David - I would say that Power 106 has always been a Rhythmic Top 40 station for Los Angeles but yes it has gone from Dance to Hip-Hop and then added some different styles in and out with hip-hop over the years, but their focus has been the same. Power 106 turns 30 next month. It is an iconic station in every true sense of the word.
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Kcxx (x 103.9)
- Thread starter Neel
- Start date
David - I would say that Power 106 has always been a Rhythmic Top 40 station for Los Angeles but yes it has gone from Dance to Hip-Hop and then added some different styles in and out with hip-hop over the years, but their focus has been the same. Power 106 turns 30 next month. It is an iconic station in every true sense of the word.
Just out of curiosity, what radio trends and formats of note do you consider to have originated in LA?
My own list would probably begin with KROQ and end with KTWV as far as music stations.
In non-music, "XETRA News Over Los Angeles" and the development of talk at KABC might qualify.
In Spanish language, it might be the Recuerdo format on KRCD/KRCV, which had never been done before and the programming of an FM with Regional Mexican by KLAX in August, 1992.
I have disowned Coldplay. The crap they are playing is so far from what they became successful on, to me their new stuff in the last 2 years is UNLISTENABLE and if I hear the beginning strains of any of these recent tracks, I almost pull a muscle in reaching for the button to change the station or fast forward to the next song (on a recording). Chris Martin has admitted as much---
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/coldplay-rock-music-has-nowhere-left-to-go/
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Just a personal opinion here: I was never a huge fan of Coldplay during the stuff they "became successful on", with the exception of a song or two. I started getting into them with their Viva La Vida album and I've enjoyed everything since, with the exception of Ghost Stories (too sleepy for me). One man's trash is another man's treasure, I suppose.
Saul's All-Beatles format? Not sure if it was done anywhere else first. Of course Dierdre O'Donoghue's "Breakfast with the Beatles" two hour program of all Beatles music originated on the Old KMET.
Wasn't there an all commercials station for awhile? Not sure if that was done anywhere else first. Surprisingly, it did not last.
Arrow had a was on from '93 - 05. Not a bad run at all, especially given it's rock niche and stiff competition. And I agree, they had some very good air talent on for almost their entire run and were a constant thorn in KLOS' side.
K-Ads was all classifieds. It did not last; no surprise but we have to give The Old Scotsman credit for trying. He was the same one who gave us the US' first all news station, too.
In any case, all ads never was duplicated in the US so it did not become a trend.
It was not unique, though. Mexico City had a station dating to the 50's that ran 11 5" ads and a time check, 24/7. Similarly, the all news format was actually "invented" in the late 40's in Cuba.
K
K.M. Richards
Guest
Believe it or not, Saul was beaten by 14 years on that one.
KGIL did all-Beatles in 1997, but KYST in Houston appears to be the first, in 1983.
Tony Rodriguez also did it on KTCY 104.9 in Dallas a year before KGIL did. He also ran it without commercials. I suppose, however, you could make the case that Rodriguez didn't do all Beatles since he also aired Beatles songs by other artists.
I'm thinking KYST was "KBTL" during the all Beatles phase, but it may not have actually held those calls.
I'm thinking KYST was "KBTL" during the all Beatles phase, but it may not have actually held those calls.
K
K.M. Richards
Guest
I checked that as well, Kent. They used "KBTL" as the station name but the legal calls remained KYST.
P
purpledevil
Guest
If I may, it was called "All Beatle Radio #9" and was indeed using "KBTL" calls on air. The legal call, however, never changed, as K.M. correctly noted. There have only been two sets assigned to 920 down in Texas City in its lifetime. The original KTLW from the 1948 sign-on until 1980, and the current KYST since.
Let it be known, much as we get on him down here in Texas, Roy Henderson is the first one to ever run all-Beatles.
Addition
The last 48 hours have been remarkably overwhelming. So many emotions and memories. I want to thank you all for your very kind words and support. I knew people liked X1039, but this was beyond anything I could imagine. I wish there wasn't so much anger, but I understand why it's there. Something extremely important to you was taken away. And you really dislike what replaced it. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to change this. And although I really appreciate your passion, no protest, strike, or rally will do anything but waste your afternoon. Radio stations exist to generate a profit, not just for our listening pleasure. This could/should have happened several years ago. But our owners gave us more time to turn things around. We tried. We couldn't. So many of you have commented about how much you listened. But if you're not participating in the ratings program, you don't exist. And participation is random. So even though you're there, you're really not. And without ratings it's difficult to generate revenue. Again, I understand your anger and frustration, but this wasn't personal in any way. In fact they gave us all more time than we deserved. And it was awesome. We created something special for 20 years against all odds. And it affected you deeply. That means so much to me.
