Christmas tunes gave D.C. soft-rock station WASH 97.1 FM its yearly boost, Fall 2006 Arbitron ratings show.
Nevermind Scrooges who balked at the all-holiday music format, it made Rockville-based WASH the area’s fifth-most-popular station between Sept. 21 and Dec. 13 among listeners 12 and above with a 5 share (compared with eighth place and a 3.7 share during the summer).
Lanham-based WMMJ 102.3 FM dethroned fellow urban hits station WPGC 95.5 FM to take the top spot for all-day listeners with a 6.3 share. Howard University’s WHUR 96.3 FM was the area’s second-most-listened-to station with a 6.2 share, bumping WPGC to 5.6 and third.
All-news WTOP 103.5 FM — ranked fourth in terms of all-day listeners — again dominated the morning drive from 6 to 10 a.m. with a 7 share, with WMMJ and WPGC tied for runner-up at 5.7.
Michael Baisden, whose syndicated “Love, Lust and Lies” show can be heard from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays on WHUR, scored a 7.3 share among listeners ages 12 and above, taking the number one afternoon slot back from WTOP, which moved to second with a 5.9 share.
The word on Fox
One outspoken New Orleans Saints fan has Fox in an awkward spot and the Parents Television Council in a tizzy.
The group, which seeks to minimize sex, violence and profanity in the media, is telling its members to file indecency complaints with the Federal Communications Commission in response to Fox’s broadcast of the playoff game between the Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles, which at one point briefly displayed a woman sporting a shirt that read “… Da Eagles.”
In a statement released yesterday, the parents group said the display “appeared to be deliberate” and called on the network to refund advertiser money.
“It was inadvertent and we apologize,” said Fox Sports spokesman Lou D’Ermilio.
For curious viewers who missed the broadcast, a clip of the mishap has already been posted on YouTube.
In other news …
c Listeners tuned in to all-news WTOP 103.5 FM yesterday morning probably noticed the station’s morning drive team welcoming back Mike Moss, who returned after nearly a year at Bonneville International’s sister station, Washington Post Radio WTWP 107.7 FM/1500 AM.
“He wanted to come back,” Jim Farley, vice president of news and programming for WTOP, said of Mr. Moss. Now that WTWP is getting some “ratings traction, it was OK for him to come back home.”
Mr. Moss now anchors mornings with Bruce Alan. Richard Day has moved to the midday slot, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The “Morning Mess” is back on the air starting later this month.
While the “Mess” is no longer “Hot,” at least in name — the morning drive show shed that moniker when the show was dropped by Clear Channel top-40 outlet WIHT “Hot” 99.5 FM in November — co-hosts Mark Kaye and Kris Gamble promise to spice things up at their new home in Jacksonville, where the “Big Ape Morning Mess” debuts Jan. 29 on WAPE 95.1 FM.
Washington-area listeners can hear the new show live at www.wape951.com.
Channel Surfing runs on Wednesdays. Call 202/636-3139 or e-mail krowland@washingtontimes.com.
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