BREAKING EXCLUSIVE -- Ticket v. Fan Ratings – A Closer Look at the Whitt Report, and Some Different Numbers

In the previous article, I speculated – actually, I just flat said – that Richie Whitt’s information on The Fan overtaking The Ticket, at least as I was interpreting his report, was wrong.  At least, I didn’t believe it.  Most of the reaction I got back on this agreed with me.  Among other things, Confessors wondered why The Fan would move Ben & Skin to afternoons and G-Bag to drive if things were going as great for The Fan as Mr. Whitt’s number’s purported to demonstrate.   They also wondered why The Fan itself didn’t seem to be trumpeting these results.

Since my article appeared, I’ve heard from industry people who have provided me with information that appears to answer these questions.

Now, I don’t know where Mr. Whitt got his information.  And I am not claiming that he inaccurately reported the information he received.  As you’ll see, I think there likely an explanation for why our numbers diverge.  And, as a non-radio guy myself, I don’t have any way of demonstrating that the information you’ll see in a moment is accurate.  As I’ve said in the past, I get tidbits now and then from sources that I personally cannot vouch for.  I suspect that what Mr. Whitt is reporting are apples, and the numbers I have are oranges. 

All I can say is:  This sounds more like it:

There are a couple of different strains to the information I have received.

First, let’s look at the reported numbers themselves.  Reprising Mr. Whitt’s report as to the overall “ratings”:

Among the coveted demographic (Men 25-54) in the money slot (Monday-Friday 6 a.m.-7 p.m.), since May.   The Ticket has tumbled from a 7.6 rating to a 3.2. The Fan, meanwhile, has surged from a 3.1 to a 5.5. Current score: Fan 5.5, Ticket 3.2. In its 25-year history, I can’t imagine The Ticket every getting lambasted by 2.3 points in a month. Ever.

Initially – and this may be the explanation the difference in our numbers – this passage is  unclear as to what period is being reported.  At first he says, “since May,” suggesting that his numbers apply over a several-month period and represents a trend, but his concluding phrase suggests that The Ticket got “lambasted” in some “month.”  I’m going to proceed on the assumption that he’s looking at numbers “since May,” and not in a particular month, since he seems to be suggesting a trend.  I don't want to be unfair in characterizing his piece, but that's how it's being interpreted, whatever his intention.  But if he’s only talking about a single month -- well, that’s a different story than suggesting some seismic shift in listener preferences, which is the tone of his piece.  So that we’re clear, the information I received relates to the entire time period “since May.”

Next, my sources say that what is important in the battle for advertising dollars is “share.”  “Share” includes the stream for the stations in question, as well as all radio signals (i.e., AM and FM for The Ticket).  And when you look at share “since May” – that is, June through October – for The Ticket and The Fan for that period of time, the numbers are:

            The Ticket:  5.3

            The Fan:  5.0

Admittedly close, makes it look like The Fan may be catching up.  But The Ticket is still on top – far from the industry-upsetting arse-kicking Mr. Whitt appears to be suggesting.

Mr. Whitt reports a similar whupping among individual shows.  I do not have any information about individual programs (or individual months), but his report is inconsistent with those June-through-October numbers, if share during that period is what we are measuring.

Again:  with numbers that close, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that as the Niffle season gets underway, The Fan may have bested The Ticket in September or October as some Confessors speculated in the last string.  And maybe that's what Mr. Whitt is actually reporting.  (Somewhat supporting this speculation is that if we go backwards with those share numbers -- back through May, further distant from football season – my sources advise that the delta favoring The Ticket is even greater.)   It wouldn’t shock anyone, and probably not even the CTO (Cumulo-Ticket Overlords), if there were a ratings reversal in a Cowboys month.  But overall, and over recent months, even conceding that particular natural advantage for The Fan during some months, The Ticket continues to outperform The Fan.

Second, and this is probably more important in the long run, sources confirm my speculation that there is currently controversy in the DFW market over Nielsen’s radio ratings procedures (not solely related to The Ticket’s ratings versus its competitors).   Nielsen has reportedly acknowledged industry complaints and is changing its procedures but they are not expected to be reflected in any instantaneous changes in rankings.

This may be another reason that Entercom is keeping its counsel on ratings – the numbers Mr. Whitt is reporting, and the narrow gap in share that I’m reporting, may be an artifact of dubious sampling that will be corrected as quickly as they appeared.  And Entercom knows it.

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I’m not a full-time media or sports writer and I do not propose to get into a spat with Mr. Whitt over the differences between his numbers and mine (not “mine,” but somebody’s).  As noted, I can’t vouch for the accuracy of my own information, so I have no basis to question his.  I have suggested that the ambiguity in his article over whether he’s talking about an individual month or overall ratings “since May” may have something to do with it, and that we both may be correct, depending on what our respective numbers are purporting to reflect.  The tone of his article suggests some kind of longer-term change has taken place in the sports-talk scene in DFW, and that seems not to be the case.  The longer-term share numbers may (or may not, depending on how faulty the sampling is) signal a tightening race, and that makes more sense than the topsy-turvy 180-degree migration of 18-54 yo guys his article seems to portray.

In fact, I’ve enjoyed Richie Whitt’s journalism for a long time and I thought his Fan show with Greg “The Hammer” Williams – we recall “The RAGE,” do we not? -- was an interesting and frequently entertaining, if doomed, initiative.  Some long-time Confessors will also recall his tryout as a plus-one with Mike R and Corby on The Hardline for a day or so back when the station was thinking of replacing HeeHoo instead of promoting Corby.   So I don’t want this to look like Richie-bashing.  I’m just reporting what I hear in reaction from people who know more about it – or claim to – than I do.

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One more thing, speaking of Ben & Skin:  The word in the industry is that the switch to afternoons was not a decision of Dallas management, but an edict from Entercom suits somewhat remote from local programming. 

Their departure shortly thereafter was voluntary on their part; they were not fired.

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But what I really want to know is:  What the heck is a “stick-burner”?

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