In this story, The Ticket didn’t seem to really miss their old colleague, Greg Williams.
And in the radio ratings for Spring ’08, the station likewise seems as healthy as ever.
The Ticket finished No. 1 in Dallas-Fort Worth for their target demographic – men 25-54 – with a 7.6 rating, well ahead of fourth-place rival ESPN Radio and its 4.7. The amazing inside-the-numbers revelation is The Ticket’s 3-7 p.m. Hardline, which continues to rise in popularity despite the loss of one of the show’s main voices.
The Hardline not only rules men 25-54 with a 10.6 (ESPN’s Randy Galloway/Dale Hansen sports a 5.4), but also finished second in the market with all listeners 12 and up. Apparently, women and children are beginning to stay hard.
“We never put much stock in anything in this business until we see it happen over a period of time,” says Hardline founding father Mike Rhyner. “We're now two books and the vast majority of a third along that road, so we're getting there. We're still standing watch for that comeuppance that so many have assured us will be ours someday and we've got a ways to go. But we just do the show every day and to that, it's great to have all oars in the water and rowing in the same direction again.”
Without Williams, The Hardline may not be as good. But no doubt it’s more popular. -- Richie Whitt
