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2025 Holiday Music Formats

You are correct. As Killowatt Kat "questioned" in another thread, I am, especially when it comes to historical stuff, going by memory. Thanks for the correction.
Well in this case, what you said would have been possible, so rather than "questioning" you, I assumed you knew something I didn't! :) As it happens, KGRB only had a 500 watt signal, but its tower site was directional. And I remember Johnny Carson talking about listening to KGRB from his home in Malibu. So when you mentioned Santa Ana, that seemed like a plausibility for another station, as my mind immediately flashed to thinking that all of KGRB's 500 watts in those days may have been going west.
 
Well in this case, what you said would have been possible, so rather than "questioning" you, I assumed you knew something I didn't! :) As it happens, KGRB only had a 500 watt signal, but its tower site was directional. And I remember Johnny Carson talking about listening to KGRB from his home in Malibu. So when you mentioned Santa Ana, that seemed like a plausibility for another station, as my mind immediately flashed to thinking that all of KGRB's 500 watts in those days may have been going west.

If you look on a map, Santa Ana is closer to West Covina than it is to Malibu. In fact, West Covina is northeast of Santa Ana just west of Pomona. Oxnard has a station (now known as KOXR) at 910 kHz that is closer to Malibu than KGRB would have been but I wonder if the Oxnard station's signal (which was running Spanish programming back in the 1970s) was nulled towards the southeast because of the station on the same frequency in San Diego that was once known as KDEO. If that was the case and if Johnny Carson had a good directional receiver, he may have been able to get a fair signal from KGRB from his Malibu home.
 
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WCIU-TV Chicago was using an on-screen stock ticker during its Stock Market Observer as early as the late 1960s. I believe KWHY Los Angeles was doing something similar a few years later.

November 7, 1966.
 
Oxnard has a station (now known as KOXR) at 910 kHz that is closer to Malibu than KGRB would have been but I wonder if the Oxnard station's signal (which was running Spanish programming back in the 1970s) was nulled towards the southeast because of the station on the same frequency in San Diego that was once known as KDEO.

It still is Spanish-language (ranchera music), and still operates with a three-tower array near Saticoy. And yes, its pattern still protects both 900 West Covina and 910 El Cajon as adjacent- and co-channel allocations.

In fact, most of its signal -- day and night patterns -- goes over the Pacific Ocean.
 
What I dread is once again being forced to hear countless lousy remakes of "Jingle Bells," among other tasteless renditions.

No one is forcing you to hear that. I don't like them either, but I'm pretty successful at avoiding most of it. For starters, I don't listen to the radio stations or streaming channels that play that sort of thing. Sure you'll hear some of it in public spaces, but that's not so hard to take if you've tuned it out in your own environment the rest of the time.
 


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