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New radio ratings keep WIFC, WYTE, and WDEZ on top

By JIM SCHUH
of The Gazette
The three top radio stations in last spring's Arbitron ratings have kept their positions in the just-released fall ratings.

Contemporary hit station WIFC in Wausau held onto the top spot, although its share of audience 12 years of age and older fell more than 2 percentage points. Arbitron's latest rankings give WIFC a share of 11 percent, to 10.7 percent for No. 2 WYTE, the country music station in Whiting. In third place is WDEZ, a Wausau country station, which gained a full point to 10.1 percent of the available audience on a Monday through Sunday, 6 a.m. to midnight basis.

The ratings for the 168th largest market in the United States include Portage, Wood and Marathon County listeners.

Rocker WMZK in Merrill, now in eighth place, traded spots with adult contemporary WLJY in Marshfield, which jumped up to fourth. WLJY's share of audience doubled from 4.1 to 8.2 in the new ratings book, while WMZK's fell by more than half.

WGLX, the classic rock station in Wisconsin Rapids, moved up one position into a tie for fifth place with news-talk WSAU in Wausau, the only AM station in the top 10. Both had a 6 share. Oldies station WIZD in Plover remained in seventh place, although it saw its shares slip from 5 to 4.4. The other Oldies station in the market - WOFM - finished with a 2.8 share, up two-tenths of a point from the last book, and good for the 10th spot. WIZD and WOFM carry identical programming.

WSPT-FM in Stevens Point, whose format is hot adult contemporary, saw its share of audience slip for the third book in a row. It held onto the ninth position, but its share dipped from 3.8 to 3.5. Sister station WSPT did not show up among the 22 top stations in Arbitron's published report, indicating it has fewer than one of every 200 radio listeners.

Classic rock WKQH, licensed to Marathon City but operated from Stevens Point, came in 11th with a 2.5 share, compared to a 2.6 share in the earlier ratings book.

Midwest Communications of Wausau owns and operates WIFC, WDEZ, WSAU, WIZD and WOFM. New Radio Group stations include WYTE and WLJY, and the firm is buying WGLX from Bliss Communications. New Radio is renovating a building on County Trunk B in Plover to house several of its stations under one roof. Americus Communications runs WSPT and WKQH.



	New radio ratings keep WIFC, WYTE, and WDEZ on top By JIM SCHUH of The Gazette The three top radio stations in last spring's Arbitron ratings have kept their positions in the just-released fall ratings. Contemporary hit station WIFC in Wausau held onto the top spot, although its share of audience 12 years of age and older fell more than 2 percentage points. Arbitron's latest rankings give WIFC a share of 11 percent, to 10.7 percent for No. 2 WYTE, the country music station in Whiting. In third place is WDEZ, a Wausau country station, which gained a full point to 10.1 percent of the available audience on a Monday through Sunday, 6 a.m. to midnight basis. The ratings for the 168th largest market in the United States include Portage, Wood and Marathon County listeners. Rocker WMZK in Merrill, now in eighth place, traded spots with adult contemporary WLJY in Marshfield, which jumped up to fourth. WLJY's share of audience doubled from 4.1 to 8.2 in the new ratings book, while WMZK's fell by more than half. WGLX, the classic rock station in Wisconsin Rapids, moved up one position into a tie for fifth place with news-talk WSAU in Wausau, the only AM station in the top 10. Both had a 6 share. Oldies station WIZD in Plover remained in seventh place, although it saw its shares slip from 5 to 4.4. The other Oldies station in the market - WOFM - finished with a 2.8 share, up two-tenths of a point from the last book, and good for the 10th spot. WIZD and WOFM carry identical programming. WSPT-FM in Stevens Point, whose format is hot adult contemporary, saw its share of audience slip for the third book in a row. It held onto the ninth position, but its share dipped from 3.8 to 3.5. Sister station WSPT did not show up among the 22 top stations in Arbitron's published report, indicating it has fewer than one of every 200 radio listeners. Classic rock WKQH, licensed to Marathon City but operated from Stevens Point, came in 11th with a 2.5 share, compared to a 2.6 share in the earlier ratings book. Midwest Communications of Wausau owns and operates WIFC, WDEZ, WSAU, WIZD and WOFM. New Radio Group stations include WYTE and WLJY, and the firm is buying WGLX from Bliss Communications. New Radio is renovating a building on County Trunk B in Plover to house several of its stations under one roof. Americus Communications runs WSPT and WKQH.