‘Jeff and Jer’ Boost Morning Ratings for B100 Radio

Two months after making a well-publicized jump from KKYY-FM (Y95)to KFMB-FM (B100), morning pranksters Jerry St. James and Jeff Elliott have established themselves as the morning team to beat, according to the Arbitron ratings released Wednesday for the spring quarter.

In addition to a dramatic increase in B100’s morning ratings share, the new ratings book shows the contemporary hits format of KKLQ (Q106) in first place overall, the position it has held for the past three years, with a 9.4 rating share among listeners 12 and over, down from a 10.3 share in the winter book.

KSON, simulcast on AM (1240) and FM (97.3), again posted big numbers with its country format. After a respectable 6.7 share in the winter book, KSON moved up to a 7.5 share among listeners 12 and over in the spring, placing it second overall. The rock ‘n’ roll of KGB was third in the 12-plus category with a 7.1 rating share, up from a 6.1 in the winter.

Big jumps also were recorded by KCBQ-FM (105.3), which moved from a 2.6 to a 3.6 with its oldies rock, and XHTZ (Z90), which switched from rock ‘n’ roll to a contemporary urban format in the spring and jumped from a .8 to a 1.9 share.

A ratings share represents the percentage of the listening audience that tuned to the station for at least five minutes in an average quarter hour. Although they illustrate the overall size of a station’s listening audience, the 12 and over numbers are generally discounted by radio station executives, who market their stations to specific demographic groups.

Overall, KGB was number one in the 18-34 category, followed by Q106 and XTRA-FM (91X), while KSON won among listeners 25-54, followed by KGB, Q106 and the “Lites Out” jazz of KIFM (98.1).

“There was more listenership in this book,” although KIFM’s ratings dropped slightly, said KIFM General Manager Bruce Walton. “We’re doing a good job of keeping our listeners around, especially in the spring when (the start of Padres) baseball affects our men listeners.”

In the case of “Jeff and Jer,” B100 scored big in the 25-54 age group, its key demographic target audience. In the last ratings book, for the winter quarter, B100 was ranked fifth in the morning among listeners 25-54 with a 6.0, while Y95 with “Jeff and Jer” was sixth with a 5.6 share.

“Jeff and Jer” started work at B100 five weeks into the 12-week ratings period. But there is no doubt they made a substantial impact, posting an 8.3 share among listeners 25-54 years old. That was enough to move B100 into first place in the morning in the key 25-54 group, ahead of KSON’s Jack Diamond and Lisa Bent with an 8.0 and the 7.1 rating posted by KFMB-AM’s (760) Mac Hudson and Joe Bauer.

B100 had been a perennial power in the morning since 1984, when the “B-Morning Zoo” starring the “Rich Brothers” debuted. In April, though, the station dumped the zoo concept and hired “Jeff and Jer.”

The station promoted the new show heavily, including throwing a large party and running television commercials featuring the duo with paper bags over their heads, a tactic that arose when Y95 refused to allow B100 to use the names of the pair until their Y95 contract expired.

To a certain degree, the numbers can be attributed to increased listener sampling in the wake of numerous recent changes in morning programs.

“That might have made the (ratings) jump a little quicker,” KFMB General Manager Paul Palmer said. “We’re dealing with people who were listening to the Zoo, who we were trying to keep, and a number of people who came over from other stations.”

Overall, B100 showed only a slight increase in the 12 and over category, moving from a 4.5 to a 4.8. KFMB-AM (760), buoyed by the San Diego Padres broadcasts, went from a 4.6 ratings share to a 6.7.

In other significant ratings changes, the mellow music of KYXY-FM (96.5) dropped from a 5.0 to a 3.7 among listeners 12 and over, but the equally mellow format of KJQY-FM (Sunny 103) didn’t pick up the slack. Once a ratings power, when it was known as “KJOY,” Sunny 103 and its slightly more upbeat format, slipped from a 5.3 to a 4.4.

The new rock of XTRA-FM (91X) posted a slight gain in the 12 and over category, going from a 4.3 to a 4.8 share, and KSDO-AM (1130) went from a 6.0 to a 5.7.