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RADIO WARS: 94 WIP Dominates Winter Ratings, Mike Missanelli Reclaims Top Spot at Fanatic
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It was the German rock band Scorpions that sang about the Wind of Change back in 1991. But they weren’t talking about Philadelphia sports talk radio because the wind isn’t blowing and nothing has changed. 94 WIP continues to completely dominate not just 97.5 the Fanatic, but most of the market in Nielsen’s men 25 to 54 demographic.
WIP posted humongous big numbers in a winter ratings book that went from January 9th to April 2nd, covering both the Eagles Super Bowl run and front end of the Phillies season. The Fanatic, meantime, got no help from the Sixers and Flyers, as both combined to miss the postseason for the first time in seven years.
It was a clean sweep for WIP, which won the M25-54 demo in every time slot.
As a reminder, when these posts are written, we focus on Nielsen meters plus streaming. WIP has a total number separated into streaming and over the air, while 97.5 has both of those combined into a singular number, known as “total line reporting.”
Mornings
- 94 WIP: 16.1 (5.4 stream, 10.7 over the air)
- 97.5 the Fanatic: 3.2
Joe “The Hammer” DeCamara and Jon Ritchie finished first in the market, clipping Preston and Steve in the male demo. WMMR, a morning juggernaut, won the overarching “people” demographic, though the strength of the Eagles run pushed WIP into the top M25-54 spot for only the second time in more than three years.
At the Fanatic, John Kincade and Andrew Salciunas were 7th.
Midday
- 94 WIP: 16.3 (3.8 stream, 12.5 over the air)
- 97.5 the Fanatic: 4.0
Impressive and continued growth for Joe Giglio and Hugh Douglas, who finished #1 and improved on the 15.6 number posted in the fall. Since we’ve been doing these ratings posts, WIP middays has never scored a higher number, and was always consistently several ratings points below AM and PM drive. Now all three shows are rolling.
Meantime, at 97.5, Mike Missanelli improved from 3.8 to 4.0 in his second full book since returning to WPEN. He finished 7th in the time slot and is now the highest-rated Fanatic show.
Afternoons
- 94 WIP: 18.4 (5.4 stream, 13.0 over the air)
- 97.5 the Fanatic: 2.5
A big, beefy number for Spike Eskin, Ike Reese, and Jack Fritz. This number improved almost three full ratings points from the 15.5 we saw in the fall.
For the Fanatic, Tyrone Johnson’s last full ratings book fell flat with a 2.5, finishing 14th. Previously, The Best Show Ever? was 97.5’s best-performing and most consistent show, but went out quietly before Johnson departed the station last Friday.
Evenings
- 94 WIP: 12.6 (1.7 stream, 10.6 over the air)
- 97.5 the Fanatic: 2.0
Strong numbers always for WIP evenings, which benefits from being the Phillies rights holder. They were #1 while the Fanatic finished 18th.
Prime
- 94 WIP: 16.8 (6.0 stream, 11.8 over the air)
- 97.5 the Fanatic: 2.4
Across all time slots, WIP finished first in the market. Fanatic was 11th.
Takeaways?
There are not many observations to make, if we’re being honest. WIP trounced everyone. In other news, water is wet, the sky is green, and the City of Philadelphia screwed up your taxes and is sending you letters, demanding money.
At the Fanatic, Kincade and Salciunas went from 3.8 to 3.2, so a step back there. Mikey Miss had a slight bump and TBSE? is now over. Program Director Scott Masteller and Cluster Manager Paul Blake will have to replace Tyrone as we head continue through spring and into summer.
It’s likely that WIP continues to steamroll everyone and everything in the male demographic as long as Nielsen data is used for radio ratings.
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Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com