Las Vegas Why Don't Las Vegas Listeners Care About News, Talk or Sports?

[Gregg.]

The Las Vegas market is growing. It's not just about gambling, casinos and tourists anymore. But you wouldn't know that by looking at its radio ratings. There are no spoken word stations among the first 18 on the latest ratings list.

At #19 is NPR station 88.9 KNPR. It isn't until you get to #25 that you find the first talk radio station, 670 KMZQ, which has a local morning show followed by syndicated hosts. Audacy owns 840 KXNT, 50,000 watts by day, 25,000 watts by night. Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Dave Ramsey, George Noory and CBS News on the hour. That's at #30. It doesn't even score a 1 rating. We just had a presidential election and Nevada is a swing state.

There's lots of sports interest in Vegas, right? The city is getting an NFL team. The casinos take bets on sports events. So how does sports radio do? The top sports station is 1100 KWNN, 22,000 watts days and 2,000 watts nights plus an FM translator. It's at #28, also below a 1 rating.

Las Vegas recently lost two big AM stations, talk radio 720 KDWN and sports radio 1140 KXST. They both had FM translators which continue their programming but they are also well below a 1 rating.

Boston has five spoken-word stations in its top ten, all-news WBZ, two NPR outlets and two FM sports stations. I know Vegas isn't Boston. But don't the residents of Market #32 want to hear anything other than music?

 

[TheBigA]

The Las Vegas market is growing. It's not just about gambling, casinos and tourists anymore. But you wouldn't know that by looking at its radio ratings. There are no spoken word stations among the first 18 on the latest ratings list.

I think you'll find the answer in the demographics. Three of the top 10 rated stations are regional Mexican. Why is that?

Las Vegas used to be a big retirement destination. Not anymore. They seem to prefer Arizona. The growth in Las Vegas is driven by immigration, all looking for jobs in the service industry. Those new immigrants are the audience for local radio.

 

[Mediafrog+]

The city is getting an NFL team.

“Is getting”?? The Raiders are in their fifth season in LV.

 

[Gregg.]

I think you'll find the answer in the demographics. Three of the top 10 rated stations are regional Mexican. Why is that?

Las Vegas used to be a big retirement destination. Not anymore. They seem to prefer Arizona. The growth in Las Vegas is driven by immigration, all looking for jobs in the service industry. Those new immigrants are the audience for local radio.

Well, I wouldn't say it's overwhelmingly Spanish-speaking immigrants moving into Las Vegas. Its suburbs are expanding with single family houses that are likely out of the price range for new immigrants. Nielsen lists Las Vegas as 29% Hispanic. That's not so different from markets where talk, sports and NPR affiliates do well.

San Diego is 32% Hispanic. KPBS-FM, an NPR station, is #2 (sometimes #1), KOGO, an iHeart news-talk station, is #12, and KWFN, an Audacy Sports FM station, is #15.

Maybe Vegas is so much about having fun that nobody wants to hear news or politics? But that still doesn't explain why it doesn't even listen to sports radio. BTW, Vegas has two Spanish-language sports stations but they also don't do well in the ratings. KENO 1450 barely shows up and the other Spanish sports station KISQ 870 doesn't show at all.

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe Vegas is so much about having fun that nobody wants to hear news or politics? But that still doesn't explain why it doesn't even listen to sports radio.

How well does sports radio do in LA? They also have quite a few pro teams there. No dominant Sports radio station. KSPN doesn't even subscribe.

 

[PTBoardOp93]

KSPN doesn't even subscribe.

Well, none of Good Karma's stations subscribe, so that doesn't tell you anything about LA specifically.

 

[inari]

The local newscast on the Las Vegas television stations getting pretty weak ratings too. 50,000 average viewers combined tuning into KSNV/KVVU/KLAS/KTNV in a city of 2.3 million people.

 

[radiofan2023]

How well does sports radio do in LA? They also have quite a few pro teams there. No dominant Sports radio station. KSPN doesn't even subscribe.

