Monday, August 8, 2011

Arbitron Ratings Give WVBE Roanoke Good Vibes

Roanoke's radio ratings have taken on a whole new vibe.

100.1 WVBE-FM, better known as ViBE 100, posted its best-ever ranking in the spring Arbitron survey, vaulting to third place behind usual ratings stalwarts Star Country and Q99, according to a story by Ralph Berrier Jrs., at roanoke.com.

ViBE 100, which ladles heavy doses of old-school soul and funk into its urban contemporary playlist, drew an impressive 8.0 share in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market. Country station Star Country (WSLC-FM, 94.5) pulled a 12.9 to retain the top spot and adult contemporary Q99 (WSLQ-FM, 99.1) was second with an 8.5.

"We have a sound that nobody is offering in this market," said Walt Ford, ViBE 100's operations manager and program director, citing the station's slogan as "Today's Best R&B and Classic Soul."

SEE ARBITRON MARKET SNAPSHOT, CLICK HERE.

The station is mostly programmed locally, except for the nationally syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show" and the midday "Michael Baisden Show."

A typical playlist at ViBE 100 will include contemporary stuff from the likes of Jill Scott, Jennifer Hudson and Musiq Soulchild, but it's also the place for Michael Jackson, the Gap Band and Maze.

Just last week, ViBE 100 was easily the only place on Roanoke radio where one could hear Afrika Bambaataa's rap classic "Planet Rock," followed by the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money."

"We're not an oldies station, we're not a hip-hop station," Ford said. "We're dedicated to everything from Earth, Wind and Fire to Alicia Keys. Sometimes we get a little funky with the dance, sometimes we get a little smooth with the ballads."

Even though radio ratings are prone to wild fluctuations from one ratings book to the next, ViBE 100 has been climbing steadily for sometime. In the past two years, the station has moved up from seventh place to fifth and now to third, increasing its market share by 60 percent.

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