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WORD IS OUT...KZEP SOLD BY LOTUS TO CC.

Throwdown said:
KZEP will most likely...

Stay Classic Rock

Fire at least half of it's staff

Automate as much as possible

Less Talk More Rock

Bill like bandits...LOTUS WILL WONDER WHAT THEY DID WRONG?
Click to expand...

This seems like the most likely direction CC San Antonio will take 104.5 FM.

The 104.5 FM frequency has had a rock format there since 1969 when it first signed on the air as KEXL.
Except for a few years that the frequency simulcasted the old 930 KITE-AM from about 1975-1980 and when it was known as KVAR and programed a Contemporary Spanish format from 1981 to 1982. Then on March 5, 1983 the call letters where changed to KXZL and the station has had a rock format ever since.

Since the 104.5 FM has been associated with a rock format all those years and
is doing pretty well, I don't think that CC San Antonio would want to make a very
drastic format change. Also, San Antonio is the birth place of Clear Channel so
that may not want to rock the boat with the locals. Yes, this may come into play
here in the S.A. market.

As far as them going to Spanish programming on 104.5, there are already three
Spanish FM signals that have excellent coverage of the San Antonio metro area.
Two or three BIG signals for the Spanish format seems to be enough for the Spanish market here at this time.

I did talk to the old KVAR GM when they decided to move KVAR 104.5 from FM to
1250 AM and program 104.5 as a rock station again. He told me the reason KVAR
is moving from FM to AM radio is because a Spanish programming won't work on
FM radio... Of course, that was March, 1983 and this is now.
 
HMMM...

When Dave Conally programed KZEP as KXZL they had hot numbers from the get go. I recall the numbers eroded some the 3rd book. Can't recall why. If memory serves me, KXZL did beat KISS.

The only other logic based move might be to re-reincarnate KXZL, but Dave C was def the key to that station.

I must say KXZL under Dave is the only rock station in recent history to truly beat 99.5 Kiss.

So I might have to call this the B plan for KZEP. Keeping things the way they are is still more likely because it is the cheaper, easier plan.

We will see---hear.
 
Gab's points are correct, but a few clarifications:
When KEXL starrted in late '69 it was a progressive easy listening station.
It morphed into an eclectic format, then trended towards rock when Woody Roberts came on board in about '71.
The KITE simulcast fiasco happened in late '73, and ended in mid '75.
The Lee Abrams Superstar format came in '76.
Lotus took over in Febrfuary of '77
The KVAR staff was all from out of town; recruited from Mexico City.When asked why the station didn't play conjucto, salsa or Tejano, the program director said "We don't play Cantina Music". It failed miserably.
In the early '80's, when Capital took over KISS, Gary Burns was GM. He was amazed that research showed the most popular rock station in town was KEXL, even though it had been off the air for 3 or 4 years.
Gary crossed the street to 104.5, and convinced them to go rock. The KEXL calls were already taken so they took KXZL. It became KZEP about the same time Austin got KPEZ and Dallas got KZPS. All classic rock.
Amazing how KZEP actually increased its ratings when Infinity flipped KTFM to classic rock. There was word the flip was an effort to bankrupt Kzep, and force a sale. It didn't work.
I sure hope they stay with what they're doing. I'm hungry for a T-bone for lunch!
g
 
grantchester said:
The KVAR staff was all from out of town; recruited from Mexico City.When asked why the station didn't play conjucto, salsa or Tejano, the program director said "We don't play Cantina Music". It failed miserably.
Click to expand...

That's pretty funny. One of my favorites is being told to vacate a park in East LA before sunset as a condition of being allowed to do an event there. We put on a salsa band a half hour before sunset, and in 10 minutes the park was empty. After that, we always closed with a salsa band to empty out the venues.
 
grantchester:Thanks for the clarifications on the history of 104.5 in San Antonio.
KXZL became Classic Rock KZEP on March 24 1986. This was about the time KXZL's
rock format was really taking a beating from KISS-FM.

Throwdown: On their first book, KXZL did have some very respectable 12 plus ratings.
On their second book, October 2003, KXZL did beat KISS-FM in the 12 plus ratings.
So, after only six months on the air, KXZL was able to beat KISS-FM in the 12 plus
ratings. KXZL was able to beat KISS for about another year or so in the ratings
before KISS-FM was able to gain the number one spot in the rock format war with KXZL.
That may be why KXZL changed from Rock to KZEP Classic Rock in 1986 because its
ratings had slipped to KISS-FM after KXZL peaked in mid to late 1983.
One of the reasons for KXZL's early success in the rock wars may have been the famous
KXZL window stickers. They were made available from day one KXZL signed on the air
with its rock format. They must have distributed at least 100,000 of those famous KXZL
window stickers because it seemed ever other car had a KXZL window sticker on
it during KXZL's rock peak from 1983-1984. Dose anyone remember the slogan on
those stickers back then?

