With seasons for both The Ohio State University Buckeyes and Columbus Blue Jackets taking place during the fall book, 97.1 The Fan had no shortage of topics to discuss on the air. As the flagship home for both teams, the station balanced live game broadcasts and coverage with sports talk shows, an operation that experienced widespread gains across the entire lineup.
Under new operations manager and program director Matt Fishman, 97.1 The Fan bolstered its weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) metrics to an 18.4 share and first-place market finish among Men 25-54 in the Nielsen fall ratings book. That represented improvement from the 14.6 share, first-place result it attained over the summer. Moreover, it surpassed the 16.4 share outcome last fall, which also placed The Fan in first. The strong results carried over to Adults 25-54 too, with the station ranking first and picking up 1.5 points to amass an 11.0 share.
Brandon Beam and Bobby Carpenter led off the day co-hosting Morning Juice, pulling in a 9.5 share in mornings. That ranked the show second this fall. The program was however down from a 12.7 in the summer, and 11.5 last fall. The Fan took care of keeping their morning team intact, inking Beam to a multi-year contract extension in November.
The early-midday program with Beau Bishop, Marc Finch and Eric Rieser also enjoyed success this quarter. Bishop & Friends earned an incredible 17.3 share to rank first in their timeslot. That resulted in growth for the show from a 12.7 share in the summer, and 11.5 share finish last fall. The Fan signed Finch to a multi-year contract extension in November.
Anthony Rothman and Matt Hayes continued the momentum during their late-midday show, recording a 16.4 share, good for first place in the fall book. Rothman & Ice improved from a 12.0 share in the summer book, and a 13.8 share last fall. They were also first in each of those books.
The afternoon show made headlines in the fall book after co-host Mike Ricordati sought to forgo commercial breaks during Common Man & T-Bone following Ohio State’s college football loss to Michigan. Although the program’s share was down year-to-year, Ricordati and Jonathan Smith were responsible for the largest share on the station this quarter, producing an astounding 21.3 share in the fall book. That was up 4.5 shares from the show’s 16.8 in the summer book. Afternoons were the only show on the station to break the 20.0-share plateau, something the program did last fall when its share was even higher at a 22.4. Both occurrences, along with the summer ratings book, resulted in first-place rankings.
The final hour within the weekday prime window is filled by The Buckeye Show, which ends at 8pm. Tim Hall’s two-hour show accumulated a 19.1 share, first in the timeslot for the quarter. Compared to the summer book, the show grew by 4.9 shares and kept its first-place distinction.
For the full week (M-SU 6a-12a), 97.1 The Fan earned a 17.5 share among Men 25-54 to rank first in the market. That was up from a 12.3 share last quarter, and a 15.8 share last fall, both first-place rankings. Among Adults 25-54, the station also finished number one with an 11.2 share.
Ratings reports and analysis are written by BSM and sponsored by Crowd React Media, a division of Harker Bos Group. Learn more about the different ways sports media research can benefit your station and cut through the noise by clicking here.