Please try to lose the hate, and just remember the greatness that was X1039.
Because it WAS great!
John
X103.9 staff.
The last 48 hours have been remarkably overwhelming. So many emotions and memories. I want to thank you all for your very kind words and support. I knew people liked X1039, but this was beyond anything I could imagine. I wish there wasn't so much anger, but I understand why it's there. Something extremely important to you was taken away. And you really dislike what replaced it. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to change this. And although I really appreciate your passion, no protest, strike, or rally will do anything but waste your afternoon. Radio stations exist to generate a profit, not just for our listening pleasure. This could/should have happened several years ago. But our owners gave us more time to turn things around. We tried. We couldn't. So many of you have commented about how much you listened. But if you're not participating in the ratings program, you don't exist. And participation is random. So even though you're there, you're really not. And without ratings it's difficult to generate revenue. Again, I understand your anger and frustration, but this wasn't personal in any way. In fact they gave us all more time than we deserved. And it was awesome. We created something special for 20 years against all odds. And it affected you deeply. That means so much to me.
Please try to lose the hate, and just remember the greatness that was X1039.
Because it WAS great!
John
X103.9 staff.
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James,
Thanks for posting this. John sounds like a real professional as reflected in his note to listeners. It would be easy to be angry and vindictive but he appears to be a bigger person than that. I hope he finds a new gig soon!
Thanks for posting this. John sounds like a real professional as reflected in his note to listeners. It would be easy to be angry and vindictive but he appears to be a bigger person than that. I hope he finds a new gig soon!
David,
Desantis is staying on with the new Hot 103.9. So he is not going anywhere.
I believe he will be program management or other type of management going forward.
Yeah, just reading some of the comments fans of X103.9 put on his page. I probably would have felt the same before but after years of David and everyone in the business pounding it to us how PPM works, demos, advertisers, etc. sadly, we know why it's gone.
Here's some comments I found amusing since it's been discussed and explained here (I hope I'm allowed to repost this):
Colby Schwedes Besides us losing our radio station, these people lost their jobs just days before Christmas. That to me is a bigger loss.
Like · Reply · 2 · December 23 at 8:07pm
John DeSantis Wasn't supposed to happen until after Christmas. But someone leaked it out over the weekend, and listeners spread it around, and pushed up the timeline.
Logan Treadway So what you are telling us, is that we need to start participating in the ratings program and vote the new format straight back to the talentless hell it came from?
Because that's what I heard
Like · Reply · 3 · December 23 at 8:10pm
John DeSantis lol I wish it were that easy.
Randy Proctor How do they expect to compete against KIIS... KAMP.....AND 104.3..... WHY GO TO A FOR AT THAT EASILY HAS 3 ESTABLISHED LARGER MARKET COMPETITORS
Like · Reply · 1 · December 23 at 8:12pm
John DeSantis Actually Randy the goal is not to topple these giants. But their combined ratings are 20x greater than all the rock stations combined. The "pie" is much larger. So the available shares "ratings" are more plentiful. It's like fishing in a pond with 20x more fish. The chances of catching some is greater.
Like · Reply · December 23 at 8:18pm
Randy Proctor I understand that..... But.... But... More crap pop.... Business Decisions suck
Jeff Williams How are we the listener suppose to know how the ratings work ?
Like · Reply · 1 · December 23 at 9:32pm
John DeSantis You're not. It's a messed up system that we are all forced to use. And we live and die by it. Not your fault. It's theirs.
Like · Reply · 1 · December 23 at 9:42pm
John DeSantis I also would like to add that many of you are from the HD. The HD does NOT count towards IE ratings.
Like · Reply · 1 · December 23 at 9:48pm · Edited
John DeSantis If the HD had counted, X1039 may still be here. We tried to make it happen many years ago, and the other IE stations stopped it,. They knew how strong we were up there.
Alan Andino Dec 28th their is a group forming to protest this new change.. if u would love to have our alternative and our wounderful DJ'S back we need to be heard. This pop shit sucks n need our awesome music back.. no disrespect john DeSantis by puting this on ur pg but this station was the is best n is what made my day go by at work n the drive home..
