Radio Waves Podcast #109

Ryan Seacrest has been without an official co-host ever since Ellen K moved up the dial (and down the hallway) to take over morning host duties at KOST (103.5 FM). That has now changed.

As was announced at the KIIS-FM (102.7) Jingle Ball held on December 4th at the Staples Center, Sisanie Villaclara will take over the co-host duties effective immediately. Sisanie, who uses only her first name on the air, has been mid-day (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) host at the top-rated station for the past eight years. She will continue to serve as Music Coordinator for the station. 

Taking over Sisanie’s slot is Letty B. 

Jungle Ball featured a dozen artists performing on a stage that rotated between sets, to reduce change times after a band was through: One Direction, The Weeknd, Selena Gomez, 5 Seconds of Summer, Ellie Goulding, Shawn Mendes, Tove Lo, Charlie Puth, Zedd, Hailee Steinfeld, Conrad Sewell and DNCE. 

Eighties Rule 

The 1980s -- which as a reminder to oldies purists are more than 25 years old -- rule the Los Angeles airwaves according to the most recent Nielsen Ratings. KRTH (101.1 FM) dominated with a 5.7 share, one-half point higher than KBIG (104.3 FM) and KIIS-FM, which were tied for second at 5.2. I may be mistaken, but I believe that is the highest rating KRTH has seen, ever. 

KOST (103.5 FM), which will dominate the December ratings with its yearly holiday music, and KTWV The Wave (94.7 FM) rounded out the top-5 with ratings shares of 5.0 and 4.0, respectively. 

Jack (KCBS-FM, 93.1) and The Sound KSWD (100.3 FM) both bounced back from drops in October; both were up 0.3 to 3.8(tie for 6th) and 3.3 (9th), respectively. KLOS (95.5 FM) was up as well, to 2.4 (19th) from 2.2. 

As usual, KFI won the talk wars with an 8th place 3.4 share. The next-highest talk station was KPCC (89.3 FM) tied with KCRW (89.9 FM) for 23rd with a 1.8 share. The next highest commercial talk station was all-sports KSPN (710 AM) at 27th with a 1.4 share. The next highest commercial general talk station was KEIB (1150 AM) tied at 34th and 0.8. KRLA (870 AM) was 37th at 0.6; KABC (790 AM) was 38th at 0.5. 

The full story: Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged 6 and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight.

 1. KRTH (5.7); 2. KBIG, KIIS-FM (5.2); 4. KOST (5.0); 5. KTWV (4.0); 6. KCBS-FM, KLVE (3.8); 8. KFI (3.4); 9. KSWD (3.3); 10. KNX, KRRL (3.2)
 12. KROQ (3.1); 13. KAMP (3.0); 14. KLAX, KRCD (2.9); 16. KPWR, KYSR (2.6); 18. KKGO (2.5); 19. KLOS (2.4); 20. KSCA (2.2)
 21. KLYY (2.0); 22. KBUE (1.9); 23. KCRW, KPCC (1.8); 25. KXOL, KXOS (1.6); 27. KSPN (1.4); 28. KFSH, KLAC, KUSC (1.0)
 31. KDAY, KJLH, KWIZ (0.9); 34. KEIB, KKJZ, KSSE (0.8); 37. KRLA (0.6); 38. KABC (0.5); 39. KFWB (0.4); 40. KKLA, KLAA (0.3) 42. KTNQ (0.1) 

Bad Commercials 

We’ve all heard bad commercials. Sit ‘n Sleep comes to mind, though I have to admit they’ve grown on me and I now listen to see how Larry will “kill” his accountant Irwin in each new “episode.” I still can’t take 1-877-Kars-4-Kids and fail to understand how any programmer lets those on their station. 

But the worst has to be the “Random Act of Helpfulness” ads from American Honda. 

It’s quite strange, considering that past advertising from Honda was fairly clever. I particularly liked the ads featuring meetings in such locations as “an abandoned oboe factory” or something similar. Also strange since to the best of my knowledge the current ads really do feature real people getting real help. 

The problem is that while they are supposedly real, they sound as fake as a three dollar bill. They are obviously set up ahead of time, and the “reactions” from the people helped are rehearsed ... poorly. Or if they are not, said people being helped are the most under-appreciative people on the planet. Even the people playing the parts of the dealers sound contrived. Considering the potential, Honda is really blowing it with this one.