Radio Viva 103.1 (KDLD)

KDLD is a commercial radio station in Santa Monica, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles area on 103.1 FM. KDLE is a commercial radio station in Newport Beach, California, broadcasting to the Orange County area on 103.1 FM.The 103.1 frequencies in LA/OC operated as two separate stations prior to the 1990s, KSRF/Santa Monica and KOCM/Newport Beach. Both signals carried a B/EZ (beautiful music/easy listening) format in the 1960s/1970s and AC (adult contemporary) in the 1980s but targeted for each specific beach community. 103.1 Santa Monica was known as K-Surf (which was brought back for a time on KKGO and XESURF before switching to Country) and 103.1 Newport Beach was known as K-Ocean. The carriers of the two transmitters were synchronized to try to create a continuous coverage area between the two locations.[citation needed]The first format on the synchronized signal was Rave inspired MARS-FM, using the call letters KSRF/KOCM, from late 1991 through late 1992. Club D.J. Swedish Egil accepted a rare opportunity to develop his music director skills and visionary style when he left KROQ in 1991 to join L.A.'s new MARS-FM, along with fellow KROQ alum Freddy Snakeskin who became MARS-FM's program director. The station became well-known for its role in introducing America to the techno/rave music phenomenon where Egil was responsible for "picking the hits" and breaking new artists. Egil and his leased time format were dumped by owners seeking a more mainstream station. 103.1 became a jazz format station as Jazz FM 103.1 using the call letters KAJZ/KBJZ, followed by another format change to CD 103.1, an adult contemporary format using the call letters KACD/KBCD.[citation needed]In 1996, Swedish Egil returned and launched "Groove Radio 103.1 FM", fulfilling Egil's dream of expanding his syndicated weekly 3-hour "GROOVE RADIO" program, previously heard in Los Angeles as part of the nighttime "Renegade Radio" show on KWIZ, into the first full-time 24/7 format in America devoted to new dance music and to the art of the DJ. Groove Radio 103.1 gained an unprecedented notoriety for its innovative programming and groundbreaking music format that became the catalyst for dance music's exposure across the entire United States. Groove Radio had a morning drive time show hosted by Jim "The Poorman" Trenton, a L.A. radio icon and one of the two original co-hosts of the radio show "Loveline" from KROQ, currently hosted by the other co-host, Dr. Drew Pinsky.In 1998 Egil was forced out of the station after the owners once again decided that they wanted the station to go in a mainstream direction. The owners switched it to an Urban Contemporary format as Groove 103.1 (since Egil owned rights to the "Groove Radio" name), but then after the flooding of negative feedback crashed their voicemail system, they brought the Dance format back a week later, relaunching with the song "Children" by Robert Miles and continued with a Dance Hits intensive electronica format for a year. The station signed off on October 12, 1998 with the song "Children" by Robert Miles, the same song they launched the new dance format with.[citation needed]In late 1998, Jacor Communications (now Clear Channel Communications) purchased the station. After Groove Radio signed off, it went into a stunt format for the rest of the day airing a repeat of the Spice Girls' "Wannabe", and afterward became a simulcast of 102.7 KIISFM. Two weeks later, the simulcast ended and the new format began as Channel 103.1 programmed by Nicole Sandler, playing a mixture of a new format called "Adult Alternative", including Dave Matthews, Tracy Chapman, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Tom Petty, Keb Mo, Led Zeppelin (with a standing rule that Stairway to Heaven would get absolutely no airtime), Pink Floyd, Dramarama, Beck, Vertical Horizon, and many others of similar caliber, spanning from the late 1960s and into 2001. The station was alternately titled World Class Rock, which they stuck with for their lifespan. They had a very small staff who ran six hour shifts (a change from the otherwise normal four-hour shift that most jocks took), with program director Nicole Sandler taking the afternoon shift, and Andy Chanley handling the mornings from 5:30 AM until well after noon.In late 2000, after Clear Channel merged with AMFM, it was determined that 103.1 FM had insufficient coverage for the Los Angeles basin. Sandler realized that her station would be one of the casualties of the merger.[citation needed] It was decided that Channel 103.1 would be the first radio station to go off the air and transition directly to the internet on a fulltime web stream at channel1031.com and worldclassrock.com. It was sold to Entravision Communications, a company better known for its Spanish language outlets (because Clear Channel found itself over FCC ownership limits due to another merger). Entravision flipped it to Spanish Hits "Super Estrella" under the call letters KSSC/KSSD.