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Santa Maria/Lompac, California
KBOX - 104.1 Pirate Radio
Based on the success of Pirate Radio KKXX-FM in Bakersfield, CA, American General Media brought the Variety Hits format to its station on 104.1 in the Santa Maria/Lompac, CA market.
Despite the presence of 105.1 Mike FM in the market, the decision was made to give Pirate Radio a try, displacing the Adult Contemporary format that previously aired on 104.1 KBOX.
With a Class B1 signal (versus the weaker Class A signal that 105.1 Mike FM has), 104.1 Pirate Radio has a city-grade signal that reaches both Santa Maria and Lompac, whereas Mike FM's city-grade signal doesn't cover Santa Maria.
According to Radio & Records, 104.1 Pirate Radio debuted with a playlist of 1,400-1,500 songs.
KWSZ - 105.1 Mike FM
(Station changed formats on 7/10/2006)
105.1 KWSZ had an Album Adult Alternative format (as 105.1 The West) when it was purchased by Mapleton Communications from Coast West Broadcasting in May 2003 for $1.05 million. Mapleton quickly changed the station's format to Oldies on June 1, 2003.
In early April 2005, the station flipped to Variety Hits as 105.1 Mike FM. I have very little information on this flip, or even the exact date when it happened, and any information on this would be most appreciated.
Mapleton Communications sold KWSZ to Emerald Wave Media in April 2006 for $1.5 million, a near 50% profit in less than three years. Emerald Wave Media finalized the deal and flipped the station to Spanish Oldies as Concierto 105.1 on July 10, 2006. The move made KBOX the de facto winner in the Santa Maria/Lompac Variety Hits showdown.
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© Copyright 2005-2024 Lou Pickney. All Rights Reserved.
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