Older demos tuning into AM 740 and WYNE

AM 740 now has nearly the same numbers as WRIE did when they carried the same format. Meanwhile WYNE with Captain Dan at the helm is making things happen on the 1,000 watt daytime only station. While there are signal limitations on the AM dial, there are none when it comes to streaming audio. The station is now able to broadcast 24 hours a day online at http://wyne.mercyhurst.edu/. This also helps with signal limitations going into buildings which can allow for listening in the office.

Could it also be the power of Captain Dan? His legendary status in the Erie market certainly is attracting a few listeners who knew him for years across the Erie dial.

Meanwhile, another local station did not even rank in the last book. Sports station WFNN 1330 “The Fan” had no numbers to speak of. With WRIE now taking over as Erie’s sports station, it may be time for Connoisseur to lean older with 1330.

There is simply no room for two sports stations in the Erie market. With AM 740 and WYNE possibly starting a trend, why leave 1330 drowning in Lake Erie when it could be a liferaft for part of the older demo.

The latest fall Arbitron numbers showed the usual suspects on top including Star 104 and Classy 100, but I also noticed another trend that could be rebuilding.

While it may seem like a small piece of the ratings pie, it’s also a voice that was shut out by format changes back in 2007. At that time, two stations that leaned towards the older demographic changed formats. One station was oldies Froggy 94.7 and the other was nostalgia based WRIE AM 1260. Both flipped formats in order to attract younger listeners.

Now it’s 2009 and the Fall book came out recently. Among the stations making gains with a 3 share is a Toronto based nostalgia station AM 740 CFZM “Zoomer Radio.” The other is an oldies station WYNE 1530 from North East with a 1 share.

While these numbers may not be at the level of the top FM stations in the market, they are saying that the older demo should not be put out to pasture and that they actually still listen to the radio.