Hip-hop radio reigns in L.A.

Hip-hop outlet KPWR-FM (105.9) has been the Southland’s top-rated radio station for a year and a half, having kept second-place KROQ-FM (106.7) at bay during the summer, according to figures released Friday by the Arbitron ratings service.

Though KPWR’s average share of the listening audience over age 12 dipped slightly, from 5.3% in the spring to 4.8% in the summer, it still led alternative rocker KROQ, which increased from 4.4% to 4.7%, for the survey period from June 26 to Sept. 17.

Meanwhile, talk station KFI-AM (640) remained in third place, slipping from an average audience share of 4.3% to 4.2%, and Spanish-language station KSCA-FM (101.9) jumped from a sixth-place tie to fourth. The outlet for regional Mexican music grabbed 4% of the L.A. audience, compared with 3.5% previously.

And Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7) rebounded from an eighth-place finish in the spring to fifth this time around, growing from a 3.4% audience share to 3.6%.

Meanwhile, in the competitive race to be the area’s top morning show, KFI’s Bill Handel remained at No. 1, increasing his audience share from 5.4% to 5.5%.

But rushing into second place was KSCA’s Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo, taking 5.2% of the audience and jumping from a fourth-place tie with 4.1% in the spring.

In February, he replaced the wildly popular Renan Almendarez Coello, known as “El Cucuy,” who had dominated his English- and Spanish-speaking competitors alike for nearly six years but who opted to move to afternoons so he would have time for other pursuits.

Though KSCA’s morning numbers dropped as soon as he left, station officials predicted that Sotelo would work his way back up in the ratings.

Finishing in third place in the morning drive-time race was “The Kevin & Bean Show” on KROQ, which increased its audience share from 4.9% to 5% but was topped by Sotelo.

Tied for fourth with 4.1% of the audience were Steve Harvey on KKBT-FM (100.3), who duplicated his figures from the spring, and KPWR’s Big Boy, whose numbers dropped for the third straight quarter, in contrast to his station’s overall ratings preeminence. He fell from third place with 4.6% of the audience in the spring.

Howard Stern’s nationally syndicated show, heard locally on KLSX-FM (97.1), was sixth in the morning overall but fared better among listeners ages 25 to 54, a key demographic group to many advertisers. There, Stern ranked third, behind Sotelo and Kevin & Bean, while Handel was fifth.

The ranking of stations by weekly average listenership also differed in terms of only the 25-54 demographic. KSCA attracted the greatest number of those listeners, with a 5.3% share, followed by KROQ and KOST.

The market’s two all-news stations remained steady during the summer but fell victim to the vagaries of the ratings. KNX-AM (1070) maintained the 2.1% of the audience it held in the spring. Even so, it dropped four spots to No. 23.

Sister station KFWB-AM (980) increased from 1.6% to 1.7% but couldn’t move up from its 25th-place finish in the previous ratings period.

But this was the last ratings book charting the status quo at the news stations, as corporate parent Infinity Broadcasting completed management changes at KFWB and KNX this week.

Both of KFI’s main rivals in talk radio dropped during the summer. KLSX-FM fell from 2.5%, which tied it for 13th in the spring, to a 16th-place tie with KABC-AM (790) at 2.2%. KABC’s fall was even greater, from 2.9%, which had tied it for 11th in the spring.

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L.A. radio, ranked by the numbers

The area’s Top 25 stations and their average share of audience as measured by Arbitron for the summer months compared with the previous three-month period.

*--* Current Last Quarter 1 KRWR-FM 4.8 5.3 2 KROQ-FM 4.7 4.4 3 KFI-AM 4.2 4.3 4 KSCA-FM 4.0 3.5 5 KIIS-FM 3.6 3.4 6 KTWV-FM 3.5 3.6 KOST-FM 3.5 3.8 8 KLVE-FM 3.4 2.9 9 KKBT-FM 3.3 3.3 10 KLAX-FM 3.0 3.5 11 KRTH-FM 2.9 3.3 12 KBIG-FM 2.6 2.5 13 KCBS-FM 2.4 2.0 14 KXOL-FM 2.3 2.2 KLOS-FM 2.3 2.0 16 KBUE-FM 2.2 2.0 KSSE-FM 2.2 1.8 KABC-AM 2.2 2.9 KHHT-FM 2.2 2.2 KLSX-AM 2.2 2.5 KZLA-FM 2.2 2.5 KYSR-FM 2.2 2.3 23 KNX-AM 2.1 2.1 24 KJLH-FM 2.0 1.6 25 KFWB-AM 1.7 1.6

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The ratings survey covers people 12 and older listening between 6 a.m. and midnight, from June 26 to Sept. 17.