Country Music Tops S.D. Radio Ratings

Country is king in this city, at least according to the latest radio ratings report.

The Arbitron ratings for the spring quarter reveal that KSON’s modern country format--simulcast on AM (1240) and FM (97.3)--has supplanted KKLQ (Q106) as the most-listened-to station in San Diego, marking the first time a country music station has achieved the No. 1 ranking here.

KKLQ, which broadcasts a youth-oriented contemporary hits format, had held the No. 1 ranking among listeners 12 and over for more than three years. But the Arbitron report released Thursday for the spring quarter shows Q106 having slipped to a 6.0 rating, down from a 7.4 last quarter, when it tied with the rock ‘n’ roll KGB-FM (101.5) for third place. This drop follows last year’s high point when KKLQ hit a double-digit rating, the first station to do so in more than 10 years.

KFMB-AM (760), bolstered by broadcasts of the San Diego Padres games, was second, with a 6.5 rating share.

The 12-and-over numbers are generally discounted within the radio industry, since most stations target specific demographic groups. But they do provide a gauge of a station’s overall listening audience.

Among listeners 12 and over, KSON jumped from a 6.2 in the winter report to an 8.7 in the spring. It was particularly strong in the 25-54 age group, where it posted a 9.8 rating share. KSON was probably aided by a promotional campaign of television commercials during the past few months. But the station ratings climb has been going on for the past year.

“If you forget the last book and go back to the fall book, there wasn’t much difference in our ratings,” said KSON General Manager Mike Stafford.

KSON has been broadcasting country music for 27 years. It is certainly benefiting from a new breed of contemporary country music stars, such as Garth Brooks and the Judds, who recently attracted more than 20,000 people to a concert at the Miramar Naval Air Station.

“Before, country had the stigma of being a blue collar-format, but the truth of the matter is that country is a microcosm of San Diego,” Staford said. “Country music is more lifestyle oriented. It is something that has durability to it.”

KKLQ General Manager Bob Bolinger said his station is not ready to make major changes.

“Let’s see two books in a row, then maybe we scratch our heads and wonder what is going on here,” Bolinger said.

Looking to bolster its morning show, Q106 announced last week that it has hired Rick Rumble, a veteran of Philadelphia, Memphis and St. Louis, to join John Murphy. Among listeners 25-54, the Q106 morning show had slipped to ninth place in the market. In the same age group, KSON’s Lisa Dent and John Stone and “Jeff and Jer”--Jeff Elliott and Jerry St. James--of KFMB-FM (B100) were well ahead of the other stations.

“It’s not a reflection on John (Murphy), but we needed more firepower” in the mornings, Bolinger said.

As usual, the ratings brought good and bad news to several stations. One big winner was KSDO-FM (102.9), which jumped from a 3.3 in the winter report to a 4.2 in the spring with its classic rock format. Among listeners 25-54, KSDO-FM went from a 3.9 to a 5.8.

However, across the hall at KSDO-AM (1130), the news wasn’t as good. The AM’s news talk format slipped to a 5.2 rating, down from a 5.9 in the winter and a 6.6 in the fall, among listeners 12 and over. Last week, KSDO announced it was dropping the 8-month-old afternoon drive time show featuring Danuta and returning to news and an evening talk show featuring Ken Kramer.

“We want to play to our strength, which is news,” said KSDO News Director Kelly Wheeler.

It was also a good report for XTRA-FM (91X), which jumped from a 4.4 to a 5.4 in the 12-and-over category, and KJQY-FM (Sunny 103), which rebounded from 4.9 in the winter to post a 5.6 in the spring book.