KKJZ & KBEM LEAD MAY 2019 JAZZ STATION PPM RATINGS • CYNTHIA CANTY RETIRES FROM MICHIGAN RADIO

KKJZ in Los Angeles had the largest number of estimated listeners and KBEM had the highest AQH share according to Nielsen Audio’s May PPM ratings.   

Spark News is tracking 19 full-time Jazz music stations.

KKJZ typically is the station with most weekly Jazz listeners. 

For the past couple of years WBGO in Newark/New York has been loosing weekly listeners, but has reversed this trend in the past couple of months. KUNV in Las Vegas is the fastest growing full-time Jazz station. Their estimated weekly listeners have roughly doubled in the past year.

KBEM, licensed to the Minneapolis Public School system, had the highest AQH share of all 19 stations at 2.2%. KUNV had the fastest growing AQH share in the past year.

KMHD lost both AQH share and estimated weekly listeners over the past year. 

Part of the reason could be the angst caused by a tug-of-war between OPB (who operates KMHD via a PSOA) and Mount Hood College (KMHD’s license}. 

Plus, Lynne Clendenin, VP fof Radio at OPB, told us KMHD had transmitter problems during the recent winter months.

(Scroll down to see the Nielsen numbers for other full-time Jazz stations and the ratings for Jazz stations with dual formats.)

Several times recently we have written about the growing audience for  KBEM, Jazz88. 

We decided to take a closer look at the station to learn more about their success.

Jazz88 usually flies under the radar, so to speak, in a market dominated by Minnesota Public Radio. They are independent of MPR.

KBEM deserves national exposure because what they have accomplished is a home grown effort.

In an e-interview we asked PD Travis Ryder if KBEM’s strong AQH is due to people listening for longer periods of time. Ryder told us:

Travis Ryder

"You’re right to mention longer durations.  Much of our success is definitely due to long time spent listening.  We led our market in TSL in the May book, edging out a women-oriented talker and the big Christian Contemporary outlet.  I think Minneapolis-St. Paul is an underrated Jazz city – lots of acts, lots of fans.  The Jazz Fest last week (which we broadcast live) drew something like 50,000 people out to see the local and national acts."

We do our best to program a varied but palatable mix with unobtrusive hosting and production.  Mornings now include lifestyle talk segments – food and wine, live theater, climate.  We’ve seen growth in Mornings since doing that, though it’s still our toughest daypart.   Our middays are very sticky, and afternoons and weeknights (with younger-leaning programming) have been pulling great numbers as well.

Jazz88 success is also shown in its finances. To put it in terms a CEO would love, KBEM is self sustaining. 

According to transparency documents on KBEM’s website, in FY 2018 the station had total revenue of around $1.1 million. Listener sensitive sources (members and underwriting) are 55% of the revenue.  CPB and the State of Minnesota provided 22%.  A unique arrangement with the Minnesota Department of Transporation (MNDot) brings in another 18%.

Continuing our coverage of full-time Jazz stations, over half of the stations in the group #11 - #19 are on HD2 channels, apparently without the benefit of simulcasting on a FM translator.  We opined yesterday about the sorry state of HD Radio, so we will save you from listening to it again.

But still, it is a shame that HD channels don’t have more listeners.  It isn’t the fault of the programming. In a perfect world, the FCC would give every HD channel is own FM translator.

There are four stations where Jazz programming is part of a dual format.  It is hard to generalize about these stations because each situation is different.

CYNTHIA CANTY – A MICHIGAN RADIO LEGEND – HANGS UP HER HEADPHONES

Cynthia Canty

Anyone who has spent time in Michigan knows of Cynthia Canty, a 40-year veteran of radio and TV news. 

For the past seven years Canty has been the host of Michigan Radio’s daily talk and interview show Stateside [link].

Neal Rubin, a popular columnist at the Detroit News [link], wrote on Wednesday (6/26) that Michigan’s Attorney General, Dana Nessel,  tweeted that Canty's departure from the Michigan Radio was "soul-crushing." 

Rubin said that the comment showed the love and respect listeners and co-workers have for her.

For most of her career, Canty worked at  Detroit’s biggest commercial radio and TV stations. But in 2011, for the first time in her career, she found herself discarded from the corporate world. 

However, it was time for a change. She told Neal at the time that working in the hyper-consolidated commercial media world had become "frustrating." She wondered if she was done with her career.

As Neal tells the story, in 2011, Canty and her daughter met with Steve Schram, the GM of Michigan Radio, regarding a college project. Canty and Schram worked together in the past. Neal continues the story:

“Schram had long been considering a local talk show, but the idea kept getting shuffled to the bottom of his to-do list. When Canty and [her daughter] walked into his office, he said, the notion became a priority and the proper host became obvious.”

Canty began as the host of Stateside shorty after the discussion.

Ever the trooper, Canty will continue to host Stateside until Michigan Radio has found her replacement.