Sept. 11 Effect Figures Into Radio Ratings

Terrorism, Osama bin Laden, anthrax and war in Afghanistan were clearly on Southland radio listeners’ minds after Sept. 11, and many wanted to talk about it.

The just-released quarterly Arbitron ratings figures, covering Sept. 20 through Dec. 12, show that a lot of people turned to news and talk stations to follow and discuss unfolding developments regarding the terrorist attacks and military efforts in Afghanistan.

At the same time, many people wanted to put current events out of their minds and found sanctuary in familiar oldies, the comfort food of pop music.

The most dramatic developments in the new numbers, though, are hard to peg to Sept. 11: In the ratings based on listeners 12 and older, rock station KROQ-FM (106.7) held on to the overall No. 1 position for the third straight quarter--the first English-language station to three-peat since KOST-FM (103.5) in 1991--with a 5% share of the audience, up from its third-place 4.4 share of one year ago. The station ruled across the board, taking the No. 1 title in afternoon drive time for deejay Jed the Fish and in the evening slot for the combination of deejay Stryker and the “Loveline” call-in sex and health show.

Steve Harvey, who took over morning drive time on urban music outlet KKBT-FM (100.3) in September 2000, rocketed to the top of the English morning standings with a 5.8 share of the audience, with only dominant Spanish-language morning man Renan Almedarez Coello on KSCA-FM (101.9) ahead of him with a 7.5 share. Harvey’s gains led the way for his station, known as the Beat, to move into third place overall as compared with an eighth-place slot a year ago, and fifth in the 2001 summer quarter.

“We tried to be sensitive to what happened [Sept. 11] without completely changing the station,” KROQ program director Kevin Weatherly says.

“Looking at the numbers on the surface, I don’t see much change from before. Honestly, we sort of sensed different interests immediately following [the attacks], but then there was a need for people to try to get back to some sense of normalcy and people wanted to come to the station for relief. But also I do think artists such as Creed and U2 had great success in the fall and a lot of it had to do with the message in their music.”

At the same time, KROQ’s core success had at least as much to do with such bands as L.A.’s Linkin Park, whose “Hybrid Theory” album was the year’s top-seller without carrying overt social messages.

Harvey’s success is not as complex.

“He attracts people,” says KKBT general manager Nancy Leichter. “I think a lot of people thought this would be a big news book, a more serious kind of quarter, but I was pleased to see that Steve and the Beat did as well as they did. We added more news so people wouldn’t have to leave the station to keep up on events, but a lot of people were back to regular listening habits by last month.”

On the talk front, KFI-AM (640) shot up from a 10th place 3.0 audience share a year ago to a tie for fourth place with a 4.2 share. Talk stations KABC-AM (790) and KLSX-FM (97.1) also saw gains over fall 2000, jumping from 2.3/17th place to 2.6/12th and 2.1/20th to 2.5/14th, respectively.

KFI’s morning host Bill Handel (5.2) also benefited, coming in behind Harvey among English-language hosts in the crucial morning drive time, with KROQ’s Kevin & Bean (5.0, the duo’s highest rating ever) and KLSX’s L.A. run of Howard Stern’s show (4.7) also strong. Rick Dees, heard on KIIS-FM (102.7) and the station’s simulcast KVVS-FM (97.7), rebounded to 4.4 after the suspension of his attempt at national syndication, which seems to have diluted his local appeal.

Catering to those overloaded with news, KOST-FM (103.5) rose from 3.8 a year ago to 4.1 this year with its soft-toned oldies and pop seeing a quarter-end boost as the station devoted December entirely to holiday music.

“It’s all about familiar music people could relax and listen to,” says Roy Laughlin, regional vice president of KOST-owner Clear Channel Radio. “Whether it’s Rod Stewart and Elton John or ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,’ they don’t care.”

A similar boost came at Clear Channel’s KHHT-FM (92.3), furthering steady progress made since initiating a format mixing familiar old-school R&B; and contemporary urban soul. It came in with a 3.0 for 11th place overall, right behind heritage oldies station KRTH-FM (101.1), holding solid at 3.1. KHHT was particularly strong with women listeners.

News and Talk Shows

Improved Across U.S.

The local picture is consistent with what has started to emerge in other major markets as Arbitron survey figures are released.

“Everywhere the news and talk stations did well across the board,” Ron Rodrigues, editor in chief of weekly trade publication Radio & Records, says of ratings books from New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.

“Talk stations in L.A., compared year to year, did even better than in New York. Another format that has done very well is urban. In L.A., Hot [KHHT] and the Beat did very well, and in New York urban did spectacularly. It has got to be the music that is driving that. Urban and rhythmic-flavored pop music became more part of the mainstream, so more people try those stations with such artists as Alicia Keys, Usher, Nelly, Ja Rule, those who have gotten crossover air play at pop stations but urban is their home.”

Pat Duffy, vice president and general manager of KRTH and market captain of the eight L.A. stations owned by Infinity Broadcasting, including KROQ and news stations KFWB-AM (980) and KNX-AM (1070), is cautious about drawing any long-term conclusions from the new figures, though, given the extraordinary circumstances of the fall.

“What you see with this rating book and the effect of 9/11 is it will be used in averaging with other books and not used [to set advertising rates] exclusively,” Duffy says. “The fall book is generally a very important sales book, but this will be looked at as an aberration.”

But, seeing KOST’s success, KRTH’s Duffy says there’s one conclusion he’ll carry to next fall.

“I’ve got news for you,” he says. “We’ll be playing more Christmas music next year.”

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Arbitron Ratings

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