Do You Remember These Call Letters?
By K.M. Richards
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(August 11, 2011) Today marks the 70th anniversary of FM broadcasting in Los Angeles; on August 11, 1941, K45LA first went on the air at 44.5 megacycles. It took the call letters KHJ-FM in 1943, moved to 99.7 in 1945 when the FM band moved to the 88-106 MHz band from 42-50 MHz, and then to 101.1 three years later. We know it today, of course, as KRTH, and that makes it unique in another respect; it has had exactly two sets of call letters in the 68 years since the FCC went to “traditional” call letters for FM. Jhani Kaye is therefore the current pd of the oldest continuous operating FM in the market … how appropriate that the format is Oldies! Jhani has had a special legal ID produced to run all day today highlighting KRTH's status as the oldest continuously operated FM station in Southern California. |
To
commemorate these seven decades, I've
compiled (with a little help, as noted) this
history of call letter changes of commercial
fm stations in the Los Angeles metro market
(excluding the Antelope Valley). My primary
source for data is the online archives of
Broadcasting Yearbooks at the website of
Univision's David Gleason (http://www.americanradiohistory.com) through
1992, and the FCC database from then until
the present. Where I needed timeline
clarifications between 1958 and 1984, I used
the archive of Vane Jones books at Lee
Freshwater's site for DXers (http://www.amlogbook.com). I also incorporated some information
Jim Hilliker passed along from his
research last year along the same lines, but
I did not include information for stations
that received construction permits but never
got on the air.
When a station's call letters originally had
the “-FM” suffix but later dropped it (or
vice versa) it is listed as the call letters
were originally assigned. Where I have
placed a slash mark ( / ) between call
letters, it indicates that the frequency
went dark and the subsequent entry was a new
station. Further notes ( * ) follow the
list.
92.3 Los Angeles – KFAC-FM, KKBT, KCMG, KHHT
92.7 Thousand Oaks – KNJO, KMLT, KHJL
92.7 Fountain Valley – KOUG*, KLIT, KJLL-FM
93.1 Los Angeles – KNX-FM, KKHR, KNX-FM,
KODJ, KCBS-FM
93.5 Redondo Beach – KAPP, KKOP, KFOX, KMJR,
KFSG, KZAB, KDAY
93.9 Los Angeles – KSRT* / KPOL-FM, KZLA,
KMVN, KXOS
94.3 San Fernando – KWIK-FM* / KVFM,
KGIL-FM, KMGX, KYKF, KBUA
94.3 Garden Grove – KGGK, KTBT, KORJ, KIKF,
KMXN, KEBN
94.7 Los Angeles – KFMV, KFWB-FM, KRHM,
KLAC-FM*, KMET, KTMV, KTWV
95.5 Los Angeles – KECA-FM, KABC-FM, KLOS
95.9 La Mirada – KEZE, KEZY-FM, KEZR,
KEZY-FM, KXMX, KFSH*
96.3 Los Angeles – KRKD-FM, KFSG, KXOL-FM
96.7 Santa Ana – KVOE-FM, KWIZ-FM
97.1 Los Angeles – KKLA / KFMU*, KGBS-FM,
KHTZ, KBZT, KLSX, KAMP-FM
97.9 East Los Angeles – KNOB*, KSKQ-FM,
KLAX-FM
98.3 West Covina – KAGH-FM, KARS, KWKW-FM* /
KDWC, KSGV, KDWC, KSGV, KBOB, KMQA, KRTO*,
KRCV
98.7 Los Angeles – KMGM* / KCBH*, KJOI, KXEZ,
KYSR
99.5 Los Angeles – KHOF-FM / KKLA*
100.3 Los Angeles – KMPC-FM / KMLA, KFOX-FM,
KIQQ, KQLZ-FM, KXEZ, KIBB, KCMG, KKBT, KRBV,
KSWD
101.1 Los Angeles – KHJ-FM, KRTH
101.9 Glendale – KUTE, KMPC-FM, KEDG, KLIT,
KSCA
102.3 Compton – KFOX-FM, KJLH*
102.7 Los Angeles – KLAC-FM, KRHM*, KKDJ,
KIIS-FM
103.1 Santa Monica – KNOB / KSRF, KAJZ, KACD,
KSSC, KDLD
103.1 Newport Beach – KJAS, KNBB, KOCM, KBJZ,
KBCD, KSSD, KDLE
103.5 Los Angeles – KGLA, KADS, KOST
103.9 Inglewood - KTYM-FM, KAGB, KACE, KRCD
104.3 Los Angeles – KFAC-FM / KPLA / KBIQ,
KBIG, KXTZ, KBIG
105.1 Los Angeles – KCLI / KDBX*, KBCA,
KKGO, KMZT, KKGO
105.5 Long Beach – KLFM, KNAC, KBUE
105.9 Los Angeles – KFI-FM / KBMS, KWST,
KMGG, KPWR
106.3 Santa Ana* – KFIL, KYMS, KALI-FM
106.7 Pasadena – KPPC-FM, KROQ-FM
107.1 Arcadia – KMAX*, KLYY, KSSE
107.5 Los Angeles – KBBI, KPSA, KEZM, KLVE
107.9 San Clemente – KAPX, KWVE
NOTES:
92.7’s original city of license was Avalon (changed in 1994)
93.9 KSRT was originally planned for 106.3, then 102.9
94.3 KWIK-FM's city of license was Burbank
94.7 KLAC-FM was originally on 102.7, but the call letters were moved during a three-way transfer of ownership deal involving KRHM in 1965; at the time, it was so unusual for call letters to not stay with a license during a sale that a waiver of FCC rules was required
95.9’s original city of license was Anaheim (changed in 2008)
97.1 KFMU's original city of license was Glendale
97.9’s original city of license was Long Beach, dating from when KNOB was on 103.1 (the change of KNOB’s frequency allowed the later licensing of KJAS Newport Beach and KSRF Santa Monica); city of license was changed in 1997
98.3 KAGH-FM/KARS/KWKW-FM's city of license was Pasadena; KAGH-FM became KARS because of the frequency and facility swap of co-owned KAGH 1400 with KWKW 1430 in 1950
98.3 also may have used the call letters KPRO briefly in 1997, according to Jim, but this is not reflected in the FCC database and it is doubtful that KPRO was ever actually assigned
98.7 KMGM changed city of license to Culver City for its last couple of years
98.7 KCBH's original city of license was Beverly Hills
99.5 KKLA is an anomaly in FCC history; although it was a newly licensed station after KHOF-FM's license was canceled, it was allowed to operate at the same grandfathered high power as its predecessor
102.3 KJLH's original city of license was Long Beach (as KFOX-FM)
102.7 KRHM was originally on 94.7 (see note for KLAC-FM on that frequency)
105.1 KDBX was originally to have Beverly Hills as city of license (but was changed while still a construction permit)
106.3 KSFV San Fernando also operated from 1964 to 1968 before going dark; the allocation was moved to Lancaster afterwards
107.1 KMAX's original city of license was Sierra Madre