KRTH Back To #1

[TheBigA]

A bit of a surprise as KRTH returns to #1 in the ratings for the first time in a year.

https://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb003

The increase is being driven by young listeners. According to Research Director, the station was #2 in 18-34, and #1 in 18-49:

https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/...rch-director-inc-exclusive-october-ppm-analys

This is pretty unusual for a classic hits station. They typically don't attract the under 40 crowd. So clearly the music mix is working for them.

 

[radio128]

Maybe a lot of 18-34 are dissatisfied with the current hits and are seeking out older music. They enjoy KRTH's upbeat presentation.

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe a lot of 18-34 are dissatisfied with the current hits and are seeking out older music. They enjoy KRTH's upbeat presentation.

That could be, and it is reflected in the ratings of CHR stations.

But it also comes at a time when some older audiences are complaining that KRTH's music is getting younger.

So clearly, the change in the station's music is getting positive results.

 

[oldies76]

That could be, and it is reflected in the ratings of CHR stations.

But it also comes at a time when some older audiences are complaining that KRTH's music is getting younger.

So clearly, the change in the station's music is getting positive results.

No autotune, great talent, real instruments, great music. The 70's (what little they play) 80's and early 90's were something special and is reflected on KRTH's playlist. I suppose the older folks will just dump them and find K-Surf or other outlets for their music.

Congrats to them.

 

[DavidEduardo]

No autotune, great talent, real instruments, great music. The 70's (what little they play) 80's and early 90's were something special and is reflected on KRTH's playlist. I suppose the older folks will just dump them and find K-Surf or other outlets for their music.

Sometimes it helps to look at radio the way ad buyers do, with ratings and not shares.

25-54

#1 Tie KLVE, KBIG, KRTH all with 0.4
#2 Tie KLOS, KCBS, KIIS, KOST, KLAX and KTWV all with 0.3
#3 Tie KBUE, KPWR, KRCD, KAMP¨, KSCA, KFI, KROQ, KXOL, KLYY, KYSR, KKGO and KRRL all with 0.2

It looks a lot different when you use this perspective... but this is the way advertisers who use ratings look at the numbers and the rank. They don't buy "Gross Shares"... they buy "Gross Ratings Points".

 

[DOB]

That could be, and it is reflected in the ratings of CHR stations.

But it also comes at a time when some older audiences are complaining that KRTH's music is getting younger.

So clearly, the change in the station's music is getting positive results.

People turn on their top 40 or pop station to....surprise HEAR MASS APPEAL FUN POP MUSIC!

Pathetic! and the ratings prove it!

Dance Money is #1 is over 25 countries, all those pop stations have been playing it in power for awhile now and they all do very well in their countries. American chr is just watered down hip hop stations mixed with stale old songs like Sucker that remain in power for 3 times as long as they should. American CHR is just starting out with Dance Money now, ha ha ha ha. Clueless! In fact even today most don't realize that it is a smash hit pop song when they should have known that and played it as such months ago.

 

[david]

The 70's (what little they play) 80's and early 90's were something special and is reflected on KRTH's playlist.

This week I caught OutKast - Hey Ya!, a 2003 release, on KRTH so their playlist has also encroached past Y2K.

 

[DavidEduardo]

This week I caught OutKast - Hey Ya!, a 2003 release, on KRTH so their playlist has also encroached past Y2K.

Here are the deep stats on KRTH... data that will perhaps change some perceptions and opinions.

Fact 1. Library: KRTH is using a library of only 312 songs in the 7 day period I looked at. Of those, 97 got only one spin in the past seven days. Another 95 got between two and five spins ... including that Outkast song, as well as the No Doubt remake of "It's My Life" from 2003.

Fact 2, Rotations: Of the 120 songs (38% of the library) that got at least six spins, only 43 got ten or more. 32 of those are from 1979 to 1988. No 1990s or newer in the "power" rotation. None.

Fact 3. Era: Overall, 44 songs are pre-1979. Oldest is Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" from 1970. No 1960s songs at all. 43 are newer than 1990. Center of the library is 1983 (35 songs)-1984 (39 songs), flanked by a mere 22 songs from 1982 and 23 from 1985. Still, that's a total of 119 low-to-middle 1980s titles.

 

[hotpatrick2004]

Thats a pretty big deal that krth beat kost!!! Not for long though. Kost christmas starts in under 2 weeks and as we all know those santa numbers are huge.

So krth enjoy the bragging rights while ya got them. Kost is about to go all santaing on ya. I also see where kabc got a bit of a bump. Guess the usc games are workin out for them. For there mornin show with john n jillian is absolute garbage.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Thats a pretty big deal that krth beat kost!!!

Not really. In 25-54, KRTH has been #1 in 5 of the last 10 books.

KOST has been #1 in 4 of them. KBIG has been #1 once.

It is almost at random which of them will be #1 in any given month. They are always so close to each other, they are statistically tied, with the refocused KLVE now joining what is a 4-way tie in the sales demos.

 

[oldies76]

Fact 3. Era: Overall, 44 songs are pre-1979. Oldest is Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" from 1970. No 1960s songs at all. 43 are newer than 1990. Center of the library is 1983 (35 songs)-1984 (39 songs), flanked by a mere 22 songs from 1982 and 23 from 1985. Still, that's a total of 119 low-to-middle 1980s titles.

