KABC-AM Drops to 4th Place Among L.A. Stations

KABC-AM(790), Los Angeles’ original talk radio station, took a tumble in the quarterly audience survey released Wednesday by Arbitron Ratings Service, dropping into fourth place among the most popular stations in the nation’s second largest radio market.

KABC’s slip from third last summer was the first time in more than five years that the radio home of such talk-show heavyweights as Michael Jackson and David Viscott, has finished in other than one of the top three slots.

Those positions for the period between Sept. 22 and Dec. 14 went, respectively, to KPWR-FM (105.9), KIIS-FM (102.7) and KOST-FM (103.5). It was the sixth consecutive quarter that KPWR finished first.

KOST, whose mainstay is a so-called “yuppie rock” programming mix of love songs and adult contemporary soft hits, moved within striking distance of perennial Top 40 rockers KPWR “Power 106” and KIIS-FM.

Jhani Kaye, KOST’s program director, attributed his station’s success to programming consistency. KOST’s move into third place in the Arbitrons was also the 25th consecutive time that KOST has led the Los Angeles market among adult contemporary stations, Kaye said Wednesday.

“We first put the format together on Nov. 14, 1982; we stuck to it,” he said.

Over the last six years, KOST has been challenged by similar, and now-defunct, formats at KHTZ (now classic rock KLSX-FM (97.1)) and KMGG (now KPWR).

Consistency is a rare commodity among ratings-conscious broadcasters, who fire deejays in droves and flip-flop formats after one or two bad “books,” according to Kaye.

Arbitron compiles listener ratings results into “books” on a quarterly basis, and it is those statistics that dictate advertising rates for the more than 80 radio stations that operate in the greater Los Angeles area.

“KOST is a well-programmed, well-marketed radio station,” said Nick Trigony, executive vice president of KOST’s Atlanta-based owner, Cox Broadcasting. “Our programming has been refined and defined over and over again, but we stay well-focused, and that’s what has contributed to our success over the past five or six years.”

KOST’s sister station, KFI-AM (640), remained in the ratings cellar despite a well-publicized drive to challenge KABC at its own talk game. With a 1.3 rating (a single rating point equals about 17,000 listeners who tune in during any given quarter hour), KFI dropped one-tenth of a rating point between the summer and fall survey periods.

KABC executives were not immediately available for comment Wednesday. The station traditionally experiences a drop in listeners in the fall after the Los Angeles Dodgers finish their season.

With KABC’s slide into fourth place, the clouded future of AM radio is further muddled. Over the past decade, AM stations have steadily lost ground to the crisper, more popular stereo sound of FM throughout the nation. In Wednesday’s ratings results, only five of the top 20 stations in Los Angeles are AM stations and only two of those--KMPC-AM (710) and Spanish-language KTNQ-AM (1020)--play music.

With the entry of KFI, KGIL-AM (1260) and KIEV-AM (870) into the talk radio field during the past three years, the AM band is less a music medium and increasingly a haven for talk show hosts.

In morning drivetime, still the most competitive time slot for radio broadcasters, the personality derbies remain a virtual dead heat.

KIIS’s veteran wise guy Rick Dees continues to hold his ratings lead (7.0) by a slim margin over KABC’s Ken Minyard and Bob Arthur (6.7), KPWR’s Jay Thomas (6.7), KLOS-FM’s (95.5) Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps (5.0) and KOST’s Kim Amidon and Mark Wallengren (4.1).

All-news KNX-AM (1070), which moved ahead of rival KFWB-AM (980) in the overall ratings, also made a strong morning drivetime showing with a 5.3 rating during the 6-10 a.m. Monday-through-Friday time period.

The top 20 stations in Los Angeles, followed by their fall and summer Arbitron ratings, are listed in the table accompanying this article. Each rating point equals about 17,000 listeners over age 12, tuned in during an average quarter hour between 6 a.m. and midnight.

Fall ’88 Summer ’88 1. KPWR-FM (105.9) 7.2 7.4 2. KIIS-FM (102.7) 5.8 6.8 3. KOST-FM (103.5) 5.4 5.0 4. KABC-AM (790) 5.3 5.7 5. KJOI-FM (98.7) 4.6 4.1 6. KLOS-FM (95.5) 3.6 4.3 7. KNX-AM (1070) 3.5 3.1 8. KBIG-FM (104.3) 3.3 4.2 8. KTWV-FM (94.7) 3.3 3.0 10. KRTH-FM (101.1) 3.2 3.1 10. KROQ-FM (106.7) 3.2 3.4 10. KLVE-FM (107.5) 3.2 3.7 13. KFWB-AM (980) 3.1 3.3 14. KIQQ-FM (100.3) 2.8 2.6 14. KTNQ-AM (1020) 2.8 2.7 16. KZLA-FM (93.9) 2.6 2.1 17. KLSX-FM (97.1) 2.3 3.1 17. KJLH-FM (102.3) 2.3 1.6 19. KMPC-AM (710) 2.1 2.0 20. KNAC-FM (105.5) 1.6 1.0