KSCA

KSCA is a commercial radio station in Glendale, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles, California, area on 101.9 FM. As of 2007 KSCA is the most listened to radio station in the Los Angeles Metro Area.^[1]

KSCA airs a Spanish Contemporary Hit Radio music format branded as "Maxima 101.9".

History

KSCA was one of Los Angeles' first FM radio stations, going on the air with a very formal Big Band/MOR format under the call letters KLYX. During the 1960s, the studios were located on the 32nd floor of Occidental Center, on Hope St., downtown Los Angeles. Here, during the earthquake of 1969, the studios are said to have swayed 6 feet! Its air staff included Mike Parker and William H. Belter. KLYX broadcast from a transmitter and studio atop Flint Peak, just west of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. The studio was later moved to Glendale, CA with the transmitter remote controlled. An AP teletype was prominent in the studio's storefront window, with a five-minute "rip and read" newscast on the hour by the duty DJ. Eventually the transmitter was moved to Mt. Wilson with greatly reduced power. By 1972, KLYX would become a R&B station under new owners Inner City Broadcasting Corporation.

In 1978, KLYX became a Disco station and adopted the new calls KUTE. By the early 1980s it became one of the original stations in the United States to launch a format that would later become a staple for Urban contemporary, playing the latest Funk, R&B and New wave music, featuring local DJs such as "Humble Harve", Brian Roberts and "Lucky Pierre." KUTE 102 was also the starting point for many successful radio careers including veteran PD Rick Thomas who was hired in 1982 to do weekends on air by then PD Lucky Pierre. During this time, mornings were hosted by Brian Roberts, afternoon drive by Charlie Fox and evenings with Joe Greene. Weekends also featured Ed Mann, Buster Jones, Scott Lockwood and Strawberry Jan Marie. At 2:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings, KUTE 102 would host an hour of disco/dance mixes, usually pre-mixed vinyl albums specially created for DJs. KUTE 102 was one of the first radio stations to air a "mega-mix" when the "Michael Jackson Mega-Mix" debuted in the summer of 1983, hot on the heels of the enormous success of Jackson's Thriller album earlier in the year. DJ Mario Flores later hosted a disco dance dj 12" specialty show Sunday mornings from 2:00am to 3:00am featuring 15 minute disco mixes, mixed by well known dj's around the U.S. The mixes changed in 1983 when electro funk began to dominate the station.

KUTE was very successful in this format until in late 1983, when it became a template for Urban Adult Contemporary stations today, changing its format to what is now called "The Quiet Storm" format. KUTE 102's Urban Adult Contemporary format would last until 1987, when the station was sold to Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasting, who would later replace it with an eclectic Rock format.

In 1987, it changed call letters to KMPC-FM and played "Full Spectrum Rock", a mixture of classic rock, adult album alternative and progressive rock radio . Many of the DJs who were let go from the defunct KMET that same year could be heard again on this radio station, including Paraquat Kelley, Cynthia Foxx and Jim Ladd. J.J. Jackson, veteran of KLOS throughout the 1970s, and one of the original MTV VJs in the early 1980s, was program director at this time. In March 1989, KMPC became "The Edge", and later changed its call letters to KEDG and played the same format until May 13, 1989, when the station became KLIT and adopted a soft AC format.

KLIT remained on the air until July 1, 1994, when the station became KSCA, and switched to an adult album alternative ("AAA") format (and also featured the Dr. Demento show). It was known as "Southern California's Album Alternative" and later morphed into "LA's Finest Rock". Mike Morrison joined as Program Director from WXPN/Philadelphia. Nicole Sandler, formerly with KLOS and The Mark & Brian Show, joined for middays. The station later hired Chuck Moshontz, also from KLOS and paired him with Nicole to do mornings. After the first year, Nicole Sandler was promoted to Music Director. Others on the staff included Mimi Chen, Rich Guzman, Terry Gladstone, Anita Gevinson and Merilee Kelly. The KSCA Music Hall hosted live performances by dozens of artists who had their debuts there, and went on to superstardom, including the Dave Matthews Band. This format lasted until February 4, 1997, after new owners bought it and made it the Spanish-language station that it is today.

When the station was sold to Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (now Univision Radio) in 1997, it was the last station owned by Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters.

KSCA's morning host, "Piolín" Sotelo, co-sponsored the massive immigration rally in Los Angeles on March 25, 2006, along with other local radio personalities like KLAX's "El Cucuy" Renán Almendaríz .

Programming

Other stations in the market have other primary interests; KLAX-FM has their regional Mexican format, and KBUE does not cover the market in full (KBUE/KBUA/KEBN/KRQB broadcasts from four separate Class A transmitters in Long Beach, San Fernando, Garden Grove and San Jacinto that are limited in signal range vs KSCA's Class B).

KSCA launched a Spanish Oldies HD2 subcarrier channel called Recuerdo.

On September 16, 2011 KSCA rebranded from Spanish Regional Mexican as "La Nueva 101.9" to Spanish Contemporary Hit Radio as "Maxima 101.9".^[2]

References

External links

• LA 101.9 official website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KSCA
• Radio-Locator information on KSCA
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for KSCA
• Gene Autry's KMPC-FM at SoCalRadioHistory.com

Coordinates: 34°13′26″N 118°03′47″W / 34.224°N 118.063°W / 34.224; -118.063