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The "Late Summer 2006" book measured Edmonton radio audiences from July 3rd to 16th and July 31st to August 27th. The report came quickly on the heels of the new "Late Spring/Early Summer" measurement which ended June 11th.

Summer ratings are not taken as seriously as the Fall books as daily habits are disrupted by seasonal change. In the current report, that could be good news for some ... and excuses for others.

CISN - 13.3 (9.2 last book) bounces way back and tops the leader board with their best book this century. Any fears that CKRA - Big Earl would eat away at their share can now be safely put to rest. In an interview with the Edmonton Journal, morning man Chris Scheetz credited the upswing to several "young, hot, good-looking male singers." Who knew CISN transmitted pictures?

But it wasn't all good news at the Corus Entertainment empire. CHED - 10.6 (13.2) posted nearly its worst showing this century. While the station was expected to drop a bit against Spring numbers attributed to the strong Oilers run, the levelling off seems more like a minor plummet (a loss of 75,000 listeners).

Re-tooling might already be in the works at the once-mighty 630 with the sudden departure of late night sports show host Al Stafford late in August (with Dan Tencer replacing him), and the addition of Dean "Boomer" Molberg to the Oilers broadcasts and Dave Campbell in the Eskimos booth. However, Gord Whitehead seems to be struggling without a foil since Kris has taken to the chopper, Charles Adler seems to be just annoying and Hallsy's not saying, he's just saying like he has for the past four decades. A change to the Rutherford show seems unlikely (he ain't heavy, he's the program director's brother).

CKNG - Joe FM - 8.3 (7.2) came in with its third increase in 3 books, rescuing the station from five fifth- and sixth-place showings in a row. With Bounce and Sonic numbers remaining strong, Joe likely pulled its audience away from long-in-the-tooth K-Rock and The Bear. Joe's ranking gives Corus a hat trick with a chart-topping 1-2-3 showing.

CFMG - EZ Rock - 7.5 (8.0) shows a slight drop but remains almost-predictably in fourth place. Interesting to note that despite some huge summer listener number fluctuations at other stations, EZ Rock neither gained or lost.

CFCW - 7.5 (7.0) is on a bit of a rebound perhaps credited to a major shakeup of their on-air lineup just before the period started. However, from here on in, the news for owner Newcap gets worse.

CFBR - The Bear - 6.5 (9.0) suffered a drop of CHED-like proportions. While it's not likely their listeners drifted elsewhere (their listenership numbers remain much the same), perhaps the competition just got stronger.

CHDI - Sonic FM - 6.2 (6.3) maintains its niche new-music market with its fourth 7th-place showing.

CHBN - The Bounce - 5.8 (4.6) recovers ground lost since the Spring 2006 book, nearly equalling the station's high water mark. They also tied Joe FM for the biggest gain in unique listeners (20,000).

CIRK - K-Rock - 5.6 (6.2) from a 3rd-place 11.0 share in Summer 2003 to its lowest book of the past seven years, the Newcap rocker seems to have gone off the rails and it can't be blamed on Terry Evans' departure which took place after the measurement period. Classic Rock may no longer be Edmonton's cup of tea, and new program director Lochlin Cross (from Winnipeg's Power 97) may have to brew up something fresher.

CBX - CBC Radio One - 4.3 (5.3) lost what it recovered after its 2005 labour woes.

CHQT - Cool 880 - 4.0 (3.3) shows signs of life with a modest gain. However, the Corus station may have to remain content with its perennial low numbers unless it stumbles upon an ear-grabbing format (i.e. All Traffic Radio or Elvis On Demand).

CKRA - Big Earl - 3.3 (3.7) seems to be collapsing under its own weight. As first reported here, Earl honchos decided not to wait for Summer 2006 results and gave Big Early show hosts B.J. Wilson and Shannon Tyler the hook in August. Time will tell if the Greg Shannon/Tera Lee Flaman morning experiment can help out the Newcap property.

CHMC - Magic 99 - 3.3 (3.4) is not casting a spell over Edmontonians, and with a drop of 20,000 in unique listeners they're not catching new ones (and it remains easy sailing for EZ Rock). Even CHQT pulled out of this format over a decade ago.

Rounding out the list are CKUA - 3.3 (2.7), CBX FM - CBC Radio 2 - 2.4 (2.5), CFRN - The Team - 1.6 (1.8) and CFCW CAM FM - 0.1 (0.1).

For more detailed data about the Late Spring/Early Summer 2006 book, read the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement report (opens as a .pdf) or the imsradio report (which also opens as a .pdf).

radio - edmonton ratings archives - late summer 2006