For all the grumbling in New York City about the new WQXR, the news is pretty fabulous. The station ranked No. 1 of ALL public radio stations in the December Arbitron listings. And people say that classical music on the radio is dying. hah!
From the press release:
(January 13, 2010 – New York, NY) – WQXR Classical 105.9 FM, New York City’s sole dedicated classical music station, ranked the highest cumulative audience among public radio stations in the December Arbitron ratings book, with 842,200 weekly listeners. The second-ranking public radio station in the December book had 833,400 weekly listeners.
WQXR achieved this milestone in only its second full month as a public radio station. In October 2009, WNYC Radio acquired WQXR from The New York Times Company as part of a three-way deal with Univision, which entailed moving the WQXR signal from its longtime home at 96.3 FM to 105.9 FM.
WQXR’s December ratings are comparable to those the station enjoyed as a commercial station…
The acquisition is being funded through The WQXR Campaign: Saving Classical Music on the Radio in New York City, a $15 million Campaign co-chaired by renowned classical pianist Emanuel Ax and WNYC board members Nicki Newman Tanner and Martha Fleischman. The Campaign has raised $9.9 million to date.
There’s lots of online content from WQXR, including the more adventuresome programming on Q2. Congratulations, you guys. This is a good indication that classical music does as well or better on a public radio station, as opposed to a commercial one, although there are healthy hybrids out there.
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Marty-
As you might guess, I am dizzy with delight!!
Marty, I need to know just what WQXR is rated No 1 in, New York City, National, whatever. I tried finding it at Arbitron but I could not get it done.
I would also like the link to the article quoted.
Thanks.
Hi Richard,
It wasn’t an article; it was a press release from WQXR, so I would go to the press page on their website for info. I believe it was national, but that was a little vague in the press release.
Let me know what you find out, ok? Many thanks,
Marty
O.K., thanks.
WQXR may be the top public radio station, but that doesn’t tell the full story. According to Arbitron WQXR ranks 23 overall in the New York Market. Though their audience share is is only 1.8% the total market is 17 million. That’s how they reach over 306,000 listeners each day. The top ranking station, at 9%, attracts 1.5 million listeners per day.
From Arbitorn Daily avg listeners and ranking in market:
WQXR= 306,000, rank 23 in NYC
KUSC= 300,000, rank 7 in LA
WETA= 230,000 per rank 19
WBUR= 195,000, rank 9 in Boston
WGBH= 38,700, rank 23 in Boston
WGBH or WCRB, which is now the all-classical station in Boston?
These numbers are for the month ending 12/9. I’ve added WCRB.
Arbitron ratings are easy to access:
http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/home.htm
then select ppm and the market that is of interest.
From Arbitron Daily avg listeners and ranking in market:
WQXR= 306,000, rank 23 in NYC
KUSC= 300,000, rank 19 in LA
WETA= 230,000 rank 7 in DC
WBUR= 195,000, rank 9 in Boston
WCRB= 123,000, rank 16 in Boston
WGBH= 38,700, rank 23 in Boston
Thanks for sharing that info. Arbitron is a blogger’s friend. I wanted to make the point about WCRB, and isn’t it interesting how many more people listen to the classical music side than the talkedy-talk??!!!! WBUR seems to be dominating the talk audience.