Despite the drama of the election season, contemporary pop music station KXIX (94.1-FM) beat out talk radio station KBND (1110-AM) last fall to claim the largest share of radio listeners ages 12 and up, according to the ratings firm Arbitron Inc.

KXIX, also known as Power 94 and owned by the Bend Radio Group, had a 10.2 percent market share. Second, with a 9.3 percent market share, was country station KSJJ (102.7-FM) followed by KBND, home to conservative talk radio star Rush Limbaugh, with an 8.8 percent market share.

KSJJ also is owned by the Bend Radio Group. KBND is owned by Bend-based Combined Communications Inc.

In spring 2008, the top three stations in the 12-plus ratings category were KBND, with 8.8 percent; KXIX, with 7.9 percent; and KQAK (105.7-FM), with 7.9 percent. An oldies station, KQAK is owned by the Bend-based Horizon Broadcasting Group.

“Fortunately, we program very popular formats, but we also built a team that, according to the marketplace and listeners who are telling us loudly, we are doing compelling radio,” said Jim Gross, an owner of the Bend Radio Group.

A share represents the estimated percentage of radio listeners listening to a particular station during any 15-minute period from 6 a.m. to midnight through the week. In addition, the fall listenership data reported by Arbitron is an average of both the spring and fall survey periods.

Executives with each of the three Bend companies that dominate radio ownership in Central Oregon — Bend Radio Group, Combined Communications and the Horizon Broadcasting Group — are quick to note that the 12-plus ratings data do not contain the demographic data that are crucial for advertisers.

“(The 12-plus ratings) are basically irrelevant. No one ever buys on them,” said Chuck Chackel, the owner of Combined Communications.

Chackel and Gross both supplied The Bulletin with demographic listenership data from Arbitron. According to Gross, KXIX has the highest share of listeners averaged between spring and fall in the following brackets: adults 25-54, adults 18-49 and adults 18-34. In addition, Gross said KSJJ and KRXF (92.7-FM), the Bend Radio Group’s alternative rock station, were the second- and third-highest rated stations in each of those brackets.

Chackel said the Bend Radio Group does very well with listeners age 35 and younger, whereas Combined Communications targets listeners 35 and older. Combined Communications also owns the adult contemporary station KLRR (101.7-FM, also known as Clear 101.7) and country station KMTK (99.7-FM, also known as The Mountain).

“(The Bend Radio Group is) great at getting young adults, but our forte in this market is the older demographic,” Chackel said.

According to Arbitron data supplied by Chackel from the fall, KBND had the most listeners ages 35 to 64 in the 6 to 10 a.m. weekday bracket, with an average share of 11 percent. KLRR was second, with 9.7 percent, followed by contemporary Christian music station KNLR (97.5-FM). KNLR, also known as New Life Radio, is owned by Terry Cowan, of Bend.

The same fall Arbitron data supplied by Chackel also showed KXIX had the most listeners ages 25-54 in the 6 to 10 a.m. weekday bracket, with an 11.2 percent average share, followed by KLRR, with 9.7 percent, and KBND, with 9 percent.

“Ratings are an aid to help people make decisions,” said Chackel, referring to advertisers. “They are not the end-all, be-all.”

Showing up in Arbitron’s fall 12-plus ratings for the first time is KBNW (1340-AM), a news talk radio station launched in August by Horizon, although it is owned by the Summit Broadcasting Group.

Featuring programs by conservative talk radio icons such as Sean Hannity, Dennis Miller and Laura Ingraham, the station was listed with an average share of 0.9 percent. Horizon’s president and CEO, Keith Shipman, cautioned that the figure is not an accurate measure of listenership, as Arbitron averages two survey periods to compile its ratings data. Because the station didn’t have any spring listenership, the fall number should be higher, Shipman said.

Additionally, Horizon does not subscribe to Arbitron, instead using ratings data provided by Eastlan Ratings, a private media research firm with offices in Sisters.

“Our fall book (from Eastlan) came out in December, and KBNW performed well in the demo(graphics) we hoped for, exceeding our expectations in the 25-54 and 35-64 adult (brackets),” Shipman said.