Not to be redundant, but it’s another winning month for WLTW/Lite-FM.

The Clear Channel number one mainstay kept residence in its familiar spot with a 7.6 in the overall Arbitron ratings. That’s a .4 boost from January.

By contrast, WCBS-FM slipped to a 6.2 in the current PPM.

• Related: FishbowlNY, Radio Ratings Status Quo: WLTW Remains Number One Overall

WBLS also dropped by .2 to 5.5, while WHTZ/Z100 lost .3 to 5.1.

WINS was next with 4.7, a .2 gain. Sister station WCBS 880 also saw a .2 upgrade to 3.8.

The big news is tracking NASH-FM/WNSH, the city’s first Country station in more than 15 years. NASH in its first full ratings survey notched a 1.6. Just below NASH was ESPN’s WEPN-FM at 1.3, a drop from 1.6. More dramatically, ESPN has lost a point since November.

• Related: FishbowlNY, NASH-FM 94.7 Welcomes First Air Personalities

WFAN-FM kept its distance from its rival. But the ‘FAN, which simulcasts on 660 AM and 101.9 FM, had an uncharacteristic drop of 1.2 to 2.5 for February.

There’s more from the monthly ratings after the jump.

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Someone heard doing a commercial on the radio is hardly noteworthy. But when the person is “Cousin Brucie” Morrow and the station is WCBS-FM, the ears perk.

For nearly a quarter-century, Morrow talked to his “cousins” on CBS-FM, primarily Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Now, his famous voice is back on WCBS-FM, but this time to shill for Lexus.

Morrow tells FishbowlNY that the spots date back to CBS-FM’s 40th anniversary last July.  As part of his “reunion” broadcast, Morrow did several live commercial reads, including one for Lexus.

• Related: FishbowlNY, Cousin Brucie Recalls His Brooklyn Roots

“They loved it so much, they called me the next day and asked me if I’d do their commercials for them,” Morrow says.

He says the ads run on all CBS Radio stations in New York.

That deal, though, almost didn’t happen.

Brucie came close to saying no to the one-time return on his beloved CBS-FM, still sore about the ugly 2005 flip to the jockless Jack-FM.

He says Jim Ryan, who became program director around the same time as the station anniversary last summer, kept pursuing Morrow to be part of the special weekend of music and memories.

“No way am I ever going to come back to that radio station,” Morrow recalls telling Ryan. “These people did a terrible thing, they’re nasty people and I can’t forgive them.”

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Jessie, Arnold, Fitzgerald, Taylor, Colmes, and Salamon on panel to celebrate 40 years since WHN’s country debut.

Country is alive and kicking on Cumulus’ NASH FM, a first in 17 years on New York. It was also a rare flip to Country 40 years ago today, February 26, 1973. The WHN call letters started in 1922 at 1050. But country would have to wait several more decades and format adjustments.

By the 1960s, Beautiful Music was in full effect as WHN was resurrected for the second time. Owner Storer made the move to Country. Like today with Cumulus’ NASH FM, Country was never a hotbed for New York listeners. Nearby WJRZ in Hackensack, New Jersey, was one of the few area Country/Western spots. But it was gone by 1971, setting the stage for WHN to fill the void.

Related: FishbowlNY, NASH FM Hires First Air Personalities

The station was sold to the Mutual Broadcasting System in the late 1970s. It got its strongest format competition when WKHK was born in 1980. By 1984, it would become WLTW. WHN prevailed, but the heyday was in the rear view mirror. Two years later, in what was the final nail in WHN’s coffin, Emmis purchased the station. It added sports talk programming to the Mets baseball games, which started in 1983. The Mets also called WHN home in the early 1970s.

On July 1, 1987, WHN’s Country format ceased in favor of the nation’s first all-sports format–WFAN. THe last voice on WHN was Dan Taylor, now WCBS-FM morning man. He talks about the station’s success, and credits program director Ed Salamon for making the difference.

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The tree is now mulch and the lights are back in the attic. But the holidays aren’t over until Arbitron releases its seasonal ratings… and it has!.

Lite-FM/WLTW got a big boost from its annual Christmas programming. The Clear Channel perennial number one had an 11.3 for the holidays, up from an 8.4 in December.

By contrast, number two remains WCBS-FM, which slipped .2 to 6.6.

WBLS is still a powerhouse with new YMF owners. The Urban station stands at number three with a 5.9, although losing .2 for the book.

But Z100/WHTZ had a .5 drop to 4.6.

Spanish station WSKQ was next at 4.5, off .3 from December’s figures. Rival WXNY was also on the negative side of the ledger (.1) at 4.2.

WINS saw gains, jumping .5 to 4.2. WCBS 880 slipped .1 to 3.5.

In the sports on FM battle, WFAN is the clear winner! The original all-sports station registered a 3.1, off .1, while WEPN (ESPN)/98.7, is still trying to find its footing on FM. It scored no gains at 1.8.

Also of note, the final rating for WOR under the ownership of Buckley Radio, was 1.1, down .4.

Cumulus made waves this week with the flip to Country at 94.7. That station hasn’t made the survey yet, but the company’s WPLJ was 2.3, off .3. WABC dropped .6 to 2.2.

Longtime WPLJ overnight jock Dave Stewart is now keeping listeners up all night on WCBS-FM. In a radio industry where pre-dawn voicetracking is the norm, particularly on music stations, Stewart is delighted to be live each weeknight on the Classic Hits mainstay.

“CBS-FM is my dream station, so I can’t even express how honored I am to work under that logo,” Stewart tells FishbowlNY.

It’s a change for CBS-FM where Joe Causi was on “tape” during overnight. When Causi was promoted to evenings, music director Lenny Bloch handled the voicetracking duties.

