KSEC Fares Well for First Time Out

Norman McChristian, co-owner and general manager of Bentonville Broadcasting LLC, said he’s excited about the performance of new radio station KSEC in its first full Arbitron ratings book. KSEC, which has a “smooth jazz” format at 95.7 FM, made its debut as Northwest Arkansas’ newest station in March 2002.

The Rogers station got 2.5 percent of all listeners in spring 2002 when it had barely even been on the air. It then posted a 20 percent increase to 3 percent of that group for the fall ratings, which were released in February.

But Ken Couch, KSEC’s program director and operations manager, said even more importantly the station made a 6 percent gain in the lucrative age 25-54 demographic. KSEC drew 3.1 percent of those listeners in spring 2002 and 3.3 percent by fall.

The numbers are relatively small in the market, but Couch said they show a warm reception by an “increasingly sophisticated and cosmopolitan audience.” KSEC also did well, he said, among listeners ages 35-64.

“We’ve gotten a lot of the vendors and businesspeople who’ve moved in here from major cities where they’re used to having a format like this,” Couch said. “We were consulted by some of the same people who consulted the smooth jazz stations in Dallas and Kansas City, but it’s appealing to locals, too.”

Couch said “smooth jazz” is known for being more “upbeat” than traditional “easy listening” music. The station has four full-time employees and three part-timers.

McChristian, who got started in local radio in 1957, owns KSEC with Hope Duke.