L.A./Riverside-San Bernardino Arbitron Radio Ratings: May 2013

[pjc1961]

Los Angeles:                  http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb003
Riverside-San Bernardino: http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb379

Overall age 6+ publicly released data is for the May 2013 survey period covering Thu. 4/25/13-Wed. 5/22/13.
Next survey period will be June 2013 (covering Thu. 5/23/13-Wed. 6/19/13) with the data release date being Tue. 7/9/13
(delayed one day due to Independence Day).

AllAccess PPM Ratings Analysis for May 2013 (scroll down for Los Angeles):
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/a...rch-director-inc-presents-exclusive-april-ppm

 

[Thomps2525]

Thank you, Mister pjc, for posting those links. Now I'd like to turn it over to our entertainment reporter, David Eduardo. David, I just went through the past two years of Arbitron ratings and saw that KFI was usually ranked first or second but in the past few months the station has been fourth or fifth. Are listeners abandoning the talk format for CHR and hot AC or is there some other reason for KFI's recent decline?

(I'm a wannabe newsman. )

 

[ercjncpr]

KFI steadily dropping, IMHO this is a good thing

 

[Thomps2525]

How are Rush Limbaugh's ratings in Los Angeles? I've felt for several months that his anti-Obama and anti-Democrat shtick is starting to get really old. I usually agree with Rush but I'm getting tired of hearing him. I doubt KFI would ever drop his program, but I wonder who might take that time slot when Rush retires.

 

[davideduardo]

David, I just went through the past two years of Arbitron ratings and saw that KFI was usually ranked first or second but in the past few months the station has been fourth or fifth. Are listeners abandoning the talk format for CHR and hot AC or is there some other reason for KFI's recent decline?

What I am seeing is based on an analysis of 25-54 compared to the last several non-holiday books in 2012:

Evenings are up nicely, but the usage of radio after 7 PM is not enough for this increase to counter declines elsewhere.

Weekends are low and flat. No change.

Morning are off the most. Is there a "product life cycle" issue with Handel, or is he taking too many of his well-known days off?

There is definite product life cycle decline in Rush. Stick a fork in it.

John & Ken are definitely off, and decline corresponds with the time it was reported (I don't listen) that they had been "muzzled".

 

[Thomps2525]

Handel does take a lot of days off. I'd love to hear more of David Cruz and Mo'Kelly and less (or none) of Wayne Resnick and Brian Suits. And if Karel Bouley could find a partner as good as Andrew Howard---and I mean that in the broadcasting sense---I'd love for him to be back on KFI. One of my favorite radio bits was Karel working at a fast-food place and deliberately making it sound to the drive-through customers as though the speaker system was defective and he couldn't hear their orders; he imitated sounds of crackling and static and "repeated" customer orders that were outrageously wrong! It was hilarious and I wish I had made a tape of it.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

David, I just went through the past two years of Arbitron ratings and saw that KFI was usually ranked first or second but in the past few months the station has been fourth or fifth. Are listeners abandoning the talk format for CHR and hot AC or is there some other reason for KFI's recent decline?

What I am seeing is based on an analysis of 25-54 compared to the last several non-holiday books in 2012:

Evenings are up nicely, but the usage of radio after 7 PM is not enough for this increase to counter declines elsewhere.

Weekends are low and flat. No change.

Morning are off the most. Is there a "product life cycle" issue with Handel, or is he taking too many of his well-known days off?

There is definite product life cycle decline in Rush. Stick a fork in it.

John & Ken are definitely off, and decline corresponds with the time it was reported (I don't listen) that they had been "muzzled".

You are on to something, but haven't carried it through to it's logical conclusion. Yes, the John and Ken show has not been the same since they were muzzled, and it is definitely noticeable in the product. But when they muzzle John and Ken, they are effectively muzzling everybody, because the bar has been set and now everyone knows where it is and how not to cross it. I don't listen to Handel as much as J&K, but he has definitely toned it down a notch or two since then as well and it is just as noticeable. Bill Carroll and others without the nearly the juice of J&K and Handel take their cues accordingly.

What KFI has created is less stimulating radio, resulting in lower ratings. It's just that simple.

 

[davideduardo]

What KFI has created is less stimulating radio, resulting in lower ratings. It's just that simple.

That's a solid and logical analysis. I would certainly be inclined to agree.

 

[wadio]

John & Ken may have been "muzzled," but here in NY (we get the last LA hour and a custom hour on WOR) they're light years ahead of other talk shows here in terms of originality, humor and edginess.

In LA, Clear Channel gives you J&K in PM drive. In NY they've chosen to subject us to what might be the worst major market talk show ever -- Rita Cosby who babbles and giggles her way hysterically through two exhausting hours of brainless talk and self-promotion. WOR whose 6+ has been around 2.3 for the past decade is now at 1.1 -- below News/Talk Public Radio WNYC's 1.8. The contrast between these two shows is astounding.

I agree that a major problem with News/Talk is aging content. But the solution isn't a younger sounding Rush clone like Andy Dean, another WOR turn-off. Then there's financial self-help pitchman Dave Ramsey (afternoons 2-4) who tells people to pray for financial success and get involved with multilevel marketing -- and weekends filled with wall-to-wall infomercials. It's surprising they still have a 1.1!

You folks are lucky to have KFI, but I suppose CC may yet find a way to kill it off as they're doing with WOR.

 

[36james]

Kxos is still horrible in its ratings 0.8 the format changes they have made have not helped them nor has the morning show, which carries most of the mid-days as well as mornings, nobody else is doing a 6AM to 1PM shift no one!

