August Radio Ratings: Healthy Summer Gains for LA's Top Stations

Univision's KLVE "K-Love 107.5" is once again No. 1 spot in morning radio, as the station's "Omar y Argelia" posted a 4.8 share (same as last month) of the Los Angeles 12+ audience in August. KRTH "K-Earth 101's" Gary Bryan (4.7, up from 4.5) was No. 2, followed by KFI-AM's Bill Handel (4.6, up from 4.2), Spanish station KSCA's "El Bueno, La Mala y El Feo" show (4.1 down from 4.7), and all-news KNX, benefiting from a busy news month (4.0, up from 3.6). Also tied in 5th was Valentine at KBIG "My 104.3 FM" (4.0, up from 3.8).

Among persons 18-34, KPWR "Power 106's" Big Boy was No. 1 in the morning (8.0 share). And in adults 25-54, KROQ's "Kevin & Bean Show" remained No. 1 (5.1).

In overall 6 a.m. to midnight ratings, it was a nice month of gains for most of the most-listened-to stations. KBIG was once again No. 1 with listeners 12+ (5.3, up from 4.9 last month), followed by KRTH (4.9, up from 4.7), KIIS-FM (4.8, up from 4.5), KOST (4.4, up from 4.2) and KPWR "Power 106" (4.2, down from 4.3). KPWR was No. 1 with 18-34 listeners (8.0) while KBIG was also No. 1 with 25-54 (5.4).

July Radio Ratings: A New Number One in the Mornings

Another semi-dramatic shift in Los Angeles morning drive radio, as Univision's KLVE "K-Love 107.5" landed the No. 1 spot in the July book among persons 12+, as "Omar y Argelia" posted a 4.8 share of the audience. Spanish station KSCA's "El Bueno, La Mala y El Feo" show, which was No. 1 in June, is now No. 2 (4.7), followed by KRTH "K-Earth 101's" Gary Bryan (4.5), KFI-AM (4.2) and KBIG "My 104.3 FM" (3.8).

Among persons 18-34, KSCA was No. 1 (7.1 share). And in adults 25-54, KROQ's "Kevin & Bean Show" was tops (5.1), a streak they've held since December.

In overall 6 a.m. to midnight ratings, KBIG was No. 1 with listeners 12+, followed by KRTH (4.7), KIIS-FM (4.5), KPWR "Power 106" (4.3) and KOST (4.2). KPWR was No. 1 with 18-34 listeners (8.1) while KBIG was also No. 1 with 25-54 (5.3).

June L.A. Radio Ratings: Why Are Things So Topsy-Turvy?

What's going on with the Nielsen radio ratings in Los Angeles? The June 2014 book is out, and the results are still strange. Yet, Nielsen says it now believes everything is kosher, according to the Los Angeles Times:

Ratings giant Nielsen on Wednesday said it has concluded its investigation into inaccurate ratings in the Los Angeles radio market, but stopped short of sanctioning Univision Communications for alleged unethical conduct by a former station executive.

Last month, Nielsen discovered that a high-ranking Univision Radio executive at the company's Los Angeles station, KSCA-FM (101.9), had access to several of Nielsen's portable people meter devices that pick up audio signals. Nielsen uses data transmitted from the devices to determine which radio stations have the most listeners.

It is a violation of Nielsen rules for a station employee to have access to the devices. Univision quickly fired the executive and announced more rigorous ethics training sessions for its employees. No other station executives were reprimanded.

Nielsen notified radio stations on Wednesday that despite the problems it found with two households that were removed from its sample audience in Los Angeles, the agency would not go back and reissue the ratings for last year or the first quarter of 2014.

And yet KSCA, which had been 13th place in mornings as recently as January, is suddenly the No. 1 station between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. among listerners 12+ (5.0 share), up from 5th place in May. The station's new "El Bueno, La Mala y El Feo" show is also No. 1 with listeners 18-34 with a whopping 9.3 share, up a massive 3 share points from May (6.3).

KRTH "K-Earth 101"'s Gary Bryan is No. 2 with 12+ (4.9 share), followed by KLVE-FM's Omar y Argelia (4.3), KIIS' Ryan Seacrest (4.1) and KFI-AM's Bill Handel (3.9). In persons 18-34, KPWR "Power 106"'s Big Boy is second (7.5), then KIIS (5.8), KROQ's Kevin & Bean (5.2) and KBIG's Valentine (4.8). With persons 25-54, KROQ is No. 1 (5.3), then KSCA (4.9), KIIS (4.6), KLVE (4.1) and KBIG (3.8).

