Spanish-language stations rise in respect, ratings.

Not long ago, the biggest challenge Spanish-language radio stations faced was convincing Arbitron Co. to include them in its ratings surveys.

Nowadays, their toughest job is trying to beat each other out for the No. 1 spot in Los Angeles radio.

As recently as 1991, no Spanish station had ever topped the L.A. radio charts. But then, in 1992, KLAX-FM 97.9 made history as the first local Spanish-language station ever to be listed No. 1 in listener market share.

The distinction doesn't come without controversy. English-language broadcasters claim that the rating service inflates its measurement of Spanish listeners.

KLAX Program Director Juan Carlos Hidalgo recounts shock-jock Howard Stem's reaction when he heard that Los Angeles' radio leader was a Spanish-format station.

"He couldn't believe it," recounted Hidalgo. "He was saying, 'What are advertisers going to sell on these stations, beans and tortillas?'"

Only a decade ago, there were only about half a dozen Spanish-language stations in the L.A. radio market. Now 18 out of 82 stations in Los Angeles and Orange counties broadcast in Spanish. KLAX has been replaced as the market leader, but the new top station, KLVE-FM 107.5, is another Spanish-language broadcaster.

"Obviously, the shift of stations to Spanish has been taking place," said Richard Heftel, president and general manager of Heftel Broadcasting Corp.'s Los Angeles stations. "What I see happening is probably more stations, more fragmentation (of formats) and more choices for the listeners - the same thing that happened in English radio."

L.A.'s Top Spanish Stations

                              Station Share
                              (summer 1997)

KLVE-FM 107.5                      6.0
KSCA-FM 101.9                      4.5
KLAX-FM 97.9                       2.3
KTNQ-AM 1020                       2.0
KBUE-FM 105.5                      1.4

Source: The Arbitron Co

Heftel Broadcasting owns two local Spanish stations (KLVE and KTNQ-AM 1020) and is currently in negotiations to acquire KSCA-FM 101.9 for $112 million from Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters.

"It's a great opportunity and ... (Spanish radio) has proven to be very successful," said Heftel.

Last spring, KSCA switched formats from English-language rock to Spanish country music with the help of Heftel - which, though not yet the station's licensee, took control of KSCA's programming.

The station's transformation was a nightmare for many loyal listeners, but for Heftel Broadcasting and Golden West, KSCA's reception from the Latino community was a dream come true.

In just four months, KSCA has quadrupled its weekly listening audience, growing to an estimated 922,000 listeners from its earlier 210,000, according to Heftel. In the process, it rose from an also-ran to No. 3 in the L.A. market.

"The way they've climbed, it's been an amazing thing," said Ingrid L. Iannotti, a media buyer at Santa Monica-based advertising agency Anita Santiago Advertising Inc. "I've never seen anything like that."

Despite such ratings successes, Spanish-language stations still don't attract as much advertising revenue as their lower-rated English-language competitors.

Of the $500 million sold in advertising each year on Los Angeles radio, Spanish-language stations account for about $80 million, according to media buyers and industry insiders. That's about 16 percent of radio spending, even though Spanish radio accounts for about 20 percent of the listening audience.

Typically, top-rated Spanish stations like KLVE charge about $300 to $400 per Arbitron rating point for a 60-second ad (KLVE officials declined to reveal ad rates). Meanwhile, lower-rated English-language stations like KPWR-FM 105.9 or KIIS-FM 102.7 charge between $375 and $480 per rating point, an industry source said.

Still, the disparity has narrowed significantly, according to Edith K. Whaley, vice president of Century City media buying firm Carat/ICG. Many top-rated Spanish stations now charge about 50 percent more per minute than they did five years ago, Whaley said.

"KLAX broke the barrier when they hit No. 1," said Whaley. "The news was everywhere. Everybody knew about it."

Hidalgo of KLAX agrees that the success continues to have a big impact on his station.

"When KLAX came to L.A. we were getting about $120 for a minute of ad time. I remember when we went to No. 1, we charged $1,500 for a minute," recalled Hidalgo. "At that moment our station manager said, 'We should be getting the same as the Anglo stations.' He started asking, 'Why should Power 106 (KPWR) be charging higher rates when KLAX has the bigger numbers?'"

John Fuller, president of The Fuller Group, a Los Angeles-based ad agency that buys Spanish radio time, said many big-ticket advertisers still don't feel it necessary to reach the massive Latino audience.

"It comes down to the fact that the Hispanic market is a relatively new phenomenon and unfortunately... old prejudices die hard," said Fuller. Those prejudices, he said, come down to a perception among marketers that Latinos have limited disposable incomes.

Besides earning respect from advertisers, Spanish-language station owners must find formats that attract the biggest Latino audience.

KLVE's easy-listening adult contemporary music format seems the hands-down winner currently, though KSCA's variation of Banda and traditional Mexican music has proven extremely popular among local Latinos. KSCA's morning disc jockey, Renan, has also gained enormous popularity. Heftel says Renan is a cross between "Rick Dees and Howard Stem who speaks Spanish."

Last year, Heftel Broadcasting's other local Spanish station KTNQ-AM 1020 switched from Mexican regional music to news, talk and sports. The move improved its ratings, and proved there is a market in L.A. for Spanish talk radio.

Spanish-language stations are proving so popular that the owners of many English-language stations are considering a change in format, according to Gordon Mason, president of the Southern California Broadcasters Association.

"They're saying, 'We're not really cutting it. Let's go Spanish. You could almost get 40 percent of the market,' "said Mason. "Everybody wants to copy the leaders."