What’s happening with KIIS-FM (102.7)? Since December, the hit music station has been on an upward trajectory in the Nielsen ratings; the March results released in late April have the station at second place overall with a 5.0 share of the audience. That’s a full 2 points higher than it earned in December. If memory serves right, this is the highest finish KIIS has had in years.
Is pop music on the radio making a comeback?
Perhaps. But it was oldies that won the day, with KRTH (101.1 FM) taking the top spot overall, beating KIIS by almost a full point at 5.8. That’s an increase of just over a point since December, when it had a 4.7 share, and is the highest rating the station has had this year. Oddly, KRTH’s online stream, which led all streams before, was not present in the ratings list this month
The big — and truly surprising — drop came from KOST (103.5 FM), which found itself out of the first-place position it has held for much of the past year … tied with KFI (640 AM) and KLVE (107.5 FM) at 5th at a 4.1 share. What makes this surprising is that KOST truly has led for most of the past year.
Another surprising drop came from Go Country 105 (KKGO, 105.1 FM), coming in with a 1.8 share of the audience compared with 2.1 in February and 2.5 back in December. I doubt this is a long-term trend, though; perhaps the excitement of the Stagecoach festival held last weekend will help out. Or perhaps it’s one of those anomalies that happen when the ratings meters are distributed to new listeners.
KFI led the talk wars as per usual, its 5th place tie dominating the rest, including KRLA (870 AM)’s 0.7 and KEIB’s (1150 AM) 0.6. Where’s KABC? Nowhere to be found, but it doesn’t mean they have no listeners. I confirmed that the area’s talk format originator no longer subscribes to Nielsen and thus does not show in the ratings list. I also noticed that KSPN (710 AM) isn’t on the Nielsen list either, for the same reason. My hunch is that many stations will begin to consider such a move due primarily to monetary savings; I’ll have a story on that in an upcoming column.
More interesting items from the ratings list: Alt (98.7 FM) beat KROQ (106.7 FM), but the two remain fairly close: 2.4 vs. 2.1. KKJZ (88.1 FM) was the top-rated public station with a 2.3 share. Regional Mexican music station KFWB (980 AM) has been moving up, almost doubling its 0.9 December rating with a March finish of 1.6. And the stream for Mega 96.3 (KXOL -FM) came from nowhere to earn a 0.9 share in March. Added to the station’s regular signal 2.6 share, the station would total 3.5 … and would have placed 8th overall in the city!
Overall, two companies have almost half of all listeners tuned into their stations. iHeart has a combined 25.1 rating for its roster that includes KIIS-FM, KOST, Alt, and KFI, among others, while Audacy has a 19.0 total for its stations including KRTH, The Wave (KTWV 94.7 FM), KROQ, and KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM).
The full story: Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged six and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight.
1. KRTH (5.8) 2. KIIS-FM (5.0) 3. KBIG (4.5) 4. KTWV (4.4) 5. KFI, KLVE, KOST (4.1) 8. KBUE (4.0) 9. KRRL (3.4) 10. KNX (3.3) 11. KCBS-FM “Jack” (3.2) 12. KRCD (3.0) 13. KLOS, KXOL (2.6) 15. KLAX, KYSR “Alt” (2.4) 17. KKJZ (2.3) 18. KLYY, KPCC (2.2) 20. KROQ (2.1) 21. KUSC (2.0) 22. KDAY, KKGO, KLLI, KPWR “Power” (1.8) 26. KSCA (1.7) 27. KFWB, KJLH (1.6) 29. KCRW (1.3) 30. KLAC (1.0) 31. KXOL Stream (0.9) 32. KDLD, KFSH (0.8) 34. KCSN, KRLA (0.7) 36. KEIB (0.6) 37. KKLA (0.3) 38. KWKW (0.2) 39. KHJ, KNX Stream, KROQ HD2, KROQ Stream, KTNQ (0.1)
Listener Gripes
You already know my opinion of what makes for good radio. Inside Music Media’s Jerry Del Colliano recently put together a list of easily fixed programming elements that turn listeners off. Before I report on his research, I’d like to hear from you. But I want to expand the list to not just what turns you off, but what turns you on. What is it you cannot stand about the radio you hear, and what is it you truly enjoy?
Send your thoughts to me and I’ll start compiling our own list to be presented later. it will be interesting to see how your “bad” list compares with Del Colliano’s, and it will be fun to recognize the great things about local radio.
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com.
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