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Kelowna  

CBC tops Kelowna airwaves

Kelowna radio listeners have a new favourite radio station, and it looks like music is losing its edge over news and talk.

The top station in Kelowna, according to the latest radio ratings book, is CBC 1, while fellow news, talk and sports station AM 1150 also made big ratings gains.

The ratings released by Numeris, formerly the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, show CBC Radio 1 now holds 18.8 per cent of the market share, up from 16.3 per cent in November, while AM 1150 took 12.2 per cent, up from 8.4 per cent in the fall.

While each station targets specific demographics, Castanet used the over-reaching 12-plus metric to compare all stations equally.

CBC was also the most listened to station in the Kamloops area. 

“It shows we are relevant, and if our ratings continue to climb, it is good for CBC,” said B.C. Interior program manager Andrew Glass.

He said CBC was proud to not only claim the top spot overall, but also the No. 1 morning and afternoon show in the region. 

Unlike previous ratings periods, music powerhouses Country 100.7 and 99.9 Sun FM dropped significantly.

Newcap's Country 100.7, which claimed top spot in the November ratings with a 16.7 per cent share, dropped to second spot with 12.3 per cent.

Sun FM saw the biggest drop, now standing in sixth place with 8.9 per cent market share, down from third place and 13.6 per cent in November.

The nine radio stations serving the Central Okanagan were monitored by Numeris from March 2 to April 26.

While Bell Media stations Sun FM, EZ Rock and AM 1150 held the majority of the market last June, taking a combined 42.5 per cent of the radio marketplace, their combined numbers have dropped significantly.

All three stations moved in the ratings, with Bell's overall market share dropping to 30.7 per cent.

“There is some stuff we are happy about, some stuff we are sad about and some stuff that makes us wonder. Sun FM is hitting all its target demos, but it is off in some others, same with EZ Rock, so we have some work to do,” said Mark Burley, Sun FM program director.

“We will go back, sit, re-evaluate and do what we do best, and that is to continue to be the No. 1 hit music station in the city.”

Burley is pleased with AM1150's growth.

“I am really happy with AM1150, and the Rockets and Canucks and Phil and Gord in the morning, they had a really great book,” says Burley. “We are really proud of our staff here, they work really hard and do everything the right way.”

Kelowna rock station Power 104 also made a significant gain, claiming fifth spot overall and 9.3 per cent of the market – up from a 4.8 per cent share and seventh spot in November.

Competing rock station and sister station to Country 100.7, K96.3 has moved up again in overall market share, but down in the rankings – taking seventh spot with 8.1 per cent.

While the two Newcap stations dropped in the overall 12 and up category, general manager Dallas Gray is pleased with how the stations performed in their target age brackets – adults 25-54 and 35-64.

"These demos are so important to advertisers. They drive retail consumption in the Central Okanagan, so when we can deliver a big portion of that life group, advertisers take notice,” said Gray.

Q 103.1 and 103.9 Juice FM continue to hold the bottom two spots, with slight moves in their overall market share.

Juice FM dropped to 4.4 per cent market share from 4.5 per cent, while Q 103.1 moved up to 3.7 per cent from 3.2

Numeris defines market share as the "estimated total hours tuned to that station expressed as a percentage of total hours tuned to all radio."

Radio stations in the Okanagan are rated twice a year, once in the summer and again in the fall.



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