[citation needed]In 2003, Entravision moved the "Super Estrella" format to their newly acquired 107.1 signals from Big City Radio, which today use the call letters KSSE/KSSC/KSSD. 103.1 FM was flipped to Dance Hits format KDL 103.1 using the call letters KDLD/KDLE. The format was modeled after KDL 106.7 KKDL in Dallas, Texas. Groove Radio had been out of the market for several years, and appetites had changed, and message boards accused the programmers of being too mainstream, but the ratings 18-34 were solid given the signal. It certainly caused enough competition to KIIS to gain Clear Channel's attention. Clear Channel stepped in again and paid Entravision to change the format to a more Rock leaning format, eliminating the competition with Clear Channel's KIIS and directing it toward CBS Radio's KROQ.In early December 2003, KDL 103.1's airstaff was dismissed and the station began running on automation until finally they signed off on December 21 with the L.A. Style song "James Brown is Dead", then had a few moments of dead air before playing a track titled "Punk Rock Christmas". They had a small playlist running for a few days with an alternative and eclectic mix of Christmas music and fast IDs saying "Independent Radio". During this time, there were many periods where the signal would drop out for 3 - 5 minutes.[citation needed]Indie 103.1 quickly grew in popularity among listeners around the Los Angeles area and around the world.In the former Fox TV show, The O.C., the character of Ryan is seen waking up to Indie 103.1 on his alarm clock. A Indie 103.1 bumper sticker is seen in the cubicle in the movie "Grandma's Boy" and in an episode of the MTV show Punk'd, the Indie 103.1 studios are the place Latin reggaeton star Daddy Yankee gets pranked.On December 25, 2003 at 11 PM, Indie 103.1 was born. The station began as a collaboration between Entravision and Clear Channel. Clear Channel primarily handled advertising on the station, but because the organization already owned the maximum number of stations in the Los Angeles market allowed by Federal Communications Commission regulations, the arrangement was terminated in March 2005.[citation needed]In March 2006, Dicky Barrett of The Mighty Morning Show left the station. He was replaced by Joe Escalante, who called his show "The Last Of The Famous International Morning Shows."On August 19, 2008, Station Manager Dawn Girocco announced her departure from the station. Starting in October 2008, longtime specialty shows were either dropped ("Feel My Heat," Community Service," "Big Sonic Heaven," "Camp Freddy Radio") or moved to weekends ("Harmony in My Head"). Upon the cancellation of his roots music show "Watusi Rodeo," Chris Morris accused the station of "now being styled as KROQ Jr." in an effort to increase the station's ratings.In November 2008, Escalante stated he was giving up the morning show but would continue to host an expanded two-hour version of his legal-advice show, "Barely Legal Radio." He was replaced by longtime station Afternoon DJ "TK."On Thursday, January 15, 2009 in the morning, Entravision made the decision to stop broadcasting Indie 103.1 on the terrestrial airwaves. On-air staff and station staff were asked to evacuate and clear the station immediately. Before 10 A.M., the station's personalities bid farewell to the listeners and at 10 A.M. a message saying the following was played on the air until midnight Saturday, January 17, 2009."This is an important message for the Indie 103.1 Radio Audience - Indie 103.1 will cease broadcasting over this frequency effective immediately. Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge. Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option --- to play the corporate radio game. Indie 103.1 has decided not to play that game any longer. Rather than changing the sound, spirit, and soul of what has made Indie 103.1 great Indie 103.1 will bid farewell to the terrestrial airwaves and take an alternative course. This could only be done on the Internet, a place where rules do not apply and where new music thrives; be it grunge, punk, or alternative simply put, only the best music. For those of you with a computer at home or at work, log on to www.indie1031.com. That's www.indie1031.com and listen to the new Indie 103.1 - which is really the old Indie 103.1, not the version of Indie 103.1 we are removing from the broadcast airwaves. We thank our listeners and advertisers for their support of the greatest radio station ever conceived, and look forward to continuing to deliver the famed Indie 103.1 music and spirit over the Internet to passionate music listeners around the world."