from the Los Angeles Times
January 29, 2003
--snips--
Since Coello has controlled morning radio for so long, his departure now throws open the competition for who'll be No. 1, whether it will be Sotelo or a personality at another English- or Spanish-language station. Usually jockeying for the No. 2 position among morning listeners, and No. 1 among English-language programs, are comedian Steve Harvey on KKBT-FM (100.3), Kevin & Bean on KROQ-FM (106.7), and Big Boy on KPWR-FM (105.9), "Power 106."
He routinely tops those three, and in years past, when Howard Stern and Rick Dees were at their prime, he routinely beat them too. At times, he tripled the audience tuned in to Stern's show on KLSX-FM (97.1).
From Stern, the self-proclaimed king of all media, the mantle passed to Coello, who now wants to branch out to television and film. Although he didn't specify any of the opportunities presented to him, a logical place might be Univision, the No. 1 Spanish-language TV broadcaster, which is merging with Hispanic Broadcasting.
--snips--
from the Orange County Register
January 19, 2003
Web Chat
Here's a look at what Don Barrett is reporting on his laradio.com Web site:
--snisp--
For men only: KLSX/97.1 FM never seems to miss the point that their programming caters to men. Bob Moore, general manager, boasted that the station is No. 1 in Men 25-54 from 5 in the morning until 8 at night. Jack Silver, program director, calls the first month of the year MANuary, with all sorts of events.
--snips--
from the Orange County Register
January 12, 2003
KPWR/105.9 FM remains a powerhouse in the radio ratings, retaining the No. 1 spot for the third straight Arbitron book measuring listening habits in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Among all listeners, "Power 106" grabbed 5.4 percent of the audience, up from 4.9 percent last spring. In average quarter-hour shares, the numbers increased from 80,900, to 94,000.
KPWR's hip-hop or rap format has been popular for years - it was No. 7 one year ago - but its success was solidified this year by the popularity of such artists as Nelly and Eminen.
Other stations had reason to celebrate, too - KOST/103.5 FM's early Christmas music approach bumped it from No. 6 to No. 3 in the Sept. 19- Dec. 11 survey period.
Overall, the Top 10 stations: KPWR, KROQ/106.7 FM, KOST, KSCA/101.9 FM, KIIS/ 102.7 FM, KFI/640 AM, KKBT/100.3 FM, KTWV/94.7 FM, KLVE/107.5 FM, KRTH/101.1 FM.
K-Earth scored significant gains in its core demographic - listeners ages 25-54, rising from No. 10 to No. 8 among English-language stations. We'll tell that story next week. But it's no secret that program director Jay Coffey's rebuilding strategy - starting with Gary Bryan in the mornings - is paying off.
Among all listeners, the morning leaders: KSCA's "El Cucuy," KKBT's Steve Harvey, KPWR's Big Boy, KROQ's Kevin and Bean, KFI's Bill Handel, KIIS' Rick Dees, KLSX's Howard Stern.
More ratings news next week.
--snips--
from the Los Angeles Times
January 9, 2003
--snips--
In the battle for morning drive-time listeners, KSCA's Renan Almendarez Coello, known as "El Cucuy," maintained his grip on the top spot, garnering 6.8% of the area's audience from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays. That's an increase from the 6% he had in the summer, but still far below the 7.9% share of the audience he held in the spring.
The English-language morning shows fell in behind Coello. KPWR's Big Boy rose from fifth place in the summer to return to the No. 3 spot he held in the spring, taking 3.8% of the audience, while comedian Steve Harvey on KKBT-FM (100.3) regained his longtime position as the top English-language morning show, taking 5% of the audience. KROQ's Kevin & Bean fell a notch to fourth, going from 5% of the audience to 4.7%. And Bill Handel at talk station KFI-AM (640) fell from second to fifth as his audience share plunged from 5.5% in the summer to 4.3% in the fall.
--snips--
from the NY Daily News
November 13, 2002
Ever wondered how many other people in America are actually listening to, say, Howard Stern at the same time you are?
Tony Sanders, who crunches national numbers for the trade publication Inside Radio, says it's around 1,490,000.
Standard radio ratings, designed for advertisers, use a figure called "cume," which is the cumulative number of persons who tune to a given show or station at some time during an average week.
That's obviously a much higher figure. The national weekly "cume" for Stern has been estimated by the trade mag Talkers at "8 million-plus."
By comparison, Rush Limbaugh is rated at 14.5 million-plus per week, Sean Hannity at 10 million-plus and Dr. Joy Browne and Imus at 5 million-plus.
The numbers of people listening to those hosts at any one time presumably are proportionate to Stern's numbers.
Stern's numbers also mean more than 10 times as many people are listening to him at any given time than are, say, watching cable news channels on television.
Sanders has also tracked Stern's ranking in all of his markets for summer 2002 - though this is just based on his share of the total audience. Like most hosts, Stern scores higher among his specific target audiences, which for him includes younger men.
Overall, Stern is No. 1 in New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Syracuse and York, Pa.
In other cities, it goes like this: Philadelphia, second; Washington, D.C., fourth; Los Angeles, seventh; Baltimore, 16th; Cleveland, second; Buffalo, fourth; Chicago, 10th; Dallas, 11th; Detroit, ninth; Hartford, sixth; Las Vegas, second; Boston, second; San Diego, third; Pittsburgh, third; Seattle, fourth; Rochester, seventh; Miami, fourth; San Francisco, fifth.
--snips--
from the LA Times
October 12, 2002
By STEVE CARNEY, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Hip-hop outlet Power 106 retained its top spot in the ratings and increased its percentage of the Southland audience, while Spanish-language station KSCA-FM plunged from second to eighth during the summer, according to figures released Friday by the Arbitron ratings service.
A combination of promotions, charity events and good music helped create a successful summer for KPWR-FM (105.9), said Jimmy Steal, Power 106's program director. The latter included songs from "The Eminem Show," the rapper's eponymous album, which has sold 6 million copies and remained near the top of the charts all year.
"Those songs seem to do exceptionally well for us and for several other stations as well," Steal said, adding that records from Ashanti, Westside Connection and Xzibit have also made for a strong summer playlist.
He said Eminem's upcoming movie, "8 Mile," will also focus attention on hip-hop music, which can only help the station.
KPWR increased its share of listeners 12 and older in Los Angeles and Orange counties from 4.9% to 5.1%, holding off another station with Eminem on its playlist, alternative rocker KROQ-FM (106.7), which jumped from third to second in the quarterly standings and garnered 4.9% of the audience.
Close behind was Top 40 outlet KIIS-FM (102.7), which rose from sixth to third and took 4.6% of listeners for the summer ratings period, which spanned June 27 to Sept. 18.
Meanwhile, KSCA (101.9) dropped from a 4.7% share of the audience to 3.2%, tying it with oldies station KRTH-FM (101.1).
The drop at KSCA is merely an aberration, said Ken Christensen, L.A.-area vice president and general manager for Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., which owns KSCA and several other Spanish-language stations in the market. He noted that all other Spanish stations except one also declined, a phenomenon he suspects arose from an abnormally low number of Spanish speakers being included in the survey this time around.
"It's certainly a concern it was that big of a change," Christensen said, but he said no other factors changed at his stations that could account for the shift--promotions, format changes, etc.--so he believes the numbers will rebound in the next quarter.
Despite the station's decline, KSCA's powerhouse morning man, Renán Almendárez Coello, known as "El Cucuy," held on with the top morning show in the market.
But his share of the audience dropped as well, from 7.9% to 6%, while talk station KFI-AM (640) jumped from fourth to second in the morning, with Bill Handel's audience share increasing from 4.5% to 5.5%.
KFI's surge was just part of the movement among morning shows, in which no English-language programs held their places from the spring ratings period. Kevin & Bean on KROQ rose to third place from fifth, while comedian Steve Harvey on KKBT-FM (100.3) dropped from second to fourth and KPWR's Big Boy fell from third to fifth.
Despite that shift, KPWR's Steal said he "couldn't be more proud of the staff for the year we've had," referring not only to the ratings success, but also to the two prestigious Marconi Awards that the National Assn. of Broadcasters recently gave Power 106 and Big Boy.
Because of the vagaries of Arbitron's survey system, such as those Christensen noted, and because of factors beyond their control, such as promotions or format changes at other stations, Steal said that programmers should never get too high or too low about their numbers for any one ratings period. Even with Power 106's impressive showing, he cautioned against irrational exuberance.
"Ratings are like the stock market," Steal said. "It goes up and down over the course of the year, but when you get that year-end statement, you hope you're on the plus side."
from FMQB
July 18, 2002
Howard Stern’s Spring book is a tale of two cities. He’s King of New York again, climbing 5.9-6.5 on Infinity Modern WXRK (K-Rock). But he dipped 3.9-3.6 on co-owned FM Talker KLSX in L.A., ranked sixth behind KSCA (6.7-7.9), The Beat’s Steve Harvey (4.2-5.1), Power’s Big Boy (4.4-4.7), News-Talker KFI (4.7-4.5), and KROQ’s Kevin & Bean (5.1-4.2). KIIS’ Rick Dees ranked eighth (3.6-3.4), and KLOS’ Mark & Brian finished 14th (2.4-2.4).
--snips--
-Paul Heine
from the The Orange County Register (So. Calif.)
May 12, 2002
--snips--
More Orange County ratings next week but here's a preview. In morning drive, age 25-54 demographic, the leaders, in order: KLSX's Howard Stern, KFI's Bill Handel, KLOS/95.5 FM's Mark and Brian, KROQ's Kevin & Bean, KSCA/101.9 FM's Renan Almendarez-Coelo, and KBIG/104.3 FM's Charlie Tuna.
--snips--
from the Orange County Register (S. Cal)
May 5, 2002
Talk KFI/640 AM, rock KROQ/106.7 FM, adult contemporary KBIG/104.3 FM and KOST/103.5 FM, talk KLSX/97.1 FM, contemporary hits KIIS/102.7 FM and oldies KRTH/ 101.1 FM - these are the top-rated stations in Orange County, according to the Arbitron ratings report measuring listening Jan. 3-March 27.
Let's take a closer look. Among all listeners, KFI was No. 1 overall, No. 1 in 6-10 a.m. morning drive and No. 1 overall among the age 45-54 demographic. It was No. 2 in 3-7 p.m. afternoon drive in the age 25-54 demographic.
KROQ was No. 2 among overall listeners, No. 2 in morning drive and No. 3 in afternoon drive in the age 25-54 demo.
Among all listeners, KOST was No. 4 and KBIG No. 6. In morning drive, KOST was No. 9 and KBIG No. 10. In afternoon drive, in the age 25-54 demo, KBIG was No. 4 and KOST was No. 8.
KLSX was No. 1 in the age 25-54 demo in afternoon drive, so with KFI at No. 2, it's shaping up as a neck and neck race between Tom Leykis and the team of John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou. It was also No. 3 overall in morning drive with Howard Stern.
KIIS is No. 3 overall, No. 6 in morning drive among all listeners and No. 5 in afternoons in that advertiser-coveted age 25-54 demo.
KRTH is tied at No. 7 overall with all-news KNX/ 1070 AM and smooth jazz KTWV/94.7 FM and tied at No. 13 in morning drive with classic rock KCBS/93.1 FM.
Who's gained in Orange County from the previous survey?
Overall, rhythmic KPWR/ 105.9 FM is No. 10, up from No. 16. Classical KMZT/105.1 FM is No. 17, up from No. 20.
Who slipped? Talk KABC, tied at No. 20, down from No. 14; classic rock KLOS/ 95.5 FM, No. 14, down from No. 8.
No ratings change from last fall on contemporary Christian KFSH/ 95.9 FM (No. 20) or "Super Cool" KMXN/94.3 FM (No. 30).
The top-rated public radio stations? Classical KUSC/ 91.5 FM (No. 25), news-talk KPCC/89.3 FM (tied at No. 28 with KHHT/92.3 FM).
Next week: more ratings - good news for Mr. KABC and Michael Jackson (KLAC/570 AM).
--snips--
from The Orange County Register (So. Calif.)
April 28, 2002
--snips--
WINTER RATINGS
KOST/103.5 FM jumped from No. 6 to No. 3 in the Winter 2002 Arbitron radio ratings measuring listening habits Jan. 3-March 27.
Part of the credit goes to its consistency playing the adult contemporary music format, but it also scored well with a heavily promoted Barry Manilow concert in Anaheim.
The Top 10, in order: rock KROQ/106.7 FM, hip-hop KPWR/105.9 FM, KOST-FM, talk KFI/640 AM, regional Mexican KSCA/101.9 FM, contemporary hits KIIS/ 102.7 FM, Spanish romantica KLVE/107.9 FM, smooth jazz KTWV/94.7 FM, urban adult contemporary KHHT/92.3 FM, and urban KKBT/100.3 FM.
Hot adult contemporary KBIG/104.3 FM climbed from No. 16 to No. 12. So did all-news KNX/1070 AM. All- news KFWB/980 AM fell to No. 24 from No. 20. Talk KABC/790 AM dipped from No. 12 to No. 18 despite some positive lineup changes. Maybe it needs to increase its promotion budget to call attention to such shows as the new morning team with Ken Minyard and Dan Avey.
Talk KLSX/97.1 FM was in the Top 5 among adults 25-54 and No. 1 with men 25-54. Among overall listeners, talk KLAC/570 AM showed a slight gain - No. 32, up from No. 34.
We'll look in more detail at the morning and afternoon drive shows next week - including breakouts on Orange County listening.
--snips--
from the Los Angeles Times
April 26, 2002
AROUND THE DIAL
After tuning to news and talk stations following the September terrorist attacks, Southland radio listeners have started punching their old presets again, while the alternative rockers at KROQ-FM solidified their grasp at the pinnacle of local ratings, according to the latest figures released by ratings service Arbitron.
