Innes wins summer book, but huge number of digital listeners boost Missanelli

Declaring a winner in September in the bitter ratings battle between Sportsradio 94.1 WIP's Josh Innes and 97.5 The Fanatic's Mike Missanelli depends on how important you consider digital streaming to be.

According to numbers obtained by Philly.com, Innes and new co-hosts Spike Eskin and Hollis Thomas earned an 8.4 share among traditional radio listeners during the September ratings period (Aug. 13 to Sept. 19) from 2-6 p.m., good enough for first place in the coveted men 25-54 demographic. Missanelli came in second place with an 8.0 share.

But that only tells part of the story.

Missanelli also nabbed enough local listeners from the streaming option on The Fanatic's website to earn a 1.6 share, which dwarfs the 0.1 share Innes received from streaming listeners. Combining the two numbers would make Missanelli tops in the market among all listeners in the sought-after demographic.

That 1.6 digital share is a huge number for the Philadelphia market and could be a game-changer for Missanelli if he sustains it, especially thought the popular Eagles season. Radio stations sell advertising on radio and streaming seperately, and a growing digital audience could open up new revenue potential for The Fanatic.

But Innes isn't buying that conclusion.

"Mike can cling to whatever metric he wants. The reality is that my show has never lost to him in the only metric that matters," Innes said. "We won with Tony. We are winning with Tank and Spike. Why has Mike never brought up streaming before? Including the streaming is a desperate attempt to skew reality."

For the month, The Fanatic had impressive local online streaming ratings for all three of their daytime programs among men 25-54. From 6-10 a.m., Anthony Gargano brought in a 0.9 share, compared to Angelo Cataldi's 0.2 share. Rob Ellis earned an impressive 1.9 share from streaming listeners between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., while midday competitors Michael Barkann and Ike Reese brought in a 0.3 share.

The Fanatic's streaming ratings for the previous two months were on par with WIP, so it remains to be seen if September's numbers are sustainable or just an aberration. It is important to note the ratings have improved since the station overhauled their website and noticeably improved the audio quality of the stream.

Despite the streaming numbers, Innes topped Missanelli in the market for the second straight quarter among men 25-54 during the summer ratings book (June 18 to Sept. 9), one of four quarterly measurements of a show's popularity that usually determines a host's bonus. For the quarter, Innes earned an 8.2 share, placing him second in the market behind 93.3 WMMR. Missanelli finished just behind him in third place with a 7.4 share.

In other ratings news, The Fanatic's Gargano kept things close with WIP's Cataldi, though both were out on vacation a significant numbers of days during the ratings period. Cataldi finished the month with a 7.1 share, good enough for second among men between the ages of 25 and 54 from 6-10 a.m. Gargano finished just behind him in third with a 6.4 share, but if you add the streaming numbers both hosts would be tied with a 7.3 share.

Gargano has been narrowing the ratings gap in the morning between The Fanatic and WIP, so all eyes will be on next month's ratings, with both hosts going head-to-head during Eagles season.