Los Angeles Ratings Oddity: Country KKGO Tied with Top 40 KIIS-FM?

[Gregg.]

According to the latest Nielsen ratings, as many people are tuning in Country as are listening to Top 40 in Los Angeles. Both 102.7 KIIS-FM and 105.1 KKGO are tied at #11 in the overall ratings, along with All-News 1070 KNX and Classical 91.5 KUSC. KIIS has been out of the top ten for several months now.

According to the Research Director, in the 18-34 demographic, KKGO is #5 while KIIS-FM is #7, tied with Urban 92.3 KRRL. And for fans of The Wave, KTWV is #3 in the 18-34 demo as well.

Isn't it crazy that once dominant KIIS-FM is still struggling? This is the only demo where The Research Director even mentions KIIS-FM. It's not in the top five in either 18-49 or 25-54. Same for KKGO. This youthful demo is the only place LA's Country station is mentioned too.

I thought LA had been similar to NYC and San Francisco in its lack of interest in Country music. For years, a new owner would come along and put a Country station on the air in Market #2. It was going to be different, more contemporary, not tied to the old Country twang. It would limp along for a few years and get switched to something else. For whatever reason, after 19 years of playing Country music, KKGO is showing decent listening levels. I guess NYC and SF remain the only American markets that have little interest in the Country format.

 

[radio128]

From reading David E's posts here for a very long time, I know that the CHR demo now is 25-44 year old women. It would be interesting to know how KIIS and KKGO compare in that specific demographic.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

According to the latest Nielsen ratings, as many people are tuning in Country as are listening to Top 40 in Los Angeles. Both 102.7 KIIS-FM and 105.1 KKGO are tied at #11 in the overall ratings, along with All-News 1070 KNX and Classical 91.5 KUSC. KIIS has been out of the top ten for several months now.

According to the Research Director, in the 18-34 demographic, KKGO is #5 while KIIS-FM is #7, tied with Urban 92.3 KRRL. And for fans of The Wave, KTWV is #3 in the 18-34 demo as well.

Isn't it crazy that once dominant KIIS-FM is still struggling? This is the only demo where The Research Director even mentions KIIS-FM. It's not in the top five in either 18-49 or 25-54. Same for KKGO. This youthful demo is the only place LA's Country station is mentioned too.

I thought LA had been similar to NYC and San Francisco in its lack of interest in Country music. For years, a new owner would come along and put a Country station on the air in Market #2. It was going to be different, more contemporary, not tied to the old Country twang. It would limp along for a few years and get switched to something else. For whatever reason, after 19 years of playing Country music, KKGO is showing decent listening levels. I guess NYC and SF remain the only American markets that have little interest in the Country format.

i dont think its that odd....... were spinning a hot/new country song from a local artist on our CHR station and not our country station.

Why? Our country station is 90s centric and anythign after about 2005 has to have a older/traditional sound to it, but this artist has put out some good music and shes LOCAL so we wanna give it some air play (one of her previous songs was on our AC variety station"

Theres alot of similarities and cross over between HOT contry songs and the intended audiences of both stations

 

[Huff]

According to the latest Nielsen ratings, as many people are tuning in Country as are listening to Top 40 in Los Angeles. Both 102.7 KIIS-FM and 105.1 KKGO are tied at #11 in the overall ratings

Just for clarification's sake - far more people are tuning into Top 40 than Country: KIIS' cume is 1,564,800, compared to 835,600 for KKGO.
Cume is the number of different people who tune into a station during a given time period. Where the stations are equal is in "Share," which is basically what percentage of radio listeners are listening to a given station at any given moment. So more people listening to KIIS, but for less time... not as many people listening to KKGO, but those who do are sticking around longer, hence the tie in share.

 

[TheBigA]

Isn't it crazy that once dominant KIIS-FM is still struggling? This is the only demo where The Research Director even mentions KIIS-FM. It's not in the top five in either 18-49 or 25-54. Same for KKGO. This youthful demo is the only place LA's Country station is mentioned too.

I said this in another thread: Country is the new CHR. KKGO is #5 in 18-34. Young audiences are the driving force to country's success. I think a big part of it is one artist: Ella Langley. KKGO plays her a lot, and KIIS isn't playing her at all. Other top artists are Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs.

The other factor is that country is a consensus format. Top 40 is not. Some people don't like the rap side of Top 40. The splintering of Top 40 helps formats that can keep audiences together. Country audiences love the diversity, from the traditional to the pop to the rock and even some rap.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I said this in another thread: Country is the new CHR. KKGO is #5 in 18-34. Young audiences are the driving force to country's success. I think a big part of it is one artist: Ella Langley. KKGO plays her a lot, and KIIS isn't playing her at all. The other factor is that country is a consensus format. Top 40 is not. Some people don't like the rap side of Top 40. The splintering of Top 40 helps formats that can keep audiences together.

I have been saying this for years, as someone who had no desire early on in my life and career to do country radio, but i ended up in it and have hadto learn about it and the audience.... and have had alot of success in it. Country used to be viewed as a backwater older redneck guy thing.

