Question for Dave about KRLA

[fastfreddie112]

Dave,

Do you know anything about sports station
KRLA with its less than stellar ratings? Even
with a heavy spot load, if you are at the bottom
of the ratings junk heap, how long can this
station continue in its present situation?

Is it a case of not the ratings but
the male demo that is important here?

Is this station turning a profit?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[KMRichards]

> Dave,

His name is David, not "Dave".

> Do you know anything about sports station
> KRLA with its less than stellar ratings? Even
> with a heavy spot load, if you are at the bottom
> of the ratings junk heap, how long can this
> station continue in its present situation?

Obviously, you are outside the market.

I presume you are referring to the station at 1110 which carried the call letters KRLA for many years.

It changed call letters to KSPN at the end of 2000, then flipped formats and call letters with 710/KDIS on January 1, 2003. The KRLA call letters moved to the former 870/KIEV in 2001.

Now to answer your question, as David has many times on many boards when similar questions were asked. (This is my "Feliz Navidad" present to you, David ... sparing you from having to repeat yourself for the 973rd time.)

> Is it a case of not the ratings but
> the male demo that is important here?
>
> Is this station turning a profit?

First, the 12+ numbers are even more meaningless than usual for sports stations. Most are geared, as you correctly presume, at male demos. And often, less than stellar ratings are still good for a lot of agency business with this format. So that heavy spot load to which you refer speaks volumes for the station's desirability among advertisers who want to reach the specific demographic (which in this case is not just the gender/age factor, but the fact that certain products sell well among sports enthusiasts; i.e. beer, trucks, etc.).

Another factor to consider is that 710/KSPN (which is, I presume, the station you are actually inquiring about, after we sorted out all those call letter and frequency flips) is owned by ABC/Disney and is a brand extension of ESPN. That adds value to the format which is not necessarily measured in ad revenue.

KSPN also is the flagship station for Angels baseball and Kings hockey, which brings in revenue specific to those teams' broadcasts.

So, they probably are profitable, and even if marginal, the ESPN brand extension alone means that it can -- and will -- continue.

> Any help is appreciated.

I hope this was indeed helpful to you.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[fastfreddie112]

Oh man, my brain must have been off a fuse.
I meant, KLAC which is now known as XTRA
SPORTS 570 AM. It's a clear channel station.
They only have a 1/2 of a rating point.

I noticed they have been pushing MANCOW
who is syndicated from Chicago. He's on in
the mornings. Then at night, they have
Phil Hendrie, which is comedy. And that
sports stuff is in between.

I haven't been on this board in over a year,
so forgive me. But, in the past, when
a station was doing so poorly in the
ratings, usually there was somebody
predicting a format change.

But I gather, sports stations can
exist with a small market share
as long as the demo is active and
buying product.

thanks.