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Anyone listening to the yacht rock weekend on klos

I would be interested in both my friend Mike and my occasional sparring partner TheBigA sharing their opinions as to why KNX-FM dropped so precipitously.

I was still listening during that period, when I wasn't on the air somewhere myself, and I do not remember any significant changes in the programming that would have driven the audience elsewhere.
 
K.M. Richards said:
I would be interested in both my friend Mike and my occasional sparring partner TheBigA sharing their opinions as to why KNX-FM dropped so precipitously.

I was still listening during that period, when I wasn't on the air somewhere myself, and I do not remember any significant changes in the programming that would have driven the audience elsewhere.
Click to expand...

At the beginning of '81, I switched from programming and jocking to news, along with a $14,000 pay cut. So between a bit of belt tightening and no longer needing to schmooze with record promotion folks, I only made one visit to L.A. that year, for a week in June.

I couldn't tell you whether I listened to KNX-FM or not. I must have, but I didn't settle into it.

I remember overall thinking L.A. radio sounded pretty sleepy apart from KLOS and KMET.

I probably, because I could, spent most of the time listening to KFMB-AM from San Diego, as they were closest to what we were doing in Reno and I could pay attention to their news style.

--------------------------------------
Let's try to get some perspective.

So, the winter '81 book (January-February) was their peak, they lost a point and a half in April-May (4.3-2.8) and never really recovered.

Looking back, KNX-FM had definite peaks and valleys---after their fall '76 peak of a 3.8, the trend was 3.6-3.2-3.4-3.6.

But '78 was a rough year---2.7-2.6-3.1-3.2 (fighting back to their worst number of the year before).

And '79 was grim---2.2-2.2-2.8-2.7.

1980 was the turnaround---3.0-3.2-3.2-but back to a 2.8 for fall '80.

And that makes the 4.3 in winter '81 look very much like a fluke....

Crap.

So, all this is coming from the R&R ratings directories at worldradiohistory-dot-com, and KNX-FM's big book would be a typical book for KNX-AM and vice versa.

Screenshot 2025-09-04 at 4.37.42 AM.jpeg


@Huff , could you please check the databases for both KNX-FM's and KNX (AM)'s 12+ share for Winter 1981?

I'm betting R&R just flipped the AM and FM...which would mean that my original recollection that KNX-FM peaked in fall of '76 was accurate.

It would also mean that they really only did okay with the transition from Laurel Canyon early 70s to slick late 70s and that the drop off wasn't a cliff after all but just the last of the air leaking out of the balloon.
 
Andy Travis said:
Ironically, CBS did pretty well with a Triple A on 93.1 - in Chicago.
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Although not necessarily because of CBS. They inherited the station and legacy through the Westinghouse merger in 1995. CBS Chicago was always WBBM. In the same way, they inherited the legacy of KROQ through the Infinity merger. The only credit CBS should get was for not screwing it up. Most of the credit there might go to Mel Karmazin. His background was Metromedia, so he was more of a music guy than the heritage CBS people.

K.M. Richards said:
I would be interested in both my friend Mike and my occasional sparring partner TheBigA sharing their opinions as to why KNX-FM dropped so precipitously.
Click to expand...

I don't know. All I know is the format had the same difficult experience in NYC where it first emerged on the original WKTU when it was at 92.3, and later became WXRK under Infinity, and is now WINS-FM. The format later re-emerged on WPIX in the 80s, where it ultimately morphed into the smooth jazz CD101.

My only thought is that the tempo became tedious. I think I said that when the format came back a few years ago. Programming a station where the music is all in the same tempo becomes monotonous after a while. That's why light rock stations try to add some tempo at some point.
 
Huff said:
Correct, here are the trends from the book itself
View attachment 10235
Click to expand...
Thanks!

So we have a fluke high book for KNX-FM and a corresponding fluke dip for KNX (AM).

A couple of confused diary keepers?

Who knows?

However it happened, the April/May ‘81 2.8 is close to a typical KNX-FM book from 1978 to that point.

Lemme do some digging to see if I can find what accelerated the drop from there.
 
Incredibly, that monster 4.3 didn't get KNX-FM any ink in R&R beyond the rating rundown. I would have expected a "how'd they do it?" piece.

Nothing in the L.A. Times, either---but a clue: Regular full-page ads in the Sunday Calendar section of the Times for virtually all of 1980 and into early 1981:

Screenshot 2025-09-04 at 8.15.14 AM.jpeg


And that coincided with the introduction of the KNX-FM image songs:


After that big book, there was one print ad in the Times---and it was definitely a shift in tone:

Screenshot 2025-09-04 at 8.20.05 AM.jpeg

Possible contributing factor: KNX-FM went live in 1982---could have blown the consistency. Phil Hendrie (!) was one of the jocks.

