Changing times in local radio reflected in Arbitron numbers.

The spring Arbitron ratings highlight some of the hazards of trying out new radio formats in L.A. morning drive time.

"American Idol" heartthrob Ryan Seacrest has been slow out of the gate, while long-time local deejay Charlie Tuna is finding momentum after dropping his co-host. Then there's Spanish-language host Renan Almendarez Coello, also known as "El Cucuy," who is becoming dominant.

Some of the format changes may have been partially driven by a string of management shifts at the local stations, said Mary Beth Garber, president of the Southern California Broadcasters Association.

"I don't recall a period, certainly in the past five years, where in this short amount of time there has been this many shifts across that broad scope of stations," she said.

There were at least 20 major senior management changes at local radio stations at the level of program directors, sales managers, and general managers, Garber said. "You get a different set of eyes and ears coming in, and analysis of what is needed in the marketplace," she said.

The Arbitron numbers come at an especially volatile time in the radio industry. Clear Channel Communications Inc. and Infinity Broadcasting Corp. have sued each other in connection with Howard Stern's radio show being pulled from six Clear Channel stations. Clear Channel, meanwhile, is considering reducing the amount of advertising time and raising rates. And Leslie Moonves, co-president of Infinity parent Viacom Inc., has suggested that the company might move to swap or sell stations in the midst of flat earnings.

Such developments are likely to have at least an indirect impact on the Los Angeles market, and have created growing uncertainty and second-guessing--fueled by the ratings numbers.

Arbitron's first full survey with Seacrest as morning host of Clear Channel's KIIS-FM (102.7) showed he had 2.9 percent of the morning audience, tied for seventh place and down from the winter ratings period when the KIIS morning show was tied for fifth with 3.6 percent.

Seacrest, who is on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., replaced Rick Dees on Feb. 22, when Dees' contract wasn't renewed after 22 years with the station. KIIS Program Director John Ivey did not return calls.

"When they got rid of Dees, that destabilized the entire time period, and other stations saw an opportunity to steal his audience," said media buyer Dennis Holt, chief executive of U.S. International Media. "When you change an icon like Rick Dees and put in someone like Seacrest, even when he is nationally known, he's not Rick Dees."

Another format change at a Clear Channel radio station met with more immediate success at the tail end of the spring ratings survey.

On June 7, KBIG-FM (104.3) dropped Leigh Ann Adam, co-host with Charlie Tuna in the 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. morning show, and the station's audience share among adults between 25 and 54 reached 3.1 percent in June, compared with 1.8 percent in May and 2.2 percent in April, according to Craig Rossi, general manager of KBIG and KOST-FM (103.5).

"We called it a restructuring of the morning show," said Rossi. "What we felt is Charlie has 37 years of equity in the L.A. radio market. and by calling it the Leigh Ann and Charlie Tuna show, we were not taking advantage of him. So we capitalized on this."

KBIG's audience share grew in the spring survey overall to 2.2 percent of the market from 2 percent in the winter survey.

At Infinity's classic rock station KCBS-FM (Arrow 93.1), ratings fell to 1.9 percent of the market from 2.3 percent.

In April, Jonathon Brandmeier of Infinity-owned KCKG-FM (105.9) in Chicago replaced radio journeyman Joe Benson in the L.A.-based morning show from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., while Benson was moved to afternoons.

Perhaps the biggest change in morning ratings came with the addition of Coello to Spanish Broadcasting System Inc.'s KLAX-FM (97.9).

Coello, who got entangled in a management dispute with KSCA-FM (101.9) early this year, left his afternoon show to join KLAX on March 22.

Coello quickly captured 7 percent of the audience in the spring survey, up from 3.2 percent in the winter, and moved his station to a second place ranking from a 10th spot in the overall Arbitron station rankings in the L.A. market. "It had the single biggest effect on the ratings in the spring book," Garber said.

Holt believes that some of El Cucuy's success comes at the expense of Dees' departure. "Some Hispanics were loyal to Dees," he speculated, and those who were bilingual probably made the move to El Cucuy when he shifted to the morning format at KLAX.