Radio AM to FM: April 25, 2003

Radio AM to FM: April 25, 2003

Sister Stations to Help Hope Center

KNX (1070 AM) and KRTH (101.1 FM) have paired up to raise money for expansion and renovation of the Bob Hope Hollywood USO with a 37-hour radiothon entitled, appropriately enough, the USO Bob Hope Center Radiothon. It began this morning at 6 AM, and will feature celebrities and civic leaders including Michael York, Dick Van Patton, Richard Karn, Johnny Grant, Gary Owens and Tom Labonge.

The center provides phone service, internet connections, food, entertainment and concierge assistance for more than 2000 military personnel and family members who stop by while awaiting flights. Currently the center is housed in temporary space on the flight arrivals level at LAX; the expansion plan has already been approved and work is expected to begin in May ... pending funding, of course.

Racers Edge

This weekend, Arrow 93's (KCBS-FM) Joe Benson will join KZLA's (93.9 FM) Shawn Parr to announce the NASCAR Winston Cup Automobile Club 500 race at the California Speedway in Fontana. More than 100,000 race fans are expected to attend the event, which races through Sunday.

Winter Book

Power 106 may have been down almost half a point, but that didn't stop it from claiming the top spot in the Winter Arbitron Ratings. It's 5.0 share placed it alone at the top once again, followed by KROQ's 4.4, KIIS's 4.0, and a tie between talker KFI and Spanish KSCA at 3.7.

That 4th place tie for KFI means that not only did KFI dominate the talk format as it has for most if its talk existence, it also means KFI had the highest rating of any AM station in Los Angeles. Not until you reach 15th do you find another AM: O.G. talker KABC with a 2.5 share, which just happened to tie with yet another talk station, KLSX.

Of course that 15th place finish for KLSX means that I might have to give the FM talker some respect. Oh, wait, actually it doesn't.

The all-news stations, KFWB and KNX were tied as well, at 21st place with 2.1 shares, proving once again that people really are turning to talk stations during big events instead of the all news stations. Not that the ratings are bad per se, and KFWB in particular is at its highest point in over a year. But the excellent news departments or network newscasts at KFI and KABC -- combined with the fact that listeners can get actively involved in the conversation -- shows just how tough the competition is for stations that run only news. I'm guessing that you might see more detailed analysis and/or features on KFWB and KNX in the near future as a response to the challenge. In fact, both KNX and KFWB have already started moving that direction.

Rhythmic dance station KD-103 debuted with a 0.8 share ... hardly anything to write home about until you realize that the rating is double that of Fall, four times that of last Summer ... and that the station just launched January 17th. On the strange side, XTRA and KXTA, which both previously earned roughly 0.3 shares each quarter before merging as one sports "superstation," disappeared from the list completely, meaning that the combined stations earned less that a 0.1 share. That leaves KSPN as the sole sports station on the ratings list, at 42nd with a 0.4 share.

The Winter Book, as determined by Arbitron (© 2003 Arbitron. May not be quoted or reproduced without prior written permission from Arbitron). Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged 12 and over tuned to a station between 6 am and 12 midnight.

1. KPWR (5.0) 2. KROQ (4.4) 3. KIIS/KAVS (4.0) 4. KFI, KSCA (3.7) 6. KOST (3.6) 7. KBUA/KBUE/KMXN, KLVE (3.4) 9. KKBT, KRTH (3.1)

11. KLAX, KTWV (2.8) 13. KBIG (2.7) 14. KHHT (2.6) 15. KFI, KLSX (2.5) 17. KLOS (2.4) 18. KCBS-FM (2.3) 19. KXOL, KZLA (2.2)

21. KFWB, KNX (2.1) 23. KYSR (2.0) 24. KMZT, KRCD/KRCV (1.8) 26. KSSE (1.6) 27. KJLH (1.4) 28. KHJ (1.1) 29. KBLA (1.0) 30. KLTX (0.9)

31. KDLD/KDLE, KLAC, KLYY, KWIZ (0.8) 35. KFSH, KKLA, KRLA (0.7) 38. KTNQ, KWVE (0.6) 40. KWKW, KZAB/KZBA (0.5)

42. KDIS, KGGI, KSPN (0.4) 45. KSUR/XSUR (0.3) 46. KVVS (0.1).

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