The business of sports radio in the Salt Lake market is heating up.
In the latest round, KFNZ (alias "KFAN," AM 1320) is declaring victory on all fronts in its ongoing ratings battle with rival station Sports Radio 570, but the folks at 570 say they're not ready to pack it in yet.The latest Arbitron ratings numbers, which cover the period from January through March, show that KFAN was up in nearly every time slot over the previous period.
"It was not even close," said David Locke, KFAN's director of operations. "This time we killed them."
In the previous ratings period, the strongest slot for Sports Radio 570 (KISN-AM) was morning drive (6-10 a.m.), where longtime local broadcaster Chris Tunis held a sizable advantage over KFAN's morning team of Kevin Graham and Gordon Monson.
This time, the KFAN duo outdueled Tunis by an average share of 2.6 to 1.7. (Those numbers, and all others mentioned in this story, reflect the stations' primary audience, men ages 25-54. "Share" represents the percentage of radios on in that audience.)
"The fact that our morning show, which was our area of concern, could have as large an advantage in listening audience as this, against a show that's been on as long as it has in this market, is a telling sign," Locke said.
In other time slots, the race wasn't nearly that close.
In the noon to 1 p.m. period, KFAN's team of Channel 2 TV sportscasters Dave Fox, David James and Reece Stein posted a 4.2 to 1.9 advantage over the first hour of a show hosted by Carl Arky, Channel 4 sportscaster.
In the 1-2 p.m. slot, Locke bested the second hour of Arky's show by a hefty 5.5 to 1.3 margin.
Overall, Locke's 1-4 p.m. show showed a 4.4 to 1.7 lead over KISN's programming.
In the 4-7 p.m. period, KFAN's team of Dave Blackwell, Ron Boone and Steve Klauke also held a sizable advantage over KISN's team of Scott Masteller and Tom Nissalke. The KFAN show was sixth in the Salt Lake radio market with a 5.0 share, KISN 18th at 2.4.
KFAN also - and predictably - held sway in the evening (7 p.m. and on) slot. Buoyed by its broadcasts of Utah Jazz games, KFAN posted a staggering 6.6 to 1.0 victory.
Only in the 10 a.m. to noon slot, during which both stations offer national programming, did KISN rank higher. The Fabulous Sports Babe scored a 3.4 victory over Jim Rome's 1.8.
"This means that sports fans have decided that 1320 KFAN is where they get their sports," Locke said. "This far exceeds any six-month plan we're ever built. There's no point in the day where they (KISN) are ranked higher than 18th in the market. We're top 10 in everything but morning drive."
KISN GM Pat Reedy, however, says the numbers aren't as dire as they look.
"They had a real nice book, and we anticipated that," he said. "Anytime you have two programs doing the same format, what you're going to have is diluted numbers."
Given the fact KFAN has the Jazz to anchor its programming, Reedy said it would have been a surprise if they hadn't pulled in front during basketball season.
"If they hadn't had numbers like that, everyone would be scratching their heads," he said. "We knew the winter book and the spring book would be the toughest books we've ever had. They've had one good book out of the past four, and one is not a trend."
Reedy said KISN still has a strong audience.
"People who listen are very passionate and very loyal," Reedy said. "There's a portion of our audience that is very loyal and can't stand the FAN, and a portion of their audience that feels the same way about us."
The question, of course, is whether advertisers, influenced by this latest book, will not wait around for KISN to make an off-NBA-season comeback. Locke, for one, thinks an advertising exodus is likely.
"The advertising community runs off ratings, and this is the only mechanism they can judge by, so that would seem logical," he said.
Reedy, on the other hand, says there are many loyal advertisers who have had success working with KISN, and he expects them to stick around. He acknowledges, however, that in the long run there probably isn't room for two sports-radio stations in this market.
"No, I really don't think there is," he said. "I think there will be a shake-out. What that is, your guess will be as good as mine."