Posts Tagged ‘Connoisseur Media’

Star 104 goes super nova in Erie Spring radio ratings

August 25th, 2010 joel

WRTS/Star 104

It’s got to be one of the biggest Top 40 stations in the country.

According to the recently released Spring 2010 Arbitron ratings for Erie, the nearly 18 percent share of the Erie radio audience that WRTS/Star 104 enjoys at any given part of the day means that if you were to pile all those people into one place it would be the equivalent of the population of a decent sized city all jumping up and down to The Black Eyed Peas. Star definitely benefited from the sheer depth of great Top 40 songs currently in rotation. Erie has gone GaGa for the Lady, the glam of Adam Lambert, and the Gurls of California.

In fact, market watchers tell me that Star 104 has reached audience Nirvana with its “skew graph.” Connoisseur Media’s WRTS scored nearly the same percentage of adult listeners in each demographic slice, meaning that it’s the station that Grandma, Mom, and Sissy can agree on. Most Erieites listen to Star and another station; from Bob to Z.

(more…)

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments »

Deep Background for August 22-28, 2010

August 22nd, 2010 joel

August has turned into a time of significant change for Erie’s media.

Long-term TV personalities have flown the market, the newspaper has unequivocally called out County Councilmen and women based on their support of the proposed Community College, the Citadel group experienced a resurgence in Erie’s radio ratings even Connie Media’s #1 station extends its lead, and Erie’s top new media properties join together to further connect their/our readers.

We are covering it all in the coming days after this lengthy hiatus. Meanwhile you can spout off on anything media topic you desire in this open forum. Leave a comment below, e-mail me, or tweet @pressandtower.

Embrace the chaos!

Posted in Deep Background Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 13 Comments »

Fall ratings: Connoisseur strengthens Erie radio domination

January 30th, 2010 joel

The twice yearly ratings horse race between Star 104 and Classy 100 has turned into a yawner.

The Fall 2009 Arbitron ratings released Friday afternoon confirms the amazingly strong hold that the Connoisseur Media cluster has over Erie radio listeners. Although it’s lead 12+ has softened, WRTS/Star 104 continues as Erie’s most listened to broadcast radio station. Meanwhile the flagship station for the Citadel group in Erie, WXKC/Classy 100 has continued its slide in share of audience over at least five books to be ranked fourth.

The big winner of the Fall was WTWF/93.9 The Wolf who garnered their best book ever, good for second place. Rounding out Connie Media’s top stations was WXBB/Bob FM, who scored their best book since they debuted in 2007.

Been a long time since we rock and rolled the ratings. WRKT/Rocket 101 and WQHZ/Z-102.3 have taken what was 17 shares of listenership two years ago and grinded it down to 11. It looks like Rocket especially hasn’t put the jets onto expanding its base.

As far as AM goes…simply, nothing to see here. While AM stations crush their competition in the markets surrounding us in ratings and billing, our offerings have received no investment from their owner companies and so they got what they paid for.

Finally, the third biggest jump up came from my alma mater WCTL, who scored their best book in memory and is knocking on the door of once-prominent WXTA/Country 98.

You can see all the hard numbers at AllAccess.com (registration required).

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 13 Comments »

Top Erie media stories of 2009

January 1st, 2010 joel

Happy New Year and welcome to the “teens!”

As was the case with much of the last ten years, the decade ended last night with the media front and center of culture’s conversation. With top-talker Rush Limbaugh finally released from a Honolulu hospital, and Fox viewers in O&O markets thankful for a momentary reprieve from losing their football, media doings are never far from top-of-mind.

Here’s the top stories we were talking about in 2009, by month:

  • January: local TV stations and the Times-News cover the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20th
  • February: longtime Erie broadcaster and cancer machine inventor John Kanzius succumbs to cancer on February 18th
  • March: Nancy Dymond replaces David Calabrese as market manager of the Connoisseur Media radio cluster in Erie
  • April: a video capture of an apparently intoxicated off-duty Erie Police officer uploaded to YouTube created a local and national controversy about police relations with the minority community, and the new reality of social media
  • May: Lilly Broadcasting merged the newsrooms of WICU and WSEE, resulting in the elimination of about a dozen off-air and on-air jobs
  • June: WICU is the final TV station to switch off their analog transmitter and put Erie completely into the digital television age
  • Wards react to the reveal July: The seven day build of a home for Erie’s Clara Ward culminated in the July 2nd reveal of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house
  • August: Star 104/WRTS increased it’s dominance in Erie radio as the Spring 2009 Arbitron ratings were released
  • September: Former Erie Congressman Phil English began his high profile blog “Presque Isle to the Potomac” on GlobalErie.com
  • October: The Erie Times-News was named Newspaper of the Year by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
  • November: Erie’s most-visited media website, GoErie.com underwent a major redesign
  • December: The weekend of December 12th and 13th turned out to be one of national media attention on Erie, as Saturday Night Live mentioned the fictional “Erie Chamber of Commerce” as part of a PGA spoof over the Tiger Woods controversy, then a two-hour special episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition showcased the work of thousands of volunteers impacting an eastside Erie neighborhood.

Next week, we’ll talk with one of Erie’s top media watchers about the past year and what we might see in the new year. Stay tuned.

