KCUR FM host Steve Kraske
Here we go, baby…
New year, two new news-talk formats and the game’s fast afoot in the wide world of Kansas City radio rankings. For starters we’ve got the same-old, same-old with classic rocker KCFX FM in the No. 1 slot.
That despite a significant drop.
However, longtime country powerhouse KFKF FM nose dived even worse from a 7 share in December to a 5 share in January, dropping from second to 7th place in the standings. Or as Craig Glazer might say, “Yikes!”
Most of the rest of the “usual suspects” more-or-less maintained their ratings, so it’s not like KFKF got overtaken, it just sank like a rock.
KCMO FM – don’t call them oldies even if they are – also took a beating, dropping from a 7.5 share with Christmas music to a 4.9 share. Yikes again!
And of course, all eyes are upon news talk station KMBZ AM & FM.
That’s because Entercom split the baby in half for the new year, relegating Darla Jaye, Rush Limbaugh and a host of heavyweight, syndicated conservative talkers to KMBZ’s historic 980 AM signal, while moving the rest of it’s local talk team the FM dial and adding a couple of newbies to the mix.
Thus it was almost a certainty that KMBZ would sink, the question was, how far?
Well, in the case of 980 AM, it dropped all the way from a 4.8 share to a 1.8 share in a tie with local talk radio weak sister KCMO AM.
KMBZ FM fared far better, sinking only from the aforementioned 4.8 share to a more respectable 3.5 share.
The flip side of that drop:
Would you believe that public radio news/talk station KCUR FM leapt from a 2.4 share in the “holiday book” to a 3.3 share, just a smidgen behind KMBZ FM?
Believe.
That’s somewhat amazing given that KCUR trailed KMBZ by more than two share points in the last two ratings books.
Could it be that the smooth talkers at KCUR are gonna give KMBZ FM’s rabble rousers a run for their money? They’re already laying waste to 980 AM which used to smoke KCUR all on its lonesome before KMBZ’s AM/FM simulcast.
Let’s see, what else?
Oh yeah, speaking of public broadcasting…
KTBG Bridge Meister Jon Hart
KCPT TV, Channel 19‘s love child The Bridge came in dead last.
That despite predictions and assurances from certain local hipsters who claimed last summer that The Bridge was poised to take off. Instead it dropped from a lowly 0.3 share to an even lowlier 0.2 share.
And that in spite of the fact that Paul Wilson has every radio in every car, his office and his house tuned to it. The Bridge posted a cume of barely 20,000 listeners ( a dozen of which I think have to be Paul).
That’s less than a third of the next lowest rated station in the market KCMO’s HD2 signal that plays – wait for it – country.
Stay tuned for a full ratings chart of listeners 12 and older in a Kansas City market estimated by Nielsen to include 1.6 million listeners.
Talk radio still works for listeners who care whats going on in the world and in Kansas City.
I’m starting to capitulate. So much so that I emailed Jon Hart to say I was afraid The Bridge was falling in the same trap of every other station in holding fast to a limited play list in heavy rotation.
What prompted it was their last fundraiser where I had no less that 10 listeners contact me saying versions of, “OK, this is the ORIGINAL Bridge we all fell in love with; more diverse tunes, hardly any repeats!”
John replied that there actually hadn’t been that much of a change but I sure thought so.
It’s still the most used preset in all of my vehicles and even streaming from the beach.
Here’s my take with those opinions you speak of, Paul-by moving to town, the college feel of The Bridge stayed behind.
I fell in love with the fact that 90.9 was the best college station in my range.
Its NOT the same old Bridge.
It was great they became an all-music format (like I so desparately wish KKFI would do), but the song rotation was never stale before the change, and their signal still sucks like it did when it was 50 miles away from town.
I only go there when KKFI jumps to their public affairs programming, and still I here the occasional repeat of a song when that certain artist is coming to town.
It’s hard to hang on to a college vibe when you have a sexagenarian (or close) programming the station, Libertaian
Good point.
