Arbitron ranks the satcasters

Who listens to what on satellite radio?

The answer to that question became clearer yesterday when radio ratings service Arbitron released the first-ever ratings report covering the individual channels of XM and Sirius during the Spring 2007 ratings period. Here, all the individual channels go up against each other, on a rather level playing field, and provides a rather interesting glimpse at the listening habits of subscribers. There were some obvious outcomes and a few surprises.

Not surprisingly, Sirius' Howard Stern came out on top of the heap. "Howard 100" was the most-listened to satellite radio channel of them all, and the only channel on Sirius to break 1 million listeners in cume, with over 1.2 million listeners total. The average quarter hour (AQH) audience, which is the average number of people listening every 15 minutes and is the main measure used in those 12+ ratings reports Arbitron releases publically, was 96,700. "Howard 100" is one of two channels devoted to him on Sirius, and is mostly a replay of his daily radio show. Behind it is "Howard 101," which consists of a delayed West Coast feed of his show, as well as other hosts including Bubba the Love Sponge and Scott Ferrall. "Howard 101" came in with 502,000 total cume and 30,700 AQH.

XM's only channel to break the 1 million mark was their "Top 20 on 20" hits channel. Further down on the XM rankings was their flagship morning show, the oft-controversial Opie and Anthony, which airs on "The Virus" (XM202), and is partially syndicated in a much tamer version by CBS Radio. They pulled in 216,800 cume/20,800 AQH, still good to make the top 10 overall in satellite radio. By comparison, "XM Comedy" does twice that.

Music programming was strong for both services, with Top 40 hits, country and decades channels finishing especially high. Sirius also hit well with niche channels consisting of 50s hits, heavy metal and classic country. XM's biggest performers were mostly standard radio formats like hits, adult contemporary and new country, though "Willie's Place," which plays old time country, is one of the provider's most popular channels.

As for other talk radio, XM's "Talk Radio," which has recently undergone a great deal of shuffling, is tops, with a 154,000 cume/8700 AQH. The channel features Coast to Coast AM, Bruce Williams, Dave Ramsey, Glenn Beck and others. "America Right," which features conservatives such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin, nabbed 132,400 cume/5000 AQH. XM167, which is home to Air America Radio, Ed Schultz, Mike Malloy and others, finished very close behind in cume, with 109,600, but ranks significantly higher than "Right" in AQH, with 7200. Oprah Winfrey's channel is slotted in between the two in cume, but has a rather low AQH. "FOX News Talk," which consists of the radio shows of everyone's favorite FOX Noise blowhards, was much farther behind, with 64,000 cume. In short, about the same as they do on terrestrial radio, which is rather dismal. The audio feed of the TV cable channel did significantly better on both providers.

On Sirius, "Sirius Left" (59,100/3000) tops both the right-wing "Sirius Patriot" (46,800/1700) and "FOX News Talk" (29,800/800). NPR does well with their two dedicated channels, pulling in 82,600 cume and 1400 AQH.

Overall, XM has a weekly cume of 10,332,900, while Sirius has a cume of 6,595,000. The satellite ratings were for persons ages 12+, based on approximately 466,000 in 300 markets during the Spring ratings period (April-June). Granted, some may take exception at Arbitron's rather outdated survey methods, but until something better comes along (Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM), perhaps?), this is what we've got.

Top 10 lists for each provider (and total) can be found on MediaWeek's site in a PDF here. You can see how each individual channel did at Radio-Info, in a rather concise PDF.

Free Howard Stern!

So, you're a Howard Stern fan, but you don't want to cough up the coin for satellite radio, huh? Well, you're in luck. For two days, anyway.

On October 25 and 26, you can listen to Stern's hilariously raunchy and provocative Sirius Satellite Radio show for free. And legally.

So, what's the occasion? Or more to the point, what's the catch? Well, Sirius is promoting their new Internet radio service, where they're rolling out "over 75 channels of CD-quality programming over the Internet -- without having to buy a Sirius radio -- for a monthly subscription fee of $12.95 -- the same price as an existing Sirius monthly subscription."

Remember, it's only a two-day promotion. After that, if you like it and you're hooked, whip out the Visa card and get Sirius. And keep in mind that Stern's current show sounds considerably different than his old CBS days. Meaning Stern and the gang can get away with stuff the FCC would likely throw him in prison for if he tried to do it on the terrestrial airwaves. In other words, not for the easily offended or prudish. Still pretty damn entertaining, though. And far fewer commercial breaks.

The two-day free trial of “The Howard Stern Show” marks the first time he has been available to a non-paying audience since he left terrestrial FM radio in December 2005 (or at least the ones who haven't discovered BitTorrent). The service can be accessed by logging on to www.sirius.com.