The folks at KROQ (106.7) seem to have signed at least a year's lease on their perch at the top of Southern California standings, posting an impressive fourth straight quarter as the highest-rated station in the Los Angeles-Orange County market and grabbing 5.1% of the audience. The winter 2002 ratings, charting the period from Jan. 3 to March 27, also showed gains by hip-hop outlet KPWR-FM (105.9) and adult contemporary KOST-FM (103.5).
But the disparities between the fall and winter ratings among Southland news, information and talk stations weren't as severe as those in the rest of the country. Talker KFI-AM (640) was fourth in the region with a 4% share of the audience, dipping slightly from 4.2% in the fall, while rival KABC-AM (790) fell a bit farther, from 2.6 to 2.2--the same figure it had in the summer. "The spikes seemed to be more pronounced the closer you were to New York, and of course New York had the biggest spikes," said Ron Rodrigues, editor in chief of the trade journal Radio & Records. The most extreme example was New York City's all-news station WINS-AM, which Arbitron determined had a staggering 70% share in the hours after the attacks.
"There wasn't as much, if any, of a spike in Los Angeles or the Western markets," Rodrigues said, suggesting that trend started Sept. 11. On the East Coast, the attacks began while most people were driving to or were already at work, so most of them got the news that day from radio and simply stayed with the habit. On the West Coast, the events happened while most people slept, and they awoke to the news on television.
Another factor may be that some listeners stuck with their favorite stations, such as KKBT-FM (100.3) "The Beat," which increased its news reports at the time to keep people abreast of events, said the urban station's vice president and general manager, Nancy Leichter.
"It made us better," she said. "I think that's why we didn't lose in the fall. People tune in to us for more than just music."
No matter where they were getting their information, Rodrigues said, "people are still listening more than they did before. A lot of the audience moved from the all-news stations to talk stations."
In fact, though KFI and KABC dropped somewhat, and KLSX-FM (97.1) held steady, all three talk stations were higher than in winter 2001. Meanwhile, among the all-news stations--both owned by Viacom's Infinity radio unit--KNX rose slightly, while KFWB dropped.
Bob Moore, vice president and general manager at Infinity's KLSX, said sister station KROQ hasn't tied its fortunes to the rise and fall of pop's flavor of the month--meaning the station not only can showcase new bands, such as System of a Down or the Strokes, but draw from the catalog of older alternative acts that have been around as long as the station has. He noted that, during a recent U2 concert in L.A., Bono thanked KROQ from the stage for playing the band's music for the past two decades.
KROQ also scored well in the battle of morning-drive shows, a key part of the day in local radio. Morning duo Kevin & Bean improved on their best-ever showing, a 5% share in the fall, to 5.1% among listeners 12 and older.
"It's just a couple of guys on the radio who happen to be funny," Kevin Weatherly, KROQ's vice president of programming, said of his morning team. "They've been on the air now for 12 years, and the listeners have finally caught on to what we've known all along."
However, they remain far behind top-rated Renan Almendarez Coello, on Spanish-language KSCA-FM (101.9), who slipped but still maintained his dominance. Known as "El Cucuy," Coello still holds a huge lead in spite of dropping from 7.5% of the audience to 6.7%.
Among listeners ages 25 to 54, the primary demographic for radio advertisers, Kevin & Bean placed third, at 5%, while second-place Howard Stern on KLSX dropped to 5.3%.
The winter-quarter numbers showed KKBT-FM "The Beat" and KPWR "Power 106" heading in different directions. The Beat dropped from third overall to ninth compared with the previous quarter and second to fifth place in the morning, where comedian Steve Harvey's show had been steadily chugging ever higher in the ratings since it started in September 2000.
Power 106, on the other hand, jumped from seventh to second overall, increasing its ratings from 4% of the audience to 5%, and from eighth to fourth in the morning. KPWR's numbers had declined from summer to fall, while KKBT's went up.
"We never believed in the first place we were ever a '4' [rating] radio station," said Dianna Obermeyer, senior vice president of Emmis Communications/Los Angeles, which owns Power 106. She said the winter numbers were the best ratings book for the station since the summer of 1995, and said the fall figures were just a quirk, noting that the station was second in both the spring and summer.
"Our programming remains constant, our personalities are the same," she said, adding that she is even more optimistic about her station's future, predicting that it will get a boost from much-anticipated new albums coming out from rappers Nelly and Eminem.
Leichter also blamed a ratings aberration for KKBT's decline from fall to winter, the fact that Arbitron was switching from using 1990 Census figures to 2000 numbers as the basis for its sampling.
"For us, it was just sort of a fluke. There are wobbles. It's just the vagaries of Arbitron," she said.
Rodrigues joked that it's common for stations to attack the messenger, blaming Arbitron for their ratings troubles.
"Radio programmers are very quick to take the credit when they have a good book," he said. And when the numbers go down? "It's like a field-goal kicker: if you miss it, it was because the snap was bad or the wind was blowing."
from The Orange County Register
March 3, 2002
Alternative KROQ/106.7 FM, contemporary hits KIIS/102.7 FM, and rhythmic KPWR/105.9 FM are the top three stations in Los Angeles-Orange County, according to the latest Arbitron ratings.
KROQ has held onto No. 1 since last summer, with a 4.9 percent share of the total radio audience. KIIS, in combo with sister station KVVS-FM in Mojave, is No. 2, slightly edging out No. 3-ranked KPWR in the survey of all listeners 12 and older.
The other top-rated stations:
4. KFI/640 AM 5. KOST/103.5 FM 6. KSCA/101.9 FM 7. KKBT/100.3 FM 8. KTWV/94.7 FM 9. KLVE.107.5 FM 10. KHHT/92.3 FM 11. KRTH/101.1 FM 12. KLSX/97.1 FM 13. KBUA-FM/94.1 FM and sister station KBUE/105.5 FM 14. KYSR/98.7 FM 15. KABC/790 AM
While KABC is off slightly from last fall, its 2.4 percent share ofaudience is up from its 1.8 percent share of one year ago, so it would appear its recent changes are growing the audience.
Of the classic rock stations, KLOS/95.5 FM was down and KCBS/93.1 FM was up, but they're still neck and neck.
KNX/1070 AM beats KFWB/980 AM slightly in the news derby.
In the sports battle, XTRA/690 AM is No. 38, KXTA/1150 AM is No. 42, and KSPN/1110 AM is a no-show in the rankings.
Talk KLAC/570 AM is still far off the numbers it got as an adult-standards station, with a 0.7 percent share of audience and a No. 30 ranking.
It recently added finance guru Suze Orman to weekdays, but Angels baseball season is near, so expect pre-emptions.
In morning drive, Spanish KSCA is No. 1, followed by KLSX-FM, KKBT-FM, KFI-AM, KROQ-FM, KIIS-FM, KLVE-FM, KPWR-FM, KOST-FM, KNX-AM, KTWV-FM, and KFWB-AM.
In afternoon drive, among listeners ages 25-54, soft-hits KOST is No.1, but Tom Leykis on KLSX is No. 2, up from No. 7 last fall and up from No. 11 last September.
KFI's John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou are No. 8, KABC's Larry Elder is No. 15, KRLA/870 AM's Hugh Hewitt is No. 34, and KLAC's Clark Howard is No. 41. More ratings news next week.
--snips--
from The Orange County Register
January 20, 2002
The Orange County-only Arbitron ratings are in for September-December listening and the big winners are news-talk KFI/640 AM, contemporary hits KIIS/102.7 FM, alternative KROQ/106.7 FM, and oldies KRTH/101.1 FM.
Among all listeners, Monday-Sunday, KFI is No. 1 with a 6.3 percent share of average quarter-hour audience. KIIS is No. 2, KROQ No.3, and KRTH No. 4.
The other top-rated stations are soft hits KOST/103.5 FM, news KNX/1070 AM, smooth jazz KTWV/94.7 FM, classic rock KLOS/95.5 FM, Spanish KSCA/101.1 FM, hot contemporary hits KBIG/104.3 FM, Spanish KLAX/97.9 FM, classic rock KCBS/93.1 FM, and news-talk KABC/790 AM.
Contemporary Christian KFSH/95.9 FM was No. 20. Just ahead of it was Spanish KWIZ/96.7 FM.
Among people 25-54, No. 1 is KROQ, followed by, in order, KIIS, KFI, KRTH, KLOS, KTWV, KOST, KSCA, KBIG, KYSR, KCBS, KLAX, talk KLSX/97.1 FM, country KZLA/93.9 FM, KFSH, KWIZ-FM, hot contemporary hits KHHT/92.3 FM, KNX, urban KKBT/100.3 FM, and Spanish KLVE/107.9 FM.
In morning drive, all surveyed Orange County listeners like KFI, KROQ, KIIS, KNX, KSCA, KLSX, KLOS, KRTH, KOST, and KBIG.
The 25-54-year-old group is about the same, though KROQ rules at No. 1, followed by KLOS, KIIS, KLSX and KFI.
More ratings news next week.
--snips--
from The Orange County Register
January 13, 2002
Alternative KROQ/106.7 FM is still celebrating its "three-peat" victory as the No. 1 radio station in Los Angeles-Orange County. The last English language station to win the title was soft hits KOST/103.5 FM in 1991.
Despite increased interest in news programming since Sept. 11, KROQ stayed the course and it paid off. In the Arbitron fall survey measuring listening habits from Sept. 20 to Dec. 12, among all listeners, KROQ was No. 1 overall, No. 1 in afternoons (Jed The Fish) and No. 1 at night with Stryker and "Loveline."
The remaining Top 10, in order: contemporary-hits KIIS/102.7 FM, urban KKBT/100.3 FM, Spanish (regional Mexican format) KSCA/101.9 FM, news-talk KFI/640 AM, soft-hits KOST/103.5 FM, rhythmic KPWR/105.9 FM, Spanish (romantica) KLVE/107.9 FM, smooth-jazz KTWV/94.7 FM and oldies KRTH/101.1 FM.
Overall, Spanish KSCA was No. 1 in morning drive, but KKBT's Steve Harvey was No. 2 for the second straight book, followed by KFI-AM's Bill Handel, KROQ's Kevin and Bean, KLSX/97.1 FM's Howard Stern and KIIS-FM's Rick Dees.
In afternoon drive, among listeners age 25-54, KLSX's Tom Leykis led the talk stations at No. 7; KFI's John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou were No. 10; and KABC/790 AM's Larry Elder was No. 15.
John and Ken rejoined KFI last year, and it worked - the station nearly doubled its afternoon drive shares (1.9 share, No. 20 in spring to 3.2 share, No. 10 in fall).
Elder climbed from a 1.9 share (No. 22) last summer to a 2.6 share (No. 15). Among all listeners, KABC felt the heartbeat return. It jumped from a 1.9 share (No. 21) last spring to a more healthy 2.6 share (No. 12).
Which other stations are afternoon favorites among the 25-54 age listeners? KOST was No. 1, KROQ No. 2, KTWV No. 3. KOST may have also benefited from its widely applauded move to start playing holiday music 30 days before Christmas.
Other findings: news KNX/1070 AM was flat (No. 16), but rival KFWB/980 AM climbed from No. 23 to No. 20.
KPWR-FM dropped from a No. 1 tie with KROQ in summer to No. 7. Talk KLAC/570 AM (No. 34) has seen its ratings decline since it dropped adult standards.
More ratings news next week.
from the Los Angeles Times
January 11, 2002
Terrorism, Osama bin Laden, anthrax and war in Afghanistan were clearly on Southland radio listeners' minds after Sept. 11, and many wanted to talk about it.
The just-released quarterly Arbitron ratings figures, covering Sept. 20 through Dec. 12, show that a lot of people turned to news and talk stations to follow and discuss unfolding developments regarding the terrorist attacks and military efforts in Afghanistan.
At the same time, many people wanted to put current events out of their minds and found sanctuary in familiar oldies, the comfort food of pop music. The most dramatic developments in the new numbers, though, are hard to peg to Sept. 11: In the ratings based on listeners 12 and older, rock station KROQ-FM (106.7) held on to the overall No. 1 position for the third straight quarter--the first English-language station to three-peat since KOST-FM (103.5) in 1991--with a 5% share of the audience, up from its third-place 4.4 share of one year ago. The station ruled across the board, taking the No. 1 title in afternoon drive time for deejay Jed the Fish and in the evening slot for the combination of deejay Stryker and the "Loveline" call-in sex and health show.
Steve Harvey, who took over morning drive time on urban music outlet KKBT-FM (100.3) in September 2000, rocketed to the top of the English morning standings with a 5.8 share of the audience, with only dominant Spanish-language morning man Renan Almedarez Coello on KSCA-FM (101.9) ahead of him with a 7.5 share. Harvey's gains led the way for his station, known as the Beat, to move into third place overall as compared with an eighth-place slot a year ago, and fifth in the 2001 summer quarter.
"We tried to be sensitive to what happened [Sept. 11] without completely changing the station," KROQ program director Kevin Weatherly says.
"Looking at the numbers on the surface, I don't see much change from before. Honestly, we sort of sensed different interests immediately following [the attacks], but then there was a need for people to try to get back to some sense of normalcy and people wanted to come to the station for relief. But also I do think artists such as Creed and U2 had great success in the fall and a lot of it had to do with the message in their music."
At the same time, KROQ's core success had at least as much to do with such bands as L.A.'s Linkin Park, whose "Hybrid Theory" album was the year's top-seller without carrying overt social messages.
Harvey's success is not as complex.
"He attracts people," says KKBT general manager Nancy Leichter. "I think a lot of people thought this would be a big news book, a more serious kind of quarter, but I was pleased to see that Steve and the Beat did as well as they did. We added more news so people wouldn't have to leave the station to keep up on events, but a lot of people were back to regular listening habits by last month."
On the talk front, KFI-AM (640) shot up from a 10th place 3.0 audience share a year ago to a tie for fourth place with a 4.2 share. Talk stations KABC-AM (790) and KLSX-FM (97.1) also saw gains over fall 2000, jumping from 2.3/17th place to 2.6/12th and 2.1/20th to 2.5/14th, respectively.
