Report: Big Uptick For Merlin's WIQI, However....

One Chicago radio station that saw big increases in the August period was WIQI-FM, now known as i101. Two days before the start of this ratings period, WIQI-FM's ownership, Merlin Media, decided to abruptly cancel its news/talk format and many future plans, to become a mostly 1990s pop/AC format.

The move seemed to work for the radio company, according to an analysis by Chicago Radio & Media.

For Persons 25-54, the ratings jumped from a 0.4 share in July to a 1.6 share in August, a 1.2 share increase. While those are great numbers at first glance, the details behind it are even better. The station flipped formats and did no publicity after making the switch. The station's previous FM News 101.1 billboards are still all over town with no changes to them, notifying the public of the new format. The only real publicity was via word of mouth and social media. People discovered the 90s music on the station, liked what they heard, and quickly told others about it, causing a swelling audience.

By looking at the Persons 25-54 weekly numbers, one can see the great progress the station made. Week 1: 1.1 share. Week 2: 1.3 share. Week 3: 1.9 share. Week 4: 2.3 share. Those last week numbers place the station in the Top 20, up from near obscurity the month before.

However, even THAT is not the full story... The station's target demographic was Women 25-54. For that target demographic, the weekly numbers looked this way: Week 1: 1.5 share. Week 2: 1.7 share. Week 3: 2.4 share. Week 4: 3.3 share. Those last week numbers place the station near the Top 10, up from virtually nowhere the months before.

For Women 18-49, Week 4 had a 3.4 share. For Persons 18-34, Week 4 has a 3.5 share.

With surging ratings, all happening organically, one would guess that station ownership would give it a little promotional push and see those numbers rise even higher, making the station one of the year's surprise success stories. That is the logical way of thinking, though.

Instead, the day after this ratings period ended, Merlin Media decided to flip the station's unique format yet again, to a Hot AC format, featuring a playlist of more current music that can be found on any number of radio stations and outlets elsewhere. The move infuriated all the new fans and seemingly killed any momentum i101 had.

 Next month's ratings details will show if the move was a smart one, or as most look at it, a very puzzling one to say the least.

Read More On Chicago's August PPMs, Click Here.