The Atlanta winter ratings book has been released, and once again 92.9 The Game sits atop the sports radio leaderboard. The Game maintained its position as the market destination for sports talk, finishing 3rd overall with Men 25-54 with a 6.0 share. The Game was 2nd last year at this time.
Among the station’s weekday shows, the afternoon team of Carl Dukes and Mike Bell produced the best performance. The popular duo generated a 7.3 share, good enough for 3rd place. Also in 3rd were the midday team of Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael. They recorded a 6.7 share during their timeslot. The Game’s morning show with John Fricke and Hugh Douglas was lower at a 4.5 share. They finished in 6th place. All numbers are among Men 25-54.
Across town, 680 The Fan experienced some growth after shaking things up last year. The Fan received a 4.3 share from its midday slot to place 7th. Middays features a combination of Brandon ‘Hometown’ Leak and Joe Hamilton, Nick Cellini and Chris Dimino, and Buck Belue and Hutson Matson. The afternoon team of Chuck Oliver and Matt Chernoff were also healthy with a 3.4 share, good enough for an 8th place tie. Mornings were lighter at a 2.5 share,which put The Front Row with John Michaels and Brian Finneran in 11th. Sandra Golden who was previously part of the morning show was with Michaels and Finneran for part of the book. She left the show on February 19th.
Year over year, The Game did experience a little bit of a dip. That said, most brands would sign up for three Top 3 finishes in a winter book. News/Talk station WSB maintained its lead over the entire market, occupying the top slot for full week, mornings, middays, and afternoons. They did the same thing at this time last year. One thing’s for certain, whether it’s news/talk or sports/talk, Atlanta listeners have an appetite for spoken word programming.
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.
