800.275.2840 MORE NEWS» insideradio.com THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015 L.A.’s KIIS-FM is radio’s top biller. For the first time in five years a different station sits atop BIA/Kelsey’s annual ranking of America’s top-billing radio stations. The firm reports iHeartMedia CHR KIIS-FM, Los Angeles (102.7) reclaimed the No. 1 position with a 7% revenue increase over the prior year. “The L.A. market overall was down last year so for ‘Kiss’ to increase its revenue share in that downtime is a testament of their position in the marketplace and its management,” BIA/Kelsey chief economist Mark Fratrik says. The last time KIIS-FM was at the top was in 2009, before losing the crown to Hubbard Radio’s all-news WTOP-FM, Washington, radio’s top-biller for the past four years. BIA/Kelsey says it now ranks No. 2 after its revenue held steady at $63.5 million. “Overall it was a flat year but we were encouraged because both local and digital were up,” WTOP director of sales Matt Mills says. “The government contracting business was a bit harder because of sequestration, but it is still our biggest category by far and we continued to do well with that category last year.” The top ten was again dominated by New York and Los Angeles stations with just two coming from other markets: CBS Radio’s Chicago all-news WBBM (780, 105.9) and WTOP. In an unusual twist, no stations moved on or off the top 10 ranker, although a few changed positions. Most notably, hot AC “104.3 My FM” KBIG leapfrogged AC sister “106.7 Lite FM” WLTW, New York and CBS Radio all-news WINS, New York (1010). With three all-news stations still ranking among the billing elite, Fratrik says it shows AM radio’s health is still closely tied to its content. “There are heritage stations that continue to provide programing that people want to hear that they can sell to advertisers,” he says. Steady year for radio overall. While there were some ups and downs among the top billers, BIA/Kelsey says 2014 was a status quo year for radio. “It was a flat year if you look at the industry overall,” BIA/Kelsey chief economist Mark Fratrik says. By the firm’s calculations, on-air spot sales totaled $14.3 billion with digital sales generating an additional $636 million to help offset the “slight decline” in over-the-air billings. “It really drives home the fact that stations have to be in more than over- the-air advertising — they have to be involved in digital and other activities,” Fratrik says. “They’re not just a radio station anymore; they are a local media company providing an audience to advertisers in many different ways.” Some markets showed growth last year, something Fratrik attributes to more robust political campaigns and stronger local economies overall. But across the board, from digital pureplays encroaching on local radio to more aggressive cable TV sales, Fratrik says the media marketplace is quickly evolving. “There’s so much competition for advertising, and that’s the real challenge for radio stations,” he says. Analysis: Top ratings don’t always equal top revenue. Last year’s highest billing radio stations were, in many cases, the top ratings performers in their markets. In radio’s richest revenue market, iHeartMedia CHR KIIS-FM (102.7) and hot [email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 1 NEWS insideradio.com WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015 AC sister “104.3 My FM” KBIG spent 2014 trading places as L.A.’s top-rated station among 25-54 year-olds. When one wasn’t No. 1, the other was. The 25-54 ratings difference between KIIS-FM and KBIG last year was so razor-thin that each station had a virtually identical average 5.2 share in the Money Demo. KIIS was basically flat from 2013 while KBIG was down. But not every station on BIA/Kelsey’s list of top revenue producers was perched at the top of the ratings. CBS Radio modern rock KROQ-FM, Los Angeles (106.7) is a solid 25-54 and 18-34 performer but it’s rarely at the top in either demo. In fact, L.A. stations not on the top billers tally posted higher 25-54 ratings than KROQ last year, like Emmis rhythmic CHR “Power 106” KPWR, iHeartMedia AC “Coast 103” KOST and CBS CHR “97.1 Amp Radio” KAMP-FM. That top ratings don’t automatically translate into top revenue speaks to the power of a station’s brand. Sitting just left of center, KROQ personifies hip and remains a cultural trendsetter in a trend-setting city. It also has the market’s top-rated and longest