Chicago’s sports radio listenership might not have been spectacular last quarter, but the winter ratings book proved to be a tight race for Chi-Town’s 670 The Score and ESPN 1000.
According to Nielsen Audio, both stations tied for tenth place with a 3.3 share in weekday prime (M-F 6a – 7p). Year-over-year it represented a decline for The Score and a slight uptick for ESPN 1000. The Score won the full week with a 3.1, good for a 14th place tie, but ESPN 1000 was not far behind. In his first full book as market manager for Mike Thomas, Good Karma’s ESPN 1000 finished with a 2.8 share.
In morning drive, The Score’s Mully and Haugh finished tied for seventh with a 4.5, down from 2019’s 7.7 during the winter book. ESPN 1000’s simulcast of the nationally syndicated Golic and Wingo saw a ratings increase from a year ago, earning a 3.8 share.
From 9a – noon, ESPN 1000’s David Kaplan led The Score by more than a full point. Kap & Company did a 3.5 share, while the final book for Dan Bernstein and Connor McKnight as a duo produced a 2.4 rating. McKnight was unfortunately laid off earlier this month, as part of cost cutting efforts from Entercom to combat economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bernstein has continued the midday show as a solo host.
The noon – 2p timeslot again went to ESPN 1000 as Carmen & Jurko finished 12th with a 3.2 share, but Laurence Holmes wasn’t far behind, earning 2.9 rating for The Score.
Rounding out the weekday lineup, The Score topped ESPN 1000 in another close race for afternoon drive. From 2p – 6p The Score’s Dan McNeil and Danny Parkins finished tied for eighth with a 3.4 rating, while ESPN 1000’s popular duo of Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman garnered a 3.2. It was a decline of about a point for both shows year-over-year.
Both stations have lineups filled with entertaining and versatile hosts that can create good content even without a full slate of live sports. It will be interesting to see how the two brands are able to keep the audience’s attention in the spring book, considering the pandemic-forced sports stoppage.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
