K-EARTH dominates the July Nielsens

It was a huge month for KRTH (101.1 FM), which dominated the Nielsen ratings for July that were released last week by earning a 6.8 share of the audience, almost a full point above the 5.9 share the station earned in June.

KRTH has actually led the ratings race since March, but this is the highest rating the oldies station has earned in at least the past six months … perhaps ever.

KTWV “The Wave” (94.7 FM) was second place with a 5.5, followed by “My FM” KBIG (104.3 FM) at 5.2, KOST (103.5 FM) at 4.9, and KFI (640 AM) at 4.2.

Spanish hit music station KRCD (103.9 FM) was right behind KFI in 6th place with a 4.1, making it the highest-rated Spanish station in town. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that, like KRTH, it had a huge jump from June, when it earned a 3.3 share. That, combined with a slight drop by competitor “K-Love” KLVE (107.5 FM), put KRCD ahead of K-Love, which earned a 3.8.

This is the first month that KRCD beat K-Love, so it will be interesting to watch to see if the trend continues. Sometimes a single month’s result can be a fluke … or the beginning of a longterm trend.

Oldies Alternative Alt 98.7 FM beat out competing KROQ (106.7 FM) 2.7 to 1.8. Alt has been beating KROQ for a long time and the thought among some was that the return of former programmer Kevin Weatherly last year would help put KROQ back at the top of the format. Alas, it has yet to happen and Alt has now increased its lead.

Personally, I think both stations are making a mistake playing mostly gold rather than breaking new music, but since both stations are essentially oldies, why would Alt beat KROQ … the station that popularized much of the music played on both? I think it comes down to presentation. Alt just sounds fresher and hip, with The Woody Show in the morning, Booker and Stryker in the afternoon, good personalities in other shifts, and a music mix that is a bit more interesting, even if much of it overlaps.

It took a while, but “Go Country” KKGO (105.1 FM) finally came back from the drop it saw in February; July showed an increase of slightly more than half a point to 2.3, the highest rating it has earned in 2023. Likewise, “classic rock” KLOS (95.5 FM) tied its best result for the year, matching June’s 3.0.

The highest-rated public station for the month was — as usual — KPCC (89.3 FM), which earned a 1.9 share. KUSC (91.5 FM) was right behind, tying with KROQ at 1.8. Slightly further down the list was KCRW (89.9 FM) at 1.3, KKJZ (88.1 FM) at 1.1, and “SoCal Sound” KCSN (88.5 FM) at 0.8. Most of these stations don’t really compete with each other, at least outside of KPCC and KCRW, but it interesting to note how listener-supported formats fare.

For the month, iHeart’s cluster of stations earned a combined 25.1 share of the audience; Audacy earned a combined 20.8, and TelevisaUnivision had 10.3. This means three companies controlled 56.2 percent of the radio listening in town. Not something I think is a good thing, by the way.

And while the shares are low, it is interesting that so many online streams showed up in the ratings – more than a handful. Somewhat surprisingly, the online stream for KRTH, which once dominated the streaming ratings, did not show this month. Makes me wonder if the stream listeners were counted in the main station total, which is done automatically when the stream is a 100% simulcast of the over-the-air signal. I will find out.

Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners, aged 6 and over, tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight.

1. KRTH (6.8) 2. KTWV (5.5) 3. KBIG (5.2) 4. KOST (4.9) 5. KFI (4.2) 6. KRCD (4.1) 7. KLVE (3.8) 8. KCBS-FM, KIIS (3.7) 10. KLOS (3.0)

11. KLAX, KNX-AM/FM, KXOL (2.8) 14. KYSR (2.7) 15. KRRL (2.5) 16. KLYY (2.4) 17. KKGO (2.3) 18. KSCA (2.2) 19. KLLI (2.1) 20. KPWR (2.0)

21. KPCC (1.9) 22. KROQ, KUSC (1.8) 24. KFWB, KKLQ (1.7) 26. KJLH (1.6) 27. KDAY (1.5) 28. KBUE (1.4) 29. KCRW (1.3) 30. KLAC (1.2)

31. KKJZ (1.1) 32. KFSH (1.0) 33. KCSN (0.8) 34. KEIB, KRLA (0.7) 36. KBUE Stream, KYLA (0.5) 38. KDLD (0.4) 39. KKLA, KLAX Stream, KTNQ, KWKW (0.2)

43. KHJ, KKLQ HD2, KNX-FM HD2, KNX Stream, KROQ Stream, KXOL Stream (0.1)

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