The “holiday” Nielsen radio ratings were released last week, covering the time period of December 5 through January 8. This odd period results from ratings being calculated in four-week periods and our months being roughly 4-1/4 weeks long, such that the “December” period actually covers mostly November and the “holiday” period enters January.
KOST (103.5 FM) won the month as per usual for the season with a 12.4 share of the audience. That is a huge number, more than twice that of the rating earned by second-place KRTH’s (101.1 FM) 4.7. KIIS (102.7 FM) was right behind with a 4.6, followed by KBIG (104.3 FM) at 4.2 and KLVE (107.5 FM) at 3.9.
Interestingly, the ratings for KOST were actually down somewhat compared with last year’s 12.6, and even more of a drop compared with the 13.1 share the station earned in the same period of 2021. I’m not sure if that’s a statistical anomaly or a worrisome trend, but it will be interesting to watch over the coming years. I highly doubt that the fine folks at KOST are overly concerned.
There might be concerns for KFI (640 AM), though. Last year, the station ranked 4th in the period with a 4.6 share. This year it was 12th with a 3.1, and that 3.1 comes on the heels of a trend that has seen declines in the past year – in the past four months alone, the station has earned shares of 3.6, 3.3, 3.3, and now 3.1. The cuts to the news department made at the end of last year will most likely not reverse the trend. On the positive side, KFI is still by far the most popular talk station in town.
On the other side are Go Country (KKGO-FM, 105.1) and Alt (KYSR, 98.7 FM), which both earned their highest ratings in a while: 2.4 and 2.6, respectively. Likewise, KUSC (91.5 FM) jumped into the top 10 with a 3.6 share, up from 3.0 the month before and 1.9 a year ago. I may be wrong, but I believe this may be the highest rating KUSC has ever earned.
While Alt was up, competitor KROQ (1.6.7 FM) was down, and frankly, I haven’t a clue as to why. The station was on a roll for a time and even beat Alt one or two months earlier this year. Now KROQ is almost a point behind Alt with a 1.8 share.
KNX Newsradio (1070 AM, 97.1 FM) declined a bit and again, I am not sure why. It could be that with election coverage over and the holiday season in full force, people just wanted to get away from the news. Regardless, the 3.7 share was good for a 6th-place tie with KTWV (94.7 FM)
With the Dodgers done for the season, KLAC (570 AM) was back to normal with a 0.9 share; the station earned a 3.0 at the end of the season, proving that baseball can still be a big draw, especially when the team is winning.
Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) was down to its lowest rating in a while: 1.4. That’s lower than KHJ (930 AM) earned when management dropped top-40 for country back in 1980, and ironically, lower than Magic 106 earned when previous owners launched Power 106 itself back in 1986. I personally think it is time to bring Chuck Martin out of retirement to act as programmer … and work his KHJ magic. I can dream.
And finally, Go Country Gold (KKGO, 1260 AM) made its ratings debut, earning a 0.1 share. I’m always pulling for an AM station!
The full story: Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged six and older tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight.
1. KOST (12.4) 2. KRTH (4.7) 3. KIIS (4.6) 4. KBIG (4.2) 5. KLVE (3.9) 6. KNX-AM/FM, KTWV “The Wave” (3.7) 8. KLAX, KUSC (3.6) 10. KCBS-FM “Jack,” KSCA (3.2) 12. KFI (3.1) 13. KLOS (3.0) 14. KYSR “Alt 98.7” (2.6) 15. KRCD (2.5) 16. KKGO-FM “Go Country” (2.4) 17. KLLI “Cali 93.9” (2.3) 18. KPCC (2.0) 19. KCRW, KLYY, KROQ, KRRL “Real 92.3” (1.8) 23. KKLQ, KXOL (1.7) 25. KJLH (1.6) 26. KBUE, KKJZ “K-Jazz” (1.5) 28. KPWR “Power 106” (1.4) 29. KDAY (1.1) 30. KLAC (0.9) 31. KFWB (0.8) 32. KFSH “The Fish” (0.7) 33. KEIB “The Patriot” (0.6) 34. KRLA “The Answer” (0.5) 35. KCSN “SoCal Sound” (0.4) 36. KDLD, KKLA, KNX Stream (0.3) 39. KYLA (0.2) 40. KBIG HD2, KCBS-FM Stream, KHJ, KKGO “Go Country Gold, ” KNX-FM HD2, KROQ HD2, KRTH Stream, KTNQ, KTWV Stream, KWKW, KZNO (0.1)
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com