KFI's morning host Bill Handel (5.2) also benefited, coming in behind Harvey among English-language hosts in the crucial morning drive time, with KROQ's Kevin & Bean (5.0, the duo's highest rating ever) and KLSX's L.A. run of Howard Stern's show (4.7) also strong. Rick Dees, heard on KIIS-FM (102.7) and the station's simulcast KVVS-FM (97.7), rebounded to 4.4 after the suspension of his attempt at national syndication, which seems to have diluted his local appeal.
Catering to those overloaded with news, KOST-FM (103.5) rose from 3.8 a year ago to 4.1 this year with its soft-toned oldies and pop seeing a quarter-end boost as the station devoted December entirely to holiday music.
"It's all about familiar music people could relax and listen to," says Roy Laughlin, regional vice president of KOST-owner Clear Channel Radio. "Whether it's Rod Stewart and Elton John or 'Jingle Bells' and 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,' they don't care."
A similar boost came at Clear Channel's KHHT-FM (92.3), furthering steady progress made since initiating a format mixing familiar old-school R&B and contemporary urban soul. It came in with a 3.0 for 11th place overall, right behind heritage oldies station KRTH-FM (101.1), holding solid at 3.1. KHHT was particularly strong with women listeners.
--snips--
from The Orange County Register
October 28, 2001
--snips--
RATINGS
KROQ/106.7 FM was No. 1, closely followed by rhythm hip-hop KPWR/105.9 FM in the June 29-Sept. 19 summer Arbitron ratings, but the real news may have been the nosedive at Spanish stations.
Hispanic Broadcasting operates KSCA/101.9 FM, KLVE.107.9 FM, KRCD/103.9 FM (with a simulcast on KRCV-FM), and KTNQ/1020 AM. Combined, the ratings fell 39 percent, and Merrill Lynch dropped hints Friday it could hurt revenues and cash flow. KSCA dropped from No. 2 to No. 4. KLVE -- No. 1 last fall - was No. 6.
Other leaders were KIIS/102.7 FM, KKBT/100.3 FM, KFI/640 AM, KTWV/94.7 FM, KOST/103.5 FM, and KRTH/101.1 FM.
In morning drive, KSCA was No. 1, but Steve Harvey at KKBT-FM moved into No. 2, followed by KROQ's Kevin and Bean, KLSX/97.1 FM's Howard Stern, and KFI's Bill Handel.
Next week: who's leading in Orange County.
--snips--
from the Los Angeles Times
October 13, 2001
Alternative rock and hip-hop still rule in the Southland when it comes to the race among local radio stations as KROQ-FM (106.7) and KPWR-FM (105.9), "Power 106," tied for first place in the most recent Arbitron ratings, which were released Friday.
The two stations triumphed over Spanish-language station KSCA-FM (101.9) during the summer, continuing a pattern that started in the spring when KROQ became the first English-language station in six years to top the charts in terms of audience size. Pop-oriented KIIS-FM (102.7) came in third place, followed by KSCA.
Kevin Weatherly, KROQ programming director, said he was pleased that the station held on to the top spot: "We have an incredibly strong foundation in the marketplace, and our 'Kevin & Bean' morning team also did great." Celebrations also erupted at KPWR as Jimmy Steal, Power 106's general manager, sent out a companywide e-mail: "We're consistently a top-rated station, but it feels good to be number one."
The summer ratings cover the period from June 29 to Sept. 19 and are based on a station's share of the 10.5 million listeners age 12 and older in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
KKBT-FM (100.3) staged a strong comeback, climbing from its fifth place finish in spring to third place among English-language stations after the tandem of KROQ, KPWR and KISS.
Morning drive host Steve Harvey, who had tied for sixth place in the spring, shot to second place behind KSCA.
Said Nancy Leichter, general manager of "The Beat": "Last spring was a real fluke, I believe. There was no reason for us to have a down book. We're on target, and Steve is really on point. And he keeps on growing. Our ratings this time around are more indicative of our healthy standing."
KROQ's Kevin & Bean came in third in the morning drive-time race, followed by Howard Stern on KLSX -FM (97.1) and Bill Handel on KFI-AM (640).
Among the coveted 25-54 age demographic, which is primarily used in negotiating deals with advertisers, KSCA was tops in the morning, followed by Stern, Harvey, Kevin & Bean and Spanish-language KLVE-FM (107.5).
In the talk radio arena, KFI-AM continued its dominance over its rivals KLSX and KABC-AM (790). Meanwhile, the switch in format from country music to talk has not initially turned out well for KLAC-AM (570). The station has seen its audience decline since the change in spring.
David Hall, KFI programming director, said KFI's continued triumphs are the result of a steady flow of personalities.
He said he anticipates a large increase for talk and all-news stations during the next ratings period because of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.
Radio Ratings
Last
Current Quarter
1 KROQ-FM 4.7 5.1
KPWR-FM 4.7 4.8
3 KIIS-FM 4.2 4.6
4 KSCA-FM 4.0 4.8
5 KKBT-FM 3.8 3.4
6 KFI-AM 3.7 3.6
KLVE-FM 3.7 4.3
8 KTWV-FM 3.6 3.3
9 KOST-FM 3.3 3.2
10 KRTH-FM 3.2 3.0
11 KXOL-FM 2.9 1.2
12 KBIG-FM 2.7 2.5
13 KHHT-FM 2.6 2.6
KYSR-FM 2.6 3.2
15 KLSX-FM 2.5 2.5
KLAX-FM 2.5 3.0
17 KNX-AM 2.4 2.2
18 KLOS-FM 2.3 2.6
19 KABC-AM 2.2 1.9
KZLA-FM 2.2 2.3
KCBS-FM 2.2 2.4
22 KBUE-FM 2.1 2.3
23 KFWB-AM 1.8 1.7
24 KMZT-FM 1.7 1.2
25 KJLH-FM 1.5 1.7
The top 25 radio stations in the Los Angeles market for the summer 2001 Arbitron rating period: June 29-Sept. 19.
The chart reflects overall listening Monday-Sunday, 6 a.m.-midnight for people age 12 and older.
from LA Radio.com
(September 19, 2001) The 5th annual poll to discover the Best LARP [Ed.-Los Angeles Radio Personality] 2001 is now complete and the results have been unveiled over the course of the summer. Fifty active LARPs from all areas of station management, programming, on-air talent, promotion/publicity, news/sports, news/traffic services, Spanish, and non-commercial were asked to submit a list of their Top 5 Best on-air personalities and Top 5 Best off-air people (gms, pds, engineering, marketing, producers, production, and support staff). The #1 vote received 5 points. The #2 vote received 4 points and so on. Out of the original 50 who were invited to vote, 14 LARP elected not to participate for various reasons or they just never responded. A total of 79 LARPs were approached until we received 50 completed ballots. No one outside of radio participated in the voting. There is no disclosure on who voted nor how they voted. I did not participate in the voting. The countdown will continue all summer. Reveaed so far: the #10 Best On-Air personality was KRLA's Dennis Prager; #9 KLSX's Tom Leykis, #8 was KLAC's Chick Hearn, #7 Vin Scully, #6 KYSR’s Ryan Seacrest, #5 KIIS’ Rick Dees, #4 Phil Hendrie from KFI, #3 Steve Harvey from KKBT, and #2 KROQ's Kevin & Bean. The #10 off-air Best LARP was KLSX pd Jack Silver, #9 KABC's Howard Hoffman, #8 KBIG/KOST's Jhani Kaye, #7 KTWV's Tim Pohlman, #6 KLZA/KPWR gm Val Maki, and #5 KLOS' Rita Wilde, #4 David G. Hall from KFI, #3 Clear Channel Chief Roy Laughlin, and #2 KNX's George Nicholaw. Drum roll please...
#1 On-Air LARP 2001
KLSX's Howard Stern was voted the #1 LARP two years ago and was bumped last year by KIIS' Rick Dees. Howard rebounds as the most popular on-air personality for 2001--Kevin Weatherly took KROQ to the position of #1 in the most recent ratings, which marked the first time in six years that an English-language radio station had been top-rated in this region. The KROQ vp of programming was recently promoted to vp of programming for Infinity Radio/LA.
from The Orange County Register
September 9, 2001
Summer is over, so who's leading in the ratings? Overall, KROQ/106.7 FM is still No. 1. Kevin and Bean are No. 1 among English language stations in morning drive, but other stations can claim success, too.
Overall, KPWR.105.9 FM held on to No. 2, pushing Spanish KSCA/101.9 FM to a No. 3 tie with KIIS/102.7 FM. KFI/640 AM leads in talk (No. 6) - KLSX/97.1 FM is No. 15, KABC/790 AM is No. 22, KRLA/870 AM is No. 29.
Remember Anaheim's Mix 95.9 FM? It signed off almost one year ago and switched to contemporary Christian (KFSH). It's climbed steadily, and is No. 33. KLAC/570 AM, which is a hybrid of music and talk, has remained about the same, at No. 25.
Among listeners ages 25-54, KSCA is No. 1, Spanish KLVE/107.9 FM is No. 2, and KROQ is No. 3. KTWV/94.7 FM and "hot adult contemporary" KYSR/98.7 FM tie at No. 4.
The age 35-64 audience rates KTWV "smooth jazz" No. 1, KSCA No. 2, and oldies KRTH/101.9 FM No. 3.
KRTH is dependable - the reliable hits are always here - but we'd still like to see it get adventurous on the weekend with the addition of a show like Hal Lifson's specialty program on the rarely heard music from the '60s.
In morning drive (6-10 a.m.) among all listeners, it's KSCA No. 1, KROQ No. 2, KLSX No. 3, KFI No. 4, KLVE in a three-way tie with KIIS and KPW R at No. 5.
Afternoons drive (3-7 p.m.), age 25-54 listeners, KYSR is No. 1, followed by KROQ No. 2, KTWV No. 3, KLSX No. 4, KLVE No. 5, and KRTH No. 6.
--snips--
from Radio & Records Online
August 20, 2001
Regional Mexican KSCA's Renan Almendares Coello remains far ahead in first place overall with an 8.1.
Meanwhile, KROQ extends its history-making 12+ lead with a 5.1-5.2 rise, with CHR/Rhythmic KPWR and CHR/Pop simulcast KIIS & KAVS remaining flat.
from The Orange County Register
July 22, 2001
KROQ rocks! The alternative rock station 106.7 FM was thrilled this past week to be crowned No. 1 overall in the Arbitron spring radio ratings.
It's the first time in six years an English-language station has cracked No. 1, displacing Spanish Regional Mexican-formatted KSCA/101.1 FM.
Led by morning team Kevin and Bean, No. 2 overall in morning drive, KROQ has scored big in three critical areas: music, personality, and promotional events. Tie it all up, and the appeal reaches several generations.
Overall, KROQ captured 5.1 percent of the available audience, or 86,500 listeners in an average quarter hour. That's a gain of 9,000 listeners since last winter, when it was ranked No. 3.
The Los Angeles-Orange County ratings measured listening March 29-June 30.
Overall, KROQ was followed in the rankings by, in order, KSCA-FM, hip-hop KPWR/105.9 FM, contemporary hits KIIS/102.7 FM, and Spanish adult contemporary KLVE/107.9 FM.
The other ratings leaders, in order, were news-talk KFI/640 AM, urban KKBT/100.3 FM, smooth jazz KTWV/94.7 FM, soft hits KOST/103.5 FM, hot adult contemporary KYSR/98.7 FM, regional Mexican KLAX/97.9 FM, oldies KRTH/101.1 FM, rhythmic oldies KCMG/92.3 FM, classic rock KLOS/95.5 FM, hot adult contemporary KBIG/104.3 FM, and talk KLSX/97.1 FM.
County KZLA/93.9 FM dropped to No. 18 from No. 11. Music-talk KLAC/570 AM was No. 24, up from No. 27 last winter but below its No. 19 position one year ago. Talk KRLA/870 AM was up slightly, from No. 28 to No. 25. Both news stations KNX/1070 AM and KFWB/980 AM dipped, too.
We'll have more morning drive and afternoon drive ratings next week.
Pat Duffy, the designated "market captain" for the Infinity-owned cluster - KCBS/93.1 FM, KFWB-AM, KNX-AM, KROQ-FM, KRTH-FM, KLSX-FM, KTWV-FM, and country KFRG/95.1 FM in Riverside, said, "All the stations showed consistency. (Howard) Stern bounced back (from No. 7 to No. 3), and I couldn't be happier."
Orange County hot adult contemporary station KMXN/94.3 FM did well, too. Program director Craig Powers said, "We got a 0.3 age 12-plus and a 0.5 age 25-54 in the L.A. book. That's the first time we've been in the L.A. book in over seven years."
One of our own Register associates, Diane Rosales, will take a guest DJ turn with "PJ" Tuesday night.
--snips--
from Entertainment News Daily
July 19, 2001
This is the first time since the Summer of 1995 that an English speaking station has ranked #1 Persons 12+ in the Los Angeles market. Kevin and Bean ranked #1 12+ in English speaking Persons in the heated morning drive-time rivalry jumping from a 4.2 - 4.9. Howard Stern ranked #1 English speaking in the coveted advertising demographic of Adults, ages 25 - 54, leaping from a 4.2 - 5.6.
The #1 advertising demographic is Adults, ages 25 - 54 in which all of Infinity Radio Los Angeles' music stations ranked in the top 10 in the market. For the full week, 106.7 KROQ-FM rose to #3 with a 4.3 market share, 94.7 KTWV-FM was at #5 with a 4.0, 97.1 KLSX-FM headed upwards to # 9 with a 3.3, and rounding out the top 10 was a tie at #10 for 93.1 KCBS-FM "Arrow 93" and 101.1 KRTH-FM (K-Earth 101). The Inland Empire's, KFRG-FM 95.1 has been number one in the Adults, ages 25-54 demographic, for the past twenty-nine consecutive books. KFRG's share is more than double any other station heard in the Inland Empire.
