-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Why the new KALV call sign?
- Thread starter 2Son
- Start date
The most likely reason for changing calls is to make a total break from the image of the old format. While few listeners pay attention to calls these days, this is simply a thing stations do to sweep out the old and to have, for advertisers, a fresh new station.
I always thought KZON would be a good fit for a CHR station in "AriZONa". I'm also surprised they went with the "Live" branding when they did as at the time most of the CBS CHR'S (with the exception of WBBM and KMVQ) all went with the "Amp" branding. "Live" just sounds Rock or Alternative to me unless it was meant to be a stab at KZZP's out of market voice trackers.
Right? I'm just sad to see KZON calls disappear and yes, they are a good fit for AZ. Ok, so what happens if they ever decide to re-brand away from Live? Those KALV calls seem uninspiring and don't necessarily scream anything to me except Las Vegas or Calvin.
Maybe they're holding the calls on 101.5 in Phoenix until they move them to Vegas when they flip one of their stations there to Adult Hits, i.e. "Calvin 107.5"
Dear Riviera,
If you're thinking what I'm thinking, I have one request:
Before those calls stood for Zone, they were intended to stand for Arizona. As in the station was supposed to sound like it belonged here. That was a big deal when the studios looked out on the pond at 4745 N. 7th Street.
So if you want to honor the guy who brought those calls to Phoenix, even if you end up playing something he would have hated, make the station sound like it's coming from the Valley. You don't have to make it sound like a bunch of aging hippies, just make it uniquely Arizona.
Apparently See BS didn't think they held any value, otherwise the calls could have been parked elsewhere to prevent anyone in the Valley from doing what Riviera is doing. Here at the Media Hut, we don't think KZON holds any magic (remember Magic 1 Oh 1?) and were rightfully released.
Before KZON, there was Magic 101, Mix 101, and Valley 101, but I can't remember in which order. And who were Drew and Zip in the morning?
KHEP
KONC "Concert 101"
KAMJ "Magic 101"
KMXX "Mix 101"
KZON "Zone, Arizona's Rock Alternative, Zone, Free FM, Live 101.5 and g_d knows what else" (Wasn't there a Jamz in there before Live?)
Drew & Zip were the morning show on the tail end of Magic 101 and about half of Mix 101. I think they came out of RIF in Detroit. Nice guys.
Last edited:
I started there when it was The All New Magic 101, which was not to be confused with The New Magic 101, or Magic 101, or the sorta new Magic 101.
The KZON calls mean something to me, but I was probably too close to it to be objective. It certainly was the format of the month club for a long time.
Before that, there was KZON 1190, with 250 watts fulltime from beautiful downtown Tolleson, circa 1960.
I thought it was KRDS, "Cards" in the early 60's.
http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive Arizona/DFG-Arizona-Veries-from-CLE.pdf for a '63 KRDS letter I received.
Other observations from my time at a truly forgettable radio station:
- Had EZ just changed the branding to Mix and left the music alone *or* had EZ done a proper research study in Phoenix to plot Mix's direction if Magic's format was wrong, things would have ended differently. EZ took an old research project from Pittsburgh (for a format they chose not to implement) to create the blueprint for Mix 101. End result: we played all the wrong records, and even the tag line (best mix of the 60's, 70's and today - which led people to ask what happened to the 80's) was wrong. Had they spent a few grand to do it right, they wouldn't have needed to sell 101.5 & 1230 for a fire sale price. Those stations sold for only 3 million and change because Jorgy paid cash. Had they not screwed up Mix they could have gotten more than stick value.
- I owe Tom Gilligan for breaking me out of being a puker. Or at least less of one.
- Jorgy may not have been a programmer, but he drove a mean deal. Sandusky spent $20 million for KUPD & KUKQ. Mike got his 4 stations for a little north of $10 million total.
Back to Riviera:
I am told that the end game may not be what it first appears to be. Stay tuned.
- Had EZ just changed the branding to Mix and left the music alone *or* had EZ done a proper research study in Phoenix to plot Mix's direction if Magic's format was wrong, things would have ended differently. EZ took an old research project from Pittsburgh (for a format they chose not to implement) to create the blueprint for Mix 101. End result: we played all the wrong records, and even the tag line (best mix of the 60's, 70's and today - which led people to ask what happened to the 80's) was wrong. Had they spent a few grand to do it right, they wouldn't have needed to sell 101.5 & 1230 for a fire sale price. Those stations sold for only 3 million and change because Jorgy paid cash. Had they not screwed up Mix they could have gotten more than stick value.
- I owe Tom Gilligan for breaking me out of being a puker. Or at least less of one.
- Jorgy may not have been a programmer, but he drove a mean deal. Sandusky spent $20 million for KUPD & KUKQ. Mike got his 4 stations for a little north of $10 million total.
Back to Riviera:
I am told that the end game may not be what it first appears to be. Stay tuned.
What?...and miss out on another truly forgettable song from Format 41 on 101~Five? Please send the information to our beeper from J.J. the KING of beepers!
I've always wondered why WODS Boston never changed its call when it flipped from classic hits to CHR as "Amp." The call, after all, signifies OlDieS. But I suppose with PPM and the fact that WODS is now buried/mumbled in the top-of-hour ID, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm sure that if Boston were still a diary market, most listeners would write down AMP or even WAMP. Guess CBS didn't think there'd be a problem convincing advertisers that those unsellable 55+ listeners would no longer be listening to WODS.
Last edited:
When there's nothing to write down, does it really matter?
One of the many problems KMXX had (besides playing The Boxtops every 6 hours) was every time someone wrote down K-MIX, Arbitron ascribed the listening to KNIX. It's a different world now.
WODS didn't spin the wheel of formats like KZON did. Even if the buyer knew it as a CHR, is the station mainstream or rhythmic this week? Still, it's odd they took this long to change the calls.
JJ says to keep calm and carry on. (activation required)
Actually, in a diary market they would write down 103.3 more than anything else.
In the diary days in the major markets, you'd see as much as 80% of diary mentions for the frequency or frequency and "name".
The only cases where calls were used in a large proportion was among old line AMs and among the over-55 crowd who remembered when calls were important. Today, that group is mostly in its 60's or older.
The change was posted in Broadcasting Magazine on 2/4/63.
http://www.americanradiohistory.com...BC-IDX/63-OCR/1963-02-04-BC-OCR-Page-0078.pdf
- Status