Power 106 claimed the top spot in the Los Angeles once again,
according to the Arbitron quarterly ratings that were released last week. With
no direct competitors even close, the urban hits station managed a 5.1 share,
while competitor KKBT "The Beat" was 7th at 3.4
But the big story is KFI, which came in 2nd with a 4.7 share,
up a half point since last quarter. The station continued its upward trend on
the strength of a lineup of hosts that has no equal in the talk radio world:
from Bill Handel in the morning through John and Ken
in the afternoon ... and even a little bit of Phil Hendrie
in the evening, the station is a powerhouse.
While at one time the argument could be made that syndicated show hosts Rush
Limbaugh and Dr. laura Schlessinger were the driving
force behind KFI's success -- and that was certainly true in the past -- that
is no longer the case: KFI has a buzz. This is the highest place an AM station
has earned in the local ratings in over a decade, and they did so well they
have the distinction of being the most listened-to talk station in the United
States.
Competitor KABC didn't do so bad either, matching their 2.9
of Spring at 12th place. KLSX came in 16th at 2.3, KRLA
tied at 29th with a 0.9, and KPLS didn't show in the book.
A few stations made some changes that may prove interesting within the next
few quarters. KTNQ turned on their digital transmission system
in early December ... will it effect their rating of 0.5 (tied for 39th)? KDL
dropped club dance in exchange for alternative ... after this quarter's 0.8,
can they break 1.0 under the new format? And K-SURF added a
few hours of radio drama every evening ... after an interference-induced 0.3
share, can they get closer to to or break 1.0?
KNX hopes they have hit bottom with their lowest rating in
years: 2.0 and a tie for 20th. Can former KFI programmer David Hall
stop the slide? And how will digital broadcasting, with its inherent analog
sound-quality reduction, effect ratings when the station turns it on in the
near future? Only time will tell. Sister KFWB was a few spots
below at 1.6.
The full story: Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners, aged
12 and over, tuned to a station between the hours of 6 AM and 12 midnight.
