LA: KBIG-FM Slips To Third as KIIS Regains Top Ratings

After a month in the rarefied air of first place — the culmination of a strong year in the radio ratings — adult-contemporary station KBIG-FM (104.3) dropped back to third in October, according to figures released this week by Arbitron.

Meanwhile,writes Steve Carney at the LATimes, the morning audience for news and information station KPCC-FM (89.3) has ballooned since the summer, in spite of upheaval at its homegrown show.

An 11th-place station a year ago, KBIG — known as "MYfm" — surged in 2012, riding a broad playlist that included music from artists ranging from otherworldly chanteuse Lady Gaga to banjo-driven throwback act Mumford & Sons, helping it challenge the supremacy of Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7) and talk station KFI-AM (640), the two outlets that had spent the year battling for No. 1 in the Los Angeles-Orange County ratings.

KBIG had tied with pop station KIIS-FM (102.7) atop the ratings in September, both grabbing 5.2% of the total audience ages 6 and older, with KFI just behind at 4.8%. But in the most recent survey period, covering Sept. 13 to Oct. 10, KBIG slipped to 5%, while KFI rose to 5.1% and KIIS jumped ahead of them all to 5.6%.

In morning drive, KPCC added a whopping 120,000 listeners in just two months — jumping from 322,000 people who tuned in for at least five minutes per week in August, to an average of 422,000 in October — during a span in which it changed hosts and show names twice.

On Aug. 20, KPCC brought on Martinez, a former sports-talk radio host, to pair with Madeleine Brand on her 2-year-old morning program, renamed it "Brand & Martinez" and expanded to two hours.

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