WTOP Radio hovered above the ratings in the summer on the backs of the cicadas.
The all-news station (1500 AM and 107.7 FM) drew more summertime listeners than any of its competitors during the important morning drive period, Arbitron Inc. reported yesterday.
WTOP also scored the highest summer ratings in its history among adult listeners.
The novelty of the cicadas — the insects emerged from the earth in the spring after 17 years to mate and die — was one key to the station’s success, said Jim Farley, its vice president of news and programming.
WTOP declared itself Washington’s “Cicada Station” and provided hourly updates on the bugs during the late spring and early summer. It also had WJLA-TV (Channel 7) weatherman Doug Hill answer listeners’ questions during the mornings and afternoons.
“We swarmed that story,” Mr. Farley said.
WTOP also provided heavy coverage of the District’s lead-in-the-water crisis and the return of the snakehead fish.
In addition, it sent three members of its on-air team — political analyst Mark Plotkin and reporters Dave McConnell and Mitch Miller — to the Democratic and Republican conventions, more than any TV or radio station in the Washington area.
WTOP ranked first in morning drive among all listeners, followed by urban music stations WMMJ-FM (102.3), WPGC-FM (95.5) and WKYS-FM (93.9); classical music station WGMS-FM (103.5); urban station WHUR-FM (96.3); talk stations WJFK-FM (106.7) and WMAL-AM (630); country station WMZQ-FM (98.7) and adult pop station WRQX-FM (107.3).
Morning drive is the most important time period in radio because it draws the most listeners.
WJFK, the station that carries Howard Stern’s syndicated program, moved to seventh place during morning drive from ninth place last summer.
Among listeners between 25 and 54, the group most radio advertisers target, WJFK rose from fifth to third place in the morning.
Mr. Stern — a frequent target of the Federal Communications Commission’s crackdown on programming it deems indecent — announced plans this month to move his show from the broadcast airwaves to subscription-based satellite radio in 2006.
WWDC-FM (101.1) — whose morning host, Elliot Segal, is another frequent FCC target — dropped to 12th place among all listeners during mornings from seventh place in summer 2003.
Among listeners 25 to 54, WWDC dropped from seventh to eighth place during mornings.
WBIG-FM (100.3), the oldies station that laid off much of its on-air staff this month, slipped to 14th place among all listeners from ninth place during summer 2003.
The top 10 stations overall were WPGC, WMMJ, WTOP, WGMS, WHUR, WKYS, jazz station WJZW-FM (105.9), WMZQ, soft rock station WASH-FM (97.1) and pop station WIHT-FM (99.5).
The top 10 stations among listeners 25 to 54 were WMMJ, WPGC, WHUR, WTOP, WKYS, WJFK, WASH, WRQX, WJZW and WMZQ.
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