KIIS-FM back on top; KOST and KBIG rank second and third

By By Ryan Faughnder

Mar 18, 2014 | 11:24 AM

KIIS-FM back on top; KOST and KBIG rank second and third — KIIS-FM, Los Angeles home of "On-Air with Ryan Seacrest," regained the top radio ratings spot for the month of February. (Jordan Strauss / Invision/Associated Press)

Pop hits station KIIS-FM (102.7) rose to the top of the ratings in February, followed by KOST-FM (103.5) and KBIG-FM (104.3).

According to numbers released this week by Nielsen Audio, KIIS accounted for 5.5% of radio listening in the Los Angeles market for the period that ended Feb. 26. The channel drew 3.87 million listeners for at least five minutes each week.

KOST, the adult contemporary outlet, and KBIG, which plays pop and rock, were virtually tied for second place for the month, with each getting about 5.2% of the total audience.

But the real victory is for media giant Clear Channel, which owns KIIS, KOST and KBIG.

In January, KIIS ranked in second place as KOST nabbed the top spot for the first time in months.

In other developments, old-school rhythm and blues destination KHHT-FM (92.3) cracked the top 10 in February, landing in eighth place with 3.3% of the market, up from 3% for the previous month.

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KROQ-FM (106.7) again won in the morning drive slot, claiming 5.4% of the radio audience from 6 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, considered prime time in radio.

The newly all-local KFI-AM (640) fell to sixth place in the time period with a 3.9% listenership share, down from January, when it had 4.3% and came in second. Earlier this year, Clear Channel moved talk show host Rush Limbaugh to the all-conservative lineup on the new KEIB-AM (1150), formerly known as KTLK-AM.

KEIB's morning drive tag team of Glenn Beck and Limbaugh gained listeners and ranked 37th in February, up from 41st in January.

KFI remained in 10th place overall.

In terms of total audience share, the top 10 stations were, in order: KIIS, KOST, KBIG, KPWR-FM (105.9), KAMP-FM (97.1), KRTH-FM (101.1), KROQ, KHHT, KLVE-FM (107.5) and KFI, tied with KYSR-FM (98.7).

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ryan.faughnder@latimes.com

Twitter: @rfaughnder