Classical KDFC had its best ratings of the year a month before it was replaced at 102.1 FM with simulcast of San Jose’s KFOX, the latest report from Arbitron shows.
KDFC had a 3.9 for the holiday period, up from 2.4 in November.
On Jan. 18, Entercom Communications announced that it had sold KDFC to the University of Southern California, which owns a Los Angeles classical station, KUSC 91.5. Entrecom bought two noncommercial FM frequencies (KUSF 90.3 in San Francisco and KNDL 89.9 in Napa County) and gave them to USC in the swap. However, neither station has much power compared to the old KDFC, and USC wants to increase the power of KUSF and buy a station the South Bay to bring classical music back to that area.
KDFC’s numbers in December were likely bolstered by the playing of classical Christmas songs.
A Christmas music worked for Lite Rock KOIT-FM 95.6, which dominated the ratings during the holidays with a 9.0 rating, up from 8.1 last year during the same period.
KOIT switches to all Christmas music in November, a format that is becoming increasingly successful year after year.
Without the Christmas music stunting, the leader would have been KCBS All News, which checked in at 6.0. KQED-FM 88.5 was third with 4.8.
The rest of the Top 10 were:
- 4. KGO-AM NewsTalk 810 (4.4)
- 5. KMVQ Movin’ 99.7 (4.3)
- 6. KYLD WiLD 94.9 (4.1)
- 7. Classical KDFC 102.1 (3.9)
- 8. KMEL 106.1 (3.4)
- 9. Univision’s KBRG Recuerdo 100.3 (3.4)
- 10. KISS-FM 98.1 (3.3)
CBS Radio’s Movin 99.7, which played dance music, moved on to a new format this month, as well. The station’s new name is Now! 99.7, and it’s playing Top 40 hits with artists such as Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Beyonce, etc.
Among the big radio companies, Clear Channel stations had a combined 17.8% share of the cumulative ratings, with 16% for Entercom and 15.4% for CBS.
The complete list can be found at www.radio-info.com and stationratings.com.