The KSSK-FM 92.3/590 AM morning team of Michael W. Perry and Larry Price have retained their dominance in morning radio ratings, while KSSK-FM 92.3 remains Hawaii’s No. 1 overall radio station, according to Arbitron spring ratings released Friday.
Perry and Price were first paired in 1983 following the death of predecessor Hal Lewis, known on-air as "J. Akuhead Pupule" They have maintained Aku’s morning dominance despite increased competition and an increasingly fragmented media marketplace, enjoying a nearly unbroken streak of top ratings in the mornings ever since.
Among adults 25 to 54 years old, Perry and Price, broadcast on FM and AM, command a 16.4 share of morning listeners Monday through Friday, as measured from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
However, sister-station KDNN-FM 98.5 has narrowed the Perry and Price lead and is within four share points of catching up.
Ratings for "Island 98-5" personalities Rory Wild, Gregg Hammer and Krey-Z Oshiro rose not only three ranking spots, but more than three-and-a-half rating points from the spring 2011 survey.
Davey D and Lina Girl on KCCN-FM 100.3 shot up nine spots to No. 3 from No. 11 a year ago, gaining nearly five rating points in the process.
The fourth- and fifth-ranked morning shows both slipped year-over-year in market share, though Dave & Sistah Sherry on KRTR-FM 96.3 maintained their No. 4 ranking within the 25-to-54 demographic.
The 18-to-34 youth demographic is another active battleground in which the No. 1 morning show position seems to have a revolving door. KDNN-FM 98.5 presently is No. 1 among 18-to-34 year-olds, as it was in the winter 2012 survey and the fall 2011 survey, but in spring 2011 KRTR was tops. In spring of 2010, KPHW-FM 104.3 was No. 1.
Numbers in the adjacent chart reflect the universal listing audience 12 and older and amount to bragging rights, versus advertising leverage, for the stations.
Bragging rights are worth something, however, so to slip from the Top 10 overall stations hurts, as it did for KKOL-FM 107.9 and KHJZ-FM 93.9.
Among the universe of morning listeners, it is possible the heating up of the political landscape pushed conservative talk radio KHVH-AM 830 up to No. 8 from a rank below No. 15 a year ago. Christian music-and-personality radio KAIM-FM 99.5 also stepped up into the top 10 among morning shows for the 12-and-older set, whereas a year ago it had been ranked at No. 14.
RATINGS GAME
Honolulu radio ratings for Spring 2012 based on an Arbitron Inc. survey taken March 29 to June 20. Stations are ranked according to share. A share is the percent of the listening audience (ages 12 and older) tuned into that station.
| STATION |
2012 SPRING |
2011 SPRING |
2011 RANK |
| 1. KSSK-FM 92.3 |
9.7 |
11.1 |
1 |
| 2. KDNN-FM 98.5 |
6.4 |
4.6 |
7 |
| 3. KINE-FM 105.1 |
6.1 |
6.7 |
4 |
| 4. KCCN-FM 100.3 |
5.9 |
4.0 |
9 |
| 5t KRTR-FM 96.3 |
5.6 |
9.2 |
2 |
| 5t KUMU-FM 94.7 |
5.6 |
7.7 |
3 |
| 7 KDDB-FM 102.7 |
4.8 |
4.7 |
6 |
| 8. KPHW-FM 104.3 |
4.2 |
6.1 |
5 |
| 9t KUCD-FM 101.9 |
3.2 |
3.6 |
10t |
| 9t KSSK-AM 590 |
3.2 |
2.7 |
14t |
| MORNINGS |
| 1. KSSK-FM 92.3/AM 590 |
19.6 |
19.7 |
1 |
| 2. KDNN-FM 98.5 |
8.7 |
6.1 |
4 |
| 3. KCCN-FM 100.3 |
6.6 |
3.7 |
8 |
| 4. KRTR-FM 96.3 |
5.4 |
9.0 |
2 |
| 5. KUMU-FM 94.7 |
4.9 |
7.8 |
3 |
| 6. KINE-FM 105.1 |
4.7 |
5.3 |
6 |
| 7. KDDB-FM 102.7 |
3.6 |
4.3 |
7 |
| 8. KHVH-AM 830 |
3.5 |
2.1 |
(a) |
| 9. KPHW-FM 104.3 |
2.9 |
5.5 |
5 |
| 10 KAIM-FM 99.5 |
2.8 |
2.6 |
14 |
(a) data unavailable
Source: Arbitron Inc.
