KMLT

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KMLT/KELT/KLIT, 92.7 "Jill FM" is an adult hits formatted station based in Thousand Oaks, California.

The station broadcasts on KMLT in Thousand Oaks, California, KELT in Adelanto, California, and KLIT in Fountain Valley, California. Their signal can be heard in Ventura County, Los Angeles County, and Orange County as well as most of San Bernardino County.

The station website indicates that it takes some requests, which is not typical of the format.

[edit] History

92.7 went on the air as KNJO, broadcasting from a studio in the Park Oaks shopping center in Thousand Oaks, California. The station's claim to fame at the time was that it was the first FM radio station on the West Coast to get a stereo signal. KNJO was a very involved community radio station and was a training ground for new talent. For a time, the studio technician was 10 year old Steve Webb, who is now the founder of Radio Brandy. Later they acquired KRCI on Catalina Island, which filled the dead areas in the eastern Simi Valley and also extended their coverage along the coast to Orange County, California. The station was very successful until it was taken over by KMDY and began simulcasting 850 AM. The radio station went down very fast in both ratings and reputation, because the new owner, a boat salesman, knew little about running a radio station.

The station was later bought by Amaturo Group and turned it into a trimulcast with KELT in Riverside, California which was once KHNY, the call letters were changed (KNJO to KMLT and KRCI to KLIT), and the new identity as Lite 92.7 was born. The station was arguably the last station in Southern California to air a straight beautiful music. Amaturo Group moved KLIT from its ideal Catalina Island location with 3000 watts, to the mainland on a mountain south of Newport Beach with only 690 watts and the city of license was changed to Fountain Valley, they also did the same with KELT's 6000 watt Riverside location and moved it up to a mountain north of Victorville with 280 watts on the same mountain as most of Victorville's radio stations and the city of license was changed to Adelanto, California. The station no longer has a listenable signal in Riverside. In order to make the Adelanto move, Amaturo Group paid 92.7 KZIQ from Ridgecrest to move their tower off the mountain and down into Ridgecrest, which is a bowl shape. KZIQ's signal now doesn't extend very far outside Ridgecrest.

After moving KLIT off of Catalina, KLIT no longer filled in the dead areas in Simi Valley, which 92.7 is supposed to serve with a city-grade signal. KMLT was required to move their transmitter off of Rasnow Peak to a different location that filled in the dead spots in Simi Valley. Without first consulting the city, they moved KMLT to one of the old 850 AM towers, but the city demanded that the transmitter be moved again so they could knock down the 850 AM towers and build houses on the location. KMLT was placed at a less than desirable location, which gave KMLT a very poor signal in Santa Clarita, California where 92.7 used to be one of the strongest FM signals on the dial.

During the "Lite 92.7" era, the station was the flagship for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers for one season.

Since the coverage area had been shifted, and with the arrival of Jack FM on KCBS (FM), Amaturo Group dismissed the airstaff of Lite 92.7 and flipped it to adult hits Jill FM, which is oriented toward women. The station is now fully automated with voice overs recorded by a Canadian actress. Later, Jill FM added a 38 Watt booster on Castro Peak near Malibu, California, and recently obtained a construction permit to increase power to 45 watts.

[edit] External links

• 92.7 Jill FM's Official Website
• Tour of 92.7 Jill FM's Studio