Patrick Duffy, Market Captain, Infinity Radio Los Angeles and VP/GM KRTH-FM stated "We couldn't be happier than to have the #1 Rock station in the L.A. market and in the country. KROQ is phenomenal! We are also extremely pleased with the consistency of all our music stations and our two news outlets. The Spring Book is great for the Los Angeles Infinity Radio Group."
Infinity Broadcasting in the Los Angeles Market is made up of 8 radio stations: KCBS-FM 93.1 (Classic Rock), KFWB-AM 980 (News), KLSX-FM 97.1 (Talk), KNX-AM 1070 (News), KROQ-FM 106.7 (Alternative), KRTH-FM 101.1 (Oldies), KTWV-FM 94.7 (Jazz), and KFRG-FM 95.1 (Country) -- a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA)
from the Los Angeles Times
July 18, 2001
Proving that rock is still alive in the Southland, quarterly Arbitron ratings released Tuesday show alternative rock station KROQ-FM (106.7) jumping from third to first place in the market--the first time in six years that an English-language station has topped the charts in terms of listenership.
Kevin Weatherly, KROQ programming director, attributed the gain in part to the station's cast of on-air personalities and promotions such as the "KROQ Punk Rock Prom" and a secret Depeche Mode concert. "For a station that's been around so long, and when you've had so many generations grow up with KROQ, it's pretty exciting to finally be No. 1," he said.
The boost in KROQ's ranking was followed by the ascension of hip-hop and R&B station KPWR-FM (105.9), "Power 106," from fifth place in the winter to a tie for second with Spanish-language KSCA-FM (101.9), which has ranked No. 1 for most of the last six years. The spring ratings cover the period from March 29 to June 30 and are based on a station's share of the 10.5 million listeners age 12 and over in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Stations also emphasize the 25-to-54 age demographic, which is primarily used in negotiating deals with advertisers.
In that demographic during the morning drive-time hours, KSCA still grabbed the No. 1 slot with a 10.3 share--almost double the next station's ratings. KLSX-FM (97.1) saw its audience share grow with Howard Stern, the top English-language show among adults, topping KROQ's "Kevin & Bean." Power's "Big Boy" morning program was fourth overall in the general market, as comedian Steve Harvey of KKBT-FM (100.3) lost more than half a percentage point, sliding to fifth place among English-language shows after jumping to first-place in the winter.
"Honestly, any time you have the sudden increase in popularity and ratings that Steve had, I think you need to expect some sort of wobble or readjustment," said Nancy Leichter, general manager of KKBT (the Beat). "It happens. Overall, we are very consistent."
--snips--
from the Orange County Register
May 6, 2001
Radio - Gary Lycan
--snips--
1) Howard Stern (KLSX) 64,200 listeners 2) Tom Leykis (KLSX) 47,600 3) Rush Limbaugh (KFI) 46,900 4) Dr. Laura (KFI) 43,000 5) Clark Howard (KFI) 42,300 6) Larry Elder (KABC) 30,400 7) Bill Handel (KFI) 30,000 8) Phil Hendrie (KFI) 29,700 9) Frosty, Heidi & Frank (KLSX) 25,100 10) Gloria Allred & Mark Taylor (KABC) 23,900--snips--
from the Los Angeles Times
April 24, 2001
News station KNX-AM (1070), which saw an increase in its ratings due to the extended presidential election last fall, managed to build on its position, moving up again to No. 13 in the market from its previous spot at No. 15. Its morning drive ratings ranked No. 6--better than Howard Stern's showing on KLSX-FM (97.1).
--snips--
from Radio Forum
Howard's opened the door, but you can't come in.
If you've listened to Los Angeles talk radio lately, you've heard almost nothing but Howard Stern wannabes.
I used to think that talk radio was about the exchange of ideas and stimulating conversation. Apparently those days are over. Flip around the dial and you'll hear nothing but banal banter.
THE KING
Okay, I can accept this trend. As a matter of fact, I thrive on change, which is one of the reasons I'd rather do radio than any other job I can imagine. My problem is that what I'm hearing on the LA airwaves is neither funny nor smart, let alone entertaining in the least.
I'm certain that the phenomenal success of Howard Stern is what has sparked the current crop of crappy communicators, but he's got one thing they haven't: talent. Stern doesn't just talk about his life and expect us all to be fascinated by it.
While much of his draw is the fact that he says a lot of things most people only think about saying, he's also an intelligent man with strong opinions, and a terrific interviewer. If all he did was talk about peeing in the shower or why our own farts don't smell as bad to us as they do to other people, he'd be in the same boring boat as his imitators.
We broadcasters all know that programmers are going for the lucrative young male demos, but does that mean those people don't care if they get any mental exercise? I admit that as a woman I'm not supposed to be able to relate, but I find it hard to believe that young guys go around dragging their knuckles on the ground and looking for two synapses to rub together. I know that isn't true, especially since my last four years on KLSX have produced hundreds of fans from that demo who send me emails on a regular basis.
I'm no prude. I love doing shows on sex and other lifestyle topics, especially since I don't need to prep for that type of show and I'm bound to find some great setups for comedy.
Maybe the no-brainer aspect of sex and relationships is why so many hosts do those topics, but they're missing the mark. Instead of relating to the listeners and bringing some thought-provoking or at least comedic comments to the table, they come off like a bunch of high school kids panting over a dirty magazine while they sneak a smoke in the boy's room.
Sure, hosts like Stern have opened up the airways and we have more freedom of speech than ever before. That's the good news. The bad news is that putting that freedom in the hands of the insipid is like masturbating. It may feel good to them, but it's not supposed to be done in public.
TRACEY MILLER
Tracey Miller is one of the most successful women in Los Angeles radio. Her resume reads like a who's who of radio broadcasting--KFI, KABC, KMPC and most recently--partner to Jonathan Brandmeier on KLSX-FM, Los Angeles and WCKG-FM, Chicago. She is still heard part time on KLSX-FM and will be announcing future full time plans shortly. Ms. Miller can be contacted via her web site at www.traceymiller.net or directly via E-mail tracey1@traceymiller.net
from The Orange County Register
January 14, 2001
The fall ratings are in, and, as expected, the news and talk stations gained from the extended presidential election. And L.A.-Orange County may soon have another talk station - KLAC/570 AM. More on that later.
Among all listeners, the front-runners in the Arbitron survey measuring listening Sept. 21-Dec. 13 were familiar - Spanish adult contemporary KLVE/107.9 FM, contemporary hits KIIS/102.7 FM, alternative KROQ/106.7 FM, and rhythmic KPWR/105.9 FM. Regional Mexican KSCA/101.9 FM has hit hard times - dropping from No. 1 to No. 4, or from a 6.8 percent share of audience in 1999 to 4.3 percent in fall 2000.
The big gainers were soft hits KOST/103.5 FM, smooth jazz KTWV/94.7 FM, urban KKBT/100.3 FM, and country KZLA/93.9 FM. Slipping from summer numbers were KYSR/98.7 FM, hot adult contemporary KBIG/104.3 FM, rhythmic oldies KCMG/92.3 FM (from No. 10 to No. 19), and regional Mexican KLAX/95.9 FM. Nostalgia KLAC-AM has fallen from a 2.2 share last spring to 1.4.
All-news KNX/1070 AM jumped from a 2.1 percent share of audience in summer (No. 19) to 2.5 (No. 15). Rival KFWB/980 AM was also up, from 1.6 share (No. 22) to 1.8 (No. 21). While talk KFI/640 AM retained its 3.0 percent share, talk KABC/790 AM climbed from a 2.0 (No. 21) to 2.3 share (No. 17).
In morning drive, among all listeners, the leaders were, in order, KSCA, KLVE. KIIS, KKBT (newly reinvigorated with Steve Harvey), KROQ, KLSX, KFI, and KPWR.
In afternoon drive, persons age 25-54, the leaders were, in order, KLVE, KTWV, KLOS, KOST, KYSR, KIIS. Among the talkers, KLSX/97.1 FM's Tom Leykis was No. 9 with a 3.6 percent share, KABC Larry Elder No. 16 with a 2.2 share, KFI Phil Hendrie No. 20 with a 2.1 share.
We'll have more ratings analysis in the weeks ahead. To check out the major rankings, go to Radio & Records' Web site.
--snips--
from the Los Angeles Times
December 6, 2000
Howard Stern is planning a week's worth of broadcasts in Los Angeles in January--that is, if he's still under contract as a nationally syndicated radio personality.
Last weekend, producers from Stern's morning show and cable's E! Entertainment Television, where Stern is seen six nights a week, were in town scouting locations, which a source characterized as "just-add-water celebrity places," including the House of Blues in West Hollywood. The shows could coincide with Stern's birthday, which is Jan. 12.
Stern, whose show emanates from New York, is heard locally live from 3-6 a.m. and in replay from 6-10 a.m. on KLSX-FM (97.1). His last show under his current contract with Viacom Inc.'s Infinity Broadcasting Corp. is scheduled for Dec. 15. Stern has regularly floated the notion on the air that the coming weeks are his last as a morning radio personality. But the medium has also been the key component in Stern's expansion into publishing, movies and television, leading many to doubt he would cut himself off from his morning-drive audience.
Seen in this context, the Los Angeles shows are an indication at least that Stern's plans extend beyond the current contract deadline.
"Over time, his affection for L.A. is growing with the amount of production deals and friends he has here," a source said of the planned shows in Los Angeles.
In addition to his late-night "Howard Stern Radio Show," seen at 11:30 Saturday nights on CBS, TV broadcasts of Stern's radio shows are seen on E! Meanwhile, as an executive producer, Stern has the "Baywatch" parody "Son of the Beach" on cable's FX.
Another series, the animated "Doomsday," hasn't been able to get out of development at UPN for two years, although the network still has a 13-episode commitment to the series, which is now slated for fall 2001.
On the air Tuesday, Stern said there is a 60% chance he will sign a new radio deal, and that his agent, Don Buchwald, is back in negotiations with Infinity. Stern's openness on the air is contrasted by the high public-relations wall that surrounds him off the air.
Stern's radio show producer, Gary Dell'Abate, referred questions to Buchwald, who did not return a phone call seeking comment.
In the L.A. market, Stern, whose show anchors the entire lineup for KLSX, showed a ratings improvement in the last reported Arbitron rankings, finishing in a fourth-place tie for the summer period with Rick Dees on KIIS-FM (102.7) among listeners 12 and older. This followed a slumping spring for Stern, and Arbitron figures showing that in key markets Stern's audience was dwindling, including Los Angeles, where Stern experienced a 20% drop in two years, down to 357,800 listeners daily. Still, his comedic recipe of raunch and celebrity gossip has traditionally made him a strong franchise for adult males, if not the self-proclaimed "King of All Media."
* "The Howard Stern Show" can be heard weekdays live from 3-6 a.m. and in replay from 6-10 a.m. on KLSX-FM (97.1).
from The Orange County Register
October 29, 2000
--snips--
STATION BREAKS
How many people listen to talk radio? The summer Arbitron ratings for average quarter hours, persons age 25-54, show the top talkers are Howard Stern (73,600 listeners), Tom Leykis (59,300), Dr. Laura Schlessinger (50,900), Clark Howard (28,300), Sam Rubin (27,300), Rush Limbaugh (27,000). Rubin, of course, enjoys the bounce he gets from following Stern every day on KLSX. More numbers next week.
--snips--
from The Orange County Register
October 22, 2000
--snip--
LATEST RATINGS
KROQ/106.7 FM scored some of its best numbers ever in the summer Arbitron ratings, moving from No. 4 to a No. 2 tie with Spanish language KLVE/107.9 FM and KIIS/102.7 FM (and its AM simulcast).
Spanish KSCA/101.9 FM remained No. 1 overall. The other top-ranked stations include KPWR/105.9 FM, KOST/103.5 FM, KRTH/101.1 FM, KYSR/98.7 FM, KFI/640 AM, KCMG/92.3 FM, KTWV/94.7 FM, and KBIG/104.3 FM.
In morning drive, KROQ's Kevin and Bean were No. 1 English language, followed by KLSX/97.1 FM's Howard Stern and KIIS' Rick Dees.
In afternoon drive, age 25-54 demographic, KLSX's Tom Leykis was No. 1 with a solid 4.7 percent share of the audience, up from No. 10 in the spring when he had a 3.2 percent share. KFI (Phil Hendrie 4-7 p.m.) was No. 17, KABC's Larry Elder was No. 21.
We'll look at more ratings results in the weeks ahead.
from FMQB.com
October 19, 2000
Not only did morning men Kevin & Bean defeat Howard Stern in 18-34 adults by more than three shares (to rank first among English language stations), they outperformed The King in his 18-34 male stronghold (Stern still bests K&B in 25-54, however). Tami Heidi smoked Rush Limbaugh to become L.A.’s most listened-to English-speaking midday host. In afternoons, Jed The Fish finished 1st in 18-34 and 3rd 12+, behind two Spanish-language stations. And Stryker continues to rule nights, ranked first 12+ among all L.A. stations for three of the past four books.
A key ingredient in KROQ’s success has been its ability to attract both whites and Latinos in a market that is now nearly 50 percent Hispanic. Looking at Hispanics 18-34, KROQ ranks third, behind a pair of Spanish language stations. "In this age of consolidation, we still do it the old school way," VP of Programming Kevin Weatherly told fmqb, "with autonomy at the local level and great local personalities."
from the Los Angeles Times
October 14, 2000
--snips--
In terms of the lucrative morning-drive audience, KSCA maintained a dominating lead, equaling the share for the next two stations (KLVE and KROQ) combined.
Howard Stern rebounded from subpar ratings during the spring into a fourth-place tie over the summer with Rick Dees on KIIS, whose audience diminished from a 5 to a 4.4 share.
--snips--
Ratings are based on listeners 12 and older in the Southern California area--a pool Arbitron estimates at more than 10.3 million--and determined by overall size of a station's audience and amount of time people spend listening.
