Airwaves: October 16, 2009
Strong Opinions on KABC
Love and hate ... seems that there is nothing in between when it comes to the recent changes made at KABC (790 AM). A little more hate than love, perhaps, at least in the emails I received. But very few people donÕt have strong opinions.
Most centered around the dismissal of morning man Doug McIntyre, replaced in the 5 - 9 AM shift by Peter Tilden.
On the positive side came this email from Karen, who said ÒI am very excited that Peter Tilden is back on the air in a talk-show format. What I like most is how he approaches news stories. For example, when the Alec Baldwin voice mail hit the airwaves, Tilden handled the story from an angle I did not hear from anyone else. He can take a story and apply it to real life. He removes the drama and gets to the heart of the story. I now have a morning show to listen to that I enjoy!Ó
With the opposing view is La Rue Brewer of West Covina, who gave this perspective: ÒListening to Tilden is like eating a cupcake; it tastes good, but it doesnÕt stay with you very long. Listening to Doug McIntyre is like eating a cut of medium-rare prime rib; it really gets the juices flowing.!Ó
An unsigned email said simply: ÒKABC-ya!Ó
Interestingly, not much has come in regarding the addition of Heidi Frosty and Frank to the late morning (9 AM to 12 Noon) shift, which goes a long way toward explaining why KABC is making these changes, and will continue to do so. McIntyre just happened to be part of the ÒoldÓ KABC that management wants to transition into something else.
As to McIntyre ... he filled in a few weekends ago on KFI (640 AM). Makes you wonder ...
September Ratings
While KABC stumbles, KFI continues to grow, and September was a great month for the station.
Not that it increased hugely: its increase from AugustÕs 4.9 to SeptemberÕs 5.0 is nothing in and of itself to write home about even if it is the best rating KFI has seen in decades. What makes the month special is that KFI became the first AM station to lead all other local stations in, well, decades.
Besides KFI, other big winners included K-EARTH (101.1 FM), which came in 3rd at 4.7 ... another decades-best result, AMP Radio (KAMP, 97.1 FM) which is managing to jump up the ratings without affecting LA music leader KIIS-FM (102.7) at all, KLOS (95.5 FM) which finally made it out of the 2-shares it has been stuck in, and Power 106 (KPWR, 105.9 FM) which is making a strong comeback after hitting ratings lows last May and June.
The most interesting part of the KIIS-AMP-Power saga is that all are increasing, adding more proof to the often-seen paradox that more stations in a format bring in more listeners total, rather than splitting the audience.
The Top-20: Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged 6 and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 AM and 12 midnight for the month of September:
1. KFI (5.0) 2. KIIS-FM (4.8) 3. KRTH (4.7) 4. KOST (4.1) 5. Power 106 (3.9) 6. AMP Radio (3.8) 7 (tie). KBIG, Jack-FM (3.6) 9. (tie) KLOS, KLVE (3.3)
11. KROQ (3.2) 12.(tie) KHHT, KKGO (3.1) 14. (tie) KLAX, KTWV (2.9) 16 (tie) KBUE, KNX, KSCA (2.6) 19. KRCD (2.3) 20. KYSR (2.1)
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Copyright © 2009 Richard Wagoner and Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
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