The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Winter Ratings

torontostan · March 5, 2025 1:30 pm

Adults 25-54

19% - 98.1 CHFI
12% - boom 97.3
8.3% - 680
8% - CHUM 104.5
7% - 99.9 Virgin Radio
6% - Q 107
5.7% - KiSS 92.5
5% - CBC Radio One
3.9% - Z103.5
3.7% - Indie 88
3.5% - 102.1 The Edge
2.0% - Classical 96.3
1.7% - 640 CFIQ
1.4% - Sportsnet 590 The FAN
1.1% - New Country 93.5
1% - CBC Music
0.9% - Energy 95.3
0.7% - FLOW 98.7
0.6% - News Talk 1010
0.5% - JAZZ.FM91
0.4% - TSN 1050 CHUM
0.3% - ICI RadioCanada Première
0.2% - ZoomerRadio AM740/96.7FM
0.1% - Hot Country 88.5
0.1% - 106.5 Elmnt
0.1% - ICI Musique

RadioActive · March 5, 2025 1:51 pm

Neither has especially great numbers, but I'm betting they're getting some small satisfaction at AM640 that they're handily (and regularly) beating NewsTalk 1010. Have to admit, if you'd asked me years ago, I never would have believed it. But that speaks to what Bell has done to the once great heritage station.

67GreenRambler · March 5, 2025 1:57 pm

Heard John Moore boosting his 9 o'clock hour this morning. Not just the usual 'coming up at 9:20 we have Kathleen Wynne ...' impart. A promo of how great everything thing is between 9 and 10.
He knows Mulroney is kicking his ass that hour.

RadioActive · March 5, 2025 2:08 pm

67GreenRambler wrote:
Heard John Moore boosting his 9 o'clock hour this morning. Not just the usual 'coming up at 9:20 we have Kathleen Wynne ...' impart. A promo of how great everything thing is between 9 and 10.
He knows Mulroney is kicking his ass that hour.

I have come to really enjoy Mulroney's show and if I'm around a radio at that hour, his show gets my ear.

67GreenRambler · March 5, 2025 2:15 pm

I listen to his show as well, however he tends to present every issue as urgent, and that can wear anyone out.

Radiowiz · March 5, 2025 3:50 pm

More people would rather listen to New Country than listen to NT1010??

RadioAaron · March 5, 2025 4:01 pm

Radiowiz wrote:
More people would rather listen to New Country than listen to NT1010??

In raw numbers, yes - almost exactly twice as many.

RadioActive · March 5, 2025 4:14 pm

Interesting to note that there's only one AM station in the Top 10 - it's 680 News, which comes in at #3 on the list with a very respectable 8.3%. To think, it was struggling when it first debuted.

From 1993:

torontostan · March 5, 2025 5:56 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
Radiowiz wrote:
More people would rather listen to New Country than listen to NT1010??
In raw numbers, yes - almost exactly twice as many.

People 25-54*

Overall, 1010 has about six times the total listenership that 93.5 garners..... however 94% of 'RB listeners are 55+

RadioAaron · March 5, 2025 6:42 pm

torontostan wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
Radiowiz wrote:
More people would rather listen to New Country than listen to NT1010??
In raw numbers, yes - almost exactly twice as many.

People 25-54*

Overall, 1010 has about six times the total listenership that 93.5 garners..... however 94% of 'RB listeners are 55+

2+ Central CUME, 93.5 is double RB.....fair comparison is probably somewhere between that and AMA.

RadioActive · March 5, 2025 10:59 pm

Some numbers from other major Canadian markets.

Radiowiz · March 5, 2025 11:13 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
torontostan wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:

In raw numbers, yes - almost exactly twice as many.

People 25-54*

Overall, 1010 has about six times the total listenership that 93.5 garners..... however 94% of 'RB listeners are 55+
2+ Central CUME, 93.5 is double RB.....fair comparison is probably somewhere between that and AMA.

Is a 1.1% share good for a station (93.5) that just flipped 6 months ago?