You shouldve been at jubilee days in laramie a week ago......... jamie hansen, a country signer had the downtown area blocked off for the concert FULL of people younger than me by a good bit and im 42.

ive been saying country has needed a younger audience for awhile if its to survive.. why do you think over the years, talent from CHR/Hot AC have infilitrated country radio? Bobby Bones, Evan Paul... etc

 

[TheBigA]

why do you think over the years, talent from CHR/Hot AC have infilitrated country radio? Bobby Bones, Evan Paul... etc

Deja vu all over again. Blair Garner was a DJ at WPLJ before starting After Midnite in the 90s.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Per the Research Director blog, the only mention of KIIS-FM is dropping to #7 in 18-34. No other mentions in the analysis of other demos.

 

[Mediafrog+]

I said this in another thread: Country is the new CHR. KKGO is #5 in 18-34. Young audiences are the driving force to country's success.

However it would be interesting to see a demographic breakdown of that young Country audience. Is it a mix of various racial and ethnic groups, or is it all White people? In a market such as LA where Whites are a distinct minority it might be more likely that their musical tastes would coalesce around Country music.

The other factor is that country is a consensus format.

Does that apply to all age groups? I have long had the impression there are a lot of older Country music fans who strongly dislike current trends in the genre.

The splintering of Top 40 helps formats that can keep audiences together.

Or the lack of Country variants on radio keeps the audience together as they have no other choices. Go into parts of the U.S. where Country has traditionally been strong and you’ll find a bit more variation in playlists among Country formatted competitors.

 

[kevtronics]

And K-Mozart 1260 AM got a 0.1!

 

[dr.luke]

I said this in another thread: Country is the new CHR. KKGO is #5 in 18-34. Young audiences are the driving force to country's success. I think a big part of it is one artist: Ella Langley. KKGO plays her a lot, and KIIS isn't playing her at all. Other top artists are Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs.

The other factor is that country is a consensus format. Top 40 is not. Some people don't like the rap side of Top 40. The splintering of Top 40 helps formats that can keep audiences together. Country audiences love the diversity, from the traditional to the pop to the rock and even some rap.

The CHR/Top 40 station is not playing the 2 top hits of 2026... Ella's songs...

 

[TheBigA]

However it would be interesting to see a demographic breakdown of that young Country audience. Is it a mix of various racial and ethnic groups, or is it all White people?

The public information from Nielsen doesn't break down the racial groups. MRI-Simmons does. They say nationally the country audience is 90% white. I'm sure the CMA has a survey that might differ. Keep in mind that in Los Angeles. the minority white audience has a lot of choices, including talk, rock, news, and AC. AAA is 92% white. Rock is 90% white. Talk is 88% white. Alternative is 85% white. So that group is split among many formats.

I have long had the impression there are a lot of older Country music fans who strongly dislike current trends in the genre.

Sure, and it's why KKGO doesn't have a lot of older country fans. It's a very different format for the over 55s. It's why Saul has launched his other country channel on HD-3. KKGO is going after the consensus younger fans who want Ella, Morgan, Luke, and Megan.

Or the lack of Country variants on radio keeps the audience together as they have no other choices. Go into parts of the U.S. where Country has traditionally been strong and you’ll find a bit more variation in playlists among Country formatted competitors.

Maybe. Even if you look at streaming charts or the Billboard Hot 100, Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen are consistently at the top. You may see Red Clay Strays in there, but their fans aren't the ones driving the format now. Country fans, just like rock fans, have lots of choices. They're not restricted to broadcast radio. But they satisfied with the music they hear on the radio. Which is a good thing. The audience keeps together because the audience likes to share and enjoy music together, rather than as individuals.

 

[tapesfromtheradio]

However it would be interesting to see a demographic breakdown of that young Country audience. Is it a mix of various racial and ethnic groups, or is it all White people? In a market such as LA where Whites are a distinct minority it might be more likely that their musical tastes would coalesce around Country music.

This is anecdotal of course, but there are about 10 of us working out of my LA office. 8 are Hispanic, 2 are white. My coworker at the desk next to me (32 years old, female, Mexican descent but born in LA) listens to country about 70% of the time, with the remaining 30% split about evenly between Spanish and English language pop from the 90s/00s.

I am white but have come to know many younger adults of Mexican descent in LA, both at work and in my social circle & dating life, and generally speaking they're fully American/Southern Californian culturally. English dominant although most are also fluent in Spanish.

 

[ted chittenden]

This is anecdotal of course, but there are about 10 of us working out of my LA office. 8 are Hispanic, 2 are white. My coworker at the desk next to me (32 years old, female, Mexican descent but born in LA) listens to country about 70% of the time, with the remaining 30% split about evenly between Spanish and English language pop from the 90s/00s.

I am white but have come to know many younger adults of Mexican descent in LA, both at work and in my social circle & dating life, and generally speaking they're fully American/Southern Californian culturally. English dominant although most are also fluent in Spanish.

I think you make a good point. I don't know what the statistics are but I can tell you that antecdotally, Hispanics in Arizona do have a soft spot for, and often listen to, country music stations.

