KOST Retakes No. 1 Spot in Radio Ratings

It wasn’t a fluke after all. A “soft hits” radio format triumphed over dance music once again.

Adult-contemporary station KOST-FM (103.5) reclaimed the No. 1 spot as Los Angeles’ favorite radio station from KPWR “Power 106,” the Arbitron ratings revealed Tuesday.

KPWR-FM (105.5) dropped to No. 3, while Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7) rose from No. 3 to No. 2 in the ratings survey, which covered the 12-week period from Jan. 4 to March 28. The survey bases its data on information recorded by listeners in a personal diary over a seven-day period.

KOST had grabbed the top spot two quarters ago from KPWR, which had been on top almost exclusively for two years. At that time, KOST executives had been surprised but ecstatic. When KPWR rose back to No. 1 last quarter and KOST dropped to second, they said that their brief stay in first had been an anomaly.

But KOST General Manager Howard Neal was singing a different tune Tuesday after he learned his station was again king of the hill. “I think we’re on top because of the consistency in programming, our air talent, and so many other factors,” Neal said.

“Most stations play a lot of the same music, and the younger audience moves around a lot,” he added. “You get a less fickle attitude with adult audiences. They have a greater loyalty to a radio station.”

KPWR promotions director Duncan Payton said that the station was not overly concerned with its drop. “We’re still the key contemporary station with the demographics of between 18 and 34 year olds, which is what we’re striving to be,” Payton said. “Plus we continue to do well with other demographics. This is just a slight waver.”

In the competitive morning drive-time ratings, KIIS morning personality Rick Dees came out on top, followed by Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps on KLOS-FM (95.5) and Ken Minyard and Bob Arthur on KABC-AM (790). Minyard and Arthur had been No. 1 last quarter.

The ratings also brought relief for executives at KKGO-FM (105.1). The station staged a controversial switch in format last January from jazz to classical music. The station’s ratings rose slightly last quarter with the new format, and the ranking--24th place--and share of the audience--1.4%--remained the same.

“We’re very thrilled about what is happening,” KKGO General Manager Saul Levine said Tuesday. “Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we made the right decision. We’re getting thousands of letters praising us for what we’ve done. And our audience has grown from 300,000 people a week to 430,000.”

KKBT-FM (92.3), which was converted from a classical format to a rock format last year, surged dramatically in the ratings, from No. 36 last quarter to No. 25 this quarter.

Here are the area’s top 15 stations, followed by their ratings for the most recent spring quarter and for the preceding winter quarter, as measured by Arbitron.

Spring Winter 1.KOST-FM 6.4 5.7 2.KIIS-FM 6.1 5.4 3.KPWR-FM 5.6 6.2 4.KABC-AM 4.4 4.6 5.KLOS-FM 3.8 4.2 6.KQLZ-FM 3.6 3.8 6.KBIG-FM 3.6 4.0 8.KFWB-AM 3.3 2.6 9.KWKW-AM 3.3 3.5 10.KROQ-FM 3.2 2.5 11.KTNQ-AM 3.1 2.7 11.KMPC-AM 3.1 2.1 13.KNX-AM 3.0 3.4 13.KTVW-AM 3.0 3.1 13.KLVE-FM 3.0 3.2