Good summer for the FAN. Too bad about the cutbacks ...

Things in the radio business have been just about as bleak as they've been in the newspaper world. Okay, maybe not quite that bleak, but the cash cow that was radio has fallen on lean times.

Even the deep pockets of sugar daddy Rogers Communications haven't been enough to shield the FAN 590 from tough times. The station even cut back the number of trips Leafs reporter Howard Berger will take this season, a few months after asking Day Oner Norm Rumack to close the door from the outside.

So the latest radio ratings have to lift spirits at the all-sports radio station, though Berger's frequent flyer account will suffer. The FAN's overall audience share was up from 4.1 to 4.8 in its adult male target group over laat summer, according to the summer ratings. 

While the summer ratings, compiled during July and August, are considered the least important of the year, there were some big winners.

Bob McCown's Prime Time Sports saw its audience share jump from 7.1 last summer to 7.8. That stopped a bit of audience erosion in the last year. While 640 Toronto's Bill Watters Show saw its ratings jump from 1.9 to 2.2, it's no longer gaining ground on McCown.

That'w what Watters did last spring when its ratings went up and McCown's dropped a bit.

It was a good summer for Mike Hogan and Mike Toth, whose Bullpen ratings jumped from 1.6 to 4.2. The Game Plan's ratings also rose, from 3.3 to 3.6.

Amazingly, evenings jumped to a 9.2, making it tops among adult males. What's so amazing is that weekday evenings are almost exclusively the property of the Toronto Blue Jays and we all know what kind of year they're having.

The only downer for the FAN were the ratings for the Landry and Stellick morning show, which fell from a 4.5 share to 4.0.

By the way, these are the last radio ratings that will rely exclusively on people filling out diaries, and they probably mean as much as any of the other ratings issued under that system. That is to say, who knows?

When the people meters come in this fall, we should get a more accurate picture of who's listening to whom.

Comments

[Pat Ma Groin]

To bad the FAN had to cut back on Howard and gas Norm...just to have Doug (NEVER SHUT UP) Mclean.................

[JMS]

I'm surprised anyone could listen to the Watters Show in the summer. They just refuse to talk anything but Leafs/NHL, even when there's no hockey news! Hard to listen to. Why don't they broaden their sports subject matter and try to appeal to a wider audience? Unless you're a hard core Leafs nut, it doesn't have much to offer, in my opinion.

Not surprised at The Fan's morning show decline. It seems kind of like it's run its course to me.

Glad to see the Jays radio broadcasts do so well. I think Jerry, Alan and Mike do a really fantastic job. I actually prefer listening to the radio broadcasts than watching on TV.

[Vince]

Now if the fan could get rid of Mike Wilner and Erik Thomas, life on Sports Radio in Toronto would be perfect...

[HSR]

I would rather listen to McLean, Wilner and Thomas than have to endure any more of Mike Toth's never ending questions. More time is taken up in interviews with his long winded, meandering questions and leaves little time for the answers.

[diddy]

Even better for McCown is that he was named one of the top 40 online marketers in Canada! How does that happen?
http://www.clickweekly.com/articles/September%2029_2009/lead.htm

[JGH]

Other than Primetime and Jay broadcasts, the whole station is awful. The morning show is as lame as it gets...the limited knowledge of anything other than hockey is amazing...And who wants to listen to a couple of guys who admit the MNF game goes too late for them to watch it! It's YOUR JOB guys, have a nap. Mike and Mike on ESPN actually talk about ALL sports and more importantly, know what they are talking about. The rest of the day is just filler. Terrible. No reason to listen - ever.