Roughly four years ago, Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters began simulcasting the L.A.-based “K-Mozart” on a heritage AM serving the Monterey Bay area of California.
The move came a few months after an AM sibling in the market began simulcasting another L.A. station, one focused on Oldies.
These AMs and their FM translators have just been handed to a new licensee by Mt. Wilson and its octogenarian owner, Saul Levine.
In fact, Levine and his Los Angeles-based entity are donating KIDD-AM 630 and KNRY-AM 1240 in Monterey, plus FM translators K294CA and K240EV, to The Balanced Radio Foundation.
This is a Richard Jenkins-chaired entity that does not own any other media assets.
However, Jenkins is a member of the board of TheDove Media Inc., based at KDOV-FM in Medford, Ore.
As such, a switch in programming to non-secular content is expected for KIDD and KNRY.
Serving as Levine’s legal counsel is Melodie Virtue of the newly renamed Foster Garvey.
Jenkins’ legal counsel is Francisco Montero of Fletcher Heald & Hildreth.
With the donation, Levine’s holdings are now comprised of KSUR-AM 1260 in Beverly Hills, Country KKGO-FM 105.1 in Los Angeles (and its HD offerings, which include K-Mozart), and a LPTV station in Riverside, Calif. Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters also owns K289BE at 105.7 MHz in Kona, Hawaii, on the island of Hawai’i.
KRNY first signed on the air in 1935, and relocated to its current frequency in 1941.
KIDD arrived in 1955, as KXXL. However, many remember the station as “Magic 63,” under the KIDD call letters. A young Ron Rodrigues, who would later enjoy tenures at Radio & Records, Sirius XM and Arbitron before joining Pandora, is among the station’s notable alumni, including Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton, who later worked at WHTZ (Z100) in New York and KIIS-FM in Los Angeles.
In the 1960s, it was a market giant. Many of the Central Coast’s top personalities worked there, including Dave Andrews (the son of movie star Dana Andrews), Dave Bennett, Buck Buchanan, Byng Robbins, Phil Keller and Rob Mahr.
