KNX, KABC Make Gains in Fourth Quarter
Politics was good business for radio, as expected, as November brought a bump to ratings for local news stations, with more listeners tuning in as the outcome of the presidential election hung in the balance.
Heightened interest in the election’s aftermath translated into increases in news stations’ fourth-quarter 2000 ratings, issued Wednesday by Arbitron for the Los Angeles area. Some of the most dramatic rises in the market came from news station KNX-AM (1070), which jumped to 15th place from 19th, and news-talk station KABC-AM (790), which shifted up to 17th from 21st.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the decline of the longtime market leader, Spanish-language station KSCA-FM (101.9), which fell from first to fourth place, while sister station KLVE-FM (107.5) moved into the top spot. KSCA--which specializes in Spanish talk--had been ranked No. 1 for the past two years.
KSCA and KLVE are owned by the Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., and the stations’ general manager, Gary Stone, attributed the shift to a glitch in the Arbitron reporting process. Arbitron takes an average sampling over three months, but Stone said his extrapolated monthly data reveals an abnormal October for all Spanish-language stations.
“All Hispanic stations were flat or down slightly, so we think they had trouble getting their Hispanic diaries back for the month of October,” Stone said, adding that data for November and December support more typical rankings, with KSCA at No. 1.
But Arbitron spokesman Thom Mocarsky said: “Extrapolations can’t be counted on, especially for October, because that’s when we update the population estimates. We regularly tell stations that.” Audience shares are determined by the number of people who tune in and the amount of time they spend listening, as reported by listeners in “diaries” circulated by Arbitron.
Meanwhile, perpetual rock leader KIIS-FM (102.7) retained its top spot among English-language stations and was No. 2 in the market overall. Closely following was KROQ-FM (106.7) in third place.
Mild-mannered music station KTWV-FM (94.7) saw its numbers and rank rise to seventh from 11th, while KBIG-FM (104.3), which ended the summer tied for the No. 11 spot, dropped to 17th.
KKBT-FM’s (100.3) new spot on the dial and addition of comedian-TV star Steve Harvey to its morning show seem to be paying off, as the station notched a sizable ratings increase. However, the counter-programming of Latino comic George Lopez, who joined the morning show on KCMG-FM (92.3) in December, isn’t paying off yet, as that station saw its ratings slide precipitously.
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Radio Ratings
The area’s Top 25 stations and their average share of audience as measured by Arbitron for the fall months compared with the summer quarter of the year:
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CURRENT LAST QUARTER 1. KLVE-FM 4.9 4.9 2. KIIS-FM 4.6 4.8 3. KROQ-FM 4.4 4.9 4. KSCA-FM 4.3 5.9 KPWR-FM 4.3 4.4 6. KOST-FM 3.8 3.5 7. KTWV-FM 3.7 2.8 8. KKBT-FM 3.6 2.8 9. KRTH-FM 3.1 3.2 10. KFI-AM 3.0 3.0 11. KYSR-FM 2.7 3.1 12. KZLA-FM 2.6 2.2 KLOS-FM 2.6 2.5 KCBS-FM 2.6 2.6 15. KBUE-FM 2.5 2.7 KNX-AM 2.5 2.1 17. KABC-AM 2.3 2.O KBIG-FM 2.3 2.8 19. KCMG-FM 2.2 2.9 20. KLSX-FM 2.1 2.4 21. KLAX-FM 1.8 2.1 KFWB-AM 1.8 1.6 23. KJLH-FM 1.5 1.3 24. KHJ-AM 1.4 1.2 KLAC-AM 1.4 1.5 KLYY-FM 1.4 1.0 KSSE-FM 1.4 1.4
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The ratings survey covers people 12 and older listening between 6 a.m. and midnight as measured by Arbitron for Fall 2000 as compared to the previous three-month period.