KGOW (1560 AM), which reunited Granato and Zierlien in November 2007 after both left longtime sports talk market leader KILT (610 AM), topped the December Arbitron ratings among men 25-54 with a 1.7 audience share in morning drive.

KFNC (97.5 FM) was second at 1.5, KILT was third at 1.0 and KBME (790 AM) brought up the rear with a 0.5 share.

December was the first full ratings book for which KGOW’s signal was encoded to register on Arbitron’s portable people meters, and the morning drive win is a significant development in its efforts to succeed as an independent alongside CBS Radio’s KILT, Clear Channel’s KBME and Cumulus Media’s KFNC.

“It’s nice to know that the things we set out to do, even when we had people telling us we would fail, are starting to pay off,” said Richard Topper, the station’s general manager. “We have stuck to our vision.”

KILT, bolstered by its Texans and Rockets game broadcasts, remains the market leader in the weeklong numbers among men 25-54, the key demographic for sports radio advertising. KILT has a 1.8 share to 0.9 for each of the other three stations in the 6 a.m. to midnight weekly numbers for December.

KILT also retains a substantial lead in cumulative listeners. The station had 152,200 weekly listeners in December to 94,800 for KBME, 59,200 for KFNC and 31,200 for KGOW, according to Arbitron. KILT also had the highest weekly cume in morning drive with 42,400 weekly listeners in men 25-54 to 40,600 for KFNC, 23,600 for KGOW and 17,400 for KBME.

KGOW, however, had the highest average quarter-hour share because even though it has fewer total listeners than KILT, its listeners spend more time tuned in than do KILT’s.

“You want both, more listeners and more time spent listening,” Topper said. “But if I had my druthers, I’d rather have a small group of people who are passionate about the station.”

KILT retained its lead in share and cumulative between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. with a 1.5 share to 1.0 for KGOW, 0.9 for KFNC and 0.5 for KBME. KILT also continues to dominate in afternoon drive with a 2.8 share to 1.3 for KBME and 1.0 for KGOW and KFNC.

In other demos measured by Arbitron, KILT also remains on top among sports stations in the weeklong numbers and in each of the three daytime dayparts for listeners age 12-plus and 18-plus, but KGOW has the weekly lead in men 18-34.

KFNC and KGOW also are 1-2 in morning drive among men 18-34, a demo in which KILT managed just a 0.2 share. KILT did significantly better in morning drive among men 18-49 but still ranked third to KGOW and KFNC.

A couple of observations: It’s interesting to see the degree to which extended listening by a relatively few loyalists is enabling KGOW to succeed in morning drive despite KILT’s decisive lead in cumulative audience.

Also, it’s downright sobering to consider that the four sports stations combined have a 4.5 market share among men 25-54 in the weeklong numbers, a 4.7 share in morning drive and 6.1 share in afternoon drive, especially when you consider that KTBZ (94.5 FM) alone has a 10.3 weeklong share, an 11.6 in morning drive and a 9.8 in afternoon drive.

After months of speculation, KGOW’s debut in the monthly Arbitrons has at last provided a complete perspective on sports radio’s share of the pie among men 25-54. It is, alas, remarkably unimpressive.