KZLA was Country from 1980 to 2004, so not that recent and a healthy run in terms of longevity.
Book by book, it was a struggle. They got into the Country format three weeks ahead of KHJ and so there was a three-way Country battle for almost two and a half years (four, really, as KZLA AM and FM were separately programmed---the AM was automated).
KLAC had a 4 share in the book that was released around the time KHJ and KZLA made their decisions. It was top 5 in the summer '80 book.
The first full book was Winter of '81 and it was KLAC 3.5, KZLA-FM 2.5, KHJ 2.0 and KZLA-AM 0.5.
Everybody lost share in the Spring book, there wasn't much change in the summer.
Winter '82 was where KZLA had its first win, though it essentially held steady and KLAC dropped below it: KZLA-FM 2.5, KLAC 2.0, KHJ 1.6 (R&R's cutoff in the ratings directories was a 1.0 by this point, so there's no data on KZLA-AM---it was sold and went Spanish in '84).
KLAC tied KZLA at 2.1 in the Spring '82 book, with KHJ at a 1.5, and KLAC regained the lead in the summer, while still losing share: KLAC 1.9, KZLA 1.6 and KHJ 1.4.
Fall '82 was the deciding book for KHJ. KLAC 2.4, KZLA 2.1 and KHJ 1.4. Those numbers would have been published a little over 90 days before KHJ dumped Country on April 1, 1983.
Once it became a two-way race, KZLA pulled ahead. Summer of '83 was KZLA 2.4, KLAC 1.8, and the fall book was KZLA 1.9, KLAC 1.6.
KZLA beat KLAC from then until KLAC dropped out of the format in 1993, but neither station was doing that well---a great book for KZLA was to break a 2.5, and KLAC stayed in the mid-to-upper 1s.
Once KZLA had Country all to itself, things really didn't improve that much. Its best ratings---and hardcore country listeners and critics of this particular PD all hate this, but it's the truth---was under John Sebastian (1996-1998) when it got to a 2.9 and broke into the Top 10:
But that was the peak. It never got better than that, and in 2006, they flipped to what was described as Rhythmic AC with Movin'.