KLAC does ok:

Los Angeles

Nielsen Audio PPM Monthly Ratings Los Angeles (Market #2) Population: 11,160,800 Black: 783,800 – Hispanic: 4,977,600 Average Quarter Hour Share for Persons 6+, Mon-Sun 6AM-Mid All ratings are Copyright © 2005-2024 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen radio audience estimates and...

radioinsight.com

 

[davideduardo]

KLAC does ok:

Los Angeles

Nielsen Audio PPM Monthly Ratings Los Angeles (Market #2) Population: 11,160,800 Black: 783,800 – Hispanic: 4,977,600 Average Quarter Hour Share for Persons 6+, Mon-Sun 6AM-Mid All ratings are Copyright © 2005-2024 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen radio audience estimates and...

radioinsight.com

And it is a top 10 biller.

 

[TheBigA]

KLAC does ok:

When the Dodgers are in the World Series. Otherwise, they're a 1 share.

 

[radiofan2023]

When the Dodgers are in the World Series. Otherwise, they're a 1 share.

They also have the Clippers, etc. and are miles ahead of KSPN

 

[TheBigA]

They also have the Lakers, etc. and are miles ahead of KSPN

How do you know? KSPN doesn't subscribe?

 

[michael hagerty]

The Las Vegas market is growing. It's not just about gambling, casinos and tourists anymore. But you wouldn't know that by looking at its radio ratings. There are no spoken word stations among the first 18 on the latest ratings list.

At #19 is NPR station 88.9 KNPR. It isn't until you get to #25 that you find the first talk radio station, 670 KMZQ, which has a local morning show followed by syndicated hosts. Audacy owns 840 KXNT, 50,000 watts by day, 25,000 watts by night. Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Dave Ramsey, George Noory and CBS News on the hour. That's at #30. It doesn't even score a 1 rating. We just had a presidential election and Nevada is a swing state.

There's lots of sports interest in Vegas, right? The city is getting an NFL team. The casinos take bets on sports events. So how does sports radio do? The top sports station is 1100 KWNN, 22,000 watts days and 2,000 watts nights plus an FM translator. It's at #28, also below a 1 rating.

Las Vegas recently lost two big AM stations, talk radio 720 KDWN and sports radio 1140 KXST. They both had FM translators which continue their programming but they are also well below a 1 rating.

Boston has five spoken-word stations in its top ten, all-news WBZ, two NPR outlets and two FM sports stations. I know Vegas isn't Boston. But don't the residents of Market #32 want to hear anything other than music?

It's been 40 years since I moved to Vegas and 38 and a half since I left, so take the following with a grain of salt:

Even when I was there, it was very much an FM town. Beautiful, CHR, AOR and Country---the top four stations were all FM and all had at least a 10 share each. The two "big" AMs, KDWN and KORK (920), were in decline and had been for a few years--down to 4 and 5 shares when I got to town.

KDWN was labelled "News/Talk" in those days, but there wasn't much news. At the time, there was an attempt at all-news, KNUU (970). It barely registered in the ratings. Two shares.

By the time I left 18 months later, the top six stations were all FM, and eight of the top ten.

Even though it's not just about "gambling, tourists and casinos" anymore, a report last year showed 27% of the state's total workforce was directly or indirectly supported or induced by the casino industry. If you look at how Reno (the other previously major gaming town) has diversified, I'm betting that in Clark County, it's probably closer to a third.

‘The Facts’: Gaming industry responsible for 386K jobs, $90B total economic impact

Through graphs, charts and lists, the Nevada Resort Association’s ‘2023 The Facts’ provides a snapshot of how the casino industry contributes to Nevada.

www.reviewjournal.com

What might be instructive is to understand not how many people are moving to Las Vegas, but how long they stay on average. Vegas has traditionally had a higher percentage of people who come for an opportunity, stay for a few years and leave for a better opportunity than most metro areas.

Of the people who do stay? It takes a while to feel like a local anywhere. Las Vegas is a much more difficult place to get that feeling.

 

[KilowattKat]

The news and talk format does rather well in Reno, which is a small size version of Las Vegas to some extent, in that the casinos and gambling are an important industry. With a higher number of retirees than Vegas, and a large population of immigrants working in the casinos.

