06-15-2011 MIX 93.3 NEW KC RADIO RATINGS LEADER; KCSP CRUSHES LONG-TIME SPORTS LEADER WHB A pair of stunning surprises were unveiled today when the latest Portable People Meter (PPM) radio ratings were released as Wilks' MIX 93.3 knocked off Entercom-owned active rocker KQRC, which slumped from a 7.3 rating in April to a 5.9 in May and a second-place tie with Cumulus Partners' classic rock station 101 The Fox KCFX. But possibly the biggest surprise in years involved rival sports talkers KCSP and WHB. Entercom's KCSP jumped to a 4.0 rating---its highest in years---as rival WHB slumped to a 3.1. In April the stations tied with a 3.3 rating, but most media watchers felt it was due to KCSP broadcasting the KC Royals games. They thought WHB would rebound in May, but that never happened. KCSP has gone from a Holiday rating of 2.1 to a 2.1 in January, February 2.0, March 2.1, April 3.3, and now a 4.0. On the other hand, Union Broadcasting's WHB has begun to steadily trend downward during the same period from a Holiday 3.8, to 3.9, to 3.1, to 4.0, to 3.3, and now a 3.1. "It seems to have finally caught up with WHB that they have spent so much time sucking up to advertisers that their audience is simply changing stations," says one veteran radio watcher. "Let's face it, sports fans are switching channels as soon as they hear the whole 'Smoke and Fire' segment about cooking or the pro golfer (Jim Colbert) talking about his 'Cookie Diet. Sometimes WHB sounds more like an infomercial station than the real sports talker it used to be."
(These PPM ratings represent a wide demographic of listeners age 6-plus and provides a good snapshot of overall listenership. For sales purposes stations often break out specific demographics.)
06-15-2011 WHB FAT AND LAZY "While I have migrated over to satellite radio for music entertainment, I still listen to local stations for sports. Your two most recent articles about the decline of WHB have been on the spot. No one can deny that when important sports events and news takes place, WHB is the best place to turn to. I know I do. "But obviously significant sports events and news do not occur everyday, and that's when this station loses me. There have been numerous times I have tuned in expecting to hear a lively discussion about sports and instead have been exposed to unimaginative segments. "Stump the chumps", cooking shows, personal golf stories, or the learning the "picks" of upcoming weekend games from on-air personnel immediately come to mind. Certainly not the best programming in my opinion. "As a consumer, I don't know if I would ever buy anything from their advertisers because of the HEAVY use of on-air personalities giving testimonials. It just loses credibility after awhile. Midday host Soren Petro likes to mention that "9 cars have been purchased by the WHB family from Robert Brogden". I think I would be more motivated to visit Robert Brogden if some ordinary family gave a testimonial explaining why they purchased 9 cars from their dealership. "I understand that they need to sell ads and promote advertisers in order to stay in business, but there must be a better way to do this than the way it is done today at WHB. Long story short, over the years WHB's daily content and the people delivering it have gotten fat and lazy. Their customers (listeners) are simply finding other people to do business with." ---Regards, Mark Ibarra, Lenexa, KS
06-16-2011 ROYALS CARRYING 610 "I agree that WHB has become stale but the Royals must be carrying 610 because their radio personalities are not good. Nick Wright is awful. His delivery and work is not good." --Mike Johnson
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