“The people at CBS/New York have welcomed me like family,” Stewart says. “I will do my best to uphold the legacy.”

Stewart debuted on CBS-FM Friday morning.

After 22 years at his station, Stewart left WPLJ in October 2011, as part of layoffs at the Cumulus New York cluster.

WhyHunger is the organization at the heart of Hungerthon, the yearly charity event broadcast today on many stations, primarily owned by CBS Radio.

Started in 1975, this year’s event takes on a special need–victims of Superstorm Sandy. The devastation altered the airing of Hungerthon, which traditionally runs close to Thanksgiving.

“Hurricane Sandy created a crisis that was front and center in everyone’s minds and life experience,” Noreen Springstead, director of marketing and fundraising for WhyHunger, tells FishbowlNY. “Families who had never before been without food or shelter were forced to endure these hardships for the first time, and many are still struggling to meet their basic needs.”

Despite the agency’s focus on the long-term poverty crisis, WhyHunger partnered with numerous tri-state groups to provide essential food and water to those struggling in the days and weeks since Sandy.

“Through Hungerthon’s many public service shows we are shining a spotlight on those organizations and also raising funds for their work,” Springstead says. “We have long-term relationships with the most effective organizations in New York and New Jersey that are solving the hunger problem and are able to support them during this critical time.”

Springstead says those in need can call the national hotline at 1-866-3-Hungry for assistance.

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With apologies to Joe Causi, Cousin “Brucie” Morrow is the original “Brooklyn’s own.” The legendary air personality is remembered fondly by the last generation (or two) for his years at WINS, WABC, WNBC, and WCBS-FM. Today, Morrow maintains a radio presence with his Saturday night show on SiriusXM.

But it all began in Brooklyn. And with the Nets now calling the borough home, FishbowlNY brings you a special week-long “Back to Brooklyn” series commemorating the borough’s first major league franchise in 55 years.

It was October 13, 1935 when Bruce Meyerowitz was born. He lived in Sheepshead Bay, on East 26th Street between Avenues V and W, when stickball and egg creams were all the rage.

“Then my dad got rich, and we moved to East 29th,” Morrow jokes.

After attending grade school just a few blocks north at P.S. 206, Morrow was zoned for James Madison High School in Midwood. The shy Brucie Meyerowitz was not the extrovert that Cousin Brucie became with performing his radio, TV, and movie work. It was an elementary school teacher who encouraged Brucie to act. His first foray into the performing arts was in a hygiene play as a cavity. While a star wasn’t born, Morrow knew he found his calling.

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It’s no news that WLTW/Lite FM is the city’s top-rated station. The September Arbitron overall ratings show Lite FM increasing its audience slightly to 7.2.

However, its cushion is slipping. WCBS-FM is back in second place, within .6 of the Clear Channel mainstay. CBS’ Classic Hits offering had an impressive month, gaining .5 after dropping to third position for August.

CBS-FM leapfrogs WBLS, which took a .5 nosedive to 5.8.

As for WHTZ/Z100, a perennial Top 5 participant, is fourth but fell .6 for the month. Its sister station WKTU also went in negative territory, also lost .3 to stand at 4.7.

It’s a steady month for Spanish station WSKQ, holding at 4.2. It’s rival WXNY saw slight gains to 3.8.

Erasing the memory of WEMP and FM News, Merlin’s Alternative Rocker WRXP jumped .5 to 2.1. As a news station, WEMP never eclipsed a .6.

Among current news stations, WINS was tops with a 3.9, although down .2 for September. WCBS 880 had a .4 leap to 3.5.

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The big news of the August PPM is all about WBLS. The Urban Adult Contemporary station is finding new life since the ESPN/KISS FM deal in April. WBLS, now the only game in town for that format, jumped to number two, up .4 to 6.3.

Despite the great WBLS showing, WLTW continues to rule the radio roost. The Clear Channel heavyweight added a .1 to 7.0, but Lite-FM lost a chunk of its lead to ‘BLS in the latest Arbition figures.

WBLS’ good fortune means a backtracking for perennial number two, WCBS-FM. The Classic Hits station slipped into a third-place tie with WHTZ/Z100. However, the two stations got there in slightly different scenarios. CBS-FM gained .2, while Z100 lost .2 for the month.

The homecoming of WRXP to Merlin Media’s Alternative Rocker at 101.9 reaped the rewards. The station shot up a full ratings point to a 1.6.

More from the Top 10 after the jump

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It’s WLTW in familiar territory. Clear Channel’s Lite FM is number one in the July PPM ratings, released yesterday by Arbitron.

But in a rare spot for the A/C station, WLTW lost .8 from June. Thus, opening the door for sister station WHTZ. Z100 actually gave back .2, but finds just a .6 deficit from being the city’s top station.

Then there’s WCBS-FM, which commemorated it’s 40th anniversary in July. Overall, there’s not as much to celebrate at the home of Classic Hits. The usual number two to Lite-FM slipped .3 to 5.9. WCBS-FM, which officially ended its association with veteran jock Bob Shannon, tied for third.

The station joining WCBS-FM in third place is WBLS. The Urban station saw a .3 jump to 5.9. WBLS added KISS FM programming in late April, after the mega deal brought ESPN to 98.7.

As for ESPN/WEPN, it was a less promising month. The overall rating dropped .3 to a 21st-place showing of 1.3.

Rival WFAN, which started July with its 25th anniversary, fell slightly to 3.2.

The month’s big winner, WKTU. The Rhythmic A/C made a .7 leap to 5.5 in fifth place.

More from Top 10 after the jump

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