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Looking to expand its foothold beyond the AM-FM dial, radio giant Clear Channel has tapped entertainment industry veteran John Sykes to lead a push into television, digital and live events. Clear Channel, the nation's biggest owner of stations with 850 outlets across the country including KIIS-FM, KOST-FM and KBIG-FM in Los Angeles, wants to leverage its strength in radio across a wide range of platforms. "We can use that horsepower to create new products," said Bob Pittman, chief executive of Clear Channel parent company CC Media Holdings Inc. The hiring of Sykes is the first major move by Pittman since becoming chief executive of CC Media last November.

MUSIC Drake, hip-hop's current reigning angsty king, headlines Power 106 FM's Cali Christmas, a compendium of rap-adjacent artists including Big Sean, J. Cole and YG. Drizzy Drake is clearly the main draw here, as the smash success of his new album "Take Care" indicates, and its woozy, piano-driven atmosphere will be an interesting fit in a large amphitheater. Gibson Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. 7:30 p.m. Fri. $45-$125. livenation.com.

Talk station KFI-AM (640) topped radio ratings in November, riding a stable of provocative commentators that includes Rush Limbaugh, Bill Handel and John and Ken to its second straight win, and its best showing in more than two years. KFI took 5.6% of the Los Angeles-Orange County listening audience age 6 or older, the same figure it held in October. But the station still widened its lead over second place, pop station KIIS-FM (102.7), which dropped from 5.3% to 5% since October, according to figures released this week by the Arbitron ratings service.

Pop radio takes a victory lap at the KIIS FM Jingle Ball, a round table of dance-friendly hit makers with David Guetta, Lady Gaga, Sean Paul and other FM staples. Bring earplugs for all the screaming. Nokia Theatre, 777 Chick Hearn Court, L.A. 5:30 p.m. Sat. $80.25-$150.25. nokiatheatre.com.

It stands to reason that with KOST-FM (103.5) shooting to the top of the ratings in the last couple of years when it's shifted to an all-holiday music format, someone else in the L.A. market would try to get in on the action. That someone is KTWV-FM (94.7), which with little fanfare Sunday proclaimed itself "L.A.'s new Christmas station," setting aside its usual smooth adult contemporary format in favor of holiday music through Christmas Day. KOST made its move Tuesday, implementing the temporary format change that has brought it growing success since the soft-rock station first decided to give it a try as an antidote to the national mood of glumness that followed Sept.

Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7) rode its playlist of pop hits, including songs by Adele, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and others, to its ninth straight win in the monthly radio ratings, according to figures released Monday. KIIS finished with 5.7% of the Los Angeles-Orange County radio audience. Second-place KFI-AM (640), the talk station, closed the gap a little, finishing with 5.3% of all listeners age 6 and older in September, based on the survey by the Arbitron ratings service. KIIS and KFI garnered 5.3% and 4.9%, respectively, in August.

In August, for the eighth month in a row, Top 40 outlet KIIS-FM (102.7) led the Los Angeles-Orange County radio ratings, according to figures released Tuesday by Arbitron. The result might seem like a no-brainer, or even unfair, for a station whose playlist includes the most popular songs in the country. But the recipe for success is not so easy, said Greg Ashlock, who oversees KIIS and seven other stations in Los Angeles for Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio chain. A station in a smaller market can simply mimic the pop charts, or follow what everyone else is doing, he said.

In the battle for radio ratings, pop station KIIS and talk outlet KFI refused to budge as kings of their respective columns — each claimed exactly the same share of the Los Angeles-Orange County audience in July as they held the previous month, according to figures released Monday. Meanwhile, after a slow start, morning-radio veteran Rick Dees increased his following at urban oldies station KHHT-FM (92.3), where he took over a.m. drive on May 4. With more than 4 million people tuning in for at least five minutes a week, KIIS-FM (102.7)

Before "The Soup" or any number of cable television shows filled their airtime with celebrity mockery and current-events satire, morning radio hosts made such bits their stock in trade. Now, some of those radio hosts will turn the tables and bring their snark and silliness to TV viewers around the country. "Dish Nation" puts cameras in the studios of drive-time radio shows in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Detroit and gives viewers a best-of collection of jokes and interviews from that day's programs.