 

[36james]

For some unknown reason 93.9 for most of its existence has not even cracked the top 10 in arbitron ratings, I don't kno why this is, I think they just shut off the signal, no
would care, I think personally they should move the signal to Riverside-San Bernardino market place and change formats, I think it would stand a better chance in the ratings out there, way less competition than Los Angeles.

 

[davideduardo]

For some unknown reason 93.9 for most of its existence has not even cracked the top 10 in arbitron ratings, I don't kno why this is, I think they just shut off the signal, no
would care, I think personally they should move the signal to Riverside-San Bernardino market place and change formats, I think it would stand a better chance in the ratings out there, way less competition than Los Angeles.

Here are a few of the reasons why that is not going to happen:

• The 93.9 signal is already directional, protecting the NE, East and SE directions. It can not mover any farther in those directions
• An LA station, even with no billings, is worth at least $80 million. A Rivverside station might be worth, at best, $20 million
• There are $850 million dollars in radio ad revenues available in LA, while the whole IE market has $42 milion
• KXOS at present is billing about as much as the highest billing stations in the IE
• The IE is a market of 2.5 million while LA is a market of 13 million

 

[Thomps2525]

In the San Bernardino/Riverside market, KOLA's share dropped from 7.3 to 6.6. Can we interpret this as a sign that a lot of people started listening after KOLA replaced the 1960s hits with 1990s hits and now they're already getting tired of the '90s songs? I know it's inevitable that '60s songs will someday disappear from oldies stations and classic-hits stations but I don't think there are very many '90s songs that will have the appeal and longevity that the '60s hits have enjoyed for the past four decades.

 

[davideduardo]

In the San Bernardino/Riverside market, KOLA's share dropped from 7.3 to 6.6. Can we interpret this as a sign that a lot of people started listening after KOLA replaced the 1960s hits with 1990s hits and now they're already getting tired of the '90s songs?

10% to 15% wobble is not uncommon in the IE book. KOLA, in its core demo, is a bit more stable and well within the statistical and measurement wobble range for the market.

As an example, Top 5 contender KBIG has been between a 3.1 and a 4.7 in the last 9 months, with no trending... just wobbling... to be spotted in 25-54.

 

[Thomps2525]

Don Barrett's LARadio.com today quotes KABC morning man Doug McIntyre:

"Traffic first on the fours with our new clock that we are very excited about."

I see that KABC is now ranked 31st with a 0.9% share. I'm glad they have something to be excited about over there.

 

[ajc_trw]

In the San Bernardino/Riverside market, KOLA's share dropped from 7.3 to 6.6. Can we interpret this as a sign that a lot of people started listening after KOLA replaced the 1960s hits with 1990s hits and now they're already getting tired of the '90s songs?

I remember when I drove my neighbor to work we used to listen to KOLA. After a while I got tired of the same KOLA songs played over and over again. Fortunately, I weened them over to KFI. However, I'm atypical I guess as I like the KFWB afternoon newscasts (online AAC).

 

[oldies76]

In the San Bernardino/Riverside market, KOLA's share dropped from 7.3 to 6.6. Can we interpret this as a sign that a lot of people started listening after KOLA replaced the 1960s hits with 1990s hits and now they're already getting tired of the '90s songs? I know it's inevitable that '60s songs will someday disappear from oldies stations and classic-hits stations but I don't think there are very many '90s songs that will have the appeal and longevity that the '60s hits have enjoyed for the past four decades.

I agree...90's music will not have the timeless appeal that 60's music had (and STILL has) and that's even with listeners who were teens when 90's music was on CHR. There is no comparison at all. I truly believe we'll be hearing select 60's songs for at least another decade, if not more on classic hits FM's or small market AM's. Heck, I still hear some 50's to this day on AM's.

And what few 90's "classics" that manage to get on rotation, will burn out easily.

 

[justpassingthough]

In the San Bernardino/Riverside market, KOLA's share dropped from 7.3 to 6.6. Can we interpret this as a sign that a lot of people started listening after KOLA replaced the 1960s hits with 1990s hits and now they're already getting tired of the '90s songs? I know it's inevitable that '60s songs will someday disappear from oldies stations and classic-hits stations but I don't think there are very many '90s songs that will have the appeal and longevity that the '60s hits have enjoyed for the past four decades.

I agree...90's music will not have the timeless appeal that 60's music had (and STILL has) and that's even with listeners who were teens when 90's music was on CHR. There is no comparison at all. I truly believe we'll be hearing select 60's songs for at least another decade, if not more on classic hits FM's or small market AM's. Heck, I still hear some 50's to this day on AM's.

And what few 90's "classics" that manage to get on rotation, will burn out easily.

I'm not being an apologist for 90s music, as there certainly was a fair amount of crap, as there is every decade. 60s music has certainly prevailed but it was one of the early decades of "modern" music- with links to today's rock, r&b, pop, etc- and the teens from that era are still within the (upper) salable demos. We are already seeing 60s music get ditched from classic hits stations, though, so I think only time will tell how music from the 80s and 90s gets adopted by the adult demos as they age. I think its unfair to say that 60s music is better than 90s music in a blanket statement- as the 60s music we consider "classics" today have been highly weeded through, researched and picked from the bone to be the best, most relatable and sustainable music for radio stations looking to reach older adults. Plus, there is probably a fair amount of nostalgia at play. It will be interesting to see if the same transpires with each decade as we progress.

 

[hotpatrick2004]

A friend of mine says i dont like the music of today top 40 he said use to be better in the 80s and 90s. I disagree music is very subjective i say top 40 today is nor better or worse then days gone by it is what it is and thats fine with me. I think the 80s had alot of terrible pop like 8675309 and melt with you and 1999 and little red corvette etc...

 

[Wildstyle K]

00-09 may be the worst decade in hit music.