KMVN

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KMVN-FM, Movin' 93.9, is a rhythmic oldies station serving Los Angeles and the surrounding area. The station is owned by Emmis Broadcasting, which also owns KPWR (Power 106). All of the songs played on Movin' 93.9 consist of rhythmic pop and dance hits from the 1970s and 1980s including Funk and Classic Soul along with classic disco and freestyle tracks thrown in for balance.

Initially the unique combination of both KPWR and KMVN, the move gave Emmis and Los Angeles its first rhythmic duopoly, as well as the second duopoly in California with this arrangement, the other being Clear Channel Communications siblings KMEL and KYLD in San Francisco.

They are also the second station in the United States to adopt the "Movin'" concept, the first being KQMV/Seattle, Washington. KQMV is not owned by Emmis; however they did acquire the rights to use the moniker from consultant Alan Burns, who helped launched KQMV's format. Burns will also team up with fellow consultant Guy Zapoleon (whose partnership with Burns dates back to the launch of KHMX/Houston in 1991) on the new upstart.

KMVN plays a wide variety of danceable hit songs from the 1970s and 1980s. Sample artists include Earth Wind and Fire, Zapp and Roger, Santana, Janet Jackson, Ohio Players, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye among others. There is little rap music, in deference to both the target audience and to sister station KPWR.

[edit] History

KPOL-FM 93.9 signed on in 1958 as a simulcast of KPOL 1540 AM with an easy listening format. In 1977, under the ownership of Capital Cities Communications, KPOL-FM broke away from the simulcast and adopted a soft rock format similar to crosstown KNX-FM using the on-air identity "94 FM". They changed call letters to KZLA in 1978 (one year later, 1540 AM rejoined the simulcast and also adopted the KZLA call letters).

Through most of KPOL/KZLA's early history, KMPC 710 AM, owned by Gene Autry, was the dominant country music station in Los Angeles. However, in 1970 it flipped to a personality based middle of the road format and KLAC 570 AM, owned by Metromedia picked up the country format. KHJ 930 AM, owned by RKO, also changed formats to country in 1979. One year later, KZLA AM and FM dropped the soft rock format, switching as well to country.

The three country music outlets struggled, including KZLA. In 1983 KHJ dropped country and returned to an adult contemporary format. KLAC held its own. At this point KZLA began to grow in the ratings as Los Angeles' only FM country station. On its website, it claimed to be the United States' most-listened-to country radio station, even though they never managed to dent the top 15 in the Los Angeles Arbitron ratings during its 26-year run.

In 1984, Capital Cities sold KZLA-AM to Spanish Broadcasting System (which rechristened it KSKQ) and KZLA-FM to Malrite Communications Group. Metromedia sold KLAC in 1987 to Malrite, which moved it to a classic country format. By 1990, Malrite had changed KLAC to an adult standards format from Westwood One, leaving KZLA as the established country music station in the market.

In 1994 Shamrock Broadcasting acquired KZLA and KLAC in a merger with Malrite; in 1996 Chancellor Media acquired all of Shamrock's stations, including KZLA and KLAC. The following year, Chancellor merged with Evergreen Media Corporation. Evergreen already had KKBT (then on 92.3) and KOST 103.5; Chancellor subsequently acquired Viacom's KYSR 98.7 and KXEZ 100.3. This gave Chancellor six FM stations. In 1998 Bonneville Broadcasting made a corporate deal to swap several stations with Chancellor, giving the latter six FM stations, including KOST, KBIG, KYSR, KKBT, and KXEZ (which would change formats and calls), plus two AM stations: KFI 640, and KLAC 570. Bonneville, in return, would acquire KZLA.

KZLA modified the country format over the years, at times mixing in a few non-country pop songs and also playing more classic country. Bonneville exited Los Angeles in [[2000] by selling KZLA to Emmis Communications, the station's current owners. Under Emmis' ownership, most of the country songs they played during its tenure in the format were from 1987 to the present day, with some classic cuts mixed in.

