QUICK TAKES - April 23, 2009

The change from talk to Top 40 music appears to be paying off for KLSX-FM (97.1), which charged up the ratings after switching formats Feb. 20, according to figures released Wednesday.

Executives at KLSX -- onetime outlet for Howard Stern and most recently the home of Adam Carolla, Tom Leykis and other brash hosts -- traded those talents for the latest hits by Kanye West, Beyonce, Pink and others. In so doing, KLSX, now dubbed Amp Radio, set its sights on KIIS-FM (102.7), the legacy Top 40 station that has dominated the local ratings for the last year.

KIIS still held the top spot in March, garnering 5.4% of the Los Angeles-Orange County audience age 6 and older, according to the Arbitron ratings service, which surveyed listeners from March 5 to April 1. But KLSX shot up from a 20th-place tie in February to a tie for 11th place, and increased its audience share from 2.1% to 3.2%. Meanwhile, KIIS was slipping, down from a 5.7% share in February and 6% in January.

“We’re ecstatic about the start we’re off to,” said Kevin Weatherly, program director at KLSX and senior vice president of programming for its parent company, CBS Radio.

-- Steve Carney