TheWiz · March 6, 2025 7:41 am

My biggest surprise is Indie 88 is beating the Edge. Good for them, I like what they're doing.

RadioActive · March 6, 2025 7:48 am

RadioActive wrote:
Some numbers from other major Canadian markets.

According to the article, CJAD is the #1 English language radio station in the 12+ demo, with a whopping 32.1 share, up a bit from the last book.

CJAD was sometimes referred to as the CFRB of Montreal, but it's really not anymore. How is that 1010's sister station gets such incredibly high numbers, while its Toronto counterpart can't even register a 2?

Why can't 'RB take whatever CJAD is doing and try it here? They're obviously doing something right. The comparison between the two is telling. They'll almost certainly never be #1 again here. But can they take a lesson from another Bell station about how to do it right?

What is CJAD doing that NewsTalk 1010 isn't?

paterson1 · March 6, 2025 8:12 am

A lot is the fact that Montreal has a limited number of english stations, around 9 stations. If you read the article most of the english stations have very large market shares. Some of the anglo music outlets do well with the francophone listeners. In Quebec 1.6 million people speak english at home, and a sizeable chunk of this would be in Montreal and area.

Montrealers seem to be politically oriented and talk radio, english and french stations have always done well in that town. For years the #1 radio station in Canada has been french talker CHMP-FM. And CBC radio english and french do well.

I find Newstalk 1010 boring overall. Many of the topics are of little interest to me. Looking at their ratings, guess I am not the only one. The station sounds tired.

torontostan · March 6, 2025 1:31 pm

TheWiz wrote:
My biggest surprise is Indie 88 is beating the Edge. Good for them, I like what they're doing.

This is also the second book in a row that CIND has beaten CFNY, albeit narrowly.

Last edited by torontostan (March 6, 2025 2:27 pm)

torontostan · March 6, 2025 1:47 pm

paterson1 wrote:
A lot is the fact that Montreal has a limited number of english stations, around 9 stations.

Limited competition is the primary reason. If you added up CFRB, CFTR, and CFIQ's shares, they would be #1 here. RadioActive.... CFRB and CJAD have a comparable audience (both in terms of average and reach). Their #1 rank means nothing in this context.

paterson1 wrote:
I find Newstalk 1010 boring overall. Many of the topics are of little interest to me. Looking at their ratings, guess I am not the only one. The station sounds tired.

Agreed..... unless your name is John Moore or Jim Richards, you are bringing 'RB down.....
I'm perplexed why they don't extend Jim Richards' program for another hour and axe the TV audio at 6 o'clock.

unclefester · March 6, 2025 2:08 pm

RadioActive wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
Some numbers from other major Canadian markets.
According to the article, CJAD is the #1 English language radio station in the 12+ demo, with a whopping 32.1 share, up a bit from the last book.

CJAD was sometimes referred to as the CFRB of Montreal, but it's really not anymore. How is that 1010's sister station gets such incredibly high numbers, while its Toronto counterpart can't even register a 2?

Why can't 'RB take whatever CJAD is doing and try it here? They're obviously doing something right. The comparison between the two is telling. They'll almost certainly never be #1 again here. But can they take a lesson from another Bell station about how to do it right?

What is CJAD doing that NewsTalk 1010 isn't?

Heard the long time CJAD morning man talking about people "smelling their own farts" the other day while in conversation with John Moore on their regular 7:25 a.m. session. Mr. Moore does an "entertainment" feature Monday through Friday on CJAD.

Or how about the two male hosts at TSN 690 - the Montreal sports station who spent at least 5 minutes this week talking about peeing in the shower - who peed in the shower & their parents showering habits. One set of parents from one of those two according to him ALWAYS showered together & still do!!

I couldn't believe what I was hearing

So it's not always a bed of roses when it comes to programming in Montreal RA

Last edited by unclefester (March 6, 2025 2:12 pm)

brian451 · March 6, 2025 2:15 pm

torontostan wrote:
TheWiz wrote:
My biggest surprise is Indie 88 is beating the Edge. Good for them, I like what they're doing.
This is also the second book in a row that CIND had beaten CFNY, albeit narrowly.

