Talk radio station KBND (1110 AM), home to conservative talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh, had the most Central Oregon listeners ages 12 and older during the spring listenership survey conducted by Arbitron Inc.

The company’s “12-plus” ratings, released last week, gave KBND an 8.8 percent share, followed by oldies station KQAK (105.7 FM) and contemporary pop station KXIX (94.1 FM, also known as “Power 94”) both of which tied for the second most listeners with a 7.9 percent share.

A share represents the estimated percentage of all radio listeners 12 years of age and older listening to a particular station at any time from 6 a.m. to midnight during the week.

Mike Cheney, general manager of Combined Communications, which owns KBND, said the ratings aren’t particularly useful because they don’t divulge key demographic data but are still a compliment. Arbitron doesn’t release listener demographic data to the public.

“For listeners up to 30 years old, KBND might come in last, but we’re still happy with the performance,” Cheney said. “It’s a very consistent station and it continues to roll on and shows that people moving here are interested in politics and lifestyle-oriented things, such as money and health, and those are the things that KBND tries to focus on.”

The station also airs a morning news broadcast as well as nationally syndicated talk radio shows with on-air personalities such as Portland-based conservative commentator Lars Larson, Bill O’Reilly, Dr. Dean Edell and Dr. Laura. The station recently dropped Sean Hannity, the nation’s second most listened to talk radio host, according to Talkers Magazine, due to a contractual disagreement, Cheney said.

The dispute concerned a wish by Hannity’s syndication partners for KBND to carry the program live, in the time slot currently held by Lars Larson.

Cheney said it was more important to keep Larson, the regional broadcaster.

Rounding out Bend’s top five stations in terms of Arbitron’s ratings were country music station KSJJ (102.9 FM), with a 7.4 percent share, and classic rock station KTWS (98.3 FM, also known as “The Twins”), with a 7 percent share.

Arbitron ranks Bend the 205th largest radio market in the country out of 302 markets. Bend ranks just below Laredo, Texas, and above the Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., market.

The company releases its “12-plus” ratings data to the public twice a year, compiled through surveys sent to individuals who agree to record their listening habits for one week.

Arbitron does not track public radio and other noncommercial stations, including religious stations operating with a noncommercial license.

Eastlan Ratings, a private media research firm with offices in Sisters, produces its own ratings using different methods than Arbitron.

Eastlan ranks Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Central Oregon station, KOAB (91.3 FM), as the fifth most listened-to station in the region.

Eastlan conducts phone surveys in 80 radio markets across the country to come up with its data, compared with Arbitron’s method of sending diaries to randomly chosen listeners. One of Eastlan’s customers is Horizon Broadcasting Group of Bend.

Eastlan ranks Central Oregon’s top stations as KXIX, KBND, KSJJ, KRXF (92.7 FM) and KOAB, respectively.

Keith Shipman, the president and CEO of Horizon Broadcasting Group, which owns KQAK, said the economic downturn affecting the nation also is playing out in Central Oregon’s radio markets. After years of growth dating to a round of consolidations in the local radio market in 2000, this year is likely to see a contraction in growth, Shipman said. Nevertheless, broadcasters are there to help businesses, he said.

“Our job as broadcasters is to help businesses survive this economy, to create efficient ad campaigns and make their cash registers ring,” he said.

Shipman said Central Oregon’s radio market is different from most others in the country because it’s dominated by private, locally held companies.

“We are unique in that we don’t have any publicly-traded companies in the marketplace and that enables us to service the public interest, convenience and necessity, and I think everyone in radio here has done a good job at that,” Shipman said.

Horizon Broadcasting Group also owns KWPK (104.1, also known as “The Peak”), KLTW (95.1 FM, also known as “Lite 95.1”), KWLZ (96.5 FM, also known as “Lazer 96.5”) and KRCO (690 AM).

In addition to KBND, Combined Communications owns KTWS, KLRR (101.7 FM, also known as “Clear 101.7”) and KMTK (99.7 FM, also known as “The Mountain”).

The Bend Radio Group owns KXIX, KSJJ, KMGX (100.7 FM) and KICE (940 AM) and operates KRXF, which is owned by Field Ponds Group.