Changes attributed to musical tastes
By Joe Hadsall
jhadsall@joplinglobe.com
Hannah Montana may be partly responsible for a local radio station’s ratings surge.
KSYN-FM, a top-40 radio station owned by Zimmer Radio Group, received the biggest increase in the spring 2008 listening period, according to Arbitron Inc. ratings released this month. The station jumped from a 7.3 overall share in the previous fall 2007 ratings period to an 11 share, the No. 2 spot on the list.
KIXQ-FM, a Zimmer station with a country format, remained at the top of the Joplin market with a 12.1 rating, down from a 14.6 share in the fall.
KSYN’s increase and KIXQ’s decrease can be attributed to listeners’ musical preferences, said Chad Elliot, operations manager for Zimmer.
“It’s a cycle that radio goes through,” Elliot said. “Right now is the perfect time for KSYN. ‘High School Musical’ and Hannah Montana are big, and country doesn’t have a home-run hitter like Garth Brooks right now.”
Arbitron releases certain ratings information to the public, said Jessica Benbow, a spokeswoman for the company. She said Arbitron determines ratings using an average of the past two ratings periods, so what is known as the spring 2008 period actually combines the spring 2008 and fall 2007 results, while the fall 2007 period combined fall and spring 2007 results.
“It gives the ratings more stability,” Benbow said.
The ratings reflect the listening habits of people 12 and older, listening between 6 a.m. and midnight.
Zimmer’s other two music stations — adult contemporary KJMK-FM and classic rock KXDG-FM — rounded out the top four spots on the latest list.
KMXL-FM, an adult-hits station owned by Carthage resident Ron Petersen, finished fifth with a 6.4 share.
Tower collapse
A tower collapse may have affected the latest round of ratings.
The December ice storm that knocked out power across the region also knocked out a 312-foot tower used for broadcasting KJML-FM, a rock station.
Station owner FFD Holdings, formerly known as Community Radio Group, switched that station to the frequency occupied by top-40 station KMOQ-FM, which was left without a frequency for a few weeks. When the tower was rebuilt, KMOQ was broadcast on the frequency that used to broadcast KJML.
KMOQ and KJML both dropped in the latest ratings.
KMOQ dropped from a 2.2 share in the fall of 2007 to a 1.7 share in the spring of 2008. KJML dropped from a 4.5 share to a 3.5 share.
Warren McDonald, operations manager for FFD Holdings, said: “They are pretty much as we expected. We didn’t see any surprises in the ratings, and they will get better as we go along.”
Demographics
Benbow said Arbitron also collects other data that it sells to stations for their use, but it is not publicly available. Station owners look at “money” demographics of people 25 to 54 in order to cater to advertising clients. Breakdowns for the 18-to-34, 18-to-49 and 25-to-54 age groups also are sought by station owners
Both Elliot and Petersen said there were positive signs for their stations in those areas.
In addition to KSYN’s big jump, Zimmer’s six stations combined for a 10.7 increase in the 25-54 bracket, with a combined 45.2 share, Elliot said.
“We are always striving to increase our listenership,” he said. “We didn’t have a concentrated effort to increase ratings, other than getting out live and visiting with the community.”
“We had some strong finishes in those respective demographics, so I’m pleased,” Petersen said of KMXL. “On the whole, KMXL finished very competitively.”
McDonald said FFD Holdings does not subscribe to Arbitron, so specific demographics were unavailable to him.
On the Net
More information about Arbitron is available via www.arbitron.com.
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