The usual suspects are still No. 1 in the Honolulu radio race, while the most volatile battle continues among stations vying for the hearts and minds of Oahu’s 18- to 34-year-old radio listeners. KSSK-FM 92.3/AM 590 morning duo Michael W. Perry and Larry Price is tops among morning radio shows, and KSSK-FM 92.3 continues to lead all other radio stations on Oahu.
The ratings were compiled between late June and mid-September.
The rest of the top five stations among listeners 12 and older, as measured from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Sunday, comprise stations that, with one exception, have been there for years. KDNN-FM 98.5 is a relative newcomer, since KCCN-FM 100.3, long a regular in the top five, has fought its way back only to No. 6 after being ninth-ranked for three of the last five surveys. Not more than a few years ago, it and its sister-stations, KINE-FM 105.1 and KRTR-FM 96.3, often swapped places below KSSK for the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 slots.
Based on diaries sent to a sampling of Oahu residents, Arbitron reports overall radio listening, listening by time of day, listening habits of demographic groups and listening by those groups by time of day, among other metrics.
The overall winner among 18- to 34-year-olds is KDDB-FM 102.7 "Da Bomb," which rose more than 2 audience share points to wrest the top slot from KDNN-FM 98.5 "Island 98-5." "Island" had been ensconced at the top of last summer’s survey and held the lead for three consecutive surveys, but adult-contemporary KRTR-FM 96.3 mysteriously grabbed the top spot in the spring survey earlier this year.
KDNN-FM still has the No. 1 morning show in the demographic, hosted by Rory Wild, Gregg Hammer and Krey-Z Oshiro.
The 18- to 34-year-old demographic is a group that, unlike in past eras, discovers new music via the Internet and often, if not usually, listens to music on electronic devices that are not radios.
In the interest of retaining relevance and maintaining a foothold in the digital space, Texas-based Clear Channel Communications Inc., parent company of seven Oahu radio stations including KSSK, "Island 98-5" and KUCD-FM 101.9, recently relaunched the iHeartRadio application for mobile devices. It allows users to customize their own music streams the way Pandora, Rhapsody and other such services do. However, it also will stream select Clear Channel radio stations to users.
The app has been downloaded 41 million times since its launch in 2009, a figure recently bolstered by Clear Channel’s nationwide promotion of last month’s iHeartRadio music festival, a star-studded, two-night event attended by 25,000 and streamed online by an estimated audience of 10 million.
HOW THEY RATE
The following are results from a June 23-to-Sept. 14 survey of Oahu radio stations. The number reflects the share of the market. Share is the percentage of the audience listening to a particular station. Honolulu is the 64th-largest radio market in the United States.
| Station |
Summer 2011 |
Summer 2010 (rank) |
| 1. KSSK-FM 92.3 |
10.9 |
9.3 (1) |
| 2t KINE-FM 105.1 |
6.5 |
5.4 (6) |
| 2t KRTR-FM 96.3 |
6.5 |
6.0 (4) |
| 4. KDNN-FM 98.5 |
6.1 |
6.3 (3) |
| 5. KUMU-FM 94.7 |
6.0 |
7.3 (2) |
| 6. KCCN-FM 100.3 |
5.6 |
5.7 (5) |
| 7. KDDB-FM 102.7 |
5.3 |
3.9 (8t) |
| 8. KPHW-FM 104.3 |
5.1 |
3.9 (8t) |
| 9. KUCD-FM 101.9 |
4.3 |
3.3 (11t) |
| 10. KSSK-AM 590 |
4.0 |
3.3 (11t) |
| Honolulu’s top morning shows |
| 1. KSSK-FM 92.3/AM 590 |
21.2 |
19.8 (1) |
| 2. KDNN-FM 98.5 |
8.2 |
7.9 (2) |
| 3. KINE-FM 105.1 |
6.4 |
4.1 (6) |
| 4. KUMU-FM 94.7 |
5.7 |
7.0 (3) |
| 5. KRTR-FM 96.3 |
5.6 |
4.9 (5) |
| 6. KCCN-FM 100.3 |
4.7 |
5.2 (4) |
| 7. KDDB-FM 102.7 |
4.4 |
3.9 (8) |
| 8. KHJZ-FM 93.9 |
3.5 |
2.0 (17t) (a) |
| 9t KKOL-FM 107.9 |
3.3 |
2.5 (13) |
| 9t KUCD-FM 101.9 |
3.3 |
3.2 (10) |
(a) KHJZ-FM had different call letters (KIKI) and a different, hit-radio format a year ago. The call letter change took effect Sept. 14, 2010, and was reflected in the next Arbitron survey. Source: Arbitron Inc.
