The spring book was kind to Atlanta’s sports radio ratings king 92.9 The Game. station finished in the Top 3 with Men 25-54 in both weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) and full week (M-SU 6a-Mid). The weekday prime share was an 8.6. The full week produced a 7.5.
Among The Game’s weekday shows, Dukes & Bell recorded the best numbers. The afternoon show, which features Carl Dukes and Mike Bell, delivered a 9.3, strong enough for 3rd place during the hours of 2p-7p ET.
The next highest share came from the midday show. Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael generated an 8.3 during the hours of 10a-2p ET. That performance also earned them a 3rd place finish.
The Game’s morning show had the lowest share among the three weekday programs, however, it snagged the best ranking for the quarter. John Fricke and Hugh Douglas put up a 6.6 share, which was enough to lock up 2nd place during the morning drive hours of 6a-10a ET.
Compared to the winter book, The Game had to be pleased. Mornings gained 2.1 in share and moved up four ranking positions. Middays added 1.6 in share and held on to the same ranking, and afternoons jumped a full two points while also holding steady in the same ranking slot.
Meanwhile for 680 The Fan, the news was also positive. The station tied for 10th in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 3.2 share. The Fan was also tied for 12th for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 3.1 share.
The Fan’s best showing for the spring book came in middays during the hours of 10a-2p. A 7th place, 3.9 share performance was recorded by a combination of Chris Dimino, Nick Cellini, Hutson Mason, Buck Belue, Brandon ‘Hometown’ Leak and Joe Hamilton. Afternoons produced the second best share for the quarter with a 3.0 securing an 11th place tie during the hours of 2p-7p ET. Those hours featured an hour of Mason and Belue and the drive time team of Chuck Oliver and Matt Chernoff. Mornings had the lowest share at 2.5 but John Michaels and Brian Finneran did deliver an 8th place tie during the hours of 6a-10a.
Though 680 produced some solid stories this quarter, the station has to even more intrigued and focused on future results. The Fan took a bold step last week, announcing a number of changes to its programming lineup. The main headline was the morning show switching to a 5-man crew of Mason, Leak, and Hamilton alongside Michaels and Finneran. ”The Locker Room’ as it’s now called is being counted on to create a bigger sounding morning drive experience, and if those five can find a collective groove to deliver a high quality and well rated show, other stations could look at the model to determine if they should do the same. Rounding out the rest of The Fan’s lineup now are Belue from 10a-11, Cellini and Dimino from 11a-2p, Chernoff & Oliver from 2p-6p and The Audio Funbag with Brian Hoyt and Carlos Medina from 6p-8p ET.
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.