--snips--
from theLA Times
September 22, 2000
After being unceremoniously bounced off the air at KYSR-FM (98.7) last September, radio-talk personalities Frosty and Frank are back.
On Monday the duo of Frosty Stillwell and Frank Kramer will slip into the noon-to-3 p.m. spot at KLSX-FM (97.1), along with Heidi Hamilton, another KYSR alum. The trio, with a talk show targeted to connect with young adults, will provide a more compatible lead-in for Tom Leykis, who's in the 3-to-8 p.m. spot on the station, according to KLSX program director Jack Silver.
"This comes on the heels of the ratings success we're having with [Howard] Stern and Leykis," said Silver. The station jumped to 14th place in the market from 21st in the most recent Arbitron rankings, averaging about 650,000 listeners a week. "Our station hasn't made a change in three years, but we had this window now to make a change, and Frosty, Heidi and Frank are the final piece of our puzzle."
Timing, it seems, opened that window. Jonathon Brandmeier, who has been KLSX's noon host, was due to either renew or opt out of his contract in January 2001. And Stillwell and Kramer had been "on the beach," riding out their KYSR contract, which kept them from going back on the air in Los Angeles until it expired. Citing disappointing ratings, the station abruptly fired Stillwell and Kramer a year ago, pairing the third member of the team, Jamie White, with Danny Bonaduce. Hamilton, a former traffic reporter at KYSR, later left the station.
"Johnny B. is very well-respected and has for years been No. 1 in mornings in Chicago," said Silver. "When he moved out here four years ago, we put together a deal with our sister Infinity station in Chicago to have him on both.... We had hoped his power in Chicago would also happen in L.A., but it came a hair short." Brandmeier, who Silver said decided not to renew with KLSX, will continue his Chicago broadcast on WCKG-FM.
Though Monday, the first day of the fall ratings period, is the official start of the "Frosty, Heidi & Frank" show, Silver said they did a test run earlier this summer--dropping them in unannounced at 3 a.m. "These guys are professionals and they had all worked together and we knew it," he said. Still, he says, hearing the team actually playing off each other on the air sealed it in his mind.
"Frosty, Heidi & Frank" can be heard on KLSX-FM (97.1) weekdays from noon to 3 p.m.
from The Orange County Register
September 10, 2000
--snips--
LOCAL RATINGS
The latest ratings (May-June-July averages) show Spanish KSCA/101.9 FM No. 1 among overall listeners. Next, in order: KIIS/102.7 FM, KLVE/107.9 FM, KROQ/106.7 FM, KPWR/105.9 FM, and KRTH/101.1 FM. KYSR/98.7 FM is on the rise, KLSX/97.1 FM jumped from No. 20 to No. 14. The new KABC/790 AM is No. 14.
In morning drive, it's KSCA, KIIS, KLVE, KROQ, and KLSX. KABC, KLAC/570 AM dropped a bit, but KRTH climbed from No. 12 to No. 9.
--snips--
from the Los Angeles Times
August 11, 2000
Around the Dial column
--snips--
Based on recent data from audience-measurement firm Arbitron, KFI remains the most listened-to talk station in the Los Angeles area, which is home to an estimated 10.3 million potential listeners age 12 and over.
Within that broad age group, KFI averaged an estimated 54,000 listeners per quarter-hour during the three-month ratings period ending in June, reaching a total audience--or "cume"--of roughly 858,000 listeners over the course of an entire week.
KABC averaged about 43,000 listeners per quarter-hour, with a cumulative total of 632,000. KLSX-FM (97.1)--anchored by Howard Stern's syndicated morning show--attracted 36,000 people per quarter hour and a cume of 584,000, while sister station KRLA's averages were 14,000 and 257,000, respectively.
The other major variable in radio hinges on time spent listening, or how long an average listener tunes in each week. By that measure, relatively small KIEV-AM (870)--with a total of just 148,000 listeners per week--actually leads at 9 hours, 15 minutes, followed by KABC at 8 1/2 hours and 8 hours for KFI.
To compete with KFI, Braverman noted, KABC needs to make sure that its loyal listeners--currently a smaller pool than KFI--feel compelled to stay with the station longer. In that respect, he likened "time spent listening" to a small restaurant, which needs patrons to sit for coffee and dessert to compete with higher-volume establishments.
With the exception of Stern's show, KFI dominates the talk race through the morning and daytime hours behind Limbaugh and Schlessinger, although overall tune-in for the station is down in those hours compared with the winter quarter Arbitron standings as well as those for the spring of 1999.
KABC, by contrast--after sinking to a 40-year-low market share during the winter--posted solid gains during the daytime, with lesser improvement by KLSX and KRLA.
Larry Elder's 3 to 7 p.m. afternoon drive show on KABC also rebounded from a winter dip to average more than 65,000 listeners per quarter hour--and a cume of 355,000 per week--regaining an advantage over KFI, where Hendrie averaged 49,000 and 332,000, respectively. (KLSX's Tom Leykis, whose focus on politics skews heavily toward the sexual variety, draws more listeners per quarter-hour than Hendrie, about 52,000, but a lower cume of 282,000.)
Tune-in drops sharply after the commuting window, though KABC's combination of Mr. KABC and Siegel--with a weekly cume of about 160,000 listeners--maintains the station's edge from 7 p.m. to midnight over KFI, which tallies a total audience of 124,000 over the course of a week for Karel & Andrew and Tim & Neil.
KFI has lost a sizable amount of audience compared to both spring '99 and the winter quarter, after which the station flipped Hendrie into the afternoon-drive slot and Karel & Andrew into the 7-to-9 p.m. window.
Hall, however, said he was pleased with the results of the switch, pointing out that both Hendrie and Karel & Andrew had recorded increases among adults ages 25 to 54--a key demographic for the sale of advertising time.
Beyond the commercial talk stations, extensive convention coverage--including the candidates' addresses--will again be available on public radio outlets such as KCRW-FM (89.9) and KPCC-FM (89.3).
Because of the lag time in assembling Arbitron data--which is culled from "diaries" mailed out to prospective listeners--it will be months before program directors can ascertain how well their own 2000 campaign strategies panned out.
Though talk generally ranks behind music in terms of overall audience (several music stations cume more than 1 million listeners per week), the genre is desirable to advertisers because it tends to attract a more affluent and educated crowd. According to a 1999 Arbitron breakdown of audience attributes known as "Qualitap," 38% or more of KABC, KFI, KLSX and KRLA listeners are college graduates. In addition, nearly 40% of the KABC, KFI and KLSX audience comes from households with income in excess of $75,000 per year.
August 2000
from RadioSpectrum.com
--snips--
"Hi Chris,
Love the site and the fact that you seem to have some common sense, unlike Don Barrett. Have you read his latest piece on Stern and the commercials in the morning? I would say about a week ago he did a piece on how many spots KLSX runs in the morning. I believe it was like thirty minutes or something. And then today he made some comment that Stern was talking about how KLSX cuts up his show and how Bob Moore puts in tons of spots and all that crap. Well, I really wish Don would do some research about this subject, then comment on it, since he only listens to Stern for 5 minutes a week! But if it is not a dumb ass listener commenting on how he could program KABC, or an old dinosaur talking about what they think is wrong with LA, then Don doesn't care.
Anyway, as you know I used to run the board and help produce the Stern show every morning for quite awhile. KLSX has been running huge spot loads during the Stern show for close to ten years, and especially when Moore returned a few years back. If you listen to the show live from 3 till 6, you hear less spots but there are still very long stop sets. And then when the tape delay starts at 6, the spots increase because that is official morning drive and the editing has begun!
But Howard should be happy since it has gotten better since CBS took over. Back when Greater Media was in charge, Gary Garver would be busy on the phone every morning with Greater Media finding out what to allow and what to cut. Sometimes we would have to cut to close to two hours of the show, and then play music (back in the Classic Rock days) until the next jock came in.
Back to spots, cramming the Stern show is the only smart thing Bob [Moore] has ever done. The station knows that the Stern listeners will sit through 30 minutes of spots to get back to Howard. And that is what their research has shown. Plus, if Barrett ever listened he would know that the Stern sometimes goes for as long as an hour straight without a break. Also, they never run 30 minutes of spots during the main part of the show, but at the end of the show they have time to fill since they have cut it up so much and they cram those spots!
And as for Howard complaining about this, he has known this forever and has never made a big deal about it. He is just doing it know because of the whole contract thing. If Barrett would get his head out of Kathleen Sullivan's ass then maybe he would know that!
Thanks Chris and I hope you will address this in your next issue. I would appreciate if you could print it too, since you have the balls to do it!"
Well, I appreciate it when somebody kisses my ass. But this industry cat is exactly right on! I remember when Mucho was at KRLA in the morning and I would talk to the producers and it is all true. KLSX has done research and the Stern listeners will sit through those spots. Hell, I do sometimes! By the way, I got the balls to print it. As Phil Hendrie's R.C. Collins says "You've got balls the size of the world!"
A few weeks ago, Stern was denying the fact that CBS/Viacom offered him a 5 year, $100 million deal, but that was probably not including the TV deal as well. Even so, that is a bargain consiedering Howard holds up Infinity and KLSX here in Los Angeles. If Stern wasn't the morning man for KLSX, would KLSX/KRLA have been one of the top billing combos in the country? NO!
Many think that Stern may leave radio, but that is for the most part not going to happen, since Stern would no longer have a free forum to talk about himself or his TV projects. And without the radio show, that would remove the platforms for his nightly E! show and Saturday night CBS show. Stern is not going to leave radio, but he jus might leave Infinity and head to another company willing to have him at any cost. A Clear Channel heavy E-mailed, "Listen, as somebody who has contact with Randy Michaels on a weekly basis, I know that Michaels not only loves shock talk shows, but also Howard!"
If Stern was to go to another company, then it is certain that the only one that could afford him would be Clear Channel and imparticualr Premiere Radio Network. Premiere, which already carries Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Jim Rome, Phil Hendrie, is by far the leader in syndicated talk hosts, but the addition of Howard would make them un-stoppable. What would happen hear in LA? Well, KLSX would probably cease to exist, and Bob Moore would be out on his ass. Where would Clear Channel put him on the air? It would be hard to say, but you can probably figure KYSR or if they develop a new rock station, wouldn't that be convenient? I seriously doubt they would put him on KFI, but who knows? If they were to do so, then KABC would definitely cease to exist. All I know, is that as the days get fewer and fewer to Howard's contract ending, it will get even more interesting!
--snips--
August 2000
from LARadio.com
--snips--
As far as the Spring ratings, Tom is anxious to set the record straight on afternoon drive in Los Angeles. "Let's stop all the sniping. There is only one demographic that radio advertisers covet, and that is adults 25-54," emailed Tom. "Finally, below, here is a complete list of the actual AQH number of 25-54 adults who listen to specific LA talk radio hosts, with numbers calculated to the ACTUAL hours these shows run. These numbers come from Arbitron's Maximi$er software, and they are indisputable."
SPRING 2000 LOS ANGELES TALK RADIO ADULTS 25-54 AQH PERSONS
1) HOWARD STERN (KLSX) 75,000 2) DR. LAURA SCHLESSINGER (KFI) 44,600 3) TOM LEYKIS (KLSX) 40,700 4) RUSH LIMBAUGH (KFI) 39,500 5) LARRY ELDER (KABC) 39,100 6) DENNIS PRAGER (KABC) 35,400 7) SAM RUBIN (KLSX) 32,500 8) CLARK HOWARD (KFI) 31,300 9) JONATHON BRANDMEIER (KLSX) 27,500 10) PHIL HENDRIE (KFI) 26,100 11) BILL HANDEL (KFI) 24,700 12) AL RANTEL (KABC) 22,900 13) JOHN & KEN (KABC) 21,600 14) KAREL & ANDREW (KFI) 17,000 15) JIM ROME (KXTA) 13,700 16) DR. TONI GRANT (KRLA) 13,400 17) ARNIE SPANIER/DODGERS 3-7 PM (KXTA) 11,000 18) MR. KABC (KABC) 9,800 19) MICHAEL JACKSON (KRLA) 9,700 20) MIKE SIEGEL (KABC) 9,300 21) TONY BRUNO/DAVE DENHOLM (KXTA) 8,900 22) CONWAY & STECKLER (KLSX) 8,200 23) GEORGE PUTNAM (KIEV) 7,700 24) BEN & DAVE/DODGERS 7 - 11 PM (KXTA) 7,200 25) MICHAEL MEDVED (KIEV) 6,100 26) MINYARD & MINYARD (KRLA) 4,900 27) TIM & NEIL (KFI) 4,900 28) DON IMUS (KRLA) 4,400 29) BOB & TOM (KXTA) 4,300 30) IRA FISTELL (KRLA) 3,500 31) BOB DORNAN (KIEV) 2,900 32) G. GORDON LIDDY (KRLA) 2,800 33) JOHN & JEFF (KLSX) 2,500 34) MICHAEL REAGAN (KIEV) 600
--snips--
from The Orange County Register
July 30, 2000
Roy Laughlin looked at the spring Arbitron ratings and beamed at what he thought were spectacular numbers for his contemporary hits station KIIS/102.7 FM in the March-June survey period. Then he saw the headlines about the Spanish stations, KYSR/98.7 FM and KABC/790 AM, and wondered: What happened?
Laughlin, general manager of KIIS-FM, said he believes the real story is not about "the stations that increased the most and are still not in the top five," but, instead, those stations which do well across the board. Specifically, he cites contemporary hits KIIS being English No.1 in these categories covering all listening Mondays-Sundays, 6 a.m.-midnight, persons 12 and older, persons ages 25-54, persons ages 18-49 and teens.
"It is normal for radio stations to pick an age cell and dominate. That is what makes it so amazing in that in a world of niche radio, the idea that one station is able to beat all the niches at their niche simultaneously. This is unheard of in a major metropolitan area," he said.
Laughlin makes a valid point. KIIS' success is sometimes taken for granted because it's been such a strong performer for so many years.