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

Malpiedi upped to Dir. of Sales at Connoisseur/Erie

December 5th, 2009 joel

From a press release yesterday:

Erie, PA – December 4, 2009 – Connoisseur Media is pleased to announce the promotion of Michael Malpiedi to Director of Sales of its powerhouse six station cluster in Erie, Pennsylvania. Malpiedi is a market veteran with over 19 years of success in various sales management positions.

From 1991 to 1993, Malpiedi served as Regional Sales Manager with Rambaldo Communications. From 1993 to 2005 he acted as Vice President of Sales with Rambaldo Communications and Next Media, and then went on to become General Sales Manager with Connoisseur Media.

“We are fortunate to have such an experienced and dedicated industry professional lead our sales team,” said Nancy Dymond, Erie’s General Manager. “Michael has strong relationships with our key accounts and his experience in the market will assist us in driving revenue.”

“With his market experience and successful track record, Michael has the proven talent to drive sales and maintain our leadership position in a competitive market,” said Connoisseur COO David Bevins. “His skills and accomplishments will continue to be a great asset to our team.”

“I’m excited about my new role and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead,” said Malpiedi.

About Connoisseur Media:

Founded in 2004, Connoisseur Media has rapidly expanded through both acquisitions and new licenses granted by the FCC to over 22 stations in Billings, MT, Bloomington, IL, Erie, PA, Huntington, WV, Omaha, NE, Wichita, KS, Des Moines, IA, Rapid City, SD, and Bismarck ND.

I’m not exactly sure what the difference between a GSM of a cluster and the Director of Sales position, unless he is now fully in charge of the sales effort at the Boston Store. Nevertheless, we wish Michael well and congrats on the new stripes.

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment »

Aimee ‘The Outlaw’ is out-of-town

October 6th, 2009 joel
Aimee The Outlaw Clemson backstage with Kellie Pickler

Aimee "The Outlaw" Clemson backstage with Kellie Pickler

Aimee “The Outlaw” Clemson has evidently fled the den.

Press and Tower has unconfirmed reports that Aimee quit her job Monday morning as morning show host of WTWF/Fairview-Erie (93.9 The Wolf). She is no longer listed as a DJ on The Wolf’s website.

Aimee was the controversial replacement for Shannon Solo in September 2008. Co-host Kyle remains along with afternoon drive/promo guy Chuck Rambaldo, the only flesh and blood local personalities associated with the station. The rest of the schedule is voicetracked or via satellite.

P&T will attempt to get an official quote from Connoisseur Media brass. Note: as of the end of the week no comment from CM was made to P&T.

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , 35 Comments »

Spring ARB: Star increases lead over Classy

August 11th, 2009 joel

Connoisseur Media continued its position at the top of the Erie radio ratings, with their flagship CHR WRTS (Star 104) increasing the total audience lead that they hold over Citadel Broadcasting’s AC WXKC (Classy 100) by a half-share in the Spring 2009 ratings just released by Arbitron.

In fact, none of the stations in the Citadel stable increased their share of the Erie audience this Spring compared to last Fall. On the other hand, only WRKT (Rocket 101) joined Star in an increase in share for Connie Media. In fact the rankers for this Spring book were quite stationary, with a few exceptions.

News/Talker WJET fell one rank and lost over a third of it’s share of audience in the first book since the dropping of Rush Limbaugh from its lineup. Nostalgia CFZM, which had a big fall book here in Erie fell two positions in the Spring.

The most improved station in the Erie market this book: Christian AC WCTL, with an over 20% increase in share audience and a two position jump in the rankers 12+.

It was a bad book for sports radio as WRIE share was cut in half. Meanwhile, WFNN 1330 was again a “no show,” falling under the line this book.

All the 12+ ratings are available on AllAccess.com (registration required).

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments »
« Older Entries

  • Recent Comments

    • Joe LaRocca: As a mainly career print journalist for more than 40 years with limited exposure to broadcast journa... »
    • Tom Lavery: I think a lot of the good times music wise went to Internet Radio. I can enjoy Oldies, Classic / Alt... »
    • David Berchtold: I just made a wonderful discovery, and it has changed my television viewing habits.... FOREVER! I w... »
    • Bob Bohen: Happy Anniversary, Big Guy! Thanks for providing us this great service. Keep on bloggin'!!... »
    • David Berchtold: I love the idea of an AM oldies stations originating from Erie. I don't mind the static that comes ... »
    • DAN: Old guy me likes the old 1260 "music of your life " format Some 40's 50's and early 60's. I enjoy ... »
    • AJ Miceli: Headlines in Broadcasting/Cable that you never thought you'd see: "KTXL Airs What's Said To Be Firs... »
    • Bob Bohen: The CHR format is always going to be a big one in any market - they play the current hits that the t... »
    • JimGriffey: Star'sd signal is also non directional while Classy has to protect the station in Toronto at 99.9 by... »
    • joel: Someone..., Thank you for the clarification and no disrespect intended. Just to let you know, ... »

    • Featured Video

    RSS FeedSubscribe to our RSS feed!
    Follow me on Twitter!Follow me on Twitter!

    • Sponsor

    • Twitter Updates

    • Share

      Add to Technorati Favorites

      News & Media Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory
      See blogs and businesses for USA

    • Polls

      If an Erie radio station was considering a format flip, what kind of new station would you like to listen to?

      View Results

      Loading ... Loading ...

    • Traffic