THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602020037
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
W KOC-FM knew the odds when it bet last fall that Howard Stern would be a tonic for its sagging numbers.
The King of All Media still has a ways to go before making good on his boast - to make The Coast Hampton Roads' No. 1 rocker - but management likes what it sees.
The important fall Arbitrons ended with the station posting its second-best ratings ever in morning drive. WKOC tied for fourth (6.7 share) with listeners 18-34 and was 10th (4.3) in the 25-to-54 demo.
Among listeners 25-34, however, the station finished third (7.7).
``There has to be some middle ground,'' said program director Mark Bradley. ``Being in the Top 3, we're hitting both sides, we're competitive in both demographics. (The numbers) show a lot of growth. . . . We're really pleased.''
But he's more pleased that Stern isn't alone in setting the pace. That hasn't always been the case in other markets, where stations pull in big morning numbers only to see the ratings drop the rest of the day.
``We didn't want to see him as being the savior,'' Bradley said. ``We didn't want to bring in a satellite radio guy and have the rest of the station do bad. Our midday show outperformed Howard.''
Longtime rock leader WNOR-FM, with its morning team of Tommy Griffiths and Rick Rumble logging a full ratings book, took morning-drive's brass ring in two demographics: listeners 25 to 54 and 18 to 34. The station finished third among all listeners 12 and up.
Country kingpin WCMS-FM also flexed its muscle in the fall Arbitrons, which cover Sept. 21 to Dec. 13. Young Country was second with listeners 12 and up and tied for second in morning-drive among listeners 25 to 54.
WJCD-FM held on to first place in radio's most lucrative demographic - listeners 25 to 54 - a position the contemporary jazz outlet has occupied since signing on last March, but it slipped to fourth among all listeners 12 and up.
Here are the Top 20 stations among all listeners age 12 and up, Monday through Sunday from 6 a.m. to midnight. Listings include the rank, station and audience share.
1. WOWI-FM, 10.8
2. WCMS-FM, 7.5
3. WNOR-FM, 6.6
4. WJCD-FM, 6.5
5. WGH-FM, 5.5
6. WWDE-FM, 5.3
7. WNVZ-FM, 4.7
8. WFOG-FM, 4.4
9. WAFX-FM, 4.1
10. (tie) WROX-FM, WKOC-FM (3.7)
12. WSVY-FM (3.5)
13. WLTY-FM (3.4)
14. WNIS-AM (3.0)
15. WJQI-FM (2.7)
16. (tie) WPCE-AM, WXEZ-FM (2.6)
18. WTAR-AM (1.6)
19. WMYK-FM (1.5)
20. (tie) WGH-AM, WPMH-AM, WTJZ-AM, WSVY-AM (0.7)
KEYWORDS: ARBITRON RATINGS by CNB