In total day listening, KRTH is extending its reign among persons 12+ (5.5 share), followed by KIIS (5.0), KBIG (4.9), KPWR (4.7) and KOST (4.1). KPWR is tops with listeners 18-34 (8.4 share), while KIIS leads with listeners 25-54 (5.2).

Radio Ratings: Two Spanish Shows Take Morning Radio By Storm

KROQ's Kevin & Bean Show was once again No. 1 in April among listeners 12+ (a streak it has kept up from the beginning of the year) with a 4.7 share of the Los Angeles market audience, according to Nielsen Audio. Kevin & Bean are also No. 1 with adults 25-54 (6.4 share) for the sixth book in a row.



But it appears that change is afoot in morning radio, led by two rapidly rising Spanish-language radio stations: KSCA-FM and KXOS-FM. "El Bueno, La Mala y El Feo" ("The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"), the new morning show on KSCA "LA 101.9," was No. 2 in April, averaging a 4.5 share among listeners 12+. It's been a great recovery for KSCA, which had slumped at the end of last year after previous host Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo exited.

Experiencing an even more dramatic rise is KXOS-FM "Exitos 93.9," which was not a player at all in the mornings until the arrival of El Mandril, who was previously at KLAX. KXOS scored a 4.2 share in April -- compared to the 0.6 it posted in December. (KLAX, on the flip side, went from No. 1 for most of last year in morning drive to 24th place for much of this year so far.)

KIIS' Ryan Seacrest was No. 1 with adults 18-34, with a 7.1 share.

In overall 6 a.m. to midnight listening, KIIS-FM was No. 1 in people 12+, with a 5.1 share, followed by KBIG "My 104.3" (4.9), KRTH "K-Earth 101" (4.8), KPWR "Power 106" (4.5) and KOST-FM (4.5).

KPWR was tops with adults 18-34 (8.7) and KBIG was No. 1 with 25-54 (5.6).

There were so many major changes in this book -- KPCC's online stream even posted a decent number, even though it never showed up in the book until now. Did Nielsen Audio overhaul its Los Angeles sample in the past month?

L.A. Radio Ratings: The Return of Spanish Radio Dominance? And What's Happening to KFI?

For a second month in a row, KLAX-FM's "El Mandril" locked the No. 1 spot in morning drive among listeners over the age of 12, as well as in the persons 18-34 demo. He was No. 2 with listeners 25-54. Not bad for a morning show that was ranked No. 13 as recently as the end of December.

Also on the rise: KSCA-FM, which rose dramatically in July -- in part thanks to the controversy surrounding the firing of host Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo, who was removed from the show on July 22. In his final month on the air, Piolin rose to fourth place in mornings (and No. 3 with 25-54), having been in 12th place as recently as January.

But Piolin had already been back on the rise in 2013, having jumped from a 3.0 share in January to a 4.2 in April. (Which is why it was clear he wasn't removed for ratings reasons -- and allegations of sexual harassment have emerged.) Have listening habits changed that much over the past seven months? Much more likely, a change in the makeup Arbitron's local roster of Personal People Meter (PPM) users has brought in a few more listeners more likely to listen to Spanish-language radio.

Perhaps the new panel has also lost a few older listeners, as news/talk KFI has seen its share of listeners also tumble. The morning mix of Bill Handel and Rush Limbaugh is still No. 2 overall, but at a 4.9 share-- much smaller than the 8.1 share from August 2012 (granted, during a busy election cycle). The change is much more noticable in KFI's 6 a.m. to midnight listenership: In July, the station averaged a 3.2 share, putting it in a tie for 11th place. As recently as April, KFI was in fourth place, with a 4.3 share.

In morning drive, after KLAX (5.5) and KFI (4.9), KROQ's "Kevin & Bean Show" was third, with a 4.8 share, followed by KSCA (4.4) and KIIS' Ryan Seacrest in fifth (4.0). Among listeners 25-54, KROQ is No. 1 (6.8), followed by KLAX (6.5), KSCA (4.7), KIIS (4.6) and a tie between KBIG's Valentine and KBUE's "Don Cheto" (4.5).

Overall, from 6 a.m. to midnight, KBIG continued its winning streak with listeners 12+ (5.3), followed by KIIS (5.1), KOST (4.6), KAMP "Amp Radio" (4.4) and KPWR "Power 106" (4.2). With listeners 25-54, KBIG led (5.7), then KIIS (5.2), KROQ (4.5) and a tie between KSCA and KAMP (4.1).