K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Uh-huh, and "nothing better" is why the format ultimately failed, replaced briefly by a New Wave-heavy format until Westwood One could find a buyer for the station.
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Mt. Rushmore of L.A. Stations
- Thread starter briancraig
- Start date
Uh-huh, and "nothing better" is why the format ultimately failed, replaced briefly by a New Wave-heavy format until Westwood One could find a buyer for the station.
Scott Shannon said he would take the station from "worst to first". I think for a book or two he got to number 5 or so. Then straight tank down.
I agree with the poster, it was a great ride for a year or two. Station was really fun, BUT... exceedingly high spin rates on a very limited number of currents in place at any one time contributed mightily to its downfall.
Seems to me the reason the station was sold was because Westwood One entered into a management deal with Infinity Broadcasting, owner of KROQ.
I also think "hair bands" hit the grunge wall about 92- I thought it would last longer.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
I think, maybe, you are thinking of the fact that Infinity acquired control of WWOne in 1993.
That would fit the timeline of WWOne changing to the "100.3 FM" format literally three days before the end of 1992, but Shannon and company were let go in February 1991, which was the beginning of the end for "Pirate".
I do not remember the exact date of the "marriage" of WWOne and Infinity, but Broadcasting reported in its October 18, 1993 issue that it was a three-way deal including WWOne's buying Unistar Radio Networks (the former Transtar):
I do know that the sale of KQLZ to Viacom was preceded by a LMA that took effect April 2, 1993, when the "100.3 FM" format was replaced with "EZ 100.3" after only a little more than three months. (No wonder everyone forgets it.) Ironically, that format was originally on KYSR/98.7, which Infinity ended up owning.
Well, I think the point about KWKW is that it really the longest continuous 24 seven Spanish radio all those ones you mentioned earlier other than Ktnq don’t exist today in Spanish and Ktnq as you know is like a throwaway Broker station not doing a hell of a lot for the community so I think that if you’re gonna point to a Spanish station and doing it in terms of heritage and legacy, you’d probably go with KWKW, but of course K-LOVE would be a major contender just because of they’re strong impact
KLVE goes back to the 70's and has been in Spanish for nearly a half-Century, much of the time with very significant numbers.
KW today is an amalgamation of sports and talk, with nearly no audience. It does nicely in profitability but that is partly because it was paid off about 60 years ago.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
1. Punctuation, please, Ms. @radiogal ... run-on sentences are hard to decipher. I had to read this three times before I realized you didn't mean to say KTNQ (why didn't you capitalize their calls like you did KWKW?) was no longer a Spanish-language station.
2. With EMF also operating 100.3, rather than saying "K-Love" (and there, the all caps wasn't needed) it would have been clearer if you had given the KLVE call letters.
3. I had trouble figuring out what you meant by "all those ones" David referenced, because (a) he did point out that KTNQ had previously been KGBS, and before that KPOP. (And before that KFVD, if you want to go back to before I was born.) KALI -- which started in 1950 on 1430 and is now on both the former KGRB's 900 facilities and the old KYMS 106.3 frequency -- may not be Spanish-language, but it is still 100% ethnic programming. And 1430, now KMRB, which actually was KWKW's original frequency, is Chinese-lamguage (as it has been since 1994).
There are inherent dangers in posting about the subject of non-English language stations in L.A., because there are a variety of other languages aired. In addition to KALI and KMRB, we also have KIRN (Persian), KGBN and KFOX (Korean), other Spanish-language stations not previously mentioned (KRCD/KRCV, KFWB, KLAX, KSCA, KDLD/KDLE, KBUE/KBUA/KEBN, to name a few) ... and I left off about a half-dozen myself.
So your point -- whatever it was supposed to be -- is lost in the clutter.
I know that KWKW was actually on 1300 before 1330. When KFAC-FM sold off their AM, and KWKW moved to 1330, they instantly had a full market signal and consequently many more listeners.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
It wasn't you I was trying to educate, Tomás.
Fourth in the Summer '89 book with a 5.5:
1. KOST 6.8
2. KIIS AM/FM 6.4
3. KPWR 6.1
4. KQLZ (Pirate) 5.5
5. KXEZ 4.6
6. KABC 4.3
7. KLOS 4.1
8. KBIG 3.6
9. KLVE 3.2
10. KFWB 3.1
Not just top four---but almost a full point ahead of #5.
But it fell fast. Fall was 7th with a 3.8, Winter was 6th with a 3.6 and Spring of '90---the end of one full year---was 7th with a 3.3, and the second book where Pirate had lost to KLOS.
And the station had NO margin for error----Westwood One paid $56 million for the signal. It needed to perform.