In Seattle Radio, Youth Is Definitely Being Served

May 5, 1995

Chuck Taylor

As if we maturing adults weren't feeling irrelevant enough, comes now word from The Arbitron Co. that the most-listened-to radio stations in the Seattle-Tacoma market suddenly are the youth-oriented ones: modern-rock KNDD-FM (107.7) and Top-40-rhythm KUBE-FM (93.3).

KUBE has long been a contender among the top 10 stations based on the measure of all listeners 12 and older.

"The End," however, has streaked up the chart from nowhere since its birth a few years ago.

There's something happenin' here. What it is ain't exactly clear. It certainly has something to do with knowing and relating well to those audiences, which can be challenging. "The End" and KUBE are catering to the youngest, newest, least-understood demographic groups.

But fragmentation of other popular formats might be playing a role, too. There are three country stations now instead of two, and the news-talk field is more diverse.

Back to the Bay: Right-leaning morning host Lee Rodgers of news-talk KIRO-AM (710) is returning to San Francisco, where he used to work for KGO-AM. This time he will do a morning-drive talk show for sibling station KSFO-AM. His last day on KIRO-AM will be May 18.

"KIRO and I are parting on the best of terms," Rodgers said.

Rodgers came to KIRO-AM last summer, replacing legendary Jim French when he retired from daily broadcasting.

Starting May 22, Dave Ross, the centrist, equal-opportunity skeptic now heard from noon to 3 p.m., will move into Rodgers' 9 a.m.-to-noon time slot, opposite Rush Limbaugh on news-talk KVI-AM (570).

KIRO-AM hopes to announce a new host for the early-afternoon shift sometime next week.

The talk of Tacoma: Steve West, the former general manager of defunct album-rocker KXRX-FM and a veteran exec of Northwest Top 40 stations, says he and a partner have made an offer to buy KMTT-AM (850), which simulcasts adult-alternative KMTT-FM (103.7). They are working to line up financing.

With new call letters to be determined, they hope to make it a South Sound-oriented news-talk station. Years ago, KMTT-AM was KTAC-AM - the Tacoma Top 40 powerhouse where West got his first program directorship.

Beehive 7: Look for more hires at KIRO-TV (Channel 7) and these continuing developments as new owner A.H. Belo Corp. turns the station further toward news:

-- Live coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial.

-- More of a periodic single-subject series called "24 Hours." Sunday at 5:30 p.m., the topic is "Boeing Jets and Jobs." May 14 at 6 p.m., it's "The Nordstrom Way."

-- Competition for "Town Meeting," seen Sundays on KOMO-TV (Channel 4). KIRO will launch "Speak Out Northwest," a wide-ranging forum to be hosted by sportscaster Tony Ventrella, on June 11.

-- Analysis and one-on-one interviews by Charles Royer, the former KING-TV (Channel 5) journalist, Seattle mayor and, most recently, Harvard scholar.

Outta there: KIRO-TV sports reporter and anchor Tom Glasgow, a Seattle-native radio guy who survived "out of the box" and the momentary merging of the TV and radio newsrooms, will be leaving the TV station in the near future. KIRO-TV decided not to renew his contract.

Glasgow, who has been with KIRO for 14 years, mostly doing sports for KIRO-AM, says he hopes to stay in the market doing one or all of the things he loves most - play-by-play on radio or TV, or hosting sports talk on radio.

Honor roll: "Youth Violence Day: Solutions and Options," a 16-hour series of programs produced by TCI Cablevision of Washington and the Seattle Public Library, won six national and local awards for 1994.

Among the honors were the Distinguished Achievement Award from the National Academy of Cable Programming and the Pixi Partnership Award from the Seattle Academy for Family Television.

TV-Radio Beat appears every Friday in The Seattle Times. Electronic-media reporter Chuck Taylor can be reached at 464-8524 or on the Internet at ctay-new@seatimes.com.

------------- RADIO RATINGS -------------

Average percentage shares of all listeners 12 and older for Seattle-Tacoma radio stations, Monday-Sunday, 6 a.m. to midnight. Since advertisers buy time based on demographic groups, these numbers are not necessarily a measure of success or failure.

Rank/station Winter Spring Summer Fall Winter .

'94 '94 '94 '94 '95 .

. 1. KNDD-FM (rock) 3.6 4.1 5.2 5.0 6.1 .

KUBE-FM (Top 40/rhythm) 6.2 5.5 5.2 5.4 6.1 . 3. KMPS-FM-AM (country) 7.3 8.6 7.9 6.5 5.9 . 4. KING-FM (classical) 4.4 4.2 4.2 3.2 5.5 . 5. KVI-AM (news-talk) 4.6 6.4 6.8 5.5 5.4 . 6. KBSG-FM-AM ('60s-'70s hits) 6.7 6.6 5.2 5.1 5.0 . 7. KIRO-AM (news-talk) 6.0 6.1 6.4 7.1 4.9 . 8. KISW-FM (rock) 3.9 4.7 5.3 3.9 4.6 .

KIXI-AM ('40s, '50s, '60s hits)4.3 3.9 3.6 5.1 4.6 . 10. KLSY-FM-AM (adult-contemporary)4.5 3.5 3.5 3.6 4.5 . 11. KRPM-FM-AM (country) 4.2 4.8 3.8 3.7 3.8 . 12. KJR-FM ('70s hits) 2.5 3.1 4.1 3.8 3.7 . 13. KPLZ-FM (adult-contemporary) 4.4 4.1 4.0 3.8 3.6 . 14. KOMO-AM (news-talk-music) 4.2 3.8 3.2 5.2 3.5 . 15. KZOK-FM (classic rock) 3.5 3.4 4.5 3.3 3.4 . 16. KMTT-FM-AM (adult alternative) 3.0 2.9 3.0 3.5 3.0 . 17. KYCW-FM (country) 2.6 2.7 1.6 3.3 2.8 . 18. KEZX-FM (new jazz) 2.9 2.2 2.3 2.7 2.3 .

KRWM-FM (adult-contemporary) 2.7 2.7 2.0 2.6 2.3 . 20. KJR-AM (sports-talk) 2.6 2.2 2.0 2.2 1.9 . 21. KCMS-FM (Christian music) 1.3 1.4 1.7 1.5 1.4 . 22. KIRO-FM (talk-news) 0.9 0.9 0.7 1.1 1.3 .

KNWX-AM # (all news) 1.9 1.2 1.8 0.6 1.3 . 24. KCIS-AM (Christian news, info) 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 .

# Formerly KING-AM and KINF-AM.