We'll have more ratings in weeks to come, but here's the Top 15 overall, Mondays-Sundays, in order: KSCA-FM, KIIS-FM (and simulcast KAVS-FM), KLVE-FM, KROQ-FM, KPWR-FM, KRTH-FM, KFI-AM, KOST-AM, KBUE-FM, KTWV-FM, KYSR-FM, KBIG-FM, KABC-AM, and KKBT-FM.
Weekday morning drive (6-10 a.m.) , all age groups: KSCA-FM, KIIS-FM, KLVE-FM, KROQ-FM, KPWR-FM, KLSX-FM, KFI-AM, KLOS-FMKYSR-FM, KNX-AM, KFWB-AM, KRTH-FM, KABC-AM, and KLAC-AM.
--snips--
from Radio Digest
July 25, 2000
--snips--
KLSX is the third-ranked talk station overall in the L.A. market, coming in at No. 20. Stern still dominates in the mornings, especially from 6 to 9 a.m. Between 9 a.m. and noon, Rush Limbaugh is still a ratings hippogriff -- there's Rush, and then there is everybody else.
from the Los Angeles Times
July 19, 2000
Spring swept in change around the radio dial, though the impact hasn't yet migrated into the Arbitron ratings, as the just-released spring quarter analysis was a picture of relative stability.
--snips--
Morning drive continued to be dominated by Spanish stations KSCA and KLVE. KISS-FM's Rick Dees maintained his spot at No. 3 but as the top English-language deejay, followed by KROQ-FM's Kevin & Bean. The once-vulnerable KPWR morning man Big Boy continued his string of strong showings holding onto the No. 5 spot--No. 3 among the English-language station hosts--with Howard Stern on KLSX-FM (97.1) at No. 6. The biggest move came as Star's "Danny and Jamie" at KYSR-FM (98.7) jumped from 14th to 8th in the morning.
--snips--
Times staff writer Dana Calvo contributed to this story.
--snips--
The ratings survey covers people 12 and older listening between 6 a.m. and midnight, from March 30 through June 21.
from the Los Angeles Times
May 11, 2000
By Judith Michaelson, Times Staff Writer
Call it "Revenge of the Veterans." In the Arbitron radio ratings world, this was the season, from Jan. 6 to March 29, when there was a significant surge on two signature Southland morning drive shows and at long-standing rock oldies station KRTH-FM (101.1).
The shows are Rick Dees' "Rick Dees in the Morning" from 6 to 10 a.m. on Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7), heard in the Los Angeles/Orange County market since 1981, and Kevin Ryder and Gene Baxter's "The Kevin & Bean Show," from 5 to 10 a.m. on rock station KROQ-FM (106.7). By contrast Kevin, 37, and Bean, 39, are relative newcomers, having met in 1988 at a radio station in Phoenix, with their first radio gig as a team in L.A. coming in 1990.
--snips--
Top 10 Lists
The most-listened-to radio personalities from January through March and their average listenership per quarter-hour:
1. Renan Almendarez Coello, KSCA-FM (101.9), 5-11 a.m., 215,400. 2. Rick Dees, KIIS-FM (102.7), 6-10 a.m., 133,600. 3. Rush Limbaugh, KFI-AM (640), 9 a.m.-noon, 128,800. 4. Martha Shalhoub, KLVE-FM (107.5), 121,400. 5. Maria Nava, KSCA, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 119,600. 6. Dr. Laura Schlessinger, KFI, noon-3 p.m., 117,500. 7. Pepe Barreto, KLVE, 5-10 a.m., 117,400. 8. Sean Valentine, KIIS, 4-8 p.m., 111,100. 9. Pio Ferro, KLVE, 3-7 p.m., 90,700. 10. Kevin & Bean, KROQ-FM (106.7), 5-10 a.m., 69,900.
These were the Top 10 stations in morning-drive, weekdays 6-10 a.m.:
1. KSCA-FM (101.9)
2. KIIS-FM (102.7)
3. KLVE-FM (107.5)
4. KROQ-FM (106.7)
5. KPWR-FM (105.9)
KFI-AM (640)
7. KLSX-FM (97.1)
8. KNX-AM (1070)
9. KFWB-AM (980)
KOST-FM (103.5)
from the LA Times
April 26, 2000
For the second quarter in a row, a Spanish language-English language duo--Mexican regional music station KSCA-FM (101.9) and Top 40s music station KIIS-FM (102.7)--held onto the top two slots in the Los Angeles-Orange County radio market.
Meanwhile, talk station KABC-AM (790) continued its slide, garnering 1.9% share of the audience, its lowest level in nearly 40 years, the Arbitron ratings service reported Tuesday. During the winter, KABC averaged 33,200 listeners per quarter hour, marking the first time since 1961 the station has fallen below 2%. In the summer of 1960, KABC went to a talk format.
KABC's dip below a 2 share, which it drew last fall, has raised questions about the fate of program director Drew Hayes, who in recent days has been the focus of a swirl of Internet rumors that he was on his way out. Hayes on Tuesday declined to discuss his status at the station.
With Hayes on the job this week, station officials allowed only that they were awaiting the results of a research project due at the end of the week before making any decisions. Hayes--who has a long radio career and was previously general manager of ESPN Radio Network in Bristol, Conn.--joined KABC in June 1998 after KABC's ratings had sunk to 2.6%, then its lowest in three years. With ongoing changes in talk show hosts, KABC has been on a virtual decline since fall 1997 when it drew a 3% share.
Currently the station's core talk show hosts include John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, who have the early morning, 5-to-9 a.m. slot, followed by Dennis Prager, weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon, and Larry Elder, from 3 to 7 p.m. in afternoon drive.
"There's a decline in talk listenership in the marketplace," Hayes said Tuesday. "The station is in a rebuilding process." Asked when he expected the numbers to turn around, Hayes said that building a talk station takes time.
Meanwhile top-ranked KSCA drew a 6.1% share of the market for the winter 2000 quarter, which runs from Jan. 6 to March 29, averaging 104,600 listeners per quarter hour, a slight decrease from the 118,800 listeners it averaged during the fall tracking period.
In turn, KIIS rose a half-percentage point to a 5.5% audience share among overall listeners 12 and older, Monday through Sunday, from 6 a.m. to midnight. Its average listenership rose to 94,600 listeners, from 87,700. At a glance, it appeared that KIIS might have cut into KSCA's listenership.
While officials at KSCA could not immediately be reached for comment, Roy Laughlin, KIIS president and general manager, attributed his station's fifth increase in a row to the same fever that's sweeping television audiences across the country. "We made changes like doing the Millionaire Birthday Game, where we gave away $3 million over the past 8 months. We started this pre-'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' " he said, referring to the ABC game show that has overtaken prime time.
He noted that KIIS, which took second place over KSCA's sister Spanish-language station KLVE-FM (107.5) last quarter, also started playing the vastly popular music of 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys and Latin crossover artist Ricky Martin.
Otherwise, it was a quiet quarter with virtually no steep climbs or sharp drops in listeners around the dial.
Indeed, the rankings of the next five stations stayed exactly as they had been last fall. KLVE, whose adult contemporary music focuses on love songs, took a 5.1% audience share, averaging 87,200 listeners, up a bit from the previous 4.9% and 85,500 listeners.
Rock oldies KRTH-FM (101.1) continued its steady gains. Pat Duffy, vice president and general manager, was fairly crowing at the station's rise among 25- to 54-year-olds to 3.8% and fifth place. That's up from seventh place last fall in that key demographic group, and 14th place last summer. Duffy ties some of the growth to programming changes, saying, "We added a lot of music from the '70s." In the 25- to 54-year-old demographic, KROQ-FM (106.7) soared to a fifth-place tie with KRTH at 3.8%, moving up from 13th place.
Among talk stations, KFI-AM (640) led the pack in seventh place with a 3.5% share, up from the previous 3.2%, averaging 60,000 listeners per quarter hour. Talk station KLSX-FM (97.1), meanwhile was in a virtual tie at 1.9% and 22nd place with KABC, averaging 32,900 listeners per quarter hour.
Meanwhile KRLA-AM (1110) stayed put in 32nd place with a 0.6% audience share, while conservative talk station KIEV-AM (870) held its previous share of 0.5%. It's now in 35th place.
Among the rival news stations, both owned by CBS, KNX-AM (1070) held onto 15th place and a 2.3% share, while KFWB-AM (980) increased its share to 2.1% share from 1.9%, moving into 18th place.
In the key morning-drive slot, measured from 6 to 10 a.m., KSCA's and KIIS' fortunes were reflected in the ratings of their morning hosts. Still ahead in first place was KSCA's Renan Almendarez Coello, whose show airs 5 to 11 a.m. Though there was a decline--with the audience share dropping from 11.1% to 9.6%--the show now averages 237,500 listeners. Meanwhile KIIS' Rick Dees, whose show airs from 6 to 10 a.m., rose to a 5.4% audience share from 4.7%, while Howard Stern at KLSX was in seventh place with a 3.6% share, down from 4% and fourth place.
Meanwhile KPWR-FM's (105.9) morning anchor Big Boy moved to a fifth place tie with KFI's Bill Handel at 3.9%--a jump of 0.6% for Big Boy and 0.4% for Handel.
Among listeners 25 to 54 years old, the demographic advertisers target, KSCA and KLVE held onto first and second place, with 7.4% and 5.8%, respectively, with KIIS moving into third place with 4.4%, ahead of adult contemporary KOST-FM (103.5).
Times staff writer Dana Calvo contributed to this report.
Radio Ratings
The area's Top 25 stations and their average share of audience as measured by Arbitron for the first three months of 2000 as compared with the last quarter of 1999:
CURRENT LAST
QUARTER
1. KSCA-FM 6.1 6.8
2. KIIS-FM 5.5 5.0
3. KLVE-FM 5.1 4.9
4. KROQ-FM 4.3 3.9
5. KPWR-FM 4.2 3.8
6. KOST-FM 3.9 3.6
7. KFI-AM 3.5 3.2
8. KRTH-FM 3.3 3.0
9. KBUE-FM 3.2 3.2
10.KTWV-FM 3.1 3.2
11.KKBT-FM 2.6 2.4
KBIG-FM 2.6 3.0
KYSR-FM 2.6 2.4
14.KLAX-AM 2.5 2.1
15.KCMG-FM 2.3 2.5
KNX-AM 2.3 2.3
17.KLOS-FM 2.2 2.3
18.KFWB-AM 2.1 1.9
19.KZLA-FM 2.0 2.1
KCBS-FM 2.0 2.3
KLAC-AM 2.0 1.7
22.KABC-AM 1.9 2.0
KLSX-FM 1.9 2.1
24.KJLH-FM 1.6 1.4
25.KSSE-FM 1.5 1.9
*--*
The ratings survey covers people 12 and older listening between 6 a.m. and midnight, from Jan. 6 through March 29.
from Radio Digest
April 26, 2000
Daily Grind
--snips--
Stern Support
As is the norm, Howard Stern has enjoyed yet another banner book in the nation's two largest markets. In addition to ruling the Big Apple morning roost from New York's K-Rock (WXRK 92.3 FM), where his show originates, Stern also was the most popular morning host among Los Angeles listeners between the ages of 25 and 54 -- the demographic that causes advertisers to drool uncontrollably.
--snips--
from the Looney: About L.A. Radio column
February 14, 2000
By Tomm Looney
--snips--
Mornings: Since almost all morning shows are really "talk" shows with little music, I've included lowly disc jockeys in the morning rundown of the ratings.
In the English-speaking morning-drive radio race with listeners in the key money demographic (ages 25 to 54), Howard Stern is still the King of All Ratings with a 4.9 AQH. He was down from a 6.1 AQH in the summer book.
Right behind Howard in the mornings is KLOSsssss white hoes Mark and Brian with a 4.3 AQH. Their ratings were up 8 percent from the last ratings period.
Also finishing respectively in the morning drive top ten in the 25-54 demo were Rick Dees at KIIS-FM, the morning show dudes and chicks at KBIG, Kevin and Bean at KROQ, Mark and Kim at KOST, whomever does mornings on 94.7 the friggin' Wave (KTWV-FM), and Danny Partridge and Jamie White on Star 98.7 (KYSR-FM).
--snips--
from the Looney: About L.A. Radio column
February 7, 2000
By Tomm Looney
Personalities at a Glance ... Dot, Dot, Dot: In the mornings, Dees at KIIS-FM, KROQ (106.7 FM)’s Kevin & Bean and Howard Stern at 97.1 FM Talk continue to dominate the deejays. Stern's ratings were rather flat here in L.A., considering the turmoil in his personal life. In New York, his ratings went through the roof. But here in L.A., his ratings were as flat as the chick from Boys Don't Cry ...
John Cobalt & Ken Shampoo's numbers were flat at KABC. The pair still trails KFI's Bill "Love" Handel slightly ... Middays are still dominated in talkland by the King and Queen of Midday Mean, Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura ... At KFI, bad news for Karel & Andrew haters: The unambiguously gay duo made more ratings gains again this time around ... 97.1's Tom Leykis still wins the overall afternoon blah, blah, blah ratings race ...
Mr. KABC had sweet revenge at night. Three years back, KFI replaced the then-Mr. KFI with radio harlequin Phil Hendrie. Mr. KFI left in a huff to crosstown KABC and became Mr. KABC, where he continues to trounce Hendrie almost 2-to-1 in the overall ratings. This ought to drive the notoriously thin-skinned Hendrie looney.
from the LA Times
While Spanish-language KSCA-FM (101.1) continued its hold as the No. 1 radio station in the Los Angeles-Orange County market, for the first time in three years, an English-language station--Top 40s music KIIS-FM (102.7)--pushed past another Spanish-language rival to slide into the No. 2 spot, the Arbitron ratings service reported ednesday.
