KLAC

KLAC

File:KLAC-am570.png
Los Angeles, California
Broadcast area	Los Angeles, California
Frequency	570 kHz (HD Radio)
Branding	"AM 570" or "AM 570 KLAC"
Programming
Format	Sports Talk
Ownership
Owner	Clear Channel Communications
Sister stations	KBIG, KFI, KHHT, KIIS, KOST, KTLK, KYSR
History
First air date	March, 1924 (as KFPG)
Former call signs	KFPG 1924-1925 KMTR 1925-1946
Call sign meaning	K Los Angeles California
Technical information
Class	B
ERP	5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates	34°04′11.00″N 118°11′36.00″W
Links
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	www.am570radio.com

KLAC AM 570 is a radio station serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. KLAC is one of eight Los Angeles radio stations owned by San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications. The station is co-located with its sister stations in suburban Burbank.

History

KLAC began as KFPG in 1924. In 1925 it became KMTR after new owner K.M. Turner, a radio dealer. In 1946, Dorothy Schiff, publisher of the New York Post, bought the station and renamed it KLAC. It was owned by Metromedia for many years. They ran a pop music format from the 1950s into the 1960s, similar to other AM Metromedia stations. In the mid-1960s KLAC had a talk format known as "two-way radio" including Joe Pyne, then became a middle of the road station playing music from the 1940s and early 1950s along with soft rock and non-rock hits of the '50s and '60s. By 1971, KLAC evolved to more of an adult contemporary format focusing on soft rock hits from 1964 up to that time.

Country stations KFOX and KBBQ did not have a signal as powerful as that of KLAC, so on September 28, 1970, KLAC decided to drop adult contemporary for country. Number one on their first Big 57 survey was "For The Good Times" by Ray Price. Original DJs were Deano Day, Gene Price, Harry Newman, Sammy Jackson and Jay Lawrence, joined the following year by Dick Haynes and Larry Scott. Many of them had previously worked at KBBQ. In the fall of 1980, KZLA AM and FM joined the country music competition, followed in December 1980 by KHJ. KHJ went back to pop oldies on April 1, 1983. KZLA-AM/FM and KLAC competed through the 1980s. In 1986, Metromedia sold their TV stations to Fox and restructured into Metropolitan Broadcasting in 1987. In 1988, Metropolitan eventually sold KTWV, a smooth jazz station to Westinghouse but sold KLAC to Malrite which owned KZLA. KZLA AM 1540 (now the current KMPC) was sold to an ethnic broadcaster. KLAC moved to classic country from the 1950s to the 1970s. KZLA kept playing current country hits. One exception to the music format was a "combat talk" show hosted by Orange County conservative icon Wally George on Monday nights during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In late 1993, KLAC fired all their DJs and newsman, including 31-year veteran Dean Sander, and dropped country for Westwood One's satellite-fed standards format, focusing on artists like Nat King Cole, Neil Diamond, Peggy Lee, Petula Clark, Dean Martin, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, The Carpenters, Elvis Presley, the Ames Brothers, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Dionne Warwick and Barry Manilow. Big bands were no longer played. The station ran various professional sports over the years (it began carrying the Lakers in 1977) and some evening talk shows at various points. KLAC 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 1990s. 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, the Truckin' Bozo, and Michael Jackson. On September 12, 2002, KLAC became the Fabulous 570, an adult standards format. In addition to many of the station's previous artists, the playlist included Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Rod Stewart and Michael Buble, whose music was influenced by the standards artists. This format ended on February 4, 2005, and the all-sports format began.

The music, as mentioned, moved to AM 690, where it stayed until February 1, 2006, when AM 690 became W Radio, a Spanish-language talk station.

Current overview

Now branding itself simply as AM 570 (or at times, AM 570 KLAC), it is the radio flagship of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Galaxy, the UCLA Bruins football and men's basketball teams, and The Jim Rome Show.

It also carries the National Football League Sunday doubleheader games from Westwood One.

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 most recent name XTRA Sports derived 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. However, previous to the 690/1150 merger in 2002, they were separately programmed stations, with the only common programming being Rome's show.

When the initial merger took place, the only surviving hosts that are still affiliated with the station to this day are Rome, sportscaster Steve Hartman, San Diego sports icon and former NFL Chargers radio voice Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton (all three were holdovers from the 690 days) and one-time Los Angeles TV sportscaster Vic "The Brick" Jacobs (the only surviving holdover from the 1150 days). All of the other remaining hosts from either 690 or 1150 went on to other stations, including many of the former XTRA Sports 690 hosts joining the upstart sports format at San Diego-based XEPRS-AM (1090 kHz, now known as "The Mighty Double-X") The XTRA Sports name was later re-launched in San Diego on November 12, 2007, with Lee Hamilton starting local programming.

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 were initially only announced at the top of an hour by themselves with no other note paid attention to them, but recently the branding "AM 570 KLAC" has been used more frequently by the hosts and in station promos, especially in regards to the station celebrating its 30th anniversary as the Laker radio flagship. In February 2006, the station had phased out the use of the XTRA calls and was simply referred to on air as AM 570.

Recently, AM 570 had placed less emphasis on sports and more emphasis on male-oriented programming to compete with KLSX, the local home of Adam Carolla and Tom Leykis. Local hosts had been instructed to not limit themselves to sports, but also include politics, celebrities, relationships, and current events. [1] In addition, non-sports hosts Erich "Mancow" Muller and Phil Hendrie were added to the lineup. The switch also meant that Lee Hamilton was changed from the host of an afternoon talk show host to hosting a three hour show on the weekends (airing each Saturday and Sunday, unless preempted by live sports coverage). However, in late 2006, KLAC shifted its focus again to more sports content. In addition, KLAC has begun to use its call letters more frequently, with promotions and announcers spelling out the meaning of the call letters as K Los Angeles California.