Dose any one remember when KEXL was Quad/Quadraphonic sound during the early
70s? KEXL was telling it's listeners to listen to them in TRUE Quad sound with four speakers. KEXL was one of just a handful of stations that experimenting with the
Quad sound at the time.
 
gabigley1 said:
On their first book, KXZL did have some very respectable 12 plus ratings.
On their second book, October 2003, KXZL did beat KISS-FM in the 12 plus ratings.
So, after only six months on the air, KXZL was able to beat KISS-FM in the 12 plus
ratings. KXZL was able to beat KISS for about another year or so in the ratings
before KISS-FM was able to gain the number one spot in the rock format war with KXZL.
That may be why KXZL changed from Rock to KZEP Classic Rock in 1986 because its
ratings had slipped to KISS-FM after KXZL peaked in mid to late 1983.
Click to expand...

From what I was told, KZEP beat KISS pretty badly after Adams Radio came to town in either '86 or '87. Adams apparently tried to run KISS on the cheap and did a very poor job programming the station. When KISS flipped to oldies in '90, its first book was the best book Adams had during its entire operation of the station, and I don't remember that book as being all that great. After Rusk took KISS over, it zoomed up and never looked back.
 
When Adams purchased 99.5 KISS in 1987, KISS was #2 in the ratings. Adams made several adjustments to the AOR format in the next couple of years. By 1989, KISS had become almost all Classic Rock and by the Spring of 1990, KISS had dropped to 15th in the ratings. KISS retreated away from Classic Rock and went back to a harder rock format and the ratings rebounded; unfortunately, Adams had decided to pull the plug on the AOR format and in July of 1990 KISS went Oldies. I'm going from memory, but the last ratings book KISS had as an AOR in 1990 was a 5.5; their ratings as an oldies outlet were as follows:

2.8
2.2
1.6
1.2
1.2
.4 (they simulcasted KSMG at this point).

Kent, you are right once Rusk returned the AOR format to 99.5, KISS rarely looked back. KZEP overtook KISS in 1997 and early 1998 when KISS went just a little too far into the Alternative Rock sound; KISS quickly adjusted their sound back to hard rock and hasn't been touched since.
 
KISS had pretty well gone to all satellite by the end of the oldies era before KSMG got ahold of them. While the AM was all satellite since dumping KRIA's bilingual format, which it did for about a year and had done talk prior, KISS-FM picked up SMN's Pure Gold and began simulcasting on 930 by the time it was all over. I remember someone at Magic telling me one of the staff members there told management they absolutely shouldn't do AOR on KISS and should either go with top-40 or AC because the AOR format did so poorly during the Adams era.

The problem, however, was Adams. Every station Adams had tanked, and all but KCBQ were restored to their former glory in no time once Adams left the business. KCBQ was dismanted by KBZS while KOOL got clobbered by KPSN. KZOK strugged against KISW. KEZK may have been the only one to do well, and even it did better after it was sold.
 
You're right, Kent. That's the way it went down, and what I really liked when KISS dropped the oldies was their positioning statement, basically saying: "We didn't screw it up...but we brought it back!"
 
KXZL-104.5...

clear sticker with yellow letters and no slogan that I can recall.

I do remember they were touting real rock...,and rocking harder...

I recall them being way more mainstream than KISS-KXZL played she's a beauty by the tubes and KISS was playing triumph.

I do remember that. However this was day-parted very well so as not to piss off the metal heads.

I really liked them...KROCK was never for me. TOO grungy, gross etc...I like rock, but not that end of it.

I wanted Howard in the morning, but they did not do that (good for Howard). I like recognizable cuts and artists, don't want them to go deep into b sides etc...MAINSTREAM WITH AN ATTITUDE.

I do not listen to KISS-ever. Don't like the music (maybe 10%) but respect what they do in the numbers.

Lisle and Hahn? I dunno what to say. People love 'em. I can't listen for more than 5 mins.
 
Kent said:
gabigley1 said:
On their first book, KXZL did have some very respectable 12 plus ratings.
On their second book, October 2003, KXZL did beat KISS-FM in the 12 plus ratings.
So, after only six months on the air, KXZL was able to beat KISS-FM in the 12 plus
ratings. KXZL was able to beat KISS for about another year or so in the ratings
before KISS-FM was able to gain the number one spot in the rock format war with KXZL.
That may be why KXZL changed from Rock to KZEP Classic Rock in 1986 because its
ratings had slipped to KISS-FM after KXZL peaked in mid to late 1983.
Click to expand...

From what I was told, KZEP beat KISS pretty badly after Adams Radio came to town in either '86 or '87. Adams apparently tried to run KISS on the cheap and did a very poor job programming the station. When KISS flipped to oldies in '90, its first book was the best book Adams had during its entire operation of the station, and I don't remember that book as being all that great. After Rusk took KISS over, it zoomed up and never looked back.
Click to expand...
 
I didn't include the time period that KISS was a oldies formated station.
The point is KXZL was the only formated AOR station to beat AOR KISS
in the ratings back in 1983 and the only AOR station ever to do so.

Speaking of format changes, KISS changing to Oldies has to go down as one
of the biggest mistakes in San Antonio radio history. The day after Adams changed KISS to Oldies there was an demonstration at their studios which was carried on
the local news by a couple of T.V. stations. Not a big and vocal demonstration
but there was one.
 
GO KXZL! WHOOOOHOOOOO!

I LOVE TO SEE A GOOD RADIO WAR.

97.7 puzzles me to death.

Why don't they put up some billboards or run some tv spots for heaven's sake????

I know they only really want a 2.0 share but cmon.
 
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