chfi back on top.

Here's the numbers from The Star..

Toronto's perennial favourite, CHFI-FM, has knocked CBC Radio One out of first place in the 2009 winter ratings period, according to figures released yesterday by BBM Canada.

Radio One had taken the overall No. 1 spot in Toronto for the first time ever when BBM, which monitors listening trends across the country, published ratings for the fall 2008 period in December.

In those previous BBM ratings, Radio One had a 9.4 per cent share and a reach of 696,100 listeners.

But bolstered by a TV and billboard campaign promoting its popular morning show hosts Erin Davis and Mike Cooper, as well as contests during the ratings period, Rogers-owned CHFI regained the ground for which it traditionally battles with adult contemporary music rival CHUM-FM, now owned by CTVglobemedia.

CHFI's share of hours tuned by listeners over the age of 12 increased to 10 per cent over last winter's 9.6 share, though its central reach – the estimated number of listeners who tuned in for at least 15 minutes during the week – remained constant, down by just 2,000.

Radio One's share rose by 1.5 per cent over last winter's figures, to 8.9 per cent, while its reach rose impressively to 660,000 from 551,000 in 2008.

"We didn't make any major changes and we didn't spend a lot of money on promotion because of the economy," said CHFI's program director and general manager, Julie Adam.

"We're always updating the music, keeping it fresh. Our performance has been pretty consistent, and that's what listeners seem to prefer right now."

When you turn to weekday morning ratings among Toronto's commercial stations, CHFI-FM and its AM sister station, 680News, hold the first and second spots respectively, with shares of 9.6 and 9.5.

But the national public broadcaster, CBC Radio One, still reigns supreme overall in the morning with a share of 12.8, despite the absence of Andy Barrie, host of the flagship Metro Morning, who took a leave of absence to care for his ailing wife during the ratings period. His seat was capably filled by veteran broadcaster Jane Hawtin.

The revamped CBC Radio 2 made a slight share gain, up to 2 per cent from 1.9 last year, and increased its reach by 10,000.

A CBC statement released yesterday said, "CBC Radio 2 is outperforming expectations. Both reach and share are stable and time spent listening is slightly up. New listeners are beginning to stay with the service for longer periods."

CHUM-FM is currently holding down the third position with an 8.8 per cent share, up slightly from last winter's 8.4, and a reach of 1,043,000, up from 926,000 at this time last year.

Classic rock station Q107, in fourth position, made considerable gains in share, to 6.6 from 6.3, and reach, to 683,000 from 653,000 over the same period last year.

In fifth place, 680News increased its share to 6.5 from 6 per cent last winter, and its reach by 35,000 to 1.1 million, indicating it's Toronto's first choice for local radio news.

In its final term as Toronto's once formidable golden oldies rock station, CHUM AM, recently acquired by CTVglobemedia and relaunched two weeks ago as an audio version of CTV's CP24 TV news channel, turned in a miserable performance, dropping half its share, down to 0.7 per cent over last year's winter "book," and 60,000 listeners.