Well with the on air lineup the way it is on Indie I can't see Edge gaining more market share. Bob is a great talent. Adam used to be on Edge and I believe Bob was too but I could be wrong. Lana is great too. I love the Indie morning show as well. Tucker and Maura are not a good show in my opinion, I usually turn that off. MK and Drex are decent hosts but are they going to move the needle and make the ratings go up? Doubt it. Indie has a much better playlist than Edge does now. I think Edge needs to figure out the playlist and how it sounds. They seem to be all over the place with the format.

torontostan · March 6, 2025 2:29 pm

brian451 wrote:
I think Edge needs to figure out the playlist and how it sounds. They seem to be all over the place with the format.

CFNY (along with all Corus assets) are for sale, so I doubt they're spending much time on tweaking the formats right now

RadioActive · March 6, 2025 2:33 pm

unclefester wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
Some numbers from other major Canadian markets.
According to the article, CJAD is the #1 English language radio station in the 12+ demo, with a whopping 32.1 share, up a bit from the last book.

CJAD was sometimes referred to as the CFRB of Montreal, but it's really not anymore. How is that 1010's sister station gets such incredibly high numbers, while its Toronto counterpart can't even register a 2?

Why can't 'RB take whatever CJAD is doing and try it here? They're obviously doing something right. The comparison between the two is telling. They'll almost certainly never be #1 again here. But can they take a lesson from another Bell station about how to do it right?

What is CJAD doing that NewsTalk 1010 isn't?
Heard the long time CJAD morning man talking about people "smelling their own farts" the other day while in conversation with John Moore on their regular 7:25 a.m. session. Mr. Moore does an "entertainment" feature Monday through Friday on CJAD.

Or how about the two male hosts at TSN 690 - the Montreal sports station who spent at least 5 minutes this week talking about peeing in the shower - who peed in the shower & their parents showering habits. One set of parents from one of those two according to him ALWAYS showered together & still do!!

I couldn't believe what I was hearing

So it's not always a bed of roses when it comes to programming in Montreal RA

Have to admit I don't know a lot about CJAD programming. But even in a smaller market with fewer choices, they must be doing something right to not only earn an almost unheard of 32 share (for an AM station no less!), but also an increase from the last book. I just wonder how it's possible for one Bell heritage station to be doing so well while the other in a different city can't even break a 2.

Market make-up and choice certainly has a lot to do with it. But there must be another reason. Talent? Formatics? Something else? The difference is so striking, there has to be another explanation.

RadioAaron · March 6, 2025 2:54 pm

Share is relative. It's a percentage. 32 there vs 2 here cannot be compared. You're also comparing Toronto's 25-54 to Montreal's 12+

Last edited by RadioAaron (March 6, 2025 2:58 pm)

torontostan · March 6, 2025 2:56 pm

RadioActive wrote:
Have to admit I don't know a lot about CJAD programming. But even in a smaller market with fewer choices, they must be doing something right to not only earn an almost unheard of 32 share (for an AM station no less!), but also an increase from the last book. I just wonder how it's possible for one Bell heritage station to be doing so well while the other in a different city can't even break a 2.

Market make-up and choice certainly has a lot to do with it. But there must be another reason. Talent? Formatics? Something else? The difference is so striking, there has to be another explanation.

I don't think you understand how share works. All stations in Anglo Montreal have higher share because of the fewer number of stations.... you can't use the share metric to compare stations in two different markets.

RadioAaron · March 6, 2025 2:57 pm

unclefester wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
Some numbers from other major Canadian markets.
According to the article, CJAD is the #1 English language radio station in the 12+ demo, with a whopping 32.1 share, up a bit from the last book.

CJAD was sometimes referred to as the CFRB of Montreal, but it's really not anymore. How is that 1010's sister station gets such incredibly high numbers, while its Toronto counterpart can't even register a 2?