The ratings only come out every 6 months. Here's the last one released, with the 12+ numbers. KKFT and KUNR tied for #4, with a 5.6 share each, and KKOH #9 with a 3.8 share.

Reno

radioinsight.com

 

[Mark Roberts]

Of the people who do stay? It takes a while to feel like a local anywhere. Las Vegas is a much more difficult place to get that feeling.

Then there’s the matter of how long the water will last. Few seem to think about that.

 

[michael hagerty]

The news and talk format does rather well in Reno, which is a small size version of Las Vegas to some extent, in that the casinos and gambling are an important industry. With a higher number of retirees than Vegas, and a large population of immigrants working in the casinos.

The Federal Reserve of St. Louis says only about 11,500 people work in leisure and hospitality in the Reno MSA as of last month. Thirty years ago, when the town was much smaller, it was 25,000.

All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Casino Hotels in Reno, NV (MSA)

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Casino Hotels in Reno, NV (MSA) (SMU32399007072112001SA) from Jan 1990 to Mar 2026 about casino, Reno, hotel, accommodation, NV, employment, and USA.

fred.stlouisfed.org

The same report for the Las Vegas MSA shows 128,000 working in leisure and hospitality.

All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Casino Hotels in Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV (MSA)

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Casino Hotels in Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV (MSA) (SMU32298207072112001SA) from Jan 1990 to Mar 2026 about casino, hotel, Las Vegas, accommodation, NV, employment, and USA.

fred.stlouisfed.org

Reno and Lake Tahoe took much bigger hits when California legalized gaming on Native American reservations and casinos on this side of the border started building hotel towers and booking big-name entertainment. The biggest act playing a casino in either Reno or Tahoe between now and the end of the year is The Black Crowes. At Thunder Valley, northwest of Sacramento has Sarah Brightman and Snoop Dogg (separately).

Reno has diversified its workforce out of necessity. Tech in the area near the Tesla gigafactory north of Sparks is where the action is now.

The ratings only come out every 6 months. Here's the last one released, with the 12+ numbers. KKFT and KUNR tied for #4, with a 5.6 share each, and KKOH #9 with a 3.8 share.

Reno

radioinsight.com

Reno and Vegas (I lived in Reno for seven years, then moved to Vegas for 18 months) are polar opposites in a lot of ways.

News/Talk always did well for KOH and later KKOH. People tend to stay longer once moving there, and as you note, they tend to be older.

KKFT is a KSFO-style conservative talk station. It's going to do very well in Northern Nevada.

 

[KilowattKat]

The Federal Reserve of St. Louis says only about 11,500 people work in leisure and hospitality in the Reno MSA as of last month. Thirty years ago, when the town was much smaller, it was 25,000.

All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Casino Hotels in Reno, NV (MSA)

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Casino Hotels in Reno, NV (MSA) (SMU32399007072112001SA) from Jan 1990 to Mar 2026 about casino, Reno, hotel, accommodation, NV, employment, and USA.

fred.stlouisfed.org

The same report for the Las Vegas MSA shows 128,000 working in leisure and hospitality.

All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Casino Hotels in Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV (MSA)

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Casino Hotels in Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV (MSA) (SMU32298207072112001SA) from Jan 1990 to Mar 2026 about casino, hotel, Las Vegas, accommodation, NV, employment, and USA.

fred.stlouisfed.org

Reno and Lake Tahoe took much bigger hits when California legalized gaming on Native American reservations and casinos on this side of the border started building hotel towers and booking big-name entertainment. The biggest act playing a casino in either Reno or Tahoe between now and the end of the year is The Black Crowes. At Thunder Valley, northwest of Sacramento has Sarah Brightman and Snoop Dogg (separately).

Reno has diversified its workforce out of necessity. Tech in the area near the Tesla gigafactory north of Sparks is where the action is now.




Reno and Vegas (I lived in Reno for seven years, then moved to Vegas for 18 months) are polar opposites in a lot of ways.

