(Published in "Media in Canada")

Toronto: A very tight race for bragging rights at the top of the ratings heap, with CHUM-FM posting an 8.7% share and CHFI-FM delivering an 8.6% share of hours tuned for Adults 12+. CHUM-FM program director Rob Farina was "thrilled with the station's continued dominance in Toronto."

After an extraordinarily long, cold winter (with an exception for our friends in Vancouver), here is some new fuel for the fire……. the new BBM radio numbers, hot off the presses….

Toronto: CHUM-FM reclaimed the #1 position with an 8.8% share Adults 12+, up from a 7.9% share. CHUM-FM also now leads with females 25-54 delivering a 16.1% share. In a tight race CHFI-FM is in the #2 position with 8.6% share of hours tuned for A12+. CHFI is also #2 with F25-54 at 11.2% (down from 15.7% share last book). Q107 had a strong showing and is now #3 overall with a 7.0% share A12+ and they further cement the #1 spot with males 25-54, increasing to a 14.7% share. The Edge remained #1 with M18-34 posting a 16.7% share.

Vancouver: CKNW held onto their lead, remaining #1 with a 10.3% share of hours tuned A12+ (down from 14.7% last time out). 103.5 QM-FM retained the #1 F25-54 position with a 14.3% share (a slight decrease from 14.8%). #1 for M25-54 now goes to Rock101 at 15.1%, an increase from 12.2%. 96.9 JACK-FM follows with a 12.2% share M25-54. The FOX stays on top of M18-34, delivering an impressive 19.6% share of hours tuned. The Beat posts strong gains M18-34 with a 16.1% for that demo (up from 8.1%).

Winnipeg: CJOB retained its lead with a 15.8% share of hours tuned for A12+. Hot 103 gained the #2 spot with a 10.6% share. 92CITI-FM strengthened its #1 spot with M25-54, posting an 18.0% share (up from 15.8%). The F25-54 race is led by Q94 with a 13.0 % share (up from 12.5%) followed by Hot 103 with a 12.1% share and then QX 104.1 FM with 11.1% share hours tuned.

Montreal: 105,7 Rythme FM leads the way with a 11.0% (down from 12.1%) share of hours tuned A12+, in addition to remaining #1 with F25-54 delivering an imposing 19.0% share (up from 18.0%). Energie 94.3 takes top spot with M25-54, posting a 13.7% share of hours tuned (down from 14.1%).

Calgary: Country 105 remained on top of A12+ with a 13.2% share of hours tuned (up from 12.5%). 96.9 JACK-FM maintained #2 (A12+) and won the #1 spot for F25-54 with a 19.1% share. CJAY92 led the way once again for M25-54 with a 15.9% share.

Edmonton: CHED leads the way with a 13.2% share of A12+ (increase from 11.7% last time out). 92.5 Joe FM is now leading F25-54 with a 16.6% share (up from 13.7%), CISN is #2 with a 14.1% share (down from 17.5%). The Bear is #1 with M25-54 delivering a 13.3% share, and 97.3 K-Rock is #2 M25-54 with a 12.3% share.

Ottawa-Gatineau: CBC Radio One takes over the #1 position with a 10.4% share of hours tuned for A12+ (up from 9.0%). CHEZ106 leads the way with M25-54, delivering 12.6% share of hours tuned (up from 11.9%). For F25-54, Majic 100 is on top with a 15.4% share (up from 14.7%), HOT 89.9 takes over the #2 spot F25-54 increasing to a 11.0% share (up from 7.4).


(Published in "Media in Canada")

Toronto: The big news in Toronto is that Erin Davis and Mike Cooper have helped lift CHFI-FM back to the number one position with a 9.0% share of hours tuned for A12+. Even more significantly, the station's Female 25-54 share over the last 3 books has climbed from an 8.5% to 11.5% last time out to the current 15.7%, moving them to the #1 position for that demo.

As winter winds swirl around us, the race for ratings is as hot as ever as demonstrated by the new BBM released today.

Perhaps it is just the remnants of a long hot summer, but the race for ratings is as hot as ever as demonstrated by the new BBM released yesterday.

A brand new BBM survey (bringing the yearly total to 4) made its debut today. This time around it covers Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Next year that list will include 9 markets in all. Anticipation (with apologies to Carly Simon) was intense.

Ottawa was not included in the December release of BBM's Fall ratings. BBM had discovered an error in its enumeration process that resulted in an imbalance of English and French respondents in this market. After analyzing the returns from the Fall survey, BBM staff determined that the Ottawa-Gatineau data was not within publication standards. Supplementary diaries were sent out for the weeks of Nov. 22 and Nov. 29 to remedy the error. These are the results of the final combined survey.

BBM just dropped the big one, the all-important Survey 4. It's especially relevant as we prepare to enter the winter wasteland, made worse by an economic recession. This also marks the final regular diary for Montreal (released to be analysed along with the recently unveiled PPM results).

Here's the latest numbers for the September 1st to October 26th survey.

Media analysts such as myself are distinguished by their distinctive squint, garnered from years of peering at tiny numbers. To save you the trouble (and a trip to the optometrist), I have summarized the results of the radio BBM released yesterday. You owe me one.

It would seem that the world is in a state of upheaval, with politicians continuing to pummel each other, the stock and housing markets crashing and Tina Fey emerging as the most popular vice-presidential candidate in the U.S. Despite all of that, radio keeps chugging along, as demonstrated by the radio BBM results released today.

As the spring breezes begin to blow, things are heating up in anticipation of the CRTC decision coming out of the satellite/subscription hearings held late last year. For now, the race for ratings is as hot as ever as demonstrated by the new BBM released yesterday.