 

[ted chittenden]

According to the latest Nielsen ratings, as many people are tuning in Country as are listening to Top 40 in Los Angeles. Both 102.7 KIIS-FM and 105.1 KKGO are tied at #11 in the overall ratings, along with All-News 1070 KNX and Classical 91.5 KUSC. KIIS has been out of the top ten for several months now.

According to the Research Director, in the 18-34 demographic, KKGO is #5 while KIIS-FM is #7, tied with Urban 92.3 KRRL. And for fans of The Wave, KTWV is #3 in the 18-34 demo as well.

Isn't it crazy that once dominant KIIS-FM is still struggling? This is the only demo where The Research Director even mentions KIIS-FM. It's not in the top five in either 18-49 or 25-54. Same for KKGO. This youthful demo is the only place LA's Country station is mentioned too.

I thought LA had been similar to NYC and San Francisco in its lack of interest in Country music. For years, a new owner would come along and put a Country station on the air in Market #2. It was going to be different, more contemporary, not tied to the old Country twang. It would limp along for a few years and get switched to something else. For whatever reason, after 19 years of playing Country music, KKGO is showing decent listening levels. I guess NYC and SF remain the only American markets that have little interest in the Country format.

I think you may be historically incorrect. @Huff and others are free to correct me, but KLAC (570 kHz) ran a country format from 1970 until the late 1980s when KZLA (93.9 mHz) beat it ratingswise. And KKGO, which had been all jazz (with a brief period when it went all classical) when country after KZLA was sold and dumped the format in the early 2000s. For the life of me, I can't see either KLAC or KZLA-FM holding on to country as long as they did (or even KKGO-FM switching to the format) if it hadn't proved to be successful for them either ratingswise or, more importantly, billingwise. The same could be said for KSAN at 94.9 mHz in San Francisco after it went country in 1984 and didn't change formats until 1996 after it was purchased by a new owner.

 

[KilowattKat]

Right now Country has the better new music product over CHR. Looking at today's recently played on KIIS, there is nothing on there that I would say is memorable, and will mostly be forgettable in the future. Where are the songs with catchy hooks that become earworms? I can find that now with new Country music.

 

[davideduardo]

Two observations on this thread:

First, there are numerous mentions of "white" listeners. Actually, the reference should be to "Non-Hispanic white" listeners. The U.S. Census Bureau and all demographers consider "Hispanic" to be a vague cultural classification and definitely not a race. Most Hispanics have, historically since the Census introduced "the Hispanic question", marked "white" in the race question.

Second, what is being ignored in the CHR discussion is that the demographics that gave much of the listening to KIIS has moved to streaming sources. Similarly, much of the Urban equivalent of Top 40 has moved, with the additional factor of having so many hits that can't be played on the radio.

A reminder, also, that a person from Argentina who is a grandchild of Polish immigrants, a member of the Chinese community in Peru, a Mayan from Guatemala or a distant descendant of the huge migration from the Canary Islands in Puerto Rico, are all Hispanics and that is why "Hispanic" is not a race. There are white Hispanics, Black ones, Asian ones and Indigenous ones and every amazing possible combination.

 

[ted chittenden]

Two observations on this thread:

First, there are numerous mentions of "white" listeners. Actually, the reference should be to "Non-Hispanic white" listeners. The U.S. Census Bureau and all demographers consider "Hispanic" to be a vague cultural classification and definitely not a race. Most Hispanics have, historically since the Census introduced "the Hispanic question", marked "white" in the race question.

Second, what is being ignored in the CHR discussion is that the demographics that gave much of the listening to KIIS has moved to streaming sources. Similarly, much of the Urban equivalent of Top 40 has moved, with the additional factor of having so many hits that can't be played on the radio.

A reminder, also, that a person from Argentina who is a grandchild of Polish immigrants, a member of the Chinese community in Peru, a Mayan from Guatemala or a distant descendant of the huge migration from the Canary Islands in Puerto Rico, are all Hispanics and that is why "Hispanic" is not a race. There are white Hispanics, Black ones, Asian ones and Indigenous ones and every amazing possible combination.

Fair enough. And, given that, I amend my comment by saying that antecdotally, the Mexican-americans I know living in Arizona enjoy country music almost as much as ranchera.

 

[davideduardo]

Fair enough. And, given that, I amend my comment by saying that antecdotally, the Mexican-americans I know living in Arizona enjoy country music almost as much as ranchera.

The same occurs in places like Albuquerque, McAllen, San Antonio among much later generation Hispanics.

I'm reminded of an Hispanic friend from Albuquerque. She spoke no Spanish, and I asked her when the last time her family had spoken Spanish. She replied, "around the 1850's, I think". There have been times when one of the San Antonio Country stations had around half of its cume among Hispanics; again, they were much later generation "Tejanos" and not recent immigrants or their family members.

Also keep in mind that English-only Americans don't tend to have deep contact or conversations with Hispanics who speak no English or only limited English.

And "ranchera" not the favorite regional Mexican music form; ranchera is mostly liked by older people and most regional Mexican stations seldom if every play rancheras today... it's mostly banda and its derivatives and norteña and a little Mexican cumbia.