Interesting data. How many songs from the AC years of 1980 and 1981 are being played in each year on KRTH? As you know, these years tend to be dismissed more often than not. And only 22 songs from relatively AC 1982

 

[DavidEduardo]

Interesting data. How many songs from the AC years of 1980 and 1981 are being played in each year on KRTH? As you know, these years tend to be dismissed more often than not. And only 22 songs from relatively AC 1982

1980: 11 songs
1981: 17 songs

 

[DavidEduardo]

1980: 11 songs
1981: 17 songs

Interestingly, I looked at the last 6 weeks of KRTH. There are 587 songs, but quite a few play less than once every 7 days. If I exclude 10 PM to 6 AM, the list drops by 100 so there are a bunch that play in overnights only.

A number seem to rest, as in the last 14 days, there are only 349 songs, indicating about 36 or so that rotate slower than once every 7 days or songs that are "platooned" in and out. Going out 3 weeks brings the titles to 402, and going back 4, 5 and 6 weeks brings the total up by about 35-45 per week, giving us the 6 week total.

So it appears that there are songs that play for a period, rest for a period and each week brings in some rested ones and sends others off to cool down on the bench. None of the high rotation songs rest, though.

 

[semoochie]

Interestingly, I looked at the last 6 weeks of KRTH. There are 587 songs, but quite a few play less than once every 7 days. If I exclude 10 PM to 6 AM, the list drops by 100 so there are a bunch that play in overnights only.

A number seem to rest, as in the last 14 days, there are only 349 songs, indicating about 36 or so that rotate slower than once every 7 days or songs that are "platooned" in and out. Going out 3 weeks brings the titles to 402, and going back 4, 5 and 6 weeks brings the total up by about 35-45 per week, giving us the 6 week total.

So it appears that there are songs that play for a period, rest for a period and each week brings in some rested ones and sends others off to cool down on the bench. None of the high rotation songs rest, though.

Does K-Earth buck the trend or is Classic Hits becoming more popular with 18-34? Also, how long has this been going on? We had a conversation not long ago about Classic Rock doing well in 18-34 but not Classic Hits. If this preference holds with today's 18-34 year-olds, I could be hearing this music on the radio for the rest of my life!

 

[michael hagerty]

Fact 3. Era: Overall, 44 songs are pre-1979. Oldest is Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" from 1970. No 1960s songs at all. 43 are newer than 1990. Center of the library is 1983 (35 songs)-1984 (39 songs), flanked by a mere 22 songs from 1982 and 23 from 1985. Still, that's a total of 119 low-to-middle 1980s titles.

David: I believe KRTH plays the live version of "Maybe I'm Amazed" (which was the only single release), from 1976. If that's the case, what would be the oldest title they're playing?

 

[TheBigA]

Does K-Earth buck the trend or is Classic Hits becoming more popular with 18-34? Also, how long has this been going on? We had a conversation not long ago about Classic Rock doing well in 18-34 but not Classic Hits. If this preference holds with today's 18-34 year-olds, I could be hearing this music on the radio for the rest of my life!

The songs are more rock than pop, focusing on 80s. Similar situation in Boston, Atlanta, and Dallas.

 

[andreajesus]

This is pretty unusual for a classic hits station. They typically don't attract the under 40 crowd. So clearly the music mix is working for them.

They're just following the lead of their NYC radio sister, WCBSFM - CBSFM has been a consistent #2 in recent books, based on the fact that they are programming to the same demos that KRTH is programming to. (And it's just a matter of time before CBSFM experiences the same success - like another #1? - as KRTH).

 

[DavidEduardo]

They're just following the lead of their NYC radio sister, WCBSFM - CBSFM has been a consistent #2 in recent books, based on the fact that they are programming to the same demos that KRTH is programming to. (And it's just a matter of time before CBSFM experiences the same success - like another #1? - as KRTH).

Actually, the "lead" for a shorter, more contemporary classic hits format was set by Rick Thomas when he was PD of KRTH. He cut the list to around 300 songs, and focused on local research including a large percentage of Mexican heritage Hispanics in their projects.

This became the model, adapted for local ethnicity and demographics, for a number of the other CBS Classic Hits stations... some did well, others were poorly implemented as they did not take into account the local market as well as they should have.

New York is demographically quite different from LA. The Hispanic population percentage is nearly double, and it is nearly all from Mexico while in New York it is Caribbean; the Black population percentage of LA is less than half that of New York. And the lifestyle is totally different. That's why CBS-FM has a very different style from KRTH, even if they are in the same format (including their 72 year-old morning host... which would never work in LA).

 

[andreajesus]

That's why CBS-FM has a very different style from KRTH, even if they are in the same format (including their 72 year-old morning host... which would never work in LA).

David, I'm just pointing out the fact that as KRTH has ALREADY gone to #1 in Los Angeles, that WCBSFM is headed for #1 in New York City (now as for the latter's 72-YEAR-OLD MORNING HOST, it don't even work for ME in NY!! But since I'm not in either KRTH or WCBSFM's target demo....)

 

[CaliRadioFan]

I can't help wondering if K-EARTH gained some audience, thanks to perhaps listener burnout from the non-stop promotion of IHeart's annual Mecca to Vegas (IHeart Music Festival) across all of its stations.