KIIS-FM Still Tops in Southern California

When it comes to the Los Angeles radio industry, a good guy to have in the Rolodex is definitely Greg Ashlock. Per an item today in the LA Times by Steve Carney, this guy oversees eight different stations for industry giant Clear Channel.

At the top of Ashlock’s list is KIIS-FM. Arbitron ratings released Tuesday show that the station has been number one in the LA/Orange County market this year, January 1 through August 31. So how does Ashlock do it? He says it’s all about breaking the next big musical artist:

As an example, Ashlock mentioned a concert three summers ago that KIIS hosted at Raging Waters, the San Dimas water park, starring rap artist Shwayze. The opening act was Lady Gaga, before the release of her debut album.

“It sounds very simple–the secret sauce is just being on top of the music, along with having people that just connect,” Ashlock said. “You’ve got to have hosts that leave people wanting more.”

KIIS-FM manages all this despite the fact that Ryan Seacrest‘s morning show is currently third in its timeslot, behind KFI-AM Bill Handel (together with the first hour of Rush Limbaugh ) and the Spanish-language KLVE-FM duo of Omar Velasco and Argelia Atilano.

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