KROQ-FM Gains in Ratings, Ties for No. 2

Spanish-language FM stations KSCA-FM (101.9) and KLVE-FM (107.5) continued to top the local Arbitron radio rankings during the summer quarter, while rocker KROQ-FM (106.7) slid up from fourth place last quarter into a tie for second.

KIIS-FM (102.7)--which matched KROQ with its AM simulcast added in--continues to draw the largest cumulative audience during the course of a week, or “cume,” with more than 1.8 million listeners; however, the station doesn’t keep listeners tuned in as long as those ranked above it, thus commanding a smaller audience share.

Other stations improving their competitive standing included KCMG-FM (92.3), known as Mega 92.3, and the Beat, KKBT-FM (100.3), which switched dial positions in July. The urban formatted KKBT also engineered an overhaul of its on-air talent after the last rating period and was rewarded by a gain in listening time.

KPWR-FM (105.9), known as Power 106, also inched forward to its biggest ratings in more than a year, while KOST-FM (103.5) regained some of the audience the station lost during the spring quarter.

In the talk market, KFI-AM (640) maintained its market share and widened its advantage over KABC-AM (790), which slipped back to its winter levels after achieving a rating increase during the spring. FM talk station KLSX (97.1)--with a solid ratings boost for afternoon-drive host Tom Leykis--also expanded its market share.

In fact, Leykis held a solid advantage over both KABC’s Larry Elder and KFI’s Phil Hendrie, who each lost some ground compared to the previous ratings survey.

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In terms of the lucrative morning-drive audience, KSCA maintained a dominating lead, equaling the share for the next two stations (KLVE and KROQ) combined.

Howard Stern rebounded from subpar ratings during the spring into a fourth-place tie over the summer with Rick Dees on KIIS, whose audience diminished from a 5 to a 4.4 share.

Despite the two political conventions, KABC also experienced a marked decline for John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou (“The John & Ken Show”), with KFI nearly doubling its principal rival’s market share during the 6 to 10 a.m. window.

KNX-AM (1070) remained the higher-rated of the two AM all-news stations with unchanged ratings from the previous Arbitron standings, while audience for KFWB (980) dipped slightly. Both stations are owned by CBS.

Ratings are based on listeners 12 and older in the Southern California area--a pool Arbitron estimates at more than 10.3 million--and determined by overall size of a station’s audience and amount of time people spend listening.

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Radio Ratings

The area’s Top 25 stations and their average share of audience as measured by Arbitron for the summer months compared with the spring quarter of the year:

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CURRENT LAST QUARTER 1. KSCA-FM 5.9 5.9 2. KLVE-FM 4.9 5.0 KROQ-FM 4.9 4.5 4. KIIS-AM/FM 4.8 5.0 5. KPRW-FM 4.4 4.2 6. KOST-FM 3.5 3.1 7. KRTH-FM 3.2 3.2 8. KYSR-FM 3.1 2.9 9. KFI-AM 3.0 3.1 10. KCMG-FM 2.9 2.3 11. KTWV-FM 2.8 2.9 KBIG-FM 2.8 2.7 KKBT-FM 2.8 2.4 14. KBUE-FM 2.7 2.7 15. KCBS-FM 2.6 2.3 16. KLOS-FM 2.5 2.3 17. KLSX-FM 2.4 2.1 18. KZLA-FM 2.2 2.1 19. KLAX-FM 2.1 2.3 KNX-AM 2.1 2.1 21. KABC-AM 2.0 2.5 22. KMZT-FM 1.6 1.3 KFWB-AM 1.6 1.8 24. KLAC-FM 1.5 2.2 25. KTNQ-AM 1.4 1.8 KSSE-FM 1.4 1.7

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The ratings survey covers people 12 and older listening between 6 a.m. and midnight as measured by Arbitron for summer 2000 as compared to the previous three-month period.