April 29

Radio AM to FM: April 29, 2005

Winter Arbitrons

Though down just a hair, Power 106 managed to once again take the top spot in the just released Arbitron ratings. Power's 4.7 beat out a second place tie between KFI and KIIS-FM, which were at 4.6. KROQ and KLVE rounded out the top five with ratings of 4.2 and 3.8, respectively.

That KFI second place, by the way, puts the perennial talk leader the closest it has ever been as a talk station to taking the top spot, something no AM station has done in Los Angeles for years ... or at least since 1987, when I began writing this column.

To give you an idea of how dominant KFI is in its format, the next closest talk station is KLSX, which came in at 15th with a 2.5 share. KABC was right behind in 16th place with a 2.3, while KRLA was way down the list at 0.8. Progressive talker KTLK, which only spent 2 months in the format, was flat compared with the sports format it replaced at 0.3.

KIIS-FM's rise to a second place tie is quite a feat for a station that I had written off. I still believe the station is a hollow shell of itself compared with the solidly-programmed KIIS-FM of the 1980s. But to leave unmentioned the great comeback KIIS has made -- highest rating in over a year and within striking distance of number one -- would be a mistake and an insult to the current hardworking staff.

News made a slight comeback this quarter, with both KNX and KFWB earning their highest ratings in over a year: 2.2 and 1.6. KNX's 2.2, in fact, is up more than half a point compared with last quarter.

And finally ... Indie 103.1 may not be dominant, but it's doing well considering a weak signal. For the quarter it matched its highest rating of the year: 0.8, the same as it earned back in Spring, 2004 and 0.1 higher than Fall.

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. ©2005 Arbitron; May not be quoted or reproduced without prior written permission from Arbitron. Listed by: Station-Fall rating-Winter rating.

Power 106-4.9-4.7; KFI-4.4-4.6; KIIS-FM-4.2-4.6; KROQ-4.1-4.2; KLVE-4.3-3.8; KSCA-3.1-3.6; The Wave-3.9-3.6; KOST-3.9-3.4; KBUA/KBUE-3.4-3.2; KLAX-3.5-3.0

KRTH-2.8-3.0; The Beat-3.0-2.9; Hot 92.3-2.4-2.6;KRCD/KRCV-2.8-2.6; KLSX-3.0-2.5; KABC-2.9-2.3; KNX-1.6-2.2; KSSE-2.4-2.1; KBIG-1.9-2.0; Star 98.7-1.8-2.0

KZLA-1.8-2.0; KLOS-2.1-1.9; KXOL-1.5-1.9; KLYY-1.4-1.8; Arrow 93 (last book before switch to Jack-FM)-1.8-1.7; KFWB-1.5-1.6; KJLH-1.6-1.6; KMZT-1.6-1.4; KDAY-1.0-1.1; KHJ-0.7-1.0

KLAC-0.9-0.9; KDLD/KDLE-0.7-0.8; KRLA-0.8-0.8; The Fish-0.9-0.7; KTNQ-0.5-0.7; KKLA-0.6-0.6; KLTX-0.7-0.6; KMXE-0.0-0.6; KWVE-0.7-0.6; KGGI-0.4-0.5

KSPN-0.6-0.5; KWIZ-0.4-0.5; Fabulous 690-0.3-0.5; KTLK-0.3-0.3; KWKW-0.3-0.3

This Just In

A radio group from Madrid, Spain known as Prisa has apparently bought the programming and commercial rights for XETRA from Clear Channel for $28 million. Currently, XETRA broadcasts standards as The Fabulous 690 since CC moved the format off of KLAC in February. You can expect the standards format to be dropped in favor of Spanish-language programming as soon as control of the station is out of Clear Channel's hands.

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