Indy Radio: WIBC's Tony Katz Challenging Bob & Tom

Tony Katz (center-right) with Morning News Team

Not only has Tony Katz, who took over mornings last summer on N/T WIBC 93.1 FM in Indianapolis drawn a bigger audience than previous host Steve Simpson, he's also challenging one of the most popular morning shows for the last three decades in the Indianapolis market: "The Bob & Tom Show."

After declining to renew Simpson's contract in June, officials for Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp., which owns WIBC, insisted that bringing on Katz added a voice that better aligned with the station’s other programming, according to Anthony Schoettle at the Indy Business Journal.

Listenership of WIBC during the first six months of Katz’s show is up across several demographic segments. In audience size, it's rivaling powerhouse "The Bob & Tom Show," which also airs from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekday mornings on iHM's WFBQ 94.7 FM. Katz's early audience numbers are even surpassing Emmis managers' expectations.

Emmis local market manager Charlie Morgan said he isn’t surprised that Katz was able to capture a larger audience than Simpson, but is surprised “how quickly the audience responded.”

“This is nothing negative about Steve Simpson,” Morgan said. “He did a terrific job and had a top five [for his time slot] show. We just needed a station that was more consistent morning, noon and night, and Tony was a better fit for our audience. In that regard, I’m not surprised at how much the [Katz] show is resonating.”

WIBC 93.1 FM (13.5 Kw) Red=60dBu Coverage Area

In the broadest demographic measured by New York-based Nielsen Audio, which is listeners 6 years of age and older, Katz is earning an 8.5 share in his first six months. That’s up over the 7.6 share that Simpson’s show averaged in its last six months, according to Nielsen Audio.

And Katz’s show appears to be picking up steam. During the last three months in the 6-plus demographic, it earned an 8.8 share in October, 9.8 in November and 9.7 in December, according to Nielsen Audio.

Among men 25-to-54, the first six months of Katz’s show had an average share of 7.4, up from Simpson’s last six months, which scored a 5.9 share, according to Nielsen.

Among men 35-to-64, the sweet spot for news-talk, Katz’s first six months scored a 12.0 share, up from Simpson’s last six months which earned an average share of 9.7.

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