Howard Stern Assails FCC Chairman On KGO

From Radio and Records:

The WXRK/New York-based syndicated morning host made a surprise phone call to Michael Powell this morning as the head of the FCC took part in an in-studio interview with KGO/San Francisco mid-morning host Ronn Owens. During the last half of the 9am hour, Stern phoned the station and immediately began a contentious conversation that included rants about, in his opinion, Powell's lack of credentials to be FCC Chairman. He also charged that Powell's father — Secretary of State Colin Powell — was responsible for the younger Powell getting the job, a charge the FCC chief "denied exceedingly" and called "a cheap shot." Stern said, "The commissioner has fined me millions of dollars for things that I said and consistently avoids me and avoids asking my questions, and I'm wondering how long he'll stay on the phone with me." He then asked Powell, "Does it make you nervous to talk to me?" He said no. Stern also accused the Powell-led FCC with "racketeering," saying that the commission forces companies to "pay up" or hold up a station's license renewal. Powell later suggested that what Stern really wants is unlimited restrictions to what he can say or do on the air. But he denied that the commission has singled Stern out in any way. The call by Stern is believed to be his first to another host's radio show; it marked the first time Stern and Powell have spoken. An audio excerpt of the exchange is available through noon ET tomorrow at www.kgoam810.com.

Thanks to Howard Stern's official message board, here's an MP3. Just right-click, and 'save target as'.

Stern #1 in NY summer ratings book

From Drudge Report:

HOWARD STERN HOLDS #1 IN SUMMER BOOK NYC... NUMBERS RELEASED MONDAY SHOW STERN TAKING MORNING DRIVE RACE WITH 8.0 RATING [12+ LISTENERS; 10.8 WITH AGES 25-54] FOR JULY-SEPT. WABC CURTIS/KUBY 3.8; WFAN IMUS 2.6...

More on ratings later this afternoon.

News and rumor roundup

Some of this is old news, gathered from my DU posting:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=109x13938

* KQKE (960) in San Francisco went on the air 9/28.

* Boston got liberal talk on Monday 10/4 when WKOX-AM (1200) and WXKS-AM (1430) pick up Clear Channel's 'progressive talk' format. As for the signal reach, 1430 has a good signal in the city proper, while 1200 hits the outside areas of the city better, reaching as far as Providence, but is not very audible in the city itself. 1200 does have a construction permit to move its tower and boost its signal to cover all of the Boston area, but they are having problems building the tower. It's new city of licence, Newton, is not allowing the tower to be built in their city, and the massive road construction in the area is also slowing things down. Looks like this will be a while, hence the two signals. Here's the site: http://www.bostonsnewtalk.com/

* KSNB-AM is the new affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul as of Friday 10/1. The station, Straight Talk Radio, was originally on 1330 and 1530 under a local marketing agreement (LMA). 1330 was sold a few months ago to Starboard, and the station picked up WMIN-AM 740, a low-powered AM daytimer out of Hudson, WI as a simulcast. The owners of Straight Talk Radio recenty purchased 950 from Infinity, and officially take over the 24-hour frequency, dropping 740 and (allegedly) 1530. I'm not sure of 950's new schedule, but they are keeping the sports play-by-play contracts from the previous ownership, and may keep a few hosts.

This is the new schedule for 950:

Temporary Monday-Friday lineup:

9:00-11:00am Wendy Wilde
11:00- 1:00pm Al Franken
1:00- 4:00pm Ruth Koscielak
4:00-5:00pm Al Franken
5:00- 8:00pm Ed Schultz

The station is still officially owned by Infinity Broadcasting, and operated under an LMA until the FCC approves the sale to the new owners, likely in a few weeks. Due to a contractual agreement (and really messy lawsuit with Infinty's WCCO radio), Ruth Koscielak's show is required to be carried. Hence, Franken's show is temporarily broken up for really boring coffee talk for middle-aged soccer moms. Ed Schultz's show is bumped a couple hours, and the rest of the schedule looks to be AAR programming, though no Malloy, Rhodes or 'Unfiltered'.

Once the sale is official, Ruth is back to her network of suburban rimshot stations.

AFFILIATE NEWS

* Upstate in Minnesota, according to AAR's site, WWWI-AM (1270) in Brainerd is now an affiliate. I'm not sure if this is legit, though, as WWWI's site still shows 'liberal talkers' such as, umm... Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura. Likely, they will pick up one or two AAR shows, perhaps Franken, and tape delay.

* Speaking of affiliates that pick up only a show or two, there is one AAR affiliate that is not mentioned on their site. WQNX-AM (1350) in Aberdeen, NC airs one show. Actually they air one hour of one show, Morning Sedition from 8-9AM:

Topical information presented in a humorous fashion with a slant to the left. It's a peek inside the Dem's camp.

Uhhh...yeah sure.

