The city generally isn’t a hotbed for sports, but Tampa Bay has been on a roll lately. Between Tom Brady kicking off his NFL tenure with the Bucs, the Rays capturing their first playoff series victory in more than a decade and the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup, the Gulf Coast city has plenty to tout right now and it bodes well for their top sports radio brand 95.3 WDAE.
Specific shares were not available to BSM for the summer book, but the Tampa Bay sports radio station still had some highlights to be proud of. The summer ratings period saw each of WDAE’s weekday shows improve by at least one full share year over year. Beginning with morning drive, Ronnie and TKras jumped more than two shares from 6 – 9a, finishing the book in sixth place among men 25-54.
From noon – 3p, Pat Donovan and Aaron Jacobson also finished in the top-10, helped by a massive 75% ratings increase year-over-year. In afternoon drive, Ron Diaz and Ian Beckles were also up a full share from 3 – 7p as compared to their 2019 summer performance. With Brady and the Bucs providing plenty of fall excitement, and the Rays playing meaningful October baseball, WDAE hopes to see similar ratings growth in the fall book.
A drive north takes you to Charlotte, where the sports news has been very different. The home of the perennial cellar dwelling Hornets and the Carolina Panthers, who are looking to rebound from a six-win campaign in 2019, is also home to WFNZ. Radio seems to be the only place the city has any good sports news to share.
In the targeted demo of Men 25-54, WFNZ received solid performance from all three of their key weekday shows. The Mac Attack with Chris McClain and Travis Hancock ranked 8th in mornings. Nick Wilson & Josh Parcell and Kyle Bailey who swapped time slots in August helped the station enjoy 7th and 2nd place finishes in middays and afternoons.