Why can't 'RB take whatever CJAD is doing and try it here? They're obviously doing something right. The comparison between the two is telling. They'll almost certainly never be #1 again here. But can they take a lesson from another Bell station about how to do it right?

What is CJAD doing that NewsTalk 1010 isn't?
Heard the long time CJAD morning man talking about people "smelling their own farts" the other day while in conversation with John Moore on their regular 7:25 a.m. session. Mr. Moore does an "entertainment" feature Monday through Friday on CJAD.

Or how about the two male hosts at TSN 690 - the Montreal sports station who spent at least 5 minutes this week talking about peeing in the shower - who peed in the shower & their parents showering habits. One set of parents from one of those two according to him ALWAYS showered together & still do!!

I couldn't believe what I was hearing

So it's not always a bed of roses when it comes to programming in Montreal RA

The major mistake both Toronto sports stations have made is talking way too much about...sports! Especially in mornings. They need to be entertainment stations that focus on sports.

They get into such detail about something like the philosophy behind a pitching change for example. It's like if a Rock station kept talking about what effect pedals are used in each track. It's dry, it's boring, and nobody but the most obsessed fan cares

haydenmatthews14 · March 6, 2025 11:15 pm

torontostan wrote:
brian451 wrote:
I think Edge needs to figure out the playlist and how it sounds. They seem to be all over the place with the format.
CFNY (along with all Corus assets) are for sale, so I doubt they're spending much time on tweaking the formats right now

Does anyone know what media company will purchase the Corus assets? There was Stingray who might purchase them or Quebecor as well.

Walter · March 7, 2025 10:14 am

RadioActive wrote:
unclefester wrote:
RadioActive wrote:

According to the article, CJAD is the #1 English language radio station in the 12+ demo, with a whopping 32.1 share, up a bit from the last book.

CJAD was sometimes referred to as the CFRB of Montreal, but it's really not anymore. How is that 1010's sister station gets such incredibly high numbers, while its Toronto counterpart can't even register a 2?

Why can't 'RB take whatever CJAD is doing and try it here? They're obviously doing something right. The comparison between the two is telling. They'll almost certainly never be #1 again here. But can they take a lesson from another Bell station about how to do it right?

What is CJAD doing that NewsTalk 1010 isn't?
Heard the long time CJAD morning man talking about people "smelling their own farts" the other day while in conversation with John Moore on their regular 7:25 a.m. session. Mr. Moore does an "entertainment" feature Monday through Friday on CJAD.

Or how about the two male hosts at TSN 690 - the Montreal sports station who spent at least 5 minutes this week talking about peeing in the shower - who peed in the shower & their parents showering habits. One set of parents from one of those two according to him ALWAYS showered together & still do!!

I couldn't believe what I was hearing

So it's not always a bed of roses when it comes to programming in Montreal RA
Have to admit I don't know a lot about CJAD programming. But even in a smaller market with fewer choices, they must be doing something right to not only earn an almost unheard of 32 share (for an AM station no less!), but also an increase from the last book. I just wonder how it's possible for one Bell heritage station to be doing so well while the other in a different city can't even break a 2.

Market make-up and choice certainly has a lot to do with it. But there must be another reason. Talent? Formatics? Something else? The difference is so striking, there has to be another explanation.

John Moore just goes on 'Sniffy-App', and someone comes over to smell them for him.

torontostan · March 7, 2025 11:58 am

haydenmatthews14 wrote:
torontostan wrote:
brian451 wrote:
I think Edge needs to figure out the playlist and how it sounds. They seem to be all over the place with the format.
CFNY (along with all Corus assets) are for sale, so I doubt they're spending much time on tweaking the formats right now

Does anyone know what media company will purchase the Corus assets? There was Stingray who might purchase them or Quebecor as well.

You'll find out today!

RadioAaron · March 7, 2025 12:21 pm

Hope the SOWNY servers are prepared for what's about to hit.

RadioActive · March 7, 2025 12:54 pm

This should be a separate thread if/when it happens.

torontostan · March 7, 2025 5:48 pm

Hearing the announcement has been postponed until next week......