ALBUM ROCK FORMAT DIPS IN RATINGS

The title of Most Listened-to Radio Station in Los Angeles went to KIIS-FM (102.7) with the release of the latest Arbitron audience survey, but the ratings race remained a horse race between KIIS and its arch rival, KPWR-FM (105.9). KIIS led “K-POWER” by one-tenth of a rating point.

Arbitron’s spring quarter survey shows few surprises in Southern California listening habits. The same three stations that have occupied the top three spots for more than a year remain on top: Top 40 KIIS followed by KPWR with its hybrid Top 40/Urban format, followed by all-talk KABC-AM (790).

But the most intriguing tale told by the Arbitron numbers wasn’t even among the Top 10 stations: the lingering slide downward of the once-formidable album rock format.

As little as two years ago, KLOS-FM (105.5) and the now-defunct KMET-FM (104.7) were consistently among the 10 most popular stations in Southern California. Today, KMET is no more and once-formidable KLOS is tied for 14th place with soft hit “K-LITE” (KIQQ-FM (100.3)).

“Somebody found a way to attack KLOS and KMET on their upper-end 25- and -older audience,” said Steve Feinstein, the album rock editor for the broadcast trade newspaper Radio and Records. “There’s a new wrinkle in the market because some stations found a way to super-serve those baby boomers. They came in and took a chunk out of the market.”

KMET, which switched call letters and formats six months ago, is a perfect example, according to Feinstein. As KTWV-FM or “The Wave” as it calls itself, the station now specializes in playing New-Age jazz and pop mood music under the umbrella name of “New Wave” sound. Though widely ridiculed when it first went on the air, “The Wave” format has steadily increased its audience and is now being imitated in other cities.

With the creation of “The Wave,” many of KMET’s programs and personalities migrated to KLSX-FM, which went on the air last fall. KLSX’s “classic rock” was another relatively new format aimed at the older-album rock audiences with a special interest in rock music of the late ‘60s and ‘70s. Though its current Arbitron ratings were down slightly from last quarter, KLSX remains in the top 10.

“Remember a few years ago when they (KLOS and KMET) played everything from Joni Mitchell to Black Sabbath?” said Feinstein. “They were the department store of rock. But then (other radio stations) thought ‘What if I focus on Joni Mitchell? What if I focus on Black Sabbath?’ That’s what they did. Now there’s boutique formats and there’s no longer a general store.”

Nevertheless, Feinstein adds, the specialization of stations like KTWV and KLSX has actually worked to the benefit of KLOS. Though the station has dipped in the ratings during the past year, it has rebounded in part because it remains the one true album-oriented rock station in Los Angeles. Though he puts four other stations in the same album rock category (KLSX, KROQ-FM, KNAC-FM and KNX-FM), each is something of a specialized format. Only KLOS remains generalized, “playing the best of the new and the best of the old,” Feinstein said.

Other stations that showed significant movement include Spanish language KTNQ-AM (1020), which moved from 16th to 10th place and all-news KFWB-AM (980), which dropped from 6th place to an 11th place tie with rival all-news KNX-AM (1070) and Spanish language KLVE-FM (107.5).

The following is the spring quarter ranking of Los Angeles stations as measured by Arbitron, followed by their market share. Market share is defined by Arbitron as the average percentage of radio listeners tuned to a station at a particular time. Stations’ ranking and market share for the winter quarter are shown in parentheses.

In the winter quarter, one share point was equal to approximately 16,000 listeners. The share-to-listener ratio for the spring quarter has not yet been determined, according to Arbitron spokeswoman Nan Myers.

1. KIIS-FM (102.7) 7.1 (No. 1: 6.1)

2. KPWR-FM (105.9) 7.0 (No. 3: 5.7)

3. KABC-AM (790) 5.2 (tied for No. 1: 6.1)

4. KJOI-FM (98.7) 4.9 (No. 5: 4.7)

5. KOST-FM (103.5) 4.3 (No. 4: 4.8)

6. KROQ-FM (106.7) 4.1 (No. 7: 4.0)

7. KRTH-FM (101.1) 3.8 (tied for No. 9: 3.6)

8. KBIG-FM (104.1) 3.7 (No. 8: 3.8)

9. KLSX-FM (97.1) 3.3 (tied for No. 9: 3.6)

10. KTNQ-AM (1020) 3.1 (No. 16: 2.3)

11/12/13. KFWB-AM (980) 3.0 (No. 6: 4.2)

11/12/13. KNX-AM (1070) 3.0 (No. 11: 3.3)

11/12/13. KLVE-FM (107.5) 3.0 (No. 12: 3.2)

14/15. KIQQ-FM (100.3) 2.9 (No. 13: 2.9)

14/15. KLOS-FM (105.5) 2.9 (No. 14: 2.8)