Like · Reply · 6 · December 23 at 10:31pm
John DeSantis Understood. But there is 100% chance nothing will change. Maybe it will be cathartic for you, but the station can't go back to bleeding money. You don't work for free right?
Here's some comments I found amusing since it's been discussed and explained here (I hope I'm allowed to repost this):
Colby Schwedes Besides us losing our radio station, these people lost their jobs just days before Christmas. That to me is a bigger loss.
Like · Reply · 2 · December 23 at 8:07pm
John DeSantis Wasn't supposed to happen until after Christmas. But someone leaked it out over the weekend, and listeners spread it around, and pushed up the timeline.
Logan Treadway So what you are telling us, is that we need to start participating in the ratings program and vote the new format straight back to the talentless hell it came from?
Because that's what I heard
Like · Reply · 3 · December 23 at 8:10pm
John DeSantis lol I wish it were that easy.
Randy Proctor How do they expect to compete against KIIS... KAMP.....AND 104.3..... WHY GO TO A FOR AT THAT EASILY HAS 3 ESTABLISHED LARGER MARKET COMPETITORS
Like · Reply · 1 · December 23 at 8:12pm
John DeSantis Actually Randy the goal is not to topple these giants. But their combined ratings are 20x greater than all the rock stations combined. The "pie" is much larger. So the available shares "ratings" are more plentiful. It's like fishing in a pond with 20x more fish. The chances of catching some is greater.
Like · Reply · December 23 at 8:18pm
Randy Proctor I understand that..... But.... But... More crap pop.... Business Decisions suck
Jeff Williams How are we the listener suppose to know how the ratings work ?
Like · Reply · 1 · December 23 at 9:32pm
John DeSantis You're not. It's a messed up system that we are all forced to use. And we live and die by it. Not your fault. It's theirs.
Like · Reply · 1 · December 23 at 9:42pm
John DeSantis I also would like to add that many of you are from the HD. The HD does NOT count towards IE ratings.
Like · Reply · 1 · December 23 at 9:48pm · Edited
John DeSantis If the HD had counted, X1039 may still be here. We tried to make it happen many years ago, and the other IE stations stopped it,. They knew how strong we were up there.
Alan Andino Dec 28th their is a group forming to protest this new change.. if u would love to have our alternative and our wounderful DJ'S back we need to be heard. This pop shit sucks n need our awesome music back.. no disrespect john DeSantis by puting this on ur pg but this station was the is best n is what made my day go by at work n the drive home..
Like · Reply · 6 · December 23 at 10:31pm
John DeSantis Understood. But there is 100% chance nothing will change. Maybe it will be cathartic for you, but the station can't go back to bleeding money. You don't work for free right?
K
K.M. Richards
Guest
As usual, listeners think they are going to be able to reverse a decision on a format change. Kudos to DeSantis for at least trying to explain to them why it's futile. (The "100% chance nothing will change" line sounds like something I would have said if that listener post was here on RD.)
Sort of reminds me of the reaction to Indie being dropped at 103.1 ... the listeners said they were going to protest, and some of them did, but Entravision didn't reverse their decision. And that will be seven years ago come this January 15, and Entravision changed formats again during that period, but remaining Spanish language.
I feel sorry for listeners when this happens, because I know many of them are passionate about their favorite stations. But when push comes to shove, it's still all about staying in business and on the air. And the listeners aren't qualified to make the decisions on format changes, not only because of that emotional attachment but also because they don't get to see ratings go down in the target demo book after book, nor the decline in ad revenue, not any of the other factors that station management consider.
I chuckled at that one listener who thinks one can opt-in to Nielsen and "vote" a station back in, and DeSantis' answer was just as funny while being totally honest.
Sort of reminds me of the reaction to Indie being dropped at 103.1 ... the listeners said they were going to protest, and some of them did, but Entravision didn't reverse their decision. And that will be seven years ago come this January 15, and Entravision changed formats again during that period, but remaining Spanish language.
I feel sorry for listeners when this happens, because I know many of them are passionate about their favorite stations. But when push comes to shove, it's still all about staying in business and on the air. And the listeners aren't qualified to make the decisions on format changes, not only because of that emotional attachment but also because they don't get to see ratings go down in the target demo book after book, nor the decline in ad revenue, not any of the other factors that station management consider.
I chuckled at that one listener who thinks one can opt-in to Nielsen and "vote" a station back in, and DeSantis' answer was just as funny while being totally honest.
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