Edmonton PPM August 26 - November 24, 2013

[radiofan]

[jon]

The big winners, to my eye, are CFCW, CHED and Fresh-FM, the latter two with the kind of numbers they haven't seen for 15 months. Hard to believe that the former JOE-FM (Fresh) would see the day when they would be celebrating a 4.2.

CFCW, on the other hand, is truly amazing. The AM naysayers were claiming they'd never break 6 again, but here they are at 6.4. Which may well earn them the title they previously held more than 5 years ago: "Highest overall SHARE points of any music-based AM station in a major market in Canada".

Haven't seen the morning show numbers, but I think it is safe to say that Gruff Gushnowski has earned the title of "one shrewd dude" for jumping ship (within Newcap) from K-97 PD to CFCW morning co-host. It is obviously working as this ratings period has been "All Gruff, All the Time".

[Neumann Sennheiser]

Edmonton and Calgary sure seem to be far more exciting radio cities than the larger western market of Vancouver; particularly if you view (as one really should) fall to fall. CFCW's success displays even more astounding in that light with a huge 2.2 jump.

[Rocky]

Time for Harvard to bring the old EZ-Rock 104.9 crew on board at Lite 95.7. Charley West and Charlee Redman would likely give the station a much needed boost in interest and a much better morning show than it currently has. Isn't Tim Schutz running that place? Didn't The River in Lethbridge also take a tumble under his watch?

[jon]

Edmonton sure isn't Toronto when it comes to AC radio popularity. CHFI-FM just booked in with a SHARE of 15.8.

The backbone of Easy Rock, especially before Standard bought them from Telemedia, was always '80s AC. Even in the later years, the Currents certainly weren't all AC either, but a mix with other genres, including some Contemporary Country.

Given the '80s AC roots, I think that '80s and Oldies formats, as practiced by Capital-FM and UP, have pretty much eaten the lunch of any station hoping to do well with AC in Edmonton. And, to some extent, SHINE-FM, given the large "Family Friendly" focus/branding of Easy Rock, both with and after Charley West.

I'm just not sure there is any way to have a ratings winner with an AC station in Edmonton. Not with the existing competitors, anyway.

[firstimecaller]

Yes, but this should be a good book for 630 CHED. Good time to make all the changes considering the built in audience. Eskimos, Oilers and an election. No brainer for generic numbers. Breaking down the book will tell the real story.

[jon]

CHR in Edmonton is interesting, in that the three stations playing it now total 11.2 SHARE.

A decade earlier, Edmonton had no CHR station. Power 92 dropped the format June 27, 2003. CKRA picked it up, keeping their 96X branding but switching the music, on August 15, 2003. The Bounce signed on February 17, 2005, and 96X threw in the towel on December 12, 2005. Hot 107 signed on October 6, 2009. Easy Rock became Virgin in 2011.

[jon]

CFCW ... "Highest overall SHARE points of any music-based AM station in a major market in Canada".

Oops, that's not what I said 5 years ago. The correct statement for CFCW is/was: "Largest number of listeners of any music-based AM station in Canada." I wasn't really thinking of CUME/Reach, but SHARE percentage times number of people with their radio turned on (at any given quarter hour) in the station's coverage area.