95.7 “The Game” (otherwise known as KGMZ) didn’t just welcome the Oakland A’s back to their airwaves on March 31, they debuted a brand new afternoon drive show (Damon Bruce), moved the old afternoon drive hosts (Ric Bucher and Chris Townsend) to the mornings, and turned that pair into a trio with the addition of Aubrey Huff.
Did all those changes make a difference in the latest Nielsen numbers? Let’s check out the “April ’14 Monthly PPM 6+ Mon-Sun, 6a-12mid” and see.
San Francisco |
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February |
March |
April |
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| Station |
AQH% |
Reach |
AQH% |
Reach |
AQH% |
Reach |
Owner |
| KNBR-AM | 3.1 | 504,900 | 3.8 | 605,900 | 5.4 | 918,000 | Cumulus |
| KGMZ-FM | 0.9 | 206,900 | 1.1 | 217,900 | 1.3 | 305,300 | Entercom |
| KTCT-AM | 0.4 | 139,800 | 0.6 | 194,300 | 0.6 | 207,100 | Cumulus |
San Jose |
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February |
March |
April |
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| Station |
AQH% |
Reach |
AQH% |
Reach |
AQH% |
Reach |
Owner |
| KNBR-AM | 2.5 | 119,00 | 2.6 | 136,900 | 4.7 | 204,200 | Cumulus |
| KGMZ-FM | 0.6 | 37,500 | 0.7 | 35,900 | 0.7 | 50,300 | Entercom |
| KTCT-AM | 0.5 | 37,700 | 0.4 | 39,500 | 0.4 | 40,700 | Cumulus |
Radio ramblings
— For comparison’s sake, here are the numbers from April 2013.
- KNBR: 6.0/1,027,900 (SF); 4.0/196,600 (SJ)
- KGMZ: 0.9/286,600 (SF); 0.8/50,100 (SJ)
- KTCT: 0.4/168,000 (SF); 0.4/42,300 (SJ)
— KNBR was second in the overall San Francisco ratings last month behind KCBS (6.0).
— A lot of people were wondering if there would be some sort of “Damon Bruce effect” on the ratings, and while I’d love to provide a definitive answer … it’s pretty much impossible without the “secret” numbers that take into account specific shows and demographics. And the people who have access to those ratings aren’t providing any clues.
Great 1st month for M-F 6A-7P shows @townsendradio@RicBucher@aubrey_huff@JohnMiddlekauff@GuyHaberman@JohnLundRadio@DamonBruce (+ Papa)
— Jason Barrett (@sportsradiopd) May 12, 2014
KGMZ’s April ’14 numbers were the best they’ve posted since November ’13, when they had a 1.3 rating in SF and a cumulative reach of 378,100.
— KNBR’s San Francisco numbers were a little better a year ago, but the Giants were coming off a World Series victory back then. With both the Giants and A’s playing well through almost 40 games, we’ll see if May’s numbers increase for either side.
— Eric Byrnes hasn’t been on KNBR in months. Either he’s in no hurry to start working with Tom Tolbert again, or KNBR is playing hardball because they don’t really want him back all that badly. In the meantime, Byrnes is calling games for Pac-12 Network and preparing to play for the San Rafael Pacifics (raising money for the Pat Tillman Foundation in the process).
— The Raiders and 49ers seemed to do pretty well in the NFL Draft, but a couple of 95.7’s hosts seemed upset that Reggie McKenzie didn’t go after Johnny Manziel.
— Besides that, I don’t have a lot to add. Between covering Warriors games in L.A., baseball games all over and the NFL Draft from my couch (while trying to add a little more music to my daily routine), I haven’t been able to keep up with every show. So I’ll turn it over to the readers with stronger opinions than mine.
This is your chance to bitch about certain hosts, give credit where it’s due, or suggest changes to make any of these stations better. I’ll get it rolling with one question.
I’m still seeing a lot of bitterness about the demise of the Rise Guys. Are a lot of people listening to Bucher, Towny and Huff? If so, what’s the verdict?
