Numeris has released its top-line data from diary radio markets (mid-size cities that aren’t big enough to be measured by electronic meters). Here are some highlights:
Quebec City
Overall market share:
- FM93: 14.9%
- CHOI: 13.7%
- ICI Première: 13.5%
- Rouge: 9.7%
- WKND: 7.6%
- Énergie: 7.4%
- M: 7.3%
- Pop: 6.1%
- Blvd: 5.7%
- ICI Musique: 4.1%
- CBC: 0.4%
By owner:
- Cogeco: 22.2%
- RNC Media: 19.8%
- CBC/Radio-Canada: 18%
- Bell: 17.1%
- Leclerc: 13.3%
Compared to the spring, FM93 and Radio-Canada have lost some ground and CHOI has regained it to climb into second place overall. There was some shifting of the order, but the biggest change was to RNC Media’s Pop 100.9, which doubled its share. The last ratings period came just after they switched from rock to pop, which caused a dramatic decrease in ratings. Now they’re better than the 4.8% share they had a year ago as a rock station.
More coverage from the Journal de Québec and Le Soleil. Among the details noted, CHOI continues to do better in the suburbs while FM93 reigns in the central market, Jeff Fillion has the highest-rated noon show, and FM93’s move to all-talk weekends has had a negative impact on their ratings.
Sherbrooke
- Rouge FM: 22%
- Énergie: 18.5%
- ICI Première: 16.4%
- 107,7fm: 11.2%
- Rythme FM: 8.1%
- ICI Musique: 3.5%
Bell continues to dominate this market with its 40% share, double that of Cogeco, but Radio-Canada’s main network saw a bump.
Trois-Rivières
- Énergie: 19.7%
- Rouge FM: 16.8%
- Rythme FM: 12.2%
- ICI Première: 9.3%
- FM 90,5: 9.0%
- 106,9fm: 5.8%
- ICI Musique: 4.6%
Another Bell-dominated market. But the story here is CKBN-FM (FM 90,5), a community station on the south shore covering the Bécancour region, which has climbed above Cogeco talk station 106,9 to claim fifth place in the market.
Saguenay
- Rouge FM: 23.4%
- KYK Radio X: 21.0%
- Énergie: 18.7%
- ICI Première: 11.5%
- ICI Musique: 4.2%
Radio X is no longer king in blueberry country as Bell’s Rouge FM takes the lead. Énergie is also up, pushing Bell’s share from 38.5% to 42.1% since the spring.
Drummondville
- Rouge FM: 30.8%
- Énergie: 22.7%
The only two stations reporting in this market are both owned by Bell Media, so there isn’t much competition to talk about. But Rouge FM has pulled well ahead of Énergie after being a couple of points behind.
Ottawa-Gatineau
Anglo top 5:
- CBC Radio One: 21.3%
- Hot 89.9 (Newcap): 9.2%
- CFRA 580 (Bell): 8.7%
- CHEZ 106.1 (Rogers): 6.6%
- Majic 100.3 (Bell): 6.0%
With more than 20 stations in the region, only CBC cracks the 10% share in English. Newcap’s Hot 89.9 leads the music stations and CFRA leads the commercial talk stations, but beyond that it’s a very tight battle.
Torres Media, which owns CIDG-FM, sent me (unsolicited) some numbers showing the station’s growth since it changed frequency from 101.9 to 101.7 and increased power. An 82% increase in the adults 25-54 audience is impressive. But the station still has only a 2.9% share overall.
Franco:
- Rouge FM (Bell): 21.1%
- ICI Première: 15.4%
- Énergie (Bell): 8.5%
- 104,7fm (Cogeco): 7.8%
- ICI Musique: 5.1%
- Hot 89.9 (Newcap): 4.8%
- WOW (RNC): 4.5%
- Pop (RNC): 3.6%
- CHEZ 106.1 (Rogers): 3.5%
- Jump 106.9 (Corus): 2.5%
At least the top five stations are all French-language ones among francophones. But RNC’s one-syllable pop music stations are down with the top-rated English music stations.
Elsewhere
- In Sydney, N.S., community station The Coast 89.7, licensed to Glace Bay, has been added, and reports a 13% share, good for fifth place out of eight stations (six plus CBC).
- In London, Ont., CKOT-FM (Easy 101), which was purchased by Rogers a year ago, has started reporting ratings even though it’s licensed to Tillsonburg, 40km away. Numeris shows it’s the top-rated private station in the market, behind only CBC. In the spring it was behind Bell’s country station BX93 and Virgin Radio.
- In Hamilton, CHTG-FM (92.9 The Grand) in Haldimand has begun reporting in that market after being bought by Durham Radio and switching from country to classic hits. It scores only a 1.2% share as a spill station.
- In St. Catharines/Niagara, CIXL-FM (Giant FM) has taken the lead from Bell’s EZ Rock, gaining five share points in a year while EZ lost four. Bell’s 97.7 HTZ also saw a bump from 5.6% to 8.0% in a year, but we’ll see if that survives the recent layoffs at the station.
- In Sudbury, Ont., which last year had four stations within 1.3 share points of the lead, KICX Country has climbed on top with a 20% share while the others fell below 15%. KICX is in the process of being purchased by Bell. Rogers’s 92.7 Rock jumped from sixth place to third by increasing its share by more than 50%. The market has six stations with shares above 10%.
- In Winnipeg, Corus’s rebranding of Fresh Radio as Peggy 99.1 has had only a modest effect on ratings, going from 1.6% to 2.1%. ChrisD.ca and the Winnipeg Free Press have more analysis of Winnipeg ratings.
- In Prince George, B.C., Vista’s CIRX-FM (The Goat) has climbed into a commanding lead with a 25% market share compared to second place with 19.7% a year ago. All five stations have at least a 14% share.
- Castanet has details on ratings in Kelowna, B.C.