News/Talk always did well for KOH and later KKOH. People tend to stay longer once moving there, and as you note, they tend to be older.

KKFT is a KSFO-style conservative talk station. It's going to do very well in Northern Nevada.

Yes, Reno has changed since I first visited there back in the early 90's while living in Sacramento. There is no reason other than gambling to visit, unless you want to visit the National Bowling Museum and Stadium with the giant pin. The destination is Lake Tahoe and Virginia City for the tourists.

 

[michael hagerty]

Yes, Reno has changed since I first visited there back in the early 90's while living in Sacramento. There is no reason other than gambling to visit, unless you want to visit the National Bowling Museum and Stadium with the giant pin.

I'll add one more reason, in fact the reason I went the last time (a year and a half ago). I had somehow never been to the National Automobile Museum.

Home | National Automobile Museum

National Automobile Museum is one of the top Reno attractions with a "WOW!" factor you won't want to miss!

automuseum.org

The museum was founded on a fraction of the cars that were once the Harrah's Automobile Collection. Hagerty (no relation) did a great multi-part piece on its history and how it was broken up after Bill Harrah (of Harrah's hotel/casino fame) died:

Going, going, gone! The oral history of the most monumental classic car sale of all time (Part I) - Hagerty Media

Auctions liquidating the Harrah’s Automobile Collection are considered the most significant amassment of vintage cars ever assembled. It was the 1980s...

www.hagerty.com

"It was a party": The oral history of the most monumental classic car sale of all time (Part II) - Hagerty Media

The Harrah’s collector car auctions are thought by many to be the “big bang” that created the collector car market as we know it today.

www.hagerty.com

The destination is Lake Tahoe and Virginia City for the tourists.

We go to Tahoe a few times a year (it's 86 miles from my house to Stateline).

When I went to the auto museum in the spring of 2023, I went over on I-80, and then came back via U.S. 50, with a detour through Virginia City, where I hadn't been for leisure (I covered a few news stories there) since I was probably ten years old.

Let's just say it's seen better days.

 

[KilowattKat]

I'll add one more reason, in fact the reason I went the last time (a year and a half ago). I had somehow never been to the National Automobile Museum.

Home | National Automobile Museum

National Automobile Museum is one of the top Reno attractions with a "WOW!" factor you won't want to miss!

automuseum.org

The museum was founded on a fraction of the cars that were once the Harrah's Automobile Collection. Hagerty (no relation) did a great multi-part piece on its history and how it was broken up after Bill Harrah (of Harrah's hotel/casino fame) died:

Going, going, gone! The oral history of the most monumental classic car sale of all time (Part I) - Hagerty Media

Auctions liquidating the Harrah’s Automobile Collection are considered the most significant amassment of vintage cars ever assembled. It was the 1980s...

www.hagerty.com

"It was a party": The oral history of the most monumental classic car sale of all time (Part II) - Hagerty Media

The Harrah’s collector car auctions are thought by many to be the “big bang” that created the collector car market as we know it today.

www.hagerty.com

We go to Tahoe a few times a year (it's 86 miles from my house to Stateline).

When I went to the auto museum in the spring of 2023, I went over on I-80, and then came back via U.S. 50, with a detour through Virginia City, where I hadn't been for leisure (I covered a few news stories there) since I was probably ten years old.

Let's just say it's seen better days.

Yes, I forget about the National Automobile Museum. One of the last times I visited was during 'Hot August Nights', a very popular celebration of classic cars. Reno has had a strong connection for car enthusiasts.

 

[michael hagerty]

Yes, I forget about the National Automobile Museum. One of the last times I visited was during 'August Nights', a very popular celebration of classic cars. Reno has had a strong connection for car enthusiasts.

Beyond that, though....well, my wife and I went in 2017 to see Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde. That and my museum visit make two trips to Reno in the past 11 years.

There just isn't a draw for me. I enjoyed living there (apart from the final two brutal winters that helped me decide to leave), but it was considerably smaller then, easier to get around and, to be fair, I spent most of my free time at Tahoe.