Atlanta’s summer ratings book provided good news for both 92.9 The Game and 680 The Fan, the market’s two sports radio brands. Each improved their year to year performance, thanks to a mixture of quality talk shows and increased enthusiasm for the market’s local sports teams.
Starting with 92.9 The Game, the station finished the quarter 3rd for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 7.5 share. The two stations ranked ahead were 97.1 The River, and news/talk station WSB.
Among the weekday shows, The Game enjoyed a 2nd place tie in mornings thanks to the team of John Fricke and Hugh Douglas. The duo popped a 5.6, placing them in a dead heat with Q99. WSB finished 1st.
In middays, Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael delivered a 3rd place finish, producing a 7.8 share. The two stations ahead of the show were WSB (1) and 97.1 The River (2).
The Game’s afternoon team of Carl Dukes and Mike Bell delivered the station’s best performance for the quarter. Dukes and Bell finished tied for 2nd with The River in PM drive with an impressive 8.5 share. WSB was 1st overall during the hours of 2p-7p.
For 680 The Fan, this was also an excellent book. The station made lineup changes on July 19th, so the book isn’t a full three month snapshot of what the new crew produced. It also takes time for local listeners to develop routines with new program. That said, the first look included a number of positives, which had to please the folks up top.
Starting in middays, the folks up top had to feel good about the performance turned in by Nick Cellini and Chris Dimino. The longtime on-air partners finished the quarter tied for 5th during the hours of 11a-2p with a 3.2 share. Buck Belue, who also hosts in the midday window from 10a-11a, grabbed a 2.3 share during his one-hour show to finish tied for 11th.
In the drive times, Chuck and Chernoff recorded a 5th place tie in afternoons with a 3.4 share. Their 5th place tie matched Cellini and Dimino for the station’s best performance for the book. In mornings, ‘The Locker Room’ which features John Michaels, Brian Finneran, Hutson Mason, Joe Hamilton, and Brandon Leak finished 15th with a 2.2 share.
The one area where 680 gained a victory over The Game was at night. A strong season and playoff push from the Atlanta Braves had much to do with that. The Fan ranked 3rd at night with an 8.0 share. The Game was just one spot behind in 4th with a 5.7 share.
The Fan’s August & September monthlies showed increases across the entire 6a-8p lineup. If that holds true during the upcoming months, the station could close the year by gaining more ground during the fall and heading into 2022 with nice momentum.
The Game on the other hand will add cume from the Atlanta Falcons, and massive interest in the Atlanta Hawks due to the franchise advancing last year to the Eastern Conference Finals. That should set the station up well for another strong 4th quarter.
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.
