Chicago radio ratings: The Drive dominates, B96 slips

The Drive wins overall; WLS-FM finishes first in 18-34s At the start of the year, no one would ever guess Hubbard’s The Drive (WDRV-FM) would top the ratings, let alone dominate them. And as it turns out, the classic rocker is performing a clinic on how to dominate. In September, The Drive’s ratings topped all Chicago radio stations, speeding up […]

Chicago radio ratings: The Drive, 93.9 Lite FM share lead

WOJO takes home crown in demos; sports talkers grow The August PPM ratings for Chicago radio stations were released Tuesday and it showed a tie at the top. Hubbard’s The Drive (WDRV-FM) and iHeartMedia’s 93.9 The Lite (WLIT-FM) each finished in a tie for first place, both ahead of their competitors by nearly one ratings point. However for classic rocker […]

Chicago Radio Ratings: WLIT finishes second overall

The Drive is tops for the third straight month; WOJO dominates demos Who needs Rudolph anyway?  That’s the attitude iHeartMedia’s classic hits heavy-AC outlet WLIT has after scoring its highest non-Christmas ratings in years.  According the July Nielsen Audio numbers released Monday, WLIT place second, up 13 percent from June, finishing behind Hubbard’s The Drive (WDRV-FM). Generally, WLIT dominates in […]

Chicago radio ratings: The Drive motors up to record high ratings

WDRV-FM opens up a nearly two-point share lead on WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM In the May survey, Hubbard’s Classic Rock station The Drive (WDRV-FM) scored their first-ever ratings victory in their 21-year history, dislodging Adult R&B V103 (WVAZ-FM) as Chicago’s top-rated music station. Not only they repeated the feat again in June, they expanded their lead over their competitors.  The Drive topped the […]

670 The Score adds Dan Bernstein, Laurence Holmes to middays

Former B96 jock Gabe Ramirez added to evenings WSCR-AM/670 The Score announced some scheduling changes Thursday. The Audacy-owned station announced it was pairing Dan Bernstein with Laurence Holmes for middays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The move is effective Monday.  Bernstein – who has been hosting solo since Leah Ramini left to become a full-time sports anchor at NBC 5 […]

Leah Rahimi joins NBC 5 full-time as sports anchor

Gives up full-time position as 670 The Score co-host but remains to co-host on Wednesdays Appearing on NBC 5/WMAQ-TV’s Sports Sunday has now led Leah Rahimi to a full-time position handling sports anchor duties, beginning next month, becoming the first full-time female sports anchor in the history of the station.  She’ll appear on the station’s 5, 6, and 10 p.m. […]

Remembering Les Grobstein

  Chicago sports radio legend dead at 69 The Chicago sports media world is mourning yet another sudden loss with the death of Les Grobstein, who was found dead in his suburban Elk Grove Village home Sunday. His death comes three weeks after ESPN 1000 veteran Bears beat reporter Jeff Dickerson died of cancer.  A longtime veteran of Chicago sports […]

Chicago Bulls ink multi-year extension with The Score

Future prospects for young team look good With the rest of Chicago men’s sports teams swimming in a dumpster fire right now (the Blackhawks have yet to win a game and the Bears are…well, the Bears), it’s the Chicago Bulls who’ve stepped up and played like a real professional sports team, instead of a bunch of junior varsity rejects on […]

The Media Notepad: Journalists and columnists exit Chicago Tribune en masse

Also: The Score’s Danny Parkins raises money for a neighborhood grocery; ESPN 1000 comes to HD Radio; Lauren Lake signs on with Entertainment Studios for new show   As the website was under construction for the last two weeks, here were some stories that made news, and as you can imagine, this first item was the biggest. With Alden Global Capital […]

The Media Notepad: Entercom launches new sports gambling station “The Bet”

Also: Dan Bongino takes Rush’s place; ET makes history; Fox Sports Net name change set Hey remember HD Radio? No? Well believe it or not, it’s still around and here’s your reminder: On Monday, Entercom’s WCFS-FM became 105.9 The Bet, a format devoted to sports gambling.  However, it’s not on WCFS-FM’s main frequency, where a simulcast of Newsradio 780 continues. […]

Matt Spiegel returns to the Score and reunites with Danny Parkins

Team reunites after three years apart After being demoted at The Score three years ago, Matt Speigel is back in the afternoons where he belongs.  Beginning today, Speigel is reunited with co-host Danny Parkins in afternoons from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Entercom-owned sports talk station after being bounced for a returning Dan McNeil.  From the press release:  “Matt […]

History made: Leila Rahimi joins Dan Bernstein at The Score full-time

Becomes first woman to co-host a sports radio talk show on a regular basis in Chicago Entercom-owned The Score (WSCR-AM) announced Monday the promotion of part-time/fill-in host Leila Rahimi to full-time, teaming up with Dan Bernstein in the new Bernstein and Rahimi show, airing weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon.  It marks the first time a female host has […]

Chicago White Sox return to ESPN 1000

Team returns to WMVP in new three-year deal After a turbulent last few weeks after the team announced the return of 76-year old Tony LaRussa as manager, the Chicago White Sox announced another retro signing – a return to WMVP-AM, branded as ESPN 1000. The last time you heard them on ESPN 1000, they became World Series Champs. The next […]

Dan McNeil fired from The Score after controversial tweet

Action comes after he questions ESPN’s reporter’s attire in the mostasinine way possible Once again, Dan McNeil is out of a job in Chicago radio because of an idiotic thing he said or did or both. On Monday, the WSCR-AM/The Score personality sent a tweet questioning ESPN sideline reporter Maria Taylor’s outfit while she was working at the first Monday […]

ESPN 1000 to launch new morning show with David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood

Two longtime sports talk veterans get together for new 7-10 a.m. program In a sweeping schedule realignment, ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM) is adding a new local morning show.  David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood will take over the 7-to-10 a.m. slot starting on Monday, giving ESPN 1000 its first morning drive-time show in recent memory as the station has mostly stuck with […]