It’s quite the turnaround for 105.1 WMGC FM. Languishing for a long time near the bottom of the radio ratings, the station made a switch in July from sports radio which is totally dominated here by 97.1 FM The Ticket (WXYT) to old school hip-hop.
And according to the latest ratings book, people have responded strongly to “The Bounce,” a station that kicked off their first song with “The Real Slim Shady” by Detroit’s Eminem.
The station had an 8.0 share in their first full Nielsen PPM (Portable People Meter) book in August, up from June when it was all-sports (0.7). That’s an estimated 1,061,700 listeners according to Nielsen, up from 165,000.
Taking a look at their latest songs played today, you have tracks by Eminem, Juvenile, Method Man, Aaliyah, Notorious B.I.G., Coolio, Mariah Carey and 2Pac.
The station in August came in at No. 1 in: adults 18-34, men 18-34, women 18-34, adults 25-54, men 25-54 and women 25-54 – all very advertising friendly demographics.
“It really took off on its own. We let listeners do the marketing for us on social media,” Chessare told Inside Radio. “We didn’t spend a dime on billboards or TV.”
The top five stations in Metro Detroit in August of 2016 are:
- WMGC The Bounce 105.1 FM
- 97.1 FM WXYT The Ticket (sports) at 7.8
- 760 WJR-AM (talk/info) with a 5.8
- 104.3 WOMC (Classic hits) 5.4
- 101.1 WRIF (active rock) at 5.2.
There is some concern that classic hip-hop is a “flash in the pan” format nationally, and going advertising-free at launch doesn’t hurt. Time will tell, but at least for now, Detroit has a new king of the radio airwaves.
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