KOST-FM Scores 3rd Ratings Win in a Row : Radio: Consistent diet of ‘soft hits’ leads station past dance-oriented rivals in latest Arbitron survey.

KOST-FM is coasting at the top of the L.A. radio wave.

The “soft hits” format of KOST-FM(103.5) scored its third consecutive victory over the Top 40 tunes of KIIS-FM/AM and the dance music of KPWR-FM to keep its ranking as the area’s favorite radio station, the latest Arbitron ratings revealed Wednesday.

Most of the other top-rated stations in the survey, which covered the 12-week period from June 21 to Sept. 12, experienced only slight rises or drops in listenership.

KIIS, simulcast on FM (102.7) and AM (1150), stayed at No. 2. KPWR (105.9), which had dominated the ratings almost exclusively for two years prior to last winter’s rankings, dropped from No. 3 to No. 4.

Moving up from fourth to third was KABC-AM (790), which was dealt a blow a few weeks ago when Bob Arthur, half of the popular “Ken and Bob” morning team, announced his retirement.

Other stations showed more dramatic changes. Spanish-language KWKW-AM (1330) continued to surge up the charts, from No. 9 to No. 6. Easy-listening station KBIG-FM (103.3) jumped from No. 14 to a tie for seventh.

KKBT-FM (92.3), which was converted from a classical format to rock last year and then changed to an urban contemporary format, came in at No. 11. It had been No. 25 during the winter quarter.

KOST General Manager Howard Neal said that his station’s dominance is not a fluke. “We’re perceived as the most consistent music station in Los Angeles,” he said. Neal credited program director Jhani Kaye and the station’s on-air talent for the triumph.

Joe Cabrera, vice president and general manager for KWKW, said that the station’s newly increased signal and its Spanish broadcast of Dodgers games were significant factors in its continued rise.

“We also have the same personalities that people have really grown to like, and our programmers know what our listeners like to hear,” he said.

For the third time, KLOS-FM’s (95.5) Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps won in the highly competitive morning drive-time slot. KABC’s Ken Minyard and Bob Arthur came in second, while KIIS’ Rick Dees, who was second last quarter, came in third. Dees had been No. 1 two quarters ago.

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

Summer Spring 1. KOST-FM 6.6 6.2 2. KIIS-FM/AM 5.1 5.9 3. KABC-AM 4.9 4.3 4. KPWR-FM 4.3 5.0 5. KLOS-FM 4.1 4.1 6. KWKW-AM 3.6 3.2 7. KQLZ-FM 3.5 3.3 7. KBIG-FM 3.5 3.0 8. KROQ-FM 3.4 3.1 9. KFWB-AM 3.1 3.3 9. KXEZ-FM 3.1 3.4 11. KKBT-FM 3.0 3.1 11. KTWV-FM 3.0 3.1 13. KLVE-FM 2.8 3.1 14. KNX-AM 2.6 2.8