Radio AM to FM: October 22, 2004
Summer Ratings
One book does not set a trend, but the corks must be popping over at KIIS-FM
now that the Summer Arbitrons have been released. The top-40 station -- yes,
I'm dating myself but "CHR" just sounds so trendy -- finally worked
itself back into the top-5 ratings-wise with its highest rating in over a year:
4.1, up from 3.3
Not to be outdone, Power 106 decided to take away at least
some of KIIS's thunder by coming in 1st place. Again. For the quarter Power
was done one-tenth to 4.9, but I simply cannot remember the last time the station
wasn't number one.
KLAX, which was right on Power's tail last Spring when it was
only three-tenths away, dropped a bit to 4.4 from 4.7. On the strength of afternoon
rebels John and Ken, KFI came in tied for third at 4.5, down
0.2; fellow third-place tie winner KROQ was down 0.1.
Interestingly, all talk stations outside of sports were down, albeit only slightly.
Format leader KFI was down 0.2 as mentioned, with KLSX (13th
at 2.8) matching that drop, KABC (14th at 2.6) declining 0.3,
and KRLA 30th at 1.0) dropping 0.4. Sports KSPN
(tied for 38th at 0.5) was flat, while the combo of KXTA and
XTRA (35th at 0.7) was up 0.2.
Where did all those talk listeners go? Certainly not to KNX,
which fell to 1.8 from 2.1. Some of those listeners may have ended up at sister
station KFWB, which increased 0.2 to 1.5. Overall, however,
it appears Los Angeles-area radio listeners shifted away from reality and over
toward music.
What music? Well, KIIS is an obvious one. But KHHT (Hot 92.3)
was hot this quarter as well, pardon the pun, with a 3.1 share -- the highest
rating for the station in at least two years. The Beat was also way up, to 3.6
from 3.0.
It appears that Arrow 93's Johnny B was a
great hire for KLOS, for while KLOS was flat at 2.1, Arrow
-- which traditionally has led the L.A. ratings for classic rock -- dropped
to its lowest rating in, well, maybe forever: 1.6, down from 1.9. I cannot recall
any format or ratings period where the 93.1 frequency has done worse; perhaps
its time to re-launch KNX-FM again, or maybe license the issued
but essentially ignored KHJ call letters from the owners of
the AM spanish station and launch top-40 93/KHJ on FM.
My new favorite music station, KZLA, was down a bit to 2.1
from 2.4. I started listening to the country station in my garage workshop when
Clear Channel's corporate chief engineer forced KLAC's audio
to sound horrid. I really like it, even though my wife, Jean, makes fun of me.
You'd think she'd understand, since I drive a truck.
And finally ... children's top-40 station KDIS increased an
infinite amount to 0.3 from 0.0. That's a math joke, in case you were wondering.
The full story: each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged
12 and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 AM and 12 midnight. The
first number after the station is the Spring rating, followed by the just-released
Summer rating.
KPWR Power 106: 5.0-4.9; KLAX: 4.7-4.4; KFI: 4.5-4.3; KROQ: 4.4-4.3; KIIS-FM:
3.3-4.1; KLVE: 3.1-3.7; KKBT The Beat: 3.0-3.6; KBUE/KBUA: 3.5-3.3; KHHT Hot
92.3: 2.7-3.1; KOST 3.7-3.1
KTWV The Wave: 3.3-3.0; KRTH: 3.0-2.9; KLSX: 3.0-2.8; KABC: 2.9-2.6; KSCA: 1.9-2.5;
KRCD/KRCV: 2.4-2.4; KSSE: 2.3-2.4; KBIG: 2.2-2.3; KJLH: 1.9-2.1; KLOS: 2.1-2.1
KZLA: 2.4-2.1; KNX: 2.1-1.8; KYSR Star 98.7: 2.1-1.8; KCBS-FM Arrow 93: 1.9-1.6;
KFWB: 1.3-1.5; KMZT: 1.5-1.5; KXOL: 1.6-1.4; KLYY: 1.3-1.3; KZAB: 1.0-1.2; KRLA:
1.4-1.0
KFSH The Fish: 1.0-0.9; KHJ: 1.0-0.8; KLAC: 1.2-0.8; KLTX: 0.7-0.8; KXTA/XTRA:
0.5-0.7; KDLE/KDLD: 0.8-0.6; KWIZ: 0.3-0.6; KKLA: 0.5-0.5; KMXE: 0.5-0.5; KSPN:
0.5-0.5
KSUR: 0.5-0.5; KTNQ: 0.4-0.5; KWKW: 0.5-0.5; KGGI: 0.4-0.4; KWVE: 0.6-0.4; KDIS:
0.0-0.3.
Ratings are © 2004, Arbitron, Inc. May not be quoted
or reproduced without prior written permission from Arbitron.
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Copyright © 2004 Richard Wagoner and The Copley Press.
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