KLVE-FM Maintains Lead in Southland Ratings Race

Spanish-language music station KLVE-FM (107.5) hit the top of the Arbitron ratings charts again Tuesday, marking a full year that it has led among Los Angeles and Orange County radio listeners over the age of 12.

The station averaged a 7.1% share of audience for the most recent quarter, down a tick from its spring share of 7.2%. The difference is probably attributable to the lower-listening summer months, tracked by Arbitron this year from June 17 to Sept. 18.

Meanwhile, urban station KKBT-FM (92.3) tied hip-hop station KPWR-FM (105.9) for second place with a 5% share, with KPWR slipping .4 of a point from the previous quarter.

Nevertheless, KPWR maintained its lead in the cumulative, or “cume,” audience rankings, which measure the number of people who tune to the station for at least five minutes a week. It had about 1.5 million listeners, compared to 1.2 million for KLVE.

KFI-AM (640) again led among news-talk stations and took fourth place overall with 4% of the audience.

While KFI stayed in place from the previous quarter, talk rival KABC-AM (790) moved up a notch to ninth place with a 3.3% share. KABC came under new management in May after the Walt Disney Co. bought out Capital Cities and brought in new station leadership. But the strong performance of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the season might also have accounted for KABC’s uptick.

In the hard-fought weekday morning drive contest, KLVE hosts Pepe Baretto and Lupita Pena expanded their lead over KKBT’s “House Party” with a 7.7% share of the audience versus 5.1% for KKBT. In the spring, KLVE had led 7.6% to 5.3%.

Howard Stern again came in third on KLSX-FM (97.1), this time with 4.7% of the morning audience.

KABC improved substantially in the 6-10 a.m. slot, three hours of which were occupied by the team of Ken Minyard and Roger Barkley and, in the final hour, by Michael Jackson. The station, which had been tied for seventh place with a 3.5 share in the spring, came in during the summer with a 4.1% share and a fifth-place ranking.

Barkley was fired just as the ratings survey was ending.

During the 3-7 p.m. afternoon drive, KLVE continued on top with a 5.8% share (down from 6.1%), followed by KKBT with 5.5% and KPWR with 5.1%.

Meanwhile, KFI’s John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, who were in a 13th-place tie during the spring with KABC’s Larry Elder at 2.7%, once more regained their lead over KABC, tying for an eighth-place tie with adult contemporary music station KYSR-FM (98.7). Elder (and, at times, the Dodgers) retained the 2.7% share.

In the important listener demographic of 25- to-54-year-olds, which many advertisers target, KLVE continued its lead with 8.6% of the audience, followed by KRTH-FM (101.1) with 4.4%.

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Radio Ratings

The area’s Top 25 stations and their Arbitron ratings for the summer months, compared with the spring quarter earlier this year:

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CURRENT LAST QUARTER 1. KLVE-FM 7.1 7.2 2. KKBT-FM 5.0 5.0 KPWR-FM 5.0 5.4 4. KFI-AM 4.0 4.0 5. KRTH-FM 3.8 3.8 6. KTWV-FM 3.5 3.5 7. KIIS-AM/FM 3.4 3.6 KLAX-FM 3.4 3.3 9. KABC-AM 3.3 3.1 10. KOST-FM 3.2 3.2 11. KROQ-FM 3.1 3.3 12. KBIG-FM 2.9 3.0 13. KTNQ-AM 2.8 1.8 14. KYSR-FM 2.6 2.9 15. KLOS-FM 2.5 2.7 16. KLAC-AM 2.4 2.7 17. KCBS-FM 2.3 2.4 18. KBUE-FM 2.2 1.6 19. KNX-AM 2.1 2.1 KZLA-FM 2.1 2.0 21. KFWB-AM 1.9 2.2 22. KLSX-FM 1.7 2.1 23. KKHJ-AM 1.6 1.4 KWKW-AM 1.6 1.2 KIBB-FM 1.6 1.6

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The ratings survey covers people 12 and older listening between 6 a.m. and midnight, from June 17 through Sept. 18.