Springfield, NW Arkansas radio markets gain shares

However, Springfield’s growth was not as rapid as in nearby northwest Arkansas, which jumped six spots since the spring 2006 ranking to No. 135.

Thom Mocarsky, senior vice president with Arbitron, said the growth of the two markets bucks regional demographic trends – the West and South are, on average, growing faster than the Northeast and Midwest.

In Springfield, four groups have the lion’s share of listeners. Arbitron’s information, which is collected from individuals who the ratings company asks to journal their listening habits during a given week, shows that Clear Channel Communications, Journal Broadcast Group, Meyer Communications and MidWest Family Broadcasting combined control nearly 80 percent of the market share.

Market leaders

Milwaukee, Wis.-based Journal Broadcast holds the largest share with its five stations, KRZQ, KSGF AM and FM, KSPW and KTTS, accounting for 30.5 percent of Springfield area listeners.

MidWest controls about 20 percent of the Springfield market with its four stations, KKLH, KOMG, KOSP and KQRA. General Manager Rick McCoy said that market domination by the big four should continue for the foreseeable future.

“With all of the consolidation that took place in the late ’90s, this market has settled in to where in the last couple of years it’s been pretty much status quo,” McCoy said. “Everyone has found their niche.”

McCoy said it’s unlikely that new stations will join the market any time soon.

“It would be difficult for someone to come in, unless there’s a move in from another market,” he said. “And I don’t think anyone is looking to sell any of their stations.”

Some local radio executives, including Meyer Communications owner Kenneth Meyer, wondered if Clear Channel Communications’ five Springfield stations – KGBX, KGMY-AM, KSWF, KTOZ and KXUS – were on the sales block. The company announced late last year that it was selling stations in 88 markets outside the top 100.

Though the Springfield market fits Clear Channel’s divestiture model, Springfield is not on the sale list, according to a corporate press release. Local management declined to comment further.

But Meyer, owner of KBFL, KTXR, KWTO-AM and KWTO-FM, said he would welcome further consolidation.

“When you split up a limited amount of available income for radio, as has been done here, it reduces the amount of programming you can buy,” Meyer said.

Bonnie Bell, Meyer Communications vice president of sales, pointed to the St. Louis market for comparison – St. Louis has 31 stations, one for every 73,600 people, while Springfield has 20 stations, or one for every 15,400 people, according to Arbitron figures.

“You quickly notice how many (stations) the Springfield market has,” Bell said. “It’s a huge number for this population base, almost surprisingly so.”

Format choices

But what are people in the Springfield market listening to?

According to Arbitron’s Fall 2006 Ratings Data for Persons 12+, country music comprises nearly 20 percent of the market. That correlates with regional and national statistics, which find country as the most popular format, comprising 19.9 percent of the market in the West North Central region, which covers seven states including Missouri.

News/talk/information is second on the list, drawing 10 percent of the Springfield audience, followed by adult contemporary, pop and classic rock formats.

Rex Hansen, vice president and general manager for Journal Broadcast Group’s Springfield operations, said the Springfield market is not unique. “I always get a chuckle out of people who travel from market to market and hear people say, ‘Here in X-burg, we’re different,’” Hansen said. “There is a lot of similarity from market to market across the United States.”

The national statistics bear out that fact – the five most popular formats in Springfield are identical to the national rankings.[[In-content Ad]]