A few months ago WCSG was shocked by the departure of their morning host co-hosts Tommy and Brook to a secular radio station in the same market. I blogged about it. I asked a number of questions. The most important question I asked was, “Do Christian radio stations put too much emphasis on their air talent, rather than on Christ?”
I also said that Christian radio was unique and that while having quality air talent is important, it’s not the only thing. Christian radio has something more important than talent, they have the Holy Spirit.
Now please — don’t think I’m using ratings to rate the effectiveness of a Christian radio station. However, I will use ratings to prove my point. My point was that Christian radio — done well — isn’t dependent on popular co-hosts to do well. In fact, I thought the departure of Tommy and Brook would do little to 91.3 WCSG — the station they left. That’s not to say they weren’t doing a good job. They’re pros and worked hard in show prep and coming up with new ideas.
The Winter books are out and it’s amazing…almost no change in ratings for WCSG — in fact, they’ve gone up in several areas. Here are the numbers:
For all people 12 + WCSG had a 6.2 share (#3 in the market)– up from 5.7 in the fall #4 in the market).
For all people 25 to 54 WCSG had a 8.2 share (#3 in the market) — up from 6.8 in the fall (#5 in the market).
The demographic information for women are very similar, but I’ll spare you the details. The interesting thing is the numbers for men were mixed. Some numbers up, some down.
What’s the bottom line here? The bottom line is don’t let your talent drive your Christian radio station. Let the mission of your radio station drive your talent. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try to promote your talent, but that does mean you need focus on them. Christian radio is about one thing — Christ. When we stop thinking about that, we stop thinking about our mission.
That’s not to say these guys excluded Christ — they didn’t do that at all. They constantly took prayer requests and did little things that made a difference. But, John Balyo has done a great job taking over — solo. That’s not easy, but he’s doing a great job.
Posted by christianradio 
