Radio deportes rules.

Less than one year after switching to the ESPN Deportes Radio format, KWKW-AM (1330) ranks fifth among all AM stations in the Los Angeles market. The Spanish-language talk broadcaster earned a 1.2 share and posted 50 percent more audience than its closest Spanish-language competitor, according to the Spring 2006 Arbitron book.

In its primary demographic of men 25-54, the station has advanced from fourth place to first place among Spanish-language AM stations. During the two Arbitron periods (Winter 2005, Spring 2006) since ESPN Deportes Radio has been on the air in Los Angeles, the station's audience has grown 120 percent among men over age 18.

"During my tenure of more than 20 years with Spanish-language radio in Los Angeles, I have never seen an AM format change that produced such robust results so rapidly," said Jim Kalmeson, president of Lotus Communications and KWKW. "Nobody expected us to surpass music stations in our target demographic."

ESPN Desportes Radio, owned by the Burbank-based Walt Disney Co., offers a 24-7 sports talk format heavy on soccer. Its biggest on-air personalities are soccer play-by-play veteran Jorge Ramos and baseball aficionado Armando Talavera.

Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at [phone], ext. 237, or at [e-mail].