Radio 2 Continues to Flounder in Montreal, and in Toronto Too, It Looks Like

The latest PPM radio listener share figures for Montreal are out, and if the CBC was expecting to see some improvement in its Radio 2 numbers, it must be disappointed. Between Jan. 26 and April 26, 2009 Radio 2’s share was 2 per cent, but it dropped to 1.8 per cent in the period June 1-August 30.

 

The results, measured by devices carried around by selected citizens, are supposed to be more reliable than those obtained under the previous method of listener diaries. This means that the BBM numbers can’t be compared to figures from a year ago when the older method was used (the change was made last fall and will be extended across the country, apparently.)

For what they’re worth though (and it's a bit like comparing apples and crab apples,) the BBM figures for April-June 2008 gave Radio 2 4.4 per cent. But it's clear even when comparing apples and apples that the all classical station CJPX which broadcasts in French is getting more market share than Radio 2 among Anglos. Compare its 2.6 per cent PPM rating for June 2-August 30, 2009 to Radio 2's 1.8.

I can’t find figures for Toronto more recent than the second quarter of 2009, but those also indicate that Radio 2 has not made gains despite its change in emphasis from serious music to, well, I don’t really know what to call it. But they also show net loses for Radio 2. In the second quarter of 2008, Radio 2 got 3 per cent market share, while the all classical station CFMZF+ got 4 per cent. In the second quarter of 2009, the distance widened to the detriment of Radio 2: 1.9 per cent for Radio 2 compared to 5.1 for the all-classical station.

The message? The people who are running CBC now seem to be hell bent to grind the public broadcaster into the ground. What they've done to Radio 2 is criminal. And now I hear they're proposing to shift the evening flagship TV news from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. If I remember correctly it was broadcast at that time many years ago and was shifted earlier to get a larger audience. Does the CBC brass actually want fewer listeners and viewers?