running morning show in Kevin & Bean. “It has a lot to do with being local,” BIA/Kelsey chief economist Mark Fratrik says of 2014’s top billers. “They have great on-air talent that provides a local flavor.” Radio’s top billers are evergreen brands in top markets. In New York, a pair of quintessential evergreen music brands made the prestigious BIA/Kelsey top billers list. Even without the year-end ratings lift of the all-Christmas format, AC “106.7 Lite FM” WLTW, New York was almost always No. 1 in 25-54 in 2014 while iHeartMedia CHR sister “Z100” WHTZ was typically No. 2. But other music stations close behind on New York’s 25-54 ranker didn’t make the BIA list, like Spanish Broadcasting System’s tropical “Mega 97.9” WSKQ-FM, Emmis urban AC WBLS (107.5) and CBS Radio’s classic hits WCBS-FM (101.1). Instead, a trio of spoken word brands that rank much lower in the Money Demo were once again top revenue generators: CBS Radio all-news sisters WCBS (880) and WINS (1010) and sports “The Fan” WFAN-FM (101.9, 660). Venerable all-newsers like WCBS and WINS skew older but have highly engaged, active audiences with strong qualitative profiles. What’s more, spoken word stations aren’t as vulnerable to tune out from bulkier spotloads, giving them more inventory to sell. In addition to almost always ranking first in 6+, Hubbard Broadcasting all-news WTOP-FM, Washington, DC (103.5) is one of those rare all news stations that’s also consistently among its market’s top performers with 25-54 year-olds. Apart from WTOP-FM, all of 2014’s top billers are deeply entrenched brands located in the top three markets. “It’s pretty much the powerhouses that have a loyal following,” BIA/Kelsey chief economist Mark Fratrik says. “These stations spend a considerable amount of money on programming, personnel and marketing and so they’re still able to deliver large audiences for their advertising clients.” How the top 10 stacks up through the years. Radio’s top 10 billing stations contributed $475.4 million dollars to the industry’s bottom line last year. That’s down 2.9% compared to the $489.4 million the same group of power players contributed a year earlier. Even so it was still mostly in line with what the top 10 billed in the post-recession era. In 2012 the top ten contributed $473.3 million. In 2011, they brought in $477.1 million. In 2010, they put $456.5 million on the books. And in 2009, at the height of the recession, when they billed $432.1 million. Looking ahead, there may be a horse race for the top spot in 2015. WTOP-FM (103.5) director of sales Matt Mills says the year is “off to a great start” with total billing up double-digits at the Washington all-news station, led by “massive” digital sales gains and “really strong” local sales. Classic rock: The genre that refuses to burn. Consultant Fred Jacobs once compared classic rock to a cockroach, meaning the format was virtually indestructible. Despite classics by Led Zeppelin remaining in rotation for decades, a new online survey from researcher Mark Kassoff shows their extraordinary resiliency. Asked to agree or disagree with the statement, “Classic rock sounds every bit as good now as it did decades ago,” two-thirds of the 320 survey respondents who listen to classic rock radio strongly agreed. Respondents who listen to classic rock radio were also more likely to agree that the greatest rock of all time was recorded in the ‘70s (averaging a 3.0 on a 4-point scale) than the ‘80s (2.8), the ‘60s (2.6) and the ‘90s (2.3). Three out of four classic rock radio listeners who took the survey disagreed strongly with the statement, “You’re tired of listening to classic rock.” Generally the older the respondent, the more likely they were to strongly disagree. For instance, 52% of 35-44 year-olds disagreed strongly, but the percentage jumped to 68% with 45-54s and 73% of 55- 64s. Put another way, those that have heard the music the most are the least tired of it. The music’s enduring appeal is also reflected in Nielsen ratings. Nearly 30 years after it emerged as a rock splinter format, classic rock shattered its PPM ratings record in February, underlining the timeless nature of the music. [email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 2 NEWS insideradio.com WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015 BMW shows more support for HD Radio. As an early adopter BMW was the first auto brand to commit to HD Radio, putting the technology into its cars for the past 10 years.