Chicago radio's Winter book results

The winter books are here, and according to Arbitron (click here to see daypart info):

WINNERS:

WGN-AM: This could be the beginning of a long reign for longtime leader WGN-AM on top of the radio hill in Chicago, as the station fended off WGCI to remain numero uno in Chicago's Winter Arbitron book, and is expected to remain number one throughout the spring and summer, thanks to Cubs baseball.

WGCI-FM: The station finished first in every key demographic across the board, and is Chicago's number one music station.

WBBM-AM: The all-news outlet finishes a strong third overall.

WVAZ-FM (V103): The Urban AC outlet yo-yos up in this book, finishing fourth.

WPPN-FM: Feel the passion! Spanish Oldies never sounded so good, with this Univision outlet finishing fifth overall, with its highest share ever, and bested WOJO-FM for top Spanish station in Chicago.

WZZN-FM (True Oldies): Finished 11th overall, matching last year's numbers.

WFMT-FM: The classical outlet scores its highest 12+ rating in over a year.

WXRT-FM: Highest rating in over a year, finishing 17th overall.

WCFS-FM (Fresh 105.9): Finished 20th overall, a marked improvement over what was on WCKG - but more notably, finished in the top ten middays in key female demos.

WCPT-AM : The progressive talk station doubled its number in the ratings from last book.

WSCR-AM (The Score) and WMVP-AM (ESPN 1000): The Score finished first among men 25-54 in a tight race with ESPN 1000. Both sports stations are winners in my book.

Steve Harvey: WGCI's morning show ranked first among teens and second among Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-34. Clearly benefiting from WGCI's loyal audience.

Doug Banks: WVAZ-FM's new afternoon show busted out of the gate, finishing second among Adults 25-54.

Eddie, JoBo, and Erica: WBBM-FM's (B96's) long-running morning show ranked second among the 12-24 demographic, behind Steve Harvey. A winner, don't you think?

Eric & Kathy: WTMX-FM's long-running morning show continues its dominance among the lucrative female 25-54 demo in the mornings.

Steve Dahl: WJMK-FM's (Jack) new morning man finished eighth overall and even better among men 25-54.

LOSERS:

WOJO: Once Chicago's top Spanish-language station, it fell behind WPPN and WLEY.

WLIT-FM (Lite FM): Back to regular AC music and down to 16th place.

WLUP-FM (The Loop), WJMK : Slides to 21st and 22nd place respectively, with mediocre numbers and for WJMK, a mediocre format despite the presence of Dahl in the morning.

WKQX-FM (Q101): Another rock station that can't get arrested in the ratings.

WILV-FM (Love FM): Down to 23rd place, with no purpose or direction whatsoever. With apologies to Marc Berman, tick-tock - the cancellation clock is ticking!

Nine-FM: Let's face it... This station will never catch on.

Overall, Chicago radio was a winner in the recent Winter book, with some morning shows gaining listeners. Whether you love it or hate it, you can't deny the local radio business is in better shape than the TV business right now, with ratings down for both networks and local stations and the return for many hit shows, thanks to the Writer's Strike.

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, "Ratings Info", Chicagolandradioandmedia.com.