Neither had great ratings though.
670 THE SCORE COMES OUT ON TOP IN CHICAGO SPORTS RADIO RATINGS BATTLE
“The global pandemic and shifting sports schedules certainly didn’t bode well for Chicago’s sports stations.”
By Brandon Contes / January 8, 2021
The final ratings period of 2020 wasn’t great for either Chicago sports radio station, but 670 The Score did edge out a victory over their market competition ESPN 1000 during the fall quarter.
According to Nielsen Audio, Entercom’s The Score earned a 2.9 share in weekday prime (M-F 6a – 7p), while Good Karma’s ESPN 1000 finished with a 2.1 share. For the full week, The Score topped ESPN 1000 by a full point, 2.8 to 1.8.
In morning drive, The Score’s Mully & Haugh did a 3.6 share from 5 – 9a, which was their strongest book since the 2020 winter quarter. ESPN 1000 did a 2.8 share in the same block. The fall ratings period was the first full book in decades where ESPN 1000 featured a local morning show rather than taking the network feed. From 5 – 9a, ESPN 1000 takes the first two hours of Keyshawn, J-Will & Zubin, followed by the local duo of David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood from 7 – 10a.
In late mornings, The Score did a 2.9 from 9a – noon, beating ESPN 1000’s 2.1 share. The Score featured The Dan Bernstein Show during the three-hour window, which recently saw Leila Rahimi announced as a permanent co-host just in time for the start of the winter book. ESPN 1000’s 2.1 share from 9a – noon is filled with one hour of Kaplan and Hood followed by Carmen & Jurko from 10am – noon.
From noon – 2pm, The Score’s Laurence Holmes was down a tick from the summer book, earning a 2.8 share in the fall. ESPN 1000 had their lowest rated block during the 10a – noon hours, trailing Holmes by a full point as Mike Greenberg’s national show earned a 1.8 share.
In afternoon drive, Danny Parkins notched a win for The Score with a 15th place finish and a 2.5 share from 2 – 6p. Parkins had a mix of guest co-hosts throughout the quarter as his former partner Dan McNeil was fired by The Score on Sept. 15, shortly after the fall book began Sept. 10. ESPN 1000’s afternoon drive show featuring Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman finished with a 2.1 share from 2 – 6p, down a full point from their summer book.
Neither station had a top-10 finish for the above listed timeslots during the fall book. It wasn’t very long ago that Chicago sports radio stations were able to consistently double and triple the ratings shares they’ve displayed in the last year. The global pandemic and shifting sports schedules certainly didn’t bode well for Chicago’s sports stations. But both are chock-full of talent featuring a mix of new and heritage hosts. Hopefully stabilized lineups and leagues returning to more normalized schedules will bring a ratings boost to both stations in 2021.
https://barrettsportsmedia.com/2021/01/08/670-the-score-comes-out-on-top-in-chicago-sports-radio-ratings-battle