Recent developments

On January 20, 2009, the station announced a merger with the Fox Sports Radio Network, which effectively ended the shows as local programming. General manager Don Martin emerged as program director for both the station and the network. There was no word whether the station programming would continue from the Clear Channel Studios in Burbank, or would relocate to the Fox Sports Radio network offices in Sherman Oaks, which also housed the Premiere Radio studios for Jim Rome. According to a report by Los Angeles Daily News media columnist Tom Hoffarth, Fox Sports Radio hosts Ben Maller, Andrew Siciliano, Krystal Fernandez, Craig Sheman and James Washington were released from their duties. Sheman and Washington's morning slot would be replaced by Dan Patrick's syndicated morning show, while Chris Myers would join both Hartman for their mid-day show, replacing Mychal Thompson, who was expected to leave the station at the end of the Laker season and Vic "The Brick" Jacobs will be the update guy. Siciliano and Fernandez's early evening show would be replaced by the Petros and Money show. There was no word on a replacement for both JT The Brick and Ben Maller's overnight show, the Third Shift.

On December 11, 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers announced the KLAC would no longer be broadcasting Laker games as the Laker flagship station after the current broadcasting contract and relationship expires after the 2008-2009 season. Laker games will be heard on KSPN AM 710, ESPN's Los Angeles station, from the 2009-2010 season.

On October 30, 2006, KLAC launched Roggin and Simers²(Squared). The co-hosts were Fred Roggin of KNBC (and formerly of one-time rival sports talker KMPC-AM), T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times, and Simers' daughter, Tracy Simers. This was a new morning drive time show, replacing Mancow. The Simerses previously hosted a Sunday morning sports talk program, from Summer 2004 until the move to weekday mornings in October 2006. On September 27, 2007, Roggin and Simers² broadcast their final show, lasting a month shy of a full year on the air. In its place, KLAC began to carry sportscaster Dan Patrick's new syndicated morning radio show, premiering that following Monday, October 1. Roggin is now a fill-in host on rival station KSPN and co-hosts GSN Live on Game Show Network, in addition to his work at KNBC. The Simerses continue to be occasional guests on KLAC.

A week earlier, KLAC introduced The Joe McDonnell Experience. The host, one of the most famous radio hosts in L.A., had re-joined Clear Channel Los Angeles cluster earlier in 2006 as fill-in and weekend host on KLAC and as host of a political talk show on KTLK, after years at a station he helped launch, another rival sports talk station in Los Angeles, ESPN Radio's KSPN-AM. The show aired in Hendrie's old time slot, weeknights at 7 p.m. local time. McDonnell was previously with the company during the "XTRA Sports 1150" incarnation, from the late 1990s until his move to KSPN in 2000. The Experience ended on September 19, 2008, one day after McDonnell celebrated his 33rd year in radio broadcasting. Despite reports that he had been picked up for two more years, McDonnell was let go by Clear Channel the following Monday, September 22. He was replaced by former ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio and Sporting News Radio host Tony Bruno, who debuted Into the Night with Tony Bruno on September 29. The show, a co-production of the Station and The Content Factory, would start in syndication on November 3, 2008. Ironically, the show, which was flagshipped at KLAC

On January 5, 2007, KLAC announced that former USC running back and former KMPC afternoon talk-show host Petros Papadakis would join the station, co-hosting the 4 to 7p.m. weekday afternoon slot with Matt "Money" Smith (host of the Lakers Radio Network's pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage). The Petros and Money Show replaced co-hosts Joe Grande (formerly of KPWR-FM's Big Boy's Neighborhood morning show) and former UCLA quarterback Wayne Cook. Since January 13, 2007, Grande hosts a late-afternoon weekend show, following Lee Hamilton. For several months during 2006, Papadakis' KMPC show competed directly against the KLAC late-afternoon program. Also, Hamilton's daily 5 p.m. update was pulled from the air, although it was available online until the fall 2007, when Hamilton landed a new show on San Diego-based sister station KLSD. Grande moved to his own weekend show, "The Joe Grande Weekend BBQ", and was a co-host of the The Joe McDonnell Experience until the show ended in September 2008. Because of the station's broadcast of UCLA Football and NFL broadcasts, Grande has been on infrequently, and regular broadcasts of the show will return after the end of the college football season.

Complaints and program notes

Many who live in the San Diego area have complained that they are unable to get the 570 signal. This has fueled the complaint that AM 570 has "Los Angeles-ized", no longer catering to San Diego's sports teams and listeners. This has also come to the attention of Premiere Radio Networks, Jim Rome's syndicator; XEPRS-AM, "the Mighty 1090," a rival radio station that broadcasts in San Diego and parts of Orange County and Los Angeles (and run by the Broadcast Company of the Americas, whose CEO John Lynch administered XTRA Sports Radio in San Diego from the mid 1980s to its merger with 1150 in 2002), picked up The Jim Rome Show in September 2005.

As it is the Lakers' radio flagship home, KLAC normally puts much more emphasis and focus on the team, possibly very much to the chagrin of listeners who are not supporters of the Lakers. This is evident in the midday program headlined by Hartman, Jacobs and Laker radio broadcaster and former player Mychal Thompson.

If the Avengers or Galaxy are scheduled to appear on a national television broadcast, usually on ESPN2, KLAC will not carry their games on radio. (In the same vein, Los Angeles Sparks games are also not heard on KTLK if a Sparks game is scheduled to air on ESPN2, ABC, or FSN Prime Ticket.)

External links

• AM 570
• Facility details for Facility ID KLAC ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's AM station database