Big 106's sudden replacement of the controversial but popular shock jock Howard Stern apparently had little impact on the radio station's most recent ratings.In the three-month period ended March 31, the ranking of WBGG-FM (105.9), aka Big 106, fell from 21 to 22 in overall ratings in the demographic of 12 and above, the latest Arbitron figures released Thursday show.
In morning drive-time hours, however, when Stern's show aired, the station maintained its No. 17 position. Most of the tracking period included Stern's show, except for March.
The full effect of Stern's departure in late February will likely be felt in the next quarter's tracking period.Super Bowl fallout in the wake of Janet Jackson's bared breast swept Stern off the air at Clear Channel Communications-owned stations across the country -- including Big 106. On Feb. 25, the station swapped Stern's talk show for the airing of oft-played classic rock cuts from the likes of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Pink Floyd.
Meanwhile, commercial Spanish-language WCMQ-FM (92.3) cemented its overall lead as South Florida's top radio station, holding No. 1. Urban stations, in general, posted gains or held their ground, with WPOW-FM (96.5) ranking No. 2 overall, pushing easy listening WLYF-FM (101.5) down a notch to No. 3.
Leaping into the top 10 this period were smooth jazz's WLVE-FM (93.9), Spanish-language's WRTO-FM (98.3) surging from 22 to 10, and country's WKIS-FM (99.9). Bumped out of the Top 10 was oldies station WMXJ-FM (102.7). Majic apparently was not helped by its programming pegged to the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' landing in Miami.
Spanish-language talk station WAQI-AM (710) remains the only AM station in the top 10.
