Radio Ratings: Big January for KOST, KIIS, "Omar y Argelia" and "Kevin & Bean"

KOST-FM continued to enjoy a Christmas halo in January.

The station's annual all-Christmas format was a huge hit during the holidays, pulling a staggering 12.1 share of all Los Angeles radio listeners at the end of December. Christmas may be long gone, but listeners were still tuning into KOST way into January, giving it the No. 1 slot among listeners over the age of 12 (with a 5.9 share).

According to Nielsen's January radio ratings, top 40 KIIS-FM was No. 1 throughout the day with listeners 18-34 (8.0 share) and adults 25-54 (5.4 share).

In morning drive, Spanish-language KLVE's Omar y Argelia won overall, while KROQ's Kevin & Bean were tops in the key 25-54 demo. What's more, KROQ's Internet stream of Kevin & Bean also posted strong numbers -- so much more, that if you add the show's over-the-air and web numbers together, the show would be No. 3 overall (with a 4.5 share), and command an even more dominant 6.9 share with adults 25-54.

In public radio, our friends at KCRW led everyone with a strong 2.2 share.

Here are the top radio stations in January among listeners 12+:
1. KOST-FM (5.9 share)
2. KRTH-FM "K-Earth" (4.7)
3. KIIS-FM (4.6)
4. KBIG-FM "My FM" (4.5)
5. KLVE-FM "K-Love" (4.4)
6. KTWV-FM "The Wave" (4.2)
7. KRCD-FM "Recuerdo" (3.5)
tie. KCBS-FM "Jack FM" (3.5)
9. KNX-AM (3.3)
tie. KFI-AM (3.3)


25-54:
1. KIIS (5.4)
2. KBIG (5.0)
3. KLVE (4.8)
tie. KOST (4.8)
5. KCBS (4.0)
tie. KRTH (4.0)

Here are the top stations in morning drive among listeners 12+:
1. KLVE-FM "K-Love"/Omar y Argelia (5.3 share)
2. KOST-FM/Ellen K. (4.7)
3. KFI-AM/Bill Handel (4.4)
4. KIIS-FM/Ryan Seacrest (4.1)
5. KRTH "K-Earth"/Gary Bryan (4.0)
6. KNX-AM/Dick Helton and Vicky Moore (3.8)
tie. KROQ-FM/Kevin & Bean (3.8)
8. KTWV "The Wave"/Pat Prescott (3.6)
tie. KBIG "My FM"/Valentine (3.6)
10. KSCA "LA 101.9"/"El Bueno, La Mala y El Feo" (3.1)

25-54:
1. KROQ (5.6)
2. KLVE (5.2)
3. KIIS (4.7)
4. KBIG (3.8)
tie. KSCA (3.8)

All-Christmas Radio En Espanol Comes to LA

We wrote a few days ago about the Christmas music war that has broken out between traditional holiday leader KOST-FM and rival smooth jazz KTWV "The Wave." Now enters a third competitor: Spanish-language oldies outlet KRCD-FM, known as "Recuerdo 103.9/98.3."

The interesting thing here: Recuerdo is playing a mix of Spanish-language Christmas songs (yes, including "Feliz Navidad") and English-language Christmas songs from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Because, let's face it, even if you don't speak English, you've been bombarded with these songs over the years and I'm sure they're pretty familiar anyway.

There aren't many Spanish stations that have gone all-Christmas over the years, but Recuerdo probably figured it could steal away from bilingual and Spanish-language listeners who tune into KOST to get into the holiday mood.

Here's a sample of Recuerdo's playlist: