Three FM Radio Changes Have One Thing in Common : Ratings: Programmers try different formats to attract coveted 25- to 54-year-old listeners.

By CLAUDIA PUIG

Aug. 28, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Static is something radio listeners hate. Becoming static is something station owners hate, judging by the past 10 days.

In that time, three Los Angeles radio stations--KACE-FM (103.9), KSRF-FM (103.1) and KXEZ-FM (98.7)--have changed formats.

“In radio terms it’s almost like a mild earthquake, with everybody moving and shaking,” said Bill Richards, program director at KIIS-FM/AM, which will feel the reverberations from these new competitors.

Besides their coincidental timing--the launches apparently were planned to get under way before the start of the next quarterly Arbitron ratings survey in late September--there is one thing that all the new radio formats have in common: a desire to attract the coveted 25- to 54-year-old audience. Where they differ is in how to achieve that goal.

“For right now, everybody’s fishing around trying to find their niche,” said Tony Fields, program director and operations manager at KACE-FM, which changed its largely jazz format to a more mainstream urban style Aug. 20.

The highest rated of the three stations was KXEZ-FM, which as of last Friday changed its call letters to KYSR-FM and now bills itself as “Star 98.7.” The new format is described as featuring music by the “superstars of the ‘80s and ‘90s,” such as Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, the Eurythmics, Steve Winwood, Prince and U2. Previously the station was airing a brand of soft rock known in the radio industry as “adult contemporary,” but which the station dubbed “easy oldies.”

In the most recent Arbitron ratings survey, KXEZ had moved into 10th place among the more than 70 Los Angeles-area stations. But General Manager Bob Griffith explained that KXEZ was still finishing behind two other stations that played similar fare--KOST-FM and KBIG-FM. In addition, the average listener was about 45 years old, and most radio stations are seeking the younger end of the 25-to-54 demographic, he said.

The new KYSR is targeted to a younger age group: 22- to 45-year-olds, Griffith said, with the median age around 28 or 30.

The station, owned by Viacom Broadcasting, has undergone several format changes in the past four years, continually in search of that prized younger demographic. Formerly KJOI, a popular easy-listening station that was a favorite of older people, it switched to KXEZ in November, 1989, and billed itself as “Touch 98.7.” The format was retooled again in February, 1990, to the light “easy oldies” sound.

“When you look at being the third soft-radio station and the oldest in median age, in 10 years I’d be right back to where I was with KJOI, and that has a direct impact on your revenue flow,” Griffith said. “This (new format) lays in between soft, slower stations and Top 40 and rap. This is for adult listeners who have outgrown kid stuff, but really aren’t ready for slower stuff.”

There is some overlap in programming between KYSR and the new KACE, but the latter is geared more to a black audience.

Until last week, KACE had billed itself as the “quiet storm” station, playing a blend of jazz fusion, instrumental and Latin music. Now it is playing more mainstream hits, by artists such as Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Boyz II Men, Anita Baker, Mariah Carey and Vanessa Williams.

“(The old format) wasn’t drawing enough audience and, in return, not enough revenue,” Fields said. The station ranked 33rd in the most recent Arbitron ratings, drawing less than 1% of the audience.

Meanwhile, KSRF-FM (which was simulcast on 103.1 with KOCM-FM in Newport Beach) abandoned its techno-rock format Aug 19. The station, which had called itself “MARS-FM,” will switch to a jazz format Sept. 7; until then it is playing a “watered-down” version of its rock format without deejays, according to owner Ken Roberts.

Roberts said the techno-rock format was not viable for the same reasons that KACE’s Fields cited: Its audience was too limited and advertising revenues were disappointing.

“It was offbeat music that created a lot of excitement, but we gave it a year already and the advertising community couldn’t seem to find out what it was all about,” Roberts said.

Ironically, the new format to debut at KSRF will be engineered by program director Lawrence Tanner, who was formerly the program director at KACE.

However, the new KSRF (which will change its call letters in the next couple of weeks) will be markedly different from KACE, according to Roberts. The new format will feature soft, melodic jazz sounds with an emphasis on contemporary and mainstream musicians such as Kenny G., Diane Schuur, George Benson, Oscar Peterson and Earl Klugh.