ESPN 1000 and 670 The Score are often involved in a close race for sports radio bragging rights in Chicago, and the summer book was no exception. The numbers for both brands were stable for the most part, but the return of sports and a few lineup changes have both brands optimistic about the future.
The news was a little bit brighter though for ESPN 1000 in the key demo of Men 25-54, as the station won most dayparts head to head against their local rival including winning all three summer months with M-F 6a-7p. 1000 beat The Score in July 3.3 to 2.8, in August 3.1 to 2.5, and in September 3.0 to 2.6. The Score did record a victory for the full week M-SU 6a-Mid, edging 1000 for the book 2.9 to 2.5.
In mornings, ESPN 1000’s new duo featuring David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood are off to a strong start, topping their local sports radio competition since their August debut. For the full summer book, ESPN 1000 did a 3.5 share from 5 – 10a. Their new lineup, which began during the final month of the book features ESPN Radio’s national morning show Keyshawn, J-Will & Zubin from 5 – 7a, followed by Kaplan and Hood from 7 – 10a.
In comparison, 670 The Score trailed ESPN by almost a full point in the morning hours. From 5 – 7a, The Score earned a 2.7 share, and from 7 – 10a, they did a 2.5 while going up against ESPN 1000’s first local morning show in decades. During those hours, The Score features Mully & Haugh from 5 – 9a, and the first hour of Dan Bernstein’s midday show.
From 10a – noon, ESPN 1000 finished ninth with a 3.5 share. The first two months of the book still featured Kap & Company in the late morning timeslot, but the station’s new lineup saw Carmen & Jurko move to the 10a – noon block as of Aug. 17. The Score, which airs The Dan Bernstein Show during the 10a – noon hours, earned a 2.3 share.
The Score’s highest rated daypart during the summer quarter came in the noon – 2p hours, where Laurence Holmes has proven the ability to perform well with or without sports, earning a 3 share. ESPN 1000, which previously aired Carmen & Jurko in the noon – 2p hours and now features Mike Greenberg’s national show, did a 3.2 share for the summer book, narrowly beating Holmes.
Rounding out the weekday lineup, ESPN 1000’s afternoon duo of Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman finished tied for 13th with a 3.1 share, an increase of more than a full point from their spring performance. Even better than that was the recent news from Silvy, announcing last week that his cancer is in remission. Despite being diagnosed with the disease in April, Silvy continued to co-host ESPN 1000’s afternoon show in both the spring and summer books.
The Score meanwhile finished 16th from 2 – 6p as their afternoon show with Dan McNeil and Danny Parkins earned a 2.6 share, down half a point from the spring book. The Score has since fired longtime afternoon host Dan McNeil for an insensitive tweet, but that lineup change took place after the summer book was complete.
The evening block was The Score’s big win, topping ESPN 1000 by almost three points from 8p – midnight and almost five points in the 7pm hour. In the summer ratings period, The Score did a 6.1 during the 7pm hour and a 4 share from 8p – midnight. ESPN 1000 did a 1.2 in the same block.
Another positive for The Score was their cume, which was higher than their competitor among daytime shows with Men 25-54. They also held head to head advantages with Men 18+.
The Score serves as the Chicago Cubs flagship radio station, signaling the importance of baseball radio rights in the market. The station also airs Chicago Bulls basketball, which could see improvement with Billy Donovan now in place as the team’s new head coach. ESPN 1000 on the other hand is reportedly close to a deal with the Chicago White Sox to begin airing their games starting with the 2021 MLB season. Adding Sox baseball may not help the station win the nighttime matchup, but it should make things closer.
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.
Way to many commercials on the Score.