Radio AM to FM

Radio AM to FM: July 26, 2002

Spring Arbitrons

After leading the pack for two straight quarters, alternative KROQ dropped to third in the Arbitron Ratings released last week, giving hip-hop KPWR (Power 106) a chance to claim the top spot. Right behind Power was Spanish music station KSCA. For the Spring ratings period, Power had a 4.9 share of the audience, KSCA had 4.7 and KROQ had 4.3, followed by KIIS-FM at 4.0 and KOST at 3.9.

KFI was the big leader in talk once again, with a 3.8 share (6th place) that has held fairly steady -- give or take a few points -- for the past year. The next-highest talk station in the city was KLSX, way down the list at 2.2 (20th), followed by KABC with a 2.0 (22nd).

Talk competitor KRLA, which at this time last year looked like it may be a contender, has fizzled: a 37th place tie and a 0.5 share of the ratings -- a 61 percent drop since Spring 2001. KLAC was up a bit to 1.1 from 0.8 last quarter ... a good increase but still far below the 2+ shares the station had when it played music. KPLS, on the other hand, had an infinite percentage increase (that's a joke for you engineers) to 0.3 from 0.0, the first time the station has shown in the ratings ever.

All sports KSPN had one of those infinite percentage increases too, moving from 0.0 to 0.3 as well. The last time that station actually earned good ratings was when it was the original KRLA and played music; this is the first time it has shown in the ratings since taking on sports two years ago.

KBIG earned its highest rating in at least a year, at 2.8 and 11th place the only Clear Channel music station to show an increase. The former up and coming CC shining star, KHHT (Hot 92.3) fell back in line with the ratings of its former format: 2.5, down from 3.3.

Here is the complete listing of station ratings, based on the percentage of listeners aged 12 and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 am and 12 midnight as determined by Arbitron:

1. KPWR (4.9) 2. KSCA (4.7) 3. KROQ (4.3) 4. KIIS/KAVS (4.0) 5. KOST (3.9) 6. KFI (3.8) 7. KLVE (3.6) 8. KKBT (3.5) 9. KTWV (3.4) 10. KRTH (3.1)

11. KBIG (2.8) 12. KBUA/KBUE, KLAX (2.7) 14. KHHT, KXOL (2.5) 16. KCBS-FM (2.4) 17. KNX, KYSR, KZLA (2.3) 20. KLSX (2.2)

21. KLOS (2.1) 22. KABC (2.0) 23. KFWB (1.8) 24. KRCD/KRCV (1.7) 25. KMZT (1.6) 26. KJLH, KSSC/KSSE (1.4) 28. KLAC, KWIZ (1.1) 30. KBLA, KLTX, KLYY (0.9)

33. KHJ (0.8) 34. KXTA (0.7) 35. KFSH, KTNQ (0.6) 37. KKLA, KRLA, KWKW, KWVE (0.5) 41. KDIS, KGGI, KMXN, XTRA (0.4) 45. KPLS, KSPN (0.3)

This Just In

Randy Michaels is o-u-t as CEO of Clear Channel Radio, taking on the role as head of Clear Channel New Technologies. While the news may sound good -- Michaels is the one who helped make Clear Channel what it is today (a huge company that has helped to destroy what we love in radio) -- keep this in mind: Michaels was also "the" radio guy at Clear Channel. One can only fear his bean-counter replacement. This may be a case of being careful what you wish for ... details next week.

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