Anchored by its Mexican regional music fare, KSCA increased its share of the overall listening audience to 6.8% from 6%--with an average of 118,800 listeners per quarter-hour--according to the most recent survey, covering the period from Sept. 23 to Dec. 15. Due to a computer software glitch at Arbitron, the rankings for the 1999 fall quarter had been delayed three weeks.
KIIS came in second with 5%--or 87,700 listeners, on average, per quarter-hour--up from 4.8% in the previous survey. The station's popular morning drive show, "Rick Dees in the Morning," ranked first among the English-language stations. Just hours after the ratings landed, Premiere Radio Networks announced it will begin syndicating Dees' show this spring.
Apparently, KSCA took a substantial bite from sister station KLVE-FM (107.5), which plays love songs. KLVE--which has been either No. 1 or No. 2 since winter 1995--dropped a full percentage point from its summer audience share, down to 4.9% and third place, averaging 85,500 listeners per quarter hour.
"This is more of an Arbitron problem than anything," insisted Bill Tanner, vice president of programming for Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., owner of KLVE and KSCA.
Noting Arbitron's three-week delay, he added: "With the exception of KSCA, which did really well because of Renan Almendarez [Coello], and Que Buena KBUE-FM [94.3 and 105.5], which was flat, everyone in the Spanish market was off."
Over at KIIS, meanwhile, management was thrilled to have gained some ground.
"I knew we were moving up, but to predict beating KLVE is not a good bet," said Roy Laughlin, KIIS' president and general manager. "We were the first people in the United States to do the millionaire contest . . . before Regis [Philbin]," he added, referring to the ABC phenomenon "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
Twice over the past 12 months, during Dees' morning drive show, KIIS has given away huge cash prizes to listeners--$1 million and $2 million, respectively.
Dees' audience share rose to 4.7% and an average 123,700 listeners per quarter-hour, overtaking Howard Stern on KLSX-FM (97.1), to place third in the key morning drive period, 6-10 a.m. Stern, meanwhile, dropped to a 4% audience share from 4.6%, putting his average numbers of listeners at 104,400.
Still, the big morning drive news belonged to KSCA's Almendarez (5-11 a.m.), who leaped to an 11.1% audience share from 9.7%. The comic host's average listenership was up to 290,000 from the previous 229,100. KLVE's Pepe Baretto retained second place even as he lost viewers, dropping to 4.9% from 5.5%.
Adult contemporary music station KOST-FM (103.5) saw its fortunes rise, with its overall audience share moving to sixth place from 10th. Oldies station KRTH-FM (101.1) rose to 10th from 13th, to tie with adult contemporary music station KBIG-FM (104.3).
Taking a big hit was urban contemporary station KKBT-FM (92.3), sinking to 14th place from seventh as average quarter-hour listeners dropped to 42,700 from 55,600.
In talk radio, KFI-AM (640) dropped back to a 3.2% audience share and a seventh place tie, from 3.5% and sixth place. KLSX was essentially flat at 2.1%. Meanwhile KABC-AM (790) hit a new all-time low at 2%. It's now in 21st place. KABC's previous low was last spring at 2.3%.
Times staff writer Dana Calvo contributed to this report.
Radio Ratings
The area's Top 25 stations and their share of the listening audience as measured by Arbitron for the fall months compared with the summer quarter of the year:
CURRENT LAST
QUARTER
1. KSCA-FM 6.8 6.0
2. KIIS-FM 5.0 4.8
3. KLVE-FM 4.9 5.9
4. KROQ-FM 3.9 4.0
5. KPWR-FM 3.8 3.9
6. KOST-FM 3.6 3.0
7. KBUE-FM 3.2 3.3
KFI-AM 3.2 3.5
KTWV-AM 3.2 3.3
10. KRTH-FM 3.0 2.6
KBIG-FM 3.0 2.3
12. KYSR-FM 2.8 2.9
13. KCMG-FM 2.5 2.4
14. KKBT-FM 2.4 3.3
15. KLOS-FM 2.3 2.1
KNX-AM 2.3 2.4
KCBS-FM 2.3 2.5
18. KLAX-FM 2.1 2.8
KZLA-FM 2.1 2.1
KLSX-FM 2.1 2.2
21. KABC-AM 2.0 2.4
22. KSSE-FM 1.9 2.4
KFWB-AM 1.9 1.7
24. KLAC-AM 1.7 1.6
KKGO-FM 1.7 1.4
The ratings survey covers people 12 and older listening between 6 a.m. and midnight, from Sept. 23 through Dec. 15.
from the Los Angeles Times
Thursday, January 27, 2000
--snips--
According to Arbitron's summer ratings, "El Cucuy de la Manana" draws nearly 10% of the Southland's morning drive-time listeners--229,100 people. That's an enormous audience, considering that more than half the potential listeners don't speak Spanish. Based on the numbers, he's twice as popular in the L.A. area as Howard Stern, whose syndicated New York show airs on KLSX-FM (97.1) at about the same time, pulling 4.6% of the audience--108,000 listeners.
--snips--
from Radio Digest
October 25, 1999
Looney: About L.A. Radio
By Tomm Looney
During the course of the following L.A. ratings rattle, you may see the words "cume" and the letters "AQH." "Cume" is the estimated number of different people who listen each week, representing the total reach or penetration of the station. The "AQH" reflects thenumber of people listening during any give "average quarter hour," or 15-minute period.
Put it this way: Pretend your favorite radio station is the liquor store near CBS on Sunset - not that Ann Martin or I have ever been there. The "cume" would be the number people who came in to purchase booze or rubbers in that store during the course of an entire week. The "AQH" would be the average number of booze hounds and sex addicts who were in said liquor store during any 15-minute period.
Most of what I have is the important 25-54 year old demographic. That is the most important ratings category to program directors, station staffers, and advertisers.
--snips--
Stern is an L.A. ratings monster with a 6.1 AQH in the 25-54 demo. Stern fell off last winter, but he's back and he's back big - maybe because he's been working so hard on his show alone in his new apartment in Manhattan while his wife and family live out on Long Island. A divorce is supposedly in the works.
from the Los Angeles Times
October 21, 1999
--snips--
Top 10 Host Parade: Who were the market's most listened-to personalities this summer?
Morning host Renan Almendarez Coello on top-ranked Spanish-language station KSCA-FM (101.9) was No. 1: His 5-11 a.m. weekday show drew an average of 212,700 listeners per quarter hour.
In second place was Rush Limbaugh on talk station KFI-AM (640), heard 9 a.m.-noon, averaging 133,400 listeners, followed by KFI's Laura Schlessinger, noon-3 p.m., with 121,000 listeners.
Rounding out the top 10 were Pepe Barreto of KLVE-FM (107.5), 116,100 listeners; Rick Dees of KIIS-FM (102.7), 100,100; Howard Stern of KLSX-FM (97.1), 91,500; Kevin and Bean of KROQ-FM (106.7), 76,900; Bill Handel of KFI, 71,000; Mark and Brian of KLOS-FM (95.5), 68,400; and the morning show on KKBT-FM (92.3), with 65,100--a program that changed hands during the three-month ratings survey, with John London & the House Party supplanted by Ed Lover and Dr. Dre. London and his crew moved to KCMG.
More Top Tens: These were the top 10 stations in the morning drive period (weekdays 6-10 a.m.), considered radio's prime time: KSCA, averaging 229,100 listeners per quarter hour; KLVE, 129,900; KLSX, 108,700; KIIS, 100,100; KFI, 95,900, KROQ, 89,200; KNX, 79,400; KPWR-FM (105.9), 73,800; KKBT, 70,800; KLOS, 68,400.
--snips--
from the: Los Angeles Times
--snips--
In the key morning drive period from 6-10 a.m., the top two Spanish stations again prevailed. KSCA's Renan Almendarez Coello got 9.7% to KLVE's Pepe Barreto with 5.5%. Barreto, who had 5.9% last quarter, was out sick with voice and throat problems for a substantial part of the ratings period. He returned to the air in mid-September.
KLSX's Stern remained on top among English-language morning shows (and third overall) with a 4.6% share, down one-tenth from last spring, while KIIS' Rick Dees was in fourth place with 4.2%, dropping from 4.6%.
KFI was in fifth place with 4%, up from 3.7% last quarter. Morning host Bill Handel, who airs from 5-9 a.m., appeared to be faring better than former colleagues John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, now his competitors in the same time slot on KABC. KABC's audience share in the 6-10 a.m. time period stayed at 2.1%.
--snips--
from: RadioDigest.com
October 11, 1999
Looney: About L.A. Radio column
Morning- and Afternoon-Drive FM Devils Will Stay Around For Awhile.
A looney worm in the Big Apple told me that 97.1 FM-Talk's Howard Stern has inked a deal, keeping him on the radio at least two more years. The worm also slimed that FM-yacker Tom Leykis signed a rack some time back that keeps him around until well into 2001.
from: RadioDigest.com
--Snip--
Howard Stern is followed by KLOS’s Mark and Brian. L.A. legend Rick Dees comes in third, followed by KROQ’s Kevin and Bean in fourth. KOST 103.5’s Mark & Kim take the fifth spot. Star 98.7’s Jamie, Frosty and Frank come in sixth and "Uncle" Joe Benson on the Arrow 93.1 takes seventh. 94.7 "The Wave" and Mega 100.3 are eight and ninth, respectively. KFI and KFWB News 98 are tied at 10th in the morning-drive category for adults 25-54.
In the talk category, as I mentioned, Howard Stern is again number one whether its music or talk. Mark and Brian don’t play records anymore, so you can arguably give them the silver in the talk category. Third in the yack wars is KFI’s Bill Handel with a 2.5 AQH. The Joe Crummey-hosted KABC morning show pulls up the rear at 1.4 AQH. That KABC morning show is now hosted by John & Ken, formally of KFI.
As far as all news-listening habits go in the 25-54 category, KFWB tied longtime market leader KFI in both morning and afternoon drive. KFWB is number one among all stations in adults aged 25 and up cume during morning drive. For the total week adults 25-54 cume, KFWB is second only to KFI on the AM dial.
In their cars on the way to work, adults 25-plus are overwhelmingly listening to Stern on 97.1 FM-Talk. Musically, Rick Dees on KIIS-FM is the number-one choice, while KFWB is the top choice for news.
--Snip--
"Cume" is the estimated number of different people who listen each week, representing the total reach or penetration of the station.
"AQH" reflects the number of people listening during any given "average quarter hour," or 15-minute period.
from the: LA Times
By JUDITH MICHAELSON, Times Staff Writer
July 16, 1999
Two Spanish-language music stations--KSCA-FM (101.9), playing Mexican regional fare, and KLVE--FM (107.5), with an adult contemporary format--took first- and second-place honors for the third quarter in a row in the Arbitron ratings race Thursday.
Meanwhile, Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7), which has a substantial Latino audience, moved into third place and was the leading English-language station among listeners age 12 and over from 6 a.m. to midnight during the survey period from April 1 to June 23. The station, which had been tied last quarter with KPWR-FM (105.9), saw its share of audience climb from 4.3% to 4.7%, while KPWR, also popular with Latinos, dropped to 4%.
Just a year ago, KIIS had scored a 3.3% share and was tied for seventh place.
Roy Laughlin, KIIS' president and general manager, attributed his station's jump to two contests--the "Million Dollar Birthday Game" on Rick Dees' morning show and the ticket giveaway for the Ricky Martin concert at Dodger Stadium on June 10. "Ricky Martin's the biggest thing on the planet," he said.
Meanwhile, talk radio mostly lost ground. KFI-AM (640) dropped to 3.3% from 3.6% last quarter, while staying put in seventh place.
KABC-AM (790) went down one-tenth of a point to 2.3%, hitting its lowest point in at least a decade. And in its second quarter as a full-fledged talk station, CBS-owned KRLA-AM (1110) dropped to 0.8% from its 1% opener in the previous quarter.
"That could be a million things," mused Bob Moore, vice president and general manager, "mornings, noon, nights." Moore had not seen any numbers so he declined to say anything further.
KYSR-FM (98.7), whose adult contemporary music is geared to a female audience, hit the top 10 for the first time with a 3.2% share, its highest score ever among the 12-and-up audience. It had made a 20% leap in the previous quarter.
On the other end of the ratings seesaw, urban station KKBT-FM (92.3) fell from a 3.8% share to 3. Last quarter it was in fifth place; now it's tied for ninth.
Rival all-news stations KNX-AM (1170) and KFWB-AM (980) were virtually even with 2% and 1.9%, respectively.
In addition to amassing the largest audience shares in the Los Angeles-Orange County market, KSCA (6.2%) and KLVE (5.9%) had the top-rated shows in the critical 6-to-10 a.m. period. KSCA's Renan lmendarez Coello garnered 9.8% of the audience while KLVE's Pepe Barreto captured 5.9%.
At the same time, Howard Stern of KLSX-FM (97.1) made a huge jump from the previous quarter, from 3.6% to 4.7%, once again leading the English-language field in the morning. His ratings are now more in line with what they have been in previous quarters, though he hardly surpassed himself: Last spring Stern drew a 5.1% share.
KIIS' Dees took fourth place in the morning race with a 4.6% showing, up three-tenths from the previous quarter, although he had taken top English-language-host honors last time.
In the afternoon drive time, from 3 to 7 p.m., KFI, with new hosts, dropped back from 2.5% and 16th place to 1.8% and 24th place. Karel Bouley and Andrew Howard, an openly gay couple who do general talk fare, debuted March 22 in the 4-to-7 p.m. slot, taking over from longtime 3-to-7 p.m. hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, who on July 1 moved over to morning drive time on KABC.
KSCA and KLVE also led the field among listeners ages 25 to 54, while easy-listening station KOST-FM (103.5) slid into third place with a 3.8% showing, up five-tenths of a point from last quarter, when it was tied for ninth. And KTWV-FM (94.7), better known as the Wave, was tied for fourth place with KIIS and KLAX-FM (97.9) at 3.7%.
Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.
