THEN THERE’S A WHOLE BUNCH OF STATIONS THAT HOVER ABOUT A 2 SHARE, AND THERE’S KKHR. YOU GUYS HAVE CLIMBED PAST THE PACK INTO A 2.9 ALREADY AND CLIMBING AS ONE WHO’S BROKEN FROM THE PACK NOW, WHY DO YOU THINK SO MANY L.A. STATIONS HOVER TOGETHER AROUND THAT 2 AND SECONDLY, WHY DOES KIIS-FM HAVE THAT NEARLY 10 SHARE?

That’s an excellent question. I’m not sure I have the answers or I’d have the 10 share. Most markets have a runaway leader for some reason or another and I think a lot of that dominance has to do with tradition and heritage. KIIS-FM is an excellent radio station. I think they're damn good but they have the advantage of longevity now with the format. They've modified it, to be sure, over the year since we've been in Los Angeles with KKHR, but primarily they have a track record on that frequency that people are used to tuning in. I think the other reason for KIIS' incredible success, and no one would deny it, is Rick Dees.

ISN'T IT HARD TO THINK OF A STATION HAVING TRADITION AND HERITAGE WHEN KISS-FM'S FORMAT IS ONLY ABOUT 3 OR 4 YEARS OLD?

Yes, but the marketing that they have done has given them a 3-4 year head start on all the other radio stations in terms of pure contemporary music and equally important, their frequency - when they were KKDJ, and in the days before, this exact format was still a frequency cumed for pop music listening. On the other hand, KKHR, back when it was KNX-FM, never had anybody under 19 cuming into it. All of a sudden we had to create a reason to cume into 93.1 for teens - not that teens are the end-all, but they're an important part of the 12+ audience.

Let's take it a part at a time: If Rick Dees went across the street to another radio station, I would have to think that yes, a major part of his audience would follow him. Many a time it's, "Who do you listen to?," and the answer is not "KIIS-FM," It's "Rick Dees." There's an incredible loyalty to him as an individual and a lot of that loyalty gets transferred over to KITS-FM. If he left the marketplace, KIIS-FM would still be successful but obviously there's more room for erosion in that morning drive audience which would ultimately affect the rest of the radio station.

YOU'RE ON THE DIAL BETWEEN TWO AOR STATIONS, WITH ALL TOP 40'S UP AROUND 100. IS BEING REMOVED FROM THE PACK A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE FOR YOU?

I can look at it in a lot of ways. Let's suppose we were at 101, which is where KRTH is now, right between KIQQ and KIIS-FM - maybe even more audience sharing would be going on without any real benefit for us. This way, at least if they take the time and come down and find us as 93.1, they've made an effort and maybe they'll stay a little bit longer. There's really no way to be sure how that affects you one way or the other.

FINALLY, WHEN DO YOU PREDICT YOU'RE GOING TO HIT DOUBLE DIGITS?