'Free FM' still in throes of ratings free-fall
October 17, 2006
BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist
Everything that's wrong with CBS Radio can be summed up in four letters: WCKG. Arbitron ratings released Monday for the summer quarter delivered another catastrophic blow to the "Free FM" talk station.

The syndicated duo of Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia proved no more popular in mornings than the dog they replaced, Shane "Rover" French. (The solution, of course, is still Mancow Muller.)

As a result, for the second straight quarter, WCKG wound up below a 1.0 percent share of all listeners.

News of WCKG's plight came just as the personality whose departure triggered the station's free-fall, Howard Stern, announced plans to offer an Internet-only version of his Sirius Satellite Radio morning show.

Perhaps most alarming was the decline of the station's franchise player, Steve Dahl, whose afternoon show plunged to 20th place overall, and remained tied for sixth in his target audience of men between the ages of 25 and 54. The hoopla over his one-day reunion with ex-partner Garry Meier appeared to have no impact.