Terrestrial radio ratings have become a monthly ritual this autumn due to Portable People Meter technology strapping signal decoders to the belts of Bureau of Broadcast Measurement survey participants. So, what stories can be read from the latest results? Rhythmic pop jukebox 104.5 CHUM FM is confirmed as the most listened-to station in Toronto — having restored the trans-generational formula that made 1050 CHUM a powerhouse in the 1970s. CHUM-FM’s share of the female 25-to-54 audience exceeds 20 per cent for the second month running, nearly double the numbers of soundalike Virgin Radio. Meanwhile, long-suffering AM 640 maintains their sudden lead over Newstalk 1010 among males 25-to-54, flipping years of conventional wisdom that CFRB was the default AM source for citizen ranting. (Yet, in that demographic, the Fan 590 beats them both.) Numbers for non-commercial CBC Radio also reflect the new reality: while largely local Radio One boasts 9.6 per cent of overall hours tuned, the more musically eclectic national Radio 2 doesn’t look further ahead of where it was as predominantly classical, under the diary system — hovering around a 1 share among under-55s. Turns out they’re not above the old game of specialty shows to get clock radios aligned for Monday morning: George Stroumboulopoulous starts up his weekly four-hour CBC Radio 2 takeover this Sunday at 8 p.m. [And now: Radio 2 announce they are re-shuffling the schedule with a new morning host pending.]

BBM: Toronto PPM [via Hennessey and Bray]