In the bitter ratings battle between Sportsradio 94.1 WIP’s Josh Innes and 97.5 The Fanatic’s Mike Missanelli, the new fight appears to be over digital listeners.
According to numbers obtained by Philly.com, Innes and co-hosts Spike Eskin and Hollis Thomas beat Missanelli during the October ratings period (Sept. 10 to Oct. 7), finishing 2nd overall in the market with an 8.4 share in the coveted men-25-54 demographic. Missanelli ended up in 3rd place with a 8.1 share.
But Missanelli was able to duplicate the high ratings from digital listeners he received last month, earning an impressive 1.8 share, dwarfing the 0.2 share Innes earned. Combining the two numbers would make put Missanelli in first place among all listeners in the demographic for his time slot.
“More people chose to listen to us. It’s that simple,” Missanelli said. “The people have spoken.”
“Advertisers are after an audience, and they see digital radio as a platform that reaches an engaged user who can be precisely targeted by geography, demographics, social connections, listening behavior and other critical metrics,” was the conclusion of a report by market research firm eMarketer.
Innes doesn’t disagree that digital listeners are important, but thinks streaming ratings estimates are usless.
“You can see how many people listen to a stream at a given time. You don’t need an estimate,” Innes said. “I’m beating him using the same system he used to beat the previous show. He is reaching. Will he hold up his promise to quit if he’s still losing to me after the season?
The Fanatic was able to sustain their impressive digital ratings from last month for all three of their daytime slots, making the ratings battle a closer fight.
For instance, WIP’s Angelo Cataldi earned a 7.9 share during the 6-10 a.m. time slot, good enough for 2nd place in the market. The Fanatic’s Anthony Gargano came in third with a 6.9 share.
But Gargano also earned a 1.0 digital share, compared to Cataldi’s 0.1. So if you combine the two numbers, Gargano is neck-and-neck with Cataldi in terms of overall ratings, giving the ratings champ his first serious challenge during his 20-year tenure at WIP.
Credit to Philly.com who originally published this article
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
