radio rating period


"Old School" 105.3 shot up in the Arbitron rankings in its first month, gaining almost 140 percent in listeners over its old format.

After purchasing the station for $7.75 million, Radio One switched formats in September from Spanish to classic hits with artists like the Isley Brothers, Rick James and Stevie Wonder.

It landed at No. 11 in the October Arbitron rankings, tied with Clear Channel Radio’s WHQC-FM (“Channel” 96.1).

This week, “Old School” changed its call letters to WOSF-FM, reflecting its new identity (A New York station quick scooped up the old WNOW-FM call letters). WOSF stands for "Old School Flavah," says Gary Weiss, manager for Radio One's Charlotte, Raleigh and Richmond stations.

WOSF-FM's gains appear to have come at the expense of CBS Radio's WBAV-FM (“V” 101.9) and WPEG-FM (“Power” 97.9).

WBAV-FM fell to third in the October rankings, which represented a 20 percent decline in overall listeners from September's figures. WPEG-FM fell 11 percent in overall listeners, landing at No. 5.

Radio One also saw gains at inspirational gospel WPZS-FM (“Praise” 100.9), which is now simulcast on the old WQNC-FM (92.7). Figures for listening on the two stations are combined for "Praise," which saw a 25 percent boost in a month and made an appearance among the top 10.

WKKT-FM ("Kat" 96.9) finished in the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive month but No. 2 WSOC-FM (103.7) closed the narrow gap between them.

As the election approached, WBT-AM (1110) and WFAE-FM (90.7) continued to show gains. Both news/talk stations have been trending up for months. Even WBCN-AM (1660), which is airing conservative talk before switching formats next January to the CBS Sports network, was up.

Both WNKS-FM ("Kiss" 95.1) and WEND-FM ("End" 106.5), Nos. 14 and 15 respectively, posted declines for the fourth straight month.

WLKO-FM ("Lake" 102.9), continues to gain with its new all-hits format that replaced "Lite." It's  up nearly 10 percent over the last three months.  

We'll talk more about the urban battle between Radio One and CBS Radio in Charlotte in Saturday's media column.

Here's the latest rankings from Arbitron and the percentage of audience among all listeners as calculated by Arbitron.


1. WKKT-FM ("Kat" 96.9) 7.2%

2. WSOC-FM (103.7) 6.8%

3. WBAV-FM ("V" 101.9) 6.3%

4. WRFX-FM ("Fox" 99.7) 6.0%

5. WPEG-FM ("Power" 98) 5.8%

6. WLNK-FM ("Link" 107.9) 5.2%

7. WPZS-FM ("Praise" 100.9, 92.7) 5.0%

8. WBT-AM (News-talk 1110) 4.9%

8. WLKO-FM ("Lake" 102.9) 4.9%

10. WKQC-FM ("K" 104.7) 4.6%

11. WOSF-FM ("Old School" 105.3) 4.5%

11. WHQC-FM ("Channel" 96.1) 4.5%

13. WFAE-FM (NPR 90.7) 4.2%

14. WNKS-FM ("Kiss" 95.1) 3.6%

15. WEND-FM ("End" 106.5) 3.4%

16. WRCM-FM ("New Life" 91.9) 3.1%

17. WMIT-FM ("Light" 106.9) 2.0%

18. WFNZ-AM ("Fan" 610) 1.7%

19. WDAV-FM (Classical 89.9) 1.4%

20. WBCN-AM (Talk 1660) 0.6%

21. WNSC-FM (NPR) 0.4%

21. WSGE-FM (Gaston College, 91.7) 0.4%

21. WZGV-AM ("ESPN" 730) 0.4%

Does not include WRFX-FM (“The Ride” 95.7), which does not subscribe to Arbitron.