‘POWER 106’ POWERS TO TOP OF THE RATINGS HEAP

KPWR-FM(105.9) had more cause than usual to celebrate at its annual gala on the rooftop of the Hollywood Holiday Inn, where station deejays and celebrity guests entertained more than 4,000 people--mostly teens decked in the latest leather and sequined fashions.

The pervasive smell of ribs, pizza and burgers seemed to go unnoticed Sunday night by the screaming and dancing audience, which witnessed a fireworks display and enthusiastically greeted performers DeBarge and Smokey Robinson, among others.

Meanwhile, at a VIP party and buffet held on the 23rd floor of the hotel, lead disc jockey Jay Thomas and station manager Phil Newmark gloated over the success of this promotion--which raised $10,000 for AIDS Project Los Angeles--and their ascendancy again to the pinnacle of the ratings competition in Los Angeles.

“Power 106,” as the station calls itself, has taken over the lead as Los Angeles’ most listened-to radio station while their main competitor, Top-40 station KIIS-FM (102.7), which had been first for 15 straight ratings periods from summer 1983 to winter 1986, has fallen to second, according to the latest Arbitron Ratings.

The most recent ratings survey, covering the period from June 25 to Sept. 16, showed that KPWR averaged a 6.6 share of the radio audience between 6 a.m. and midnight, while KIIS’ music format got a 6.3, followed by all-talk KABC-AM (790) at 5.8.

(Each share point represents 1% of the radio listening audience tuned to a station at a particular time and equals approximately 16,000 listeners, according to Arbitron spokeswoman Nan Myers.)

“Obviously, being on the air for a little less than two years, for a radio station to be able to knock off the No. 1 station is a pretty remarkable effort. There are very few cases you’ll find (like this) in the top 10 to 20 markets,” Newmark said. “It does make a psychological difference (being No. 1). It gives our audience pride that they are listening to the No. 1 station.”

KIIS and KPWR have been neck and neck since KPWR came onto the pop scene 18 months ago. It displaced KIIS as the most-listened to station last fall, but fell to third (behind KIIS and KABC) in the winter, then climbed to second behind KIIS this past spring.

Now “Power 106” is back on top.

Newmark said that KPWR’s “hybrid brand” of contemporary hits was either played with little frequency or not at all before KPWR came on the scene. That music mix has given his station the leading edge, he said.

“No other station is playing ‘crossover dance-oriented music,’ ” Newmark said. “We’re trying to create a radio station that people turn to when they’re in an up mood or want to have an upbeat sound in their environment.”

In addition, featuring new artists such as Stacey Q, playing music not necessarily tops on the pop charts and having disc jockey Jay Thomas in the morning drive slot (5 to 9 a.m.) has helped push “Power 106” to the forefront of the ratings, Newmark said.

“(Thomas) is not as large as Rick Dees (of KIIS), but with his style of humor and presentation, I think (Thomas) will eventually become No. 1,” he said.

“We’re not worried,” said KIIS station manager Lynn Anderson-Powell. “It’s the summer book and traditionally there are more teens listening. The difference in our being No. 1 and No. 2 was really in the teen content.” She said KIIS is aiming for a more “mature” audience.

“We are still No. 1 in the 25-to-54, real strong adult demographics, which is more important from an advertising-dollar point of view,” Anderson-Powell said.

She was less confident about the validity of the most recent Arbitron ratings survey, which initially did not include 81 diaries, as stated in a letter to clients issued by Arbitron. “That does cause radio stations concern--when your only ratings service forgets to process returns, and of course that impacts ratings,” Anderson-Powell said.

Arbitron’s Myers said the misplaced diaries didn’t change the quarterly survey. Only Arbitron’s July trend report that gives updated, monthly averages to keep stations aware of any trends or shifts in listeners was affected, she said.

For the most recent rating period, the top 10 Los Angeles stations, followed by their average share of audience, were:

1. KPWR-FM (105.9): 6.6

2. KIIS-FM (102.7): 6.3

3. KABC-AM (790): 5.8

4. KOST-FM (103.5): 4.9

5. KJOI-FM (98.7): 4.5

6. KBIG-FM (104.3): 4.3

KROQ-FM (106.7): 4.3

8. KRTH-FM (101.1): 3.3

9. KLOS-FM (105.5): 3.0

KLSX-FM (97.1): 3.0