The Air America Radio ratings are very strong, especially for a startup network with more than its share of birthing pains. The Franken show was not quite as strong as was hoped for, but it held its own, and the Majority Report dominated its time slot for talk radio.

According to Daily Kos, The Majority Report with Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder won the #1 Talk Show slot in the ratings–beating out WABC’s 2.7 with a 2.9 rating–in the key 25-54 demographic in New York City. Garofalo and Seder edged out Laura Ingraham on WABC, and absolutely smashed Michael Savage on WOR, which only got a 1.2 rating.

Al Franken’s ratings were not quite as good as that, but they were still competitive. According to Hoffmania, in the 25-54 demographic, Franken scored a 2.2 versus a 2.7 by Limbaugh–not the trouncing we expected and hoped for, but still highly respectable considering that AAR began at pretty much zero. Considering that it took Limbaugh five years to reach even close to his present ratings levels, the fact that WLIB has gone from dead last to competitive in just three months is saying quite a bit.

Not that the conservatives will pay any attention to this; they’ll point to the overall ratings, which include the above-55 numbers (weak for advertising) where WABC dominates. But where the ratings count, WLIB is holding its own against WABC. And as AAR continues to add stations–likely more and more, now that the first quarter’s ratings are out and showing strong advertising prowess–the next year or so will tell whether AAR will survive, and perhaps become the leader in talk radio.