God bless John Hart for all he’s done, but he has been at it a while.
I’m not sure I could agree any more than I do, Lib. That’s a pretty accurate assessment.
you should have listened to Harley.
I said kfkf was a classic country station and was only #1 for a short
time…not long…and wth these new owners they will sink even further.
The bridge: are you serious…you again get faceplant #1002.
You and your buddy hearne picked a real winner in the bridge.
When Harley said it was nothing….hearnehad at least 5 headlines
about it…when the 10 listeners who also read kcc saw it would be
the flop it is.
You’re a lonely guy. It must be fun going to a fundraiser with 4 people
(one being the janitor).
and you gave them money. HAHAHAHA….but again anyone who
gave loser Romney money lost their money too.
I think you all would have been great prospects for guys like Madoff.
suckers…just plain suckers for someone wearing bling and making
stuff up.
diverse tunes…hardly any repeats….do you know how sttions are
targeted…..to repeat songs and not play diverse unheard of and unknown
songs…instead playing hit sngs.
hey bridge lovers….I got a bridge to sell ya!!!!!! and it ain’t no radio
station.
again…people with no knowledge about asubject shooting their mouths
off.
but that’s kcc.
love kcc….its funny reading these comments that are so off target.
Good luck suckers~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still confused about your obsession with The Bridge. The station reminds me of the question ” if a tree falls in the forest? You and Paul Wilson are among the very few that hear anything on that station.
Regarding KFKF’s fall from the top, you can add a full share point loss by KBEQ as well. That’s dropping from a combined 12 share to a 9 share or better stated they have lost 1/4 of their listeners in one month. At the same time WDAF has one of it’s best showings ever. Maybe Steel City should think twice about changing format from Country to Christmas at Thanksgiving and disenfranchising their loyal listener with Christmas Music……especially now that KCMO FM is the new Christmas Music Station.
Regarding KMBZ…it’s a little early to measure success of the change from simulcast to two different News/talk formats. It was abig surprise to see how much KMBZ AM dropped. When they started the simulcast The AM alone had up to a four share and now it is in a virtual tie with KCMO AM at the bottom of the ratings barrel with less than two percent of the market.
Let’s have the rest of the story.
I think you just provided that, radio dude.
Radio Dude, no fascination. I’m a contributor, I loved it seemed like we were going to get a great AAA in town, but that hope is fading. Pandora and my John Prine station gets more play now!
again…another phony purveyor of bull sh*t. Heavne moderate this
dudes comments before I have to check into the ICU after laughing
so hard at what he writes.
LETS BE SERIOUS…..this ain’t a site for educated people except
Harley and a few others. After that….its all downhill on the
intelligence scales!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t normal, intelligent people know how to spell and type?
hahaHarley is laughable.
To say KMBZ -AM “dropped” would be wrong. It’s a new radio station ( Talk Radio 980)with the exception of Rush in middays. You are comparing it to the simulcast. Actually KMBZ-AM went from a 0 to a 1.8 in one month. Not bad. The FM (which retained the majority of the programming and the KMBZ imaging ) dropped from a 4.6 to a 3.5. Funny thing is, the combined AM and FM now has a 5.3 share. Therefore listening to the two Entercom stations has actually increased.
Old media Chick,
If you read my post it stated before the KMBZ simulcast. That is when KMBZ had a 4 share and KUDL had a 4 share. That is a total of an 8 combined share or a loss of almost 3 share points from where the two frequencies were a couple of years ago. True, splitting the two frequencies delivered growth from last month, that to me was a no brainer. The true results are in the revenue, and Entercom just doubled their inventory. That also seems like a no brainer, but I don’t think either station will be a 12plus ratings player….but they probably could care less if they can make it produce the almighty dollar.
I was referring to what Hearne wrote and not your post:
“Well, in the case of 980 AM, it dropped all the way from a 4.8 share to a 1.8 share in a tie with local talk radio weak sister KCMO AM.”