In 2006, KZLA began to carry NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races as the local affiliate of the Motor Racing Network. The first broadcast was the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

[edit] Format change

On August 17, 2006 at 10:20 a.m. Pacific time, KZLA's format was changed to rhythmic adult contemporary music. After the station played "Tonight I Wanna Cry" by Keith Urban to end the old format, KZLA played "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas to start the new one. The first DJ to be "let go" was the very popular Brian Douglas who did evenings for four years. Soon after that, the station's demise was well under way with others losing their positions as well.

KZLA Lineup (prior to format change)

Mon - Fri

12a-5a - Blair Garner

5a-10a - Peter Tilden

10a-3p - Shawn Parr

3p-7p - Whitney Allen

7p-12a - Brian Douglas

Weekends

Larry Santiago, Justin Michael, and Paul Freeman.

Jimmy Steal, Emmis' vice president of programming, cited declining ratings of the country format as well as an opportunity to increase overall station and corporate revenue.[1]

For a time, KZLA continued online, but the stream was later dropped. The FM station changed its call letters to KMVN on September 1, 2006. Tilden moved to KABC, where he worked until being laid off in cost-cutting moves in 2008. Other personalities moved to KKGO. Garner's show, which was flagshipped at KZLA, moved to Clear Channel Communications but does not have a Los Angeles affiliate.

[edit] Programming and airstaff

On the heels of launching KMVN, Emmis also signed legendary entertainment personality Rick Dees to host the morning drivetime show. Dees was host at another area station, KIIS-FM, from 1983 to 2004. Dees returned to the airwaves on September 25 and also picked up his "Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40" program on Sunday mornings, which started October 1. It should be noted that KMVN airs Weekly Top 40 with most of the non-Rhythmic hits (mostly Rock/Pop) edited from the show because of KMVN's format. The current morning show, Rick Dees in the Morning, airs from 5-10am and features Patti "Long Legs" Lopez and Mark Wong. Over the course of a few months, the station begun adding more staffers to its lineup, with Tera Bonilla doing middays, Mario Fuentes hired for afternoons, and Nena handling weekends. In addition, DJ Ernie and DJ Rawn (both from KPWR) and DJ Icy Ice (a veteran of KKBT and KDAY) became the station's mixers, as KMVN started adding mixshows to its lineup, which airs weekdays at noon and 5PM, and on Fridays ("Fiesta Mix") and Saturdays ("Movin' Party Mix", hosted by Clarence Barnes) from 7pm to 12 Midnight.

The ratings for the morning daypart increased by over 400% in the first 12 weeks Dees was on the air. However, the long term success of the station has yet to be proven. Often stations "spike" in the ratings when they first appear on the air. Furthermore, the station has failed to bring in more than half of the audience it did as a country music station according to Radio and Records. After being stuck below a 1.0% share in the first two rating periods, KMVN finally recovered in the Spring 2007 arbitrons when it started to show its first increase, a 1.2. As for whether this will turn things around it remains to be seen, but with KBIG's decision to shift to a regular Adult Top 40 direction in September 2007, KMVN could end up inheriting its rival's displaced listeners, who had grown accustomed to hearing the Rhythmic fare that KBIG used to play.

By October 2007 KMVN began to phase out most of its currents and '90s product, and along with that the mix shows, in an effort to improve the ratings, which have not been spectacular. They also changed its slogan to "The '70s and '80s Mix That Make You Move," to identify with its gold-based direction. Still, the changes have yet to translate into ratings. In 2008, KMVN began picking an unlikely competitor as KHHT began shifting from an Urban AC direction to a Rhythmic AC direction in an effort counter KMVN, whose direction targets the same Hispanic audience KHHT also targets.

[edit] References

• "L.A. loses lone country music station. USA Today", August 20, 2006. 

[edit] External links

• KMVN Website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KMVN
• Radio Locator information on KMVN
• RICK.COM - Rick Dees' Official Website
• DJ Moves Comments on KZLA's Move from Country to Pop
• gets' Movin at Radio & Records
• Petition to bring back KZLA's Country format