And I always forget what a big deal KHTZ turned out to be for a couple of years. This is from May 30, 1982:

Screenshot 2025-09-04 at 8.21.08 AM.jpeg
 
One more possible thing: There's certainly a shift in the tone of AOR airplay between the last week of January 1981 (mid Jan-Feb book) and the last week of April (mid April-May book). Here's January:

Screenshot 2025-09-04 at 8.48.36 AM.jpeg

The Lennon album didn't rock hard, and then you had Steely Dan, REO Speedwagon, Alan Parsons Project, The Police, Dire Straits, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Winwood, Eagles, Toto, Firefall, Nicolette Larson and Stevie Wonder.

And here's April:

Screenshot 2025-09-04 at 8.48.39 AM.jpeg

So, Steve Winwood and REO Speedwagon are still hot, and Lennon, Steely Dan and the Police are on the way out---and yeah, you've aded James Taylor, but most of what's different on this chart rocks harder.

There's probably no one moment you can point to and say "mellow died here", but this is definitely a shift in tastes, and it reduces the popularity of what KNX-FM is playing.

Also---and I learned this one on the job---18-34 women are much more trend-conscious than 18-34 men.
 
Of everything you said, Mike, one thing ran 100% true to what I remembered:

michael hagerty said:
Possible contributing factor: KNX-FM went live in 1982---could have blown the consistency. Phil Hendrie (!) was one of the jocks.
Click to expand...

I think that's a major factor. KNX-FM sounded "off" with the live air talent. The more "sterile" automated version was less jarring. It's as if all the extra verbiage was out of place. That may well have turned off a lot of the original audience.
 
K.M. Richards said:
Of everything you said, Mike, one thing ran 100% true to what I remembered:



I think that's a major factor. KNX-FM sounded "off" with the live air talent. The more "sterile" automated version was less jarring. It's as if all the extra verbiage was out of place. That may well have turned off a lot of the original audience.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I preferred the original automation. I also preferred The Wave's "no disc jockeys" era.

The stations were---as Frank Cody referred to KTWV---mood services.


(PS: I think a big chunk of what got in the way of KNX-FM reboot was the debut of The Wave less than a year later. It was just more of its time than the reanimated KNX-FM was.)
 
michael hagerty said:
Incredibly, that monster 4.3 didn't get KNX-FM any ink in R&R beyond the rating rundown. I would have expected a "how'd they do it?" piece.

Nothing in the L.A. Times, either---but a clue: Regular full-page ads in the Sunday Calendar section of the Times for virtually all of 1980 and into early 1981:

View attachment 10236


And that coincided with the introduction of the KNX-FM image songs:


After that big book, there was one print ad in the Times---and it was definitely a shift in tone:

View attachment 10237

Possible contributing factor: KNX-FM went live in 1982---could have blown the consistency. Phil Hendrie (!) was one of the jocks.

And I always forget what a big deal KHTZ turned out to be for a couple of years. This is from May 30, 1982:

View attachment 10238
Click to expand...
I did not care for those jingles at all. I know different time but still did not care for them.
 
michael hagerty said:
(PS: I think a big chunk of what got in the way of KNX-FM reboot was the debut of The Wave less than a year later. It was just more of its time than the reanimated KNX-FM was.)
Click to expand...

I think you're right, but if in that world which cannot exist the KKHR hiccup had not happened, there would have been less opportunity for KTWV to have launched.

But it's also very possible that something else could have happened instead, which I won't speculate about.
 
michael hagerty said:
View attachment 10233
Click to expand...
Sidebar: what is interesting is that the major Spanish stations, KTNQ, KLVE, KWKW had less than a total 5 share in the market. At one point, 16 years later, just one of those stations had over a 7 share!

Relevance to the current thread: the population in LA has changed immensely, both between 1980 and 1987 and the whole four and a half decades up to today. Arbitron implemented huge changes in how it measured both Blacks and Hispanics. There was a change in balance between non-Hispanic whites and Blacks, Hispanics and Asians, with "white flight" beginning over 25 yeas ago.

Programming in LA is like playing three-dimensional chess. There are so many variables that it is hard to determine what is the effect of programming and what is the effect of changing demographics. The most important change, beyond the numbers in each demo, is the increase in second generation Hispanics who are more likely to listen to English language formats than "Mom's station".
 
K.M. Richards said:
I think you're right, but if in that world which cannot exist the KKHR hiccup had not happened, there would have been less opportunity for KTWV to have launched.
Click to expand...
And remember that the Frank Cody and Owen Leach team had been working on a format modification or change for over a year before that hiccup...

Here is Cody's story... which ignores the research genius of Owen...

www.insideradio.com

Frank Cody, ‘Father Of Smooth Jazz’ And Broadcast Architecture Co-Founder, Dies At 75.

Frank Cody, the radio and entertainment executive whose pioneering work spanned programming, network radio, research, and the music business, died July 19 at his home in Galisteo, NM. He was
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com
 


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