UTICA-ROME -- The Arbitron Persons 12+ numbers for the Fall 2008 ratings period are out. Regent's Big Frog 104 (WFRG) and Lite 98.7 (WLZW) still own the top 2 ranks, but the duo traded ranks as Lite loses nearly 3 ratings points since the spring.
The numbers released Monday show Lite 98.7 going from a first-place tie with WFRG in fall 2007 (with a 12.1), to a commanding lead in the spring (13.5 to WFRG's 12.9) and dropping to a 9.7 for Fall 2008.
Meantime, crosstown AC competitor Mix 102.5 (WUMX), which ran all-Christmas from November 1 through the end of the book, saw its numbers nearly double -- from a 3.6 in the spring to a 6.1 in the fall. But the effort was still slightly below the 6.9 rating it got in Fall 2007, when Clear Channel sold the station to Galaxy mid-book.
Galaxy classic rocker WOUR jumps from 7th place (5.8) Fall 2007, to 5th place (6.3) in the spring to 3rd place (7.5) in this latest survey. The successes won't matter much to Galaxy; the company subscribes to Eastlan Ratings, rather than Arbitron. Eastlan has never released its numbers to the general public.
In fourth-place with a 6.9 rating, is Roser Group's Kiss-FM simulcast of WSKS and WSKU. That's a single-rank drop for the station, which posted a 7.1 last spring and a 7.4 for the Fall 2007 book. Still much better than anything else in the Roser camp; the company's name doesn't appear again until you scroll down to 9th place, where the "Beautiful Music" of WUTQ/WADR bring in a 2.2 rating, down from the spring book's 3.3.
Rounding out the top five is Regent's Newsradio 950 WIBX, which no doubt benefitted from a very competitive presidential election season. (Makes you wonder how much better it could have been, if Election Day were closer to the end of the book.) The station posted a 6.9 rating, its best out of the last three books. Regent's Oldiez 96 (WODZ) follows, also bringing home a personal best (6.4) from the past three surveys.
Utica-Rome's F'08 book was also "attacked" by stations in surrounding markets. Clear Channel's WGY/Albany and WBBS/Syracuse tied for the "out-of-town leader" title, each earning 1.7 ratings points, enough to beat in-market stations including WBGK, WXUR, WBRV, WTLB and WIXT.
It should be noted that these numbers are the only numbers Arbitron releases to the general public: Persons 12+, Monday-Friday, 6am to midnight. They are merely an "overall" view, and do not necessarily reflect the target demographic of any particular station.
Other Markets:
- Watertown numbers were also released on Monday
- Syracuse numbers have been embargoed since Spring 2008
- Ithaca/Cortland numbers have been embargoed since Fall 2004
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