WATERTOWN -- Despite the fact the numbers were recalculated after two in-tab diaries were discarded from the Fall 2009 survey period, there do not appear to be any major surprises in the latest Arbitron ratings released for the Watertown market... or in the re-issued Fall 2009 numbers.
Last week, the ratings giant announced that two in-tab diarykeepers from the Fall 2009 survey period had come "from a household whose participation in the survey was disclosed to a media-affiliated individual." In Arbitron's world, that's a major no-no. Those two questionable diaries were removed from the pool.
Because the actual "book" in Watertown is based on diaries from the two most-recent survey periods, those diaries forced Arbitron to re-issue it's Spring 2009/Fall 2009 numbers. The problem was caught early enough to allow the Fall 2009/Spring 2010 numbers to be accurate.
Back in January, we reported Stephens Media Group's perennial country powerhouse Froggy 97 (WFRY) was in the lead, followed by Community Broadcasters CHR The Border 106.7 (WBDR). Those rankings remain the same in the re-issued Fall 2009 book, but Froggy gains 0.1 point, ending up with a 20.3. The Border's original 15.5 rating is revised down to a 14.8.
Similarly, the rest of the "top 5" stations from the Fall 2009 book keep their same rankings, with only very slight changes (tenths of a point) to the actual ratings.
No big surprises -- WFRY continues to lead the pack, with a 20.8 rating in the brand new book. WBDR holds onto second place with a 16.0, its best book in the last three. Then, the numbers fall by more than half: with a 7.2, Stephens classic rocker Z93 (WCIZ) keeps its bronze medal, despite shedding six-tenths of a point since the fall.
The revised fall numbers show Community Broadcasters rocker 94 Rock (WOTT) and AC Magic 103.1 (WTOJ) tied with 5.5 ratings points apiece. The Spring 2010 book shows WOTT winning the tiebreaker, pulling ahead to a 6.4 rating, while WTOJ stays flat with a 5.6.
Full chart of numbers at stationratings.com
Note that all ratings provided in this article are an overall look at the entire survey pool, Persons age 12+, Monday-Sunday 6am-Midnight. The numbers do not necessarily reflect the specific performance goals of stations which may be targeting more-specific demographics within the audience. All ratings copyright 2010, Arbitron, Inc., used with permission.