CURRENT LAST QUARTER
1. KSCA-FM 6.2 6.0
2. KLVE-FM 5.9 5.4
3. KIIS-FM 4.7 4.3
4. KPWR-FM 4.0 4.3
5. KROQ-FM 3.7 3.7
6. KOST-FM 3.5 3.0
7. KFI-AM 3.3 3.6
8. KYSR-FM 3.2 3.0
9. KKBT-FM 3.0 3.8
KLAX-FM 3.0 3.3
11. KTWV-FM 2.9 3.5
KRTH-FM 2.9 3.2
13. KBUE-FM 2.7 2.1
14. KCMG-FM 2.5 2.8
KCBS-FM 2.5 2.6
16. KLOS-FM 2.4 2.1
17. KABC-AM 2.3 2.4
18. KLSX-FM 2.2 1.9
KZLA-FM 2.2 2.1
20. KBIG-FM 2.1 2.5
21. KKGO-FM 2.0 2.1
KNX-AM 2.0 2.5
23. KFWB-AM 1.9 1.9
KTNQ-AM 1.9 1.6
25. KSSE-FM 1.8 1.8
The ratings survey covers people 12 and older listening between 6 a.m. and midnight, from April 1 through June 23.
from the: Orange County Register
June 27, 1999
--Snips--
THE RATINGS
Here are the overall leaders in ratings covering March-April-May listening in Los Angeles and Orange counties. 1. KSCA-FM (regional Mexican) 2. KLVE-FM (Spanish adult contemporary) 3. KIIS-FM (contemporary hits) 4. KPWR-FM (contemporary hits, rhythmic) 5. KOST-FM (adult contemporary) 6. KROQ-FM (alternative rock) 7. KFI-AM (talk) 8. KKBT-FM (urban) 9. KTWV-FM (smooth jazz). 10. KYSR-FM (hot adult contemporary).
Oldies KRTH-FM has dropped from a 3.3 share a year ago to 2.6. Recent changes made by program director Mike Phillips may get 101.1 FM back on track.
Nostalgia KLAC-AM is off, too, with a 1.8 share of audience, down from its 2.3 last fall, but whether that's affected more by sports than music is still to be determined. Joe Daniels is the interim replacement for the departed Gary Thompson in weekday afternoon drive at 570 AM. Bruce Asakawa was unhappy with his "West Coast Garden Line" show pre-emptions because of sports, so the show was dropped. It may resurface on KIEV/870 AM.
KLAC General Manager Ed Krampf said he had no comment on rumors that the station might go all-sports. That's been around for a year, he said, but he added emphatically: "We're very proud of what we're doing here right now. We're happy with the relationship with the Angels and the Lakers, and we think it's the best of both worlds. We made the switch from a satellite music service to local personalities, and we think it will work. We're giving it our best shot."
In 6-10 a.m. morning-drive ratings, among overall listeners, the leaders are KSCA-FM, KLVE-FM, KIIS-FM (Rick Dees), KLSX-FM (Howard Stern), KROQ-FM (Kevin & Bean) and KFI-AM (Bill Handel, Rush Limbaugh).
--Snips--
from the: Orange County Register
May 30, 1999
Gary Lycan/Radio
--Snip--
Morning drive, it's KSCA-FM and KLVE-FM, followed by KROQ's Kevin and Bean, KIIS' Rick Dees, KPWR's Big Boy, KFI's Bill Handel and Rush Limbaugh, and KLSX' Howard Stern, who dropped to a 3.5 percent share of audienmce from 3.6 in the Winter book.
--Snip--
from the: Los Angeles Times
May 13, 1999
--SNIPS--
Top 10 Host Parade: Who are the most-listened-to radio personalities? Breaking down the recent Arbitron ratings covering the first three months of 1999, morning-drive host Renan Almendarez Coello on top-ranked Spanish-language station KSCA-FM (101.9) leads the L.A. County-Orange County market with the largest number of listeners per average quarter-hour. His 5-11 a.m. weekday show drew an average of 215,700 listeners.
In second place was Rush Limbaugh on KFI-AM (640) with 137,100 listeners, followed by Pepe Barreto on KLVE-FM (107.5) with 135,000 listeners.
Laura Schlessinger on KFI from noon to 3 p.m. came in fourth with 130,400 listeners, while Rick Dees, heard from 6 to 10 a.m., was in fifth place with 108,100.
The rest of the top 10 were KROQ-FM (106.7) morning guys Kevin and Bean, 86,400; John London with his morning "House Party" on KKBT-FM (102.3), 86,100; Howard Stern on KLSX-FM (97.1), 80,300; KFI morning man Bill Handel, 72,300; and Larry Elder, afternoons on KABC-AM (790), 67,600.
Michael Jackson of KRLA-AM (1110), in 11th place, had just 700 listeners fewer than Elder. Thereafter the numbers drop sharply. John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou--who had been heard in afternoon drive on KFI--averaged 52,800 listeners.
from: The Orange County Register
Gary Lycan's Radio column
May 9, 1999
"Alternative, Top 40, urban music is hot right now, and when you're hot, you pop," he said of the upswing enjoyed by KIIS/102.7 FM's Rick Dees and others in morning radio. "But Stern is as good as ever. You should have heard his 90-minute interview with Julia Roberts. It was terrific radio.
"I defy anyone, day in, day out, to do what Stern does. Sure, Dees is hot right now, but all he talks about is Cuban cigars, Gulfstream jets and his farm in Kentucky. What does that have in common with the average 'N Sync fan.?
"And if the team of Jamie, Frosty and Frank on KYSR/98.7 FM is our future, we're in for big trouble. If L.A. and Orange County listeners have to listen to that whiny woman for the next 20 years, we're doomed. Bottom line, I'm predicting Stern will have a strong rebound," he said.
While Silver may have a point, many longtime Stern listeners wrote to say he's changed. "The decline of Howard began with 'Private Parts.' His N.Y. and L.A. fans don't want to listen to 10-year-old bits anymore," e-mailed freder@ntcnet.com.
"I always tune in first thing, but if I hear him with some luckless starlet ... I dive for the button. I've heard it 20 million times before, and it's real old. When he is doing the news, there is no one to touch him, but every day it's some woman who is his sex slave or something, and it's not automatically funny," mhanly@edm.net wrote.
"He was a novelty act at best. He has never known when to draw the line, and at no time has that been more evident than in the aftermath of the Colorado tragedy. His tasteless, offensive comments about the giris in the high school will be his final undoing," LLLPainter@aol.com said.
"No way has Stern peaked. Those of us who like the Stern show will always tune in. Some of the routine gets old, but day in and day out there is nothing funnier on the radio," wrote Jeff Schulman of Irvine.
--snips--
from: The Los Angeles Times
Last week's release of the quarterly Arbitron survey of radio listening in the Los Angeles-Orange County market produced a little celebrating, a little hand-wringing and a great deal of confusion up and down the dial.
"We don't know what happened. We're still trying to figure it out," said a baffled Jeff Williams, director of research for Heftel Broadcasting, whose three Spanish-language stations all lost audience.
"We think we're onto something," countered Andy Mars, general manager for Liberman Broadcasting, which saw two of its Spanish-language stations--KKHJ-AM (930) and KBUA-FM (94.3)--soar in the ratings. "We're very excited about it. I think we've laid the groundwork for success today and success tomorrow."
But what the ratings book for the first three months of 1999 didn't do, agree the winners, losers and even those on the sidelines, was produce any permanent changes. In fact, whether this was the start of a trend--as Mars hopes--or simply an aberration--as Williams prays it was--won't be known for some time.
"Realistically, if you want to look at reports, you have to wait for four [quarterly] books," says radio analyst Allen Klein of Media Research Graphics in Encino. "Most people don't do that."
Last fall, Arbitron, the company that tracks radio listenership, divided the L.A.-Orange County market into six zones. Each zone was to be surveyed and weighed based on its percentage of the overall market population. Arbitron argued that the new system would make its research more accurate and would better reflect the market's growing ethnic diversity by providing six opportunities for balancing the results according to known demographic figures.
Station managers were less convinced--and with reason--based on the ratings book for the final three months of 1998, the first survey using the new system. Spanish-language listening, for example, was way up, with market leader KSCA-FM (101.9) and runner-up KLVE-FM (107.5) climbing nearly a full share point each. But in last week's survey, while both stations remained atop the ratings, they saw those share figures fall dramatically. And several English-language music stations registered big gains.
"The problem is, we're in the very early days of a whole new way of counting," Williams says. "Was the fall right and the winter's wrong? Or was the fall wrong and the winter right? Maybe this is true. Maybe this is what's really going on in Los Angeles radio.
"We just don't know enough yet."
A likely scenario is that Spanish-language listening simply returned to normal. In the previous survey, Spanish-language stations that placed among the top 45 in the market combined to draw more than 24% of the audience, 2% higher than normal.
Laura Marella of Irvine-based Casanova Pendrill, the nation's largest independent Hispanic advertising agency, isn't concerned.
"Audiences ebb and flow," she says, "and we try not to have knee-jerk reactions to the audience numbers as they come out. On a relative scale, it's not that dramatic a difference.
"Independent of one particular book, the share of Spanish-language radio has exceeded 20 share points, cumulatively, over a long period. So it's not causing us to shift our overall ad spending."
In local English-language talk radio, winners of this quarter's Arbitron sweepstakes were Larry Elder, the afternoon-drive guy on KABC-AM (790); veteran Michael Jackson, centerpiece of the new talk lineup on KRLA-AM (1110); and CBS-owned KRLA itself.
Even a 1% showing, which KRLA got, is a victory for the first time out of the talk box, considering that the station had 0.6% share of audience under the old music-oldies format--a rise of 66%. By contrast, KIEV-AM (870), which has been at the talk game much longer and revamped its lineup last August, garnered only a 0.6% share in the latest ratings.
Jackson, the former KABC host who moved to KRLA in January, got a 2.7% share among listeners 12 and older in his first survey, beating KABC's Dennis Prager (2.1%) in their weekday 9 a.m.-noon slot. Prager, however, had more than twice Jackson's share among 25- to 54-year-olds, the group most advertisers target.
But then, Rush Limbaugh on KFI-AM (640) attracted more than both of them combined, with a 5.6% share in overall audience.
KRLA Program Director Ron Escarsega, indicating that Jackson's showing clearly helped the station, said: "I predicted a 1.5 [share] with Michael [in the 12-and-older ratings], and I had no idea he'd crack a 2 share. We're very excited."
Among the losers were CBS-owned KLSX-FM (97.1) and its morning host Howard Stern, who plummeted from 4.7% to 3.6% in overall audience share. The station itself fell a half-percentage point to a 1.9% share. Sources close to KLSX suggested that Stern may be overexposed with his daily radio show, a weeknight TV show on E! Entertainment and another TV program Saturday nights on CBS.
With Stern dropping, Rick Dees of Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7) moved up to become the top English-language morning host with a 4.3% share of the audience--his first time in that position since the first quarter of 1995 (although Stern eclipsed him in the 25-54 demographic). Dees helped propel KIIS into a tie with KPWR-FM (105.9) for the lead spot among English-language stations and third overall.
While KABC stayed put at 2.4% for the second quarter in a row--its lowest audience in a decade--it moved up slightly in the 25-54 demographic and in its own preferred 35-54 demographic. "We've got to start somewhere," said Erik Braverman, assistant program director. "For a long time, KABC was not relevant, but Larry Elder is putting us on the map. He's clearly driving our train right now."
Elder, whose 3.3% audience share topped the 3-7 p.m. field among talk stations, was up 38% over the previous quarter and 14% over the same period a year ago. He also showed substantial gains in the 25-54 and 35-54 demographics.
"I think it's a pretty good show," Elder, who has done afternoon drive since 1995, said this week. "These things take time. People are getting it and getting me."
Al Rantel, KABC's noon-3 p.m. host, also had improved ratings but still was well behind KFI's Laura Schlessinger.
A major loser in the talk genre was the weekday 7-10 p.m. time slot: Audience declined on all five stations. KABC host Stephanie Miller suggested that the decline of the Monica Lewinsky story might have brought that about.
Stirring Things Up: While his ratings may be down locally, Howard Stern isn't lacking for attention this week. The Colorado state legislature passed a resolution Tuesday asking the station that carries his show in Denver to drop it because of comments he made on the air in the aftermath of the massacre at suburban Columbine High School.
The legislators demanded an apology from Stern, who had asked on his nationwide radio program the day after 13 people were murdered if the two teenage gunmen had tried to have sex with female students.
At KXPK-FM in Denver, spokesman Joe Gaffoni, noting that the station has "an audience that wants" the type of programming Stern offers, said Wednesday that "as of now there are not plans to take the show off the air." But he conceded that the Stern broadcast has put the station--which has several Columbine graduates among its employees--in an "awful position."
"The station is not in any way tolerating or supporting those comments that were insensitive to the community here," Gaffoni said. "We immediately recognized that there was a problem and followed up with apologies in every way we know how."
Among the measures taken by the station: airing on-air apologies every other hour for three straight days, issuing printed apologies to all the local newspapers, drafting a separate letter to students and the school, and holding a blood drive and fund-raiser (it netted $20,000) to help the victims.
Gaffoni said the station contacted Stern's producer immediately after the offensive broadcast to register its complaints. He said that "Stern himself later apologized on the air for the statements and the way they were interpreted" and on Friday's broadcast offered a sincere eulogy to teacher William "Dave" Sanders, who was among those killed in the rampage.
Times staff writer Shauna Snow and Reuters contributed to this article.
Copyright 1999 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved.
The stripper-obsessed Stern had a big fat 10 AQH [Average Quarter Hour] last year at this time among male listeners 25-54. This year he is down to a 6.8, but still remains number one. Bill Handel had a 2.8 with the dudes, and Mr. KABC & Brian Whitman on KABC had a 1.5 - which was higher than the Minyard & Tilden numbers of the previous book!
Among all people 25-54, Stern also dipped from a 6.8 AQH last year at this time to a 4.5 AQH this winter. In the fall book, he was at a 5.7 AQH, so there seems to be a pattern.