Worcester ratings........

[radioman1818]

Worcester ratings should be out very soon…. Who do you think will be the biggest winner and the biggest loser in the market?

[WMC2006]

-WXLO will lose. Lots of unhappy Zito fans.

-WSRS will gain.  Steady ship.  (Will this rating period include any portion of the Christmas music?  They flipped the day after Thanksgiving.)

-The Pike and Oldies 98-9 will probably be negligible but I listen to The Pike all the time so that should help.   

[Radio-active]

Yes...and, no.

XLO will probably lose a few with Zito's departure, but Donovan isn't exactly unknown..having been a part of that same morning show just a few years ago.  He and Jen work well together and I think the ship will hold its own.

SRS will also be fine, despite the fact that it continues to sound less local with an obviously out-of-town voice-tracked midday (the most important slot on an at-work listening station).

Agreed..Oldies 98-9 is negligible, given their weak signal that doesn't even cover the entire city--but I wouldn't count the Pike out of consideration.  They've been strong in the past, and now with a live morning show (I've listened..I like it.  Lots of music, lots of local discussion, good jock in Cruisin Bruce), they seem to be coming back, according to a full point jump in the last book.

And what about AAF or TAG ?  Certainly, they'll continue to be players.

[radio zombie]

I listen to The Pike all the time so that should help

I'm sure they appreciate your loyalty, but unless you get a diary
to fill out, it won't make a difference in their ratings. I believe The Pike
has actually dropped during the last book or two and I wouldn't be
surprised to see that trend continue. Their sports coverage has to
deprive them of music listeners. It's one thing to carry the Pats,
but a THREE hour pregame and THREE hour post game is a little
much. Yeah, I know it's only weekends that are affected, but that's
still a lot of talk for a music station. Additionally, they carry Holy
Cross football and that probably costs them more listeners. Crusader
fans barely turn out for their football games. Fitton Field looks almost
the same whether they're home or away. And if they plan on carrying
basketball games, it's just more reasons for music fans to go elsewhere.
If they do hold their own in the ratings, some credit should be given
to Bruce Palmer for giving the Pike a presence in the morning.

[Radio-active]

I agree on the sports thing whole-heartedly !
To me, sports coverage belongs primarily on AMs and Talk stations.
And..really, I couldn't care less when it comes to Holy Cross Sports.  No disrespect to the alumni, but heck..I wouldn't even want to listen to my own alma mater's games on the radio.  If I'm not there in the stands for a game at that level, it just doesn't seem to matter.

But I'd double-check your facts on the ratings.  The Pike's drop made a turn-around in the last book, at least as far as the 12+ numbers were concerned (all I have access to).  The spring numbers actually rebounded about 30%.  The gimmicky stunt they pulled back in '04 with a jock-less format pulled in numbers for a while, but that faded about 2 years ago.  Since they put Palmer in the morning, numbers have begun rising.  Overall the station sounds good with a nice oldies-classic rock mix and has reasonable coverage.  Makes you think that if the economy were better (and radio wasn't so obssessed with voice-tracking) that maybe they'd put another jock or two on the air ?

Hmmmm..