For the 2010 Arbitron PPM Holiday Book (December 9, 2010 through January 5, 2011) released yesterday, 101 ESPN was ranked the #1 radio station in St. Louis within their key demographic group of Men 25-54, from 6A-7P. This latest ranking includes both sports and music radio stations in St. Louis, across all radio formats.

With the Holiday Book results, 101 ESPN closed out 2010 with a 7.8 overall share in the latest survey for Men 25-54 during daily programming, and remains well ahead of their sports radio competition.

As 101 ESPN Program Director Jason Barrett explains, “The Holiday Arbitron PPM Book is different for one simple reason - under the old diary system, there was no real way to account for music formats shifting their focus towards holiday music and sports/talk stations carrying more Play by Play during the months of December/January. Arbitron’s PPM measurement system has changed all that - there is now an actual month dedicated to this time period.”

Barrett continues, “The dates for the holiday book were December 9th thru January 5th. Most of what 101 ESPN normally does, such as Rams Football programming, continued to take place during this time period.” He adds, “While the Holiday Book does not count towards our Fall or Winter Book performances, it does stand on its own as every station in the market is judged against it.”

101 ESPN’s daily shows continued their growth trend, according to the Holiday Arbitron PPM Survey results:

The nationally-syndicated “Mike & Mike in the Morning” show finished 3rd in the market for their timeslot, and has now been ranked in the Top 5 among Men 25-54 in the AM Drive for the entire 12 months for 2010. “The Bob Stelton Show” increased to a 7.6 share, and is now ranked #3 in its timeslot for Men 25-54. The Holiday Book marks six straight months of Top 5 finishes for the show.

“The Bernie Miklasz Show” moved up to the #3 ranking for the Midday timeslot for Men 25-54. The show has now consistently delivered Top 5 finishes for the past six months.

According to the Holiday PPM report, “The Fast Lane” claims the #1 spot for the PM Drive timeslot with an 8.3 rating among Men 25-54. “The Fast Lane” has now officially delivered 14 straight months of consecutive Top 5 ratings performances.

With the predominance of professional and college football which took place during the Holiday book, it is evident that sports fans turned to 101 ESPN to catch all of the action. Rams football coverage was rated #1 during the In-Game broadcasts and for most of the pre- and post-game shows, and the ESPN broadcasts of the BCS Bowl games also did exceptionally well during the Holiday ratings period.