KLAC
Template:Infobox radio KLAC AM 570 is a radio station serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Branding itself as XTRA Sports 570, it is the radio flagship of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Jim Rome show, and the Phil Hendrie show, and is also the Los Angeles home of shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller. It also carries the Oakland Raiders, UCLA Bruins football and men's basketball, and Los Angeles Avengers arena football. It broadcasts nondirectionally and because of its low spot on the dial can be heard in most of Southern California, including the San Diego area, day and night.
The name XTRA Sports derives from the previous association with XETRA AM 690. On February 4, 2005, Clear Channel Communications conducted a far-reaching format swap of three radio stations in the area. XTRA Sports, previously a simulcast at AM 690 for San Diego and 1150 for Los Angeles, went to one station at 570 for both Los Angeles and San Diego. AM 690 took on KLAC's previous format, a beautiful music station called The Fabulous 570 and redubbed The Fabulous 690. AM 1150 went to a liberal talk radio format featuring selected portions of the Air America Radio lineup and independently syndicated shows like Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz, called KTLK. The KLAC calls are only announced at the top of an hour by themselves with no other note paid attention to them.
More recently, XTRA Sports 570 has placed less emphasis on sports and more emphasis on male-oriented programming to compete with KLSX, the local home of Howard Stern and Tom Leykis. Local hosts have been instructed to not limit themselves to sports, but also include politics, celebrities, relationships, and current events. [1] The change also means that legendary San Diego sports icon "Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton" has been demoted from host of a afternoon talk show host to merely providing commentary and analysis.
Many that live in the San Diego area has complained that they are unable to get the 570 signal. This has fueled the complaint that Xtra Sports 570 has "Los Angeles-ized", no longer catering to San Diego's sports teams and listeners. This has also gotten the attention of Premeire Radio Networks, Jim Rome's syndacater, The Mighty 1090, a rival radio station that broadcasts in San Diego, picked up The Jim Rome Show in September 2005.
History
KLAC was owned by Metromedia for many years. They ran a Pop music format from the 50's into the 60's similar to other AM Metromedia stations. In the 60's the station was a MOR station playing music from the 40's and early 50's along with soft rock and non rock hits of the 50's and 60's. By 1971 KLAC evolved to more of an Adult Contemporay format focusing on soft rock hits from 1964 to the then present.
About a year after KMPC 710 dropped Country for Big band and Standards KLAC dropped Adult Contemporary for Country music around 1978. In 1979 KZLA AM and FM joined the Country music competition and in 1980 KHJ joined. KHJ was back to AC by 1983. KZLA-AM-FM and KLAC competed through the 1980's. In 1986 Metromedia sold their TV stations to Fox and restructured into Metropolitan Broadcasting in 1987. In 1988 Mertopolitan eventually sold KTWV 94.7 a Smooth Jazz station to Westinghouse but sold KLAC to Malrite which owned KZLA-AM-FM. KZLA AM was sold to an ethnic broadcaster. KLAC moved to Classic Country from the 50's to the 70's. KZLA 93.9 FM kept playing Country hits from 1965 to the then present.
In 1993 KLAC dropped Classic Country for Westwood One's Standards format focusing on artists like Nat King Cole, Neil Diamond, Peggy Lee, Petula Clark, Dean Martin, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Johnny mathis, Carpenters, Elvis Presley, Ames Brothers, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow, and others. The format stayed away from Big Bands as well as too many AC cuts. The station ran various pro sports over the years and some evening talk shows at various points. The station stayed with this format in some form until 2001.
KLAC was owned by Malrite until 1993 when the station was sold to Shamrock in a group deal along with KZLA. In 1995 the station was absorbed by Chancellor Media and KZLA was swapped to Bonneville in the late 90's. Chancellor Media would form AMFM inc when it merged with capstar in 1999. In 2000 AMFM inc would merge with Clear Channel making KLAC a Clear Channel station.
In 2001 KLAC became a standard talk radio station, hosting the likes of Don Imus, Clark Howard, Dr. Dean Edell, and Michael Jackson. Then on September 12, 2002, KLAC operated as the Fabulous 570, an adult standards format. The station played strictly artists like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, McGuire Sisters, Al Martino, Sammmy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and many others. They also mixed in artists like Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr, Rod Stewart, Michael Buble, and others but only the material where they sang old pop standards and not "baby boomer" pop. They did not play any Elvis or Beatles or Carpenters for example. Though they played artists like Kenny Rogers and Barry Manilow singing Big Band Classics. This format ended this past February 4, 2005.
External links
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