KIXZ-FM tops Spokane charts
Who knew that KIXZ-FM (KIX 96.1 “Better Country”) was the No. 1 radio station in Spokane?
Three months ago, this station was tied for eighth. Six months ago, it was 11th.
Kosta Panidis, general manager of Clear Channel in Spokane, which owns KIXZ-FM, isn’t all that surprised.
“We’ve been growing for quite a while,” said Panidis. “For the last year, we have done very well in the 25-54 (age demographic). The real difference came a little more than a year ago when we introduced our ‘less-is-more’ initiative.”
This was a Clear Channel campaign to reduce the number of ads and “clutter” (station promos, for instance) by 20 percent.
Big D and Bubba, the station’s morning team, are not local – they broadcast out of Nashville to a number of stations. Yet Panidis credited program director Paul Neumann (on-air name, the Coyote) with a “fabulous” job of creating a successful local team and on-air sound.
One other noteworthy development: The new Wired 96.9 (KEZE-FM) has done well with its new hip-hop format, leaping from a 2.9 share to a 5.1. KZZU-FM (92.9 ZZU), which traded most of its hip-hop music to sister station Wired 96.9 in October, dropped two share points.
Also, KBBD-FM (The Bob, 103.9) came back to earth this quarter, dropping more than two share points.
Here are the fall Arbitron ratings, all listeners 12 and older, copyright Arbitron Inc., based on quarter-hour share:
1. KIXZ-FM, country, 8.2
2. KHTQ-FM, active rock, 6.7
3. KKZX-FM, classic rock, 6.6
4. KDRK-FM, country, 6.3
5. KISC-FM, adult-contemporary, 5.6
6. KEYF-FM, oldies, 5.4
7. KEZE-FM, rhythmic hits, 5.1
8. KXLY-FM, adult contemporary, 4.8
9. KQNT-AM, news-talk, 4.6
10. KZZU-FM, contemporary hits, 4.3
11. (tie) KXLY-AM, news-talk, 3.9
11. (tie) KZBD-FM, classic rock, 3.9
13. KCDA-FM, hot adult contemporary, 3.5
14. KBBD-FM, classic hits, 3.1
15. KEYF-AM, adult standards, 2.6
16. KICR-FM, country, 2.5
17. KGA-AM, news-talk, 2.1
18. KPTQ-AM, news-talk, 2.0
19. KTSL-FM, Christian music, 1.6
20. KJRB-AM, sports, 0.7
21. (tie) KAZZ-FM, smooth jazz, 0.5
21. (tie) KSPO-FM, Christian talk, 0.5
21. (tie) KVNI-AM, oldies, 0.5
Noncommercial stations are not included in the regular Arbitron report, but if they were, KPBX-FM, KMBI-FM, KEEH-FM and KSFC-FM all have enough listeners to make it into the bottom half of the list.
A Rick Steves appearance
Rick Steves, the international travel guru, will be in Spokane for a couple of appearances on Feb. 18, 1 and 2:30 p.m. at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave.
The 1 p.m. appearance has already sold out, but tickets for the 2:30 p.m. appearance are $25, available by calling the Friends of Seven, (800) 735-2377.
Steves will also be live on the air on KSPS-7 beginning at 4 p.m. on Feb. 18.
Super Bowl ads, redux
Comcast has an option for those of you who miss the most important part of the Super Bowl – the ads.
You can order a show called “Super Bowl XL Commercials” on NFL Network On Demand beginning Monday through Feb. 12. It’s free to anyone who has a digital cable box. Go to the “sports” button on the On Demand menu.
Of course, you can try several online sites that promise to have many of the ads posted after the game is over, including NFL.com, Yahoo Video and ESPN.com.
A Legg up
British guitar master Adrian Legg has been booked into The Met on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m.
Legg was named Guitarist of the Decade by Guitarist magazine. He has won Guitar Player magazine’s Reader’s Poll four times for best acoustic fingerstyle guitarist.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students, through TicketsWest outlets (325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
The Moyle report
The Jan. 23 edition of TV Guide ran a short item comparing Louis T. Moyle, the 7-year-old who plays Dodge on NBC’s “My Name is Earl,” with the “Mikey-likes-it” kid from the old cereal commercials.
Why am I telling you this? Because Louis is from Spokane – or at least he was before he got the gig as Earl’s stepson and headed down to Hollywood last summer.
Keep an eye out for him – his screen time has been increasing lately.