WINNIPEG — Janet Trecarten has done it again! The QX 104 program director led her team to remain the #1 FM-only radio station in Winnipeg this fall, recording an 8.1 share.
The country music station on Lombard Avenue has dominated the top of the FM charts for several ratings books now, just behind its AM talk colleagues at CBC Radio One and Brent Williamson‘s 680 CJOB.
The fall numbers were released Thursday by Numeris, measuring the period from September 4 to October 29.
“The big winner is 94.3 The Drive,” said Matt Cundill, president of the Soundoff Media Company and former Power 97 program director.
The Drive is QX 104’s sister station under the direction of David Drake, and takes home the #3 FM position. Both brands are part of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.
“We noticed a significant change in their (The Drive’s) music during last spring’s survey and acknowledged that it would lead to great dividends in the fall. Their music strategy was aimed to position itself to lure listeners from both 92 CITI and 99.9 BOB FM, and it has worked well. The station has also grown organically by staffing locally and avoiding the pitfall of voice tracking out of market.”
Heidi Rasmussen, general manager of QX 104 and The Drive, says they are delighted with the numbers. “Great day for our group,” she said.
Cundill added 680 CJOB received a boost from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ strong on-field performance and Hal Anderson‘s 1-4 p.m. show which is #1 overall for its timeslot weekdays.
Also holding steady as the #2 FM station is Troy Scott‘s 103.1 Virgin Radio. Further down the hallway at 1445 Pembina, 99.9 BOB FM came in with a 6.3 share, up slightly from the spring book, while Chris Brooke‘s TSN Radio 1290 dropped marginally to 3.3. The Bell Media stations are all preparing for Toy Mountain, December 1-2 at Polo Park Shopping Centre in support of the Salvation Army.
Craig Pfieffer‘s 92.1 CITI came in with a 6.5 share, while KiSS 102.3 jumped 0.4 to record a 4.5 under Rogers Radio in Osborne Village.
A few blocks away on Corydon Avenue, Evanov Radio Group’s Energy 106 posted a 4.8 share under program director Adam West, while sister station Hot 100.5 rose to 2.1.
Over on Jack Blick Avenue, Tammy Cole‘s Power 97 and Peggy @ 99.1’s both dipped to come in at 4.4 and 2.1, respectively.
Cundill added that a radio station’s success is based largely on its morning show.
“So if you see a station performing well or increasing in popularity, the morning show has a lot to do with it. The battle for radio listeners is in the 35-54 demo, where many stations target their programming to one degree or another.”
The below data is for the 12+ demographic, with the Spring 2017 ratings in parentheses for comparison.
Fall 2017 radio ratings
- CBC Radio One — 14.2 (14.5)
- 680 CJOB — 11.2 (10.9)
- QX 104 — 8.1 (9.0)
- 103.1 Virgin Radio — 7.3 (8.0)
- 94.3 The Drive — 6.6 (5.6)
- 92.1 CITI — 6.5 (7.4)
- 99.9 BOB FM — 6.3 (5.9)
- Energy 106 — 4.8 (4.7)
- KiSS 102.3 — 4.5 (4.1)
- Power 97 — 4.4 (4.7)
- CBC Radio 2 — 4.1 (3.6)
- TSN Radio 1290 — 3.3 (4.4)
- Hot 100.5 — 2.2 (1.5)
- Peggy @ 99.1 — 2.1 (2.6)
- Now Country 104.7 — 0.4 (0.1)
- Radio-Canada Espace Musique 0.1 — (0.2)
Source: Numeris
In September, we asked ChrisD.ca readers to vote for who they thought were the most notable on-air personalities at Winnipeg’s radio stations. Just over 1,000 votes were cast up until November 29.
Winnipeg’s most notable radio personalities
- 103.1 Virgin Radio — Ace Burpee
- Energy 106 — Adam West
- CBC Radio One — Marcy Markusa
- 680 CJOB — Bob Irving
- QX 104 — Brody Jackson
- 92.1 CITI — Howard Mandshein
- 99.9 BOB FM — Beau
- 94.3 The Drive — Dez Daniels
- Power 97 — Joe Aiello
- TSN Radio 1290 — Darrin Bauming
- KiSS 102.3 — Nesta Matthews
- Peggy @ 99.1 — Samantha Stevens
- Hot 100.5 — Steve Adams
- Now Country 104.7 — Brian Cook
- Classic 107 — Claudia Garcia de la Huerta
