October 13, 2009 @ 18:20
I've been pounding the same message on this website for years and I'm sure some of you have grown tired of it. But I don't really give a shit.
When you know something, feel something and downright want something you tend to not let it go. That's the way I've been with Mike Stafford who's been delivering the goods in this city since he was an 18 year old kid reading the news on CFNY way back in the late 70's.
Mike Stafford is the most talented talk show host in the city of Toronto, but it's taken way too long for recognition to play out. Finally it has.
I won't get into all the tedious details because to most people it really doesn't matter, but recently the major radio markets in Canada adopted a new ratings system called PPM.
PPM stands for "portable people meters" and they record the actual minute to minute radio listening habits of people in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. Excuse me if I've left anyone out, but it doesn't matter towards my point.
My point is, PPM although open from criticism is a far better methodology the old diary system (BBM - Bureau of broadcast measurement) where listeners filled out ballots by memory, and more often than not, mom would end up filling them out for the whole family.
Over the years, the old method was extremely frustrating for a lot of people in the business because we knew if was inaccurate and it was disheartening to see decisions made and people lose jobs over a system that basically sucked.
Now to a large degree that has been corrected and it's great to see justice served in a couple of areas in particular.
CFNY / The Edge has always had way more listeners than it was ever given credit for because its target demographic was young males. Young males don't / didn't fill out ballots.
It was tough to take in the 90's when the Humble and Fred Show performed well in every goddamned survey under the sun, except the one that mattered, BBM.
Well now, through PPM, the Edge has lurched forward and the boys in the morning are kicking some major league ass. Way to go fellas, justice prevails.
Same with am 640. When Humble and I were part of the MOJO launch we knew there were a lot more people listening than we were given credit for. It was crazy, we were getting weak shares in males 25-54, but everywhere we went people claimed they were listening and it remained that way til last week. Although 640 was delivering a much better product than heritage stations CFRB and The Fan, when it came to results on the AM band, 640 lagged.
That is until last Thursday when the first PPM results were announced and more justice prevailed. In the prime 25-54 demographic 640 is now ranking right up there with the other AM players in the market. In fact in some cases, it's trouncing them, especially that station that your grandparents listen / listened to.
And this brings me all the way back to Mike Stafford. When Mike is on the air there is no equal on the AM band. He has the clear cut number one show, and why wouldn't he?
Stafford is by far the best in the city. His balance of humour, intelligence and irreverence has been enjoyed, but obviously not fully recognized in Toronto for years, but now that has changed because there is justice in the numbers.
Problem is, it took way too long and that's a bloody shame.
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