So, AAR welcomes Aberdeen, NC. Kinda. Other stations do serious cherrypicking as well. KCAA in Riverside seems to run just Randi Rhodes and Al Franken, and surround the shows with the likes of G. Gordon Liddy and Don Imus. And the South Lake Tahoe, CA affiliate buries Franken in the overnight hours. Not exactly a true AAR affiliate as we are familiar with.* There was a bit of turmoil involving the Sacramento, CA affiliate. KSQR-AM (1240) has recently been sold, and it looks like AAR's programming is there to stay for the immediate future. AAR still leases time on KSQR, but does not lease the entire station. KSQR still airs alternate programming overnight and on weekends (often soul music). Not sure how long this arrangement will last, as I imagine AAR will pull out if another station in the market decides to pick up the programming.


RUMORS AND SPECULATION

* Al Franken let slip that a Washington, DC affiliate is in the works. No concrete plans have been announced, but DCRTV.com thinks it may be Clear Channel's WWRC-AM (1260), which currently programs a poorly-rated syndicated sports format (FOX Sports).

* Howard Stern annouced he will jump to Sirius in January 2006. Not true liberal talk, per se, but he bashes Bush harder than anyone out there.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041006/nyw109_1.html

Howard Stern and SIRIUS Announce the Most Important Deal in Radio History
Wednesday October 6, 8:37 am ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- "King of All Media" Howard Stern and SIRIUS announced today an epic agreement whereby Stern will move to SIRIUS beginning January 1, 2006. SIRIUS is the premium satellite radio provider known for delivering the very best in commercial-free music and sports programming to cars and homes across the country.The world-renowned Stern is credited with revolutionizing the talk radio format. He is the No. 1 national radio host among males 18-49 years of age and ranks No. 1 in many of the 46 major markets where his show is broadcast, including New York and Los Angeles."It has been my dream to have the top-rated show in radio since I was five years old," said Stern. "SIRIUS -- the future of radio -- will take this dream to a whole new level as I bring my fans my show my way. It will be the best radio they will ever hear."

In the meantime, if you're within earshot of these stations, you can hear Stern here:

New York, N.Y. WXRK 92.3 FM
Philadelphia, PA. WYSP 94.1 FM
Washington D.C. WJFK 106.7 FM
Los Angeles, CA. KLSX 97.1 FM
Baltimore, MD. WXYV 105.7 FM
Cleveland, OH. WNCX 98.5 FM
Albany, N.Y. WQBK 103.9 FM
Las Vegas, NV. KXTE 107.5 FM
Boston, MA. WBCN 104.1 FM
Chicago, IL. WCKG 105.9 FM
York, PA. WQXA 105.7 FM
Hartford, CT. WCCC 106.9 FM & 1290 AM
Memphis, TN. WMFS 92.9 FM
yracuse, N.Y. WAQX 95.7 FM
Columbus, OH. WBZX 99.7 FM
Detroit, MI. WKRK 97.1 FM
Ft. Myers, FL. WRXK 96.1 FM
Portland, OR. KUFO 101.1 FM
Providence, RI. WWKX 106.3 FM & 102.7 FM
St. Louis, MO. KPNT 105.7 FM
Burlington, VT. WIZN 106.7 FM
San Francisco, CA. KITS 105.3 FM
Cape Cod, MA. WPXC 102.9 FM
Atlantic City, N.J. WJSE 102.7 FM
Dallas, TX. KLLI 105.3 FM
Cincinnati, OH. WAQZ 97.3 FM
Buffalo, NY. WBUF 92.9 FM
Reno, NV. KBZZ 1270 AM
Seattle, WA. KISW 99.9 FM
Sacramento, CA. KXOA 93.7 FM
Phoenix, AZ. KZON 101.5 FM
Charleston, S.C. WYBB 98.1 FM
Lexington, KY. WLXO 96.1 FM
Grand Rapids, MI. WBBL 1340 AM
Fall River, MA. WKKB 100.3 FM
Portland, ME. WHXR 106.7 FM & WHXQ 104.7 FM
Pittsburgh, PA. WRKZ 93.7 FM
West Palm Beach, FL. WPBZ 103.1 FM
San Diego, CA. KPLN 103.7 FM
Orlando, FL. WOCL 105.9 FM
Rochester, NY. WZNE 94.1 FM
Fresno, CA. KRNC 105.9 FM
Austin, TX. KQBT 104.3 FM
Tampa, FL. WBZZ 1010 AM
Houston, TX. KIKK 650 AM

* KQDS/1490 (Duluth, MN) has added the Ed Schultz show, replacing Dr. Laura in the 2-5 p.m. slot. (10/7/2004)Alan Colmes is also on this station, so Duluth/Superior at least gets something resembling liberal talk. There is always the possibility of more liberal talk added, since they really have nothing going on the rest of the day (Tony Snow, a simulcast of their FM sister's morning show, and Bruce Williams - in other words, pretty uninspiring). The ratings are pretty poor. Might they see the liberal light and pick up, perhaps, AAR?

And Dr. Laura loses another affiliate.

http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/index.html