In This Radio Fight, No One Wins -- Well, Except for The Guy Accused of Sexual Harrassment

When I first moved to Los Angeles ten and a half years ago, I used to enjoy flipping around the radio dial and listening to distant FM signals from San Diego. The market's powerhouse alternative station, 91X (91.1 FM) came in loud and clear, especially in the summertime -- blasting from a Tijuana tower. Same with "Jammin' 90.3."

Then came the Calvary Satellite Network. In the late 90s, the religious broadcaster built countless low-power "translator" stations -- drowning out distant signals and causing a headache for other public broadcasters.

Now, as the L.A. Times wrote yesterday, the alliance between two ministers that makes up Calvary Satellite Network -- Chuck Smith and Mike Kestler -- is falling apart -- and the reasons behind it are pretty juicy:

Smith's son, Jeff, had been paying Christian radio stations to broadcast his father's sermons for years. Kestler and the younger Smith had become close friends. They approached the Calvary Chapel founder with an idea: Instead of handing money to other stations to carry the Calvary message, why not invest in their own radio network?

Kestler would handle technical matters out of Twin Falls, the younger Smith would handle the finances out of Santa Ana, and Chuck Smith would bankroll the project. Calvary Satellite Network was born.

Broadcasting a mixture of sermons and worship music, the network started with two stations: Kestler's in Twin Falls and another in Yucca Valley, Calif. From 1996 to 2003, Chuck Smith poured an estimated $13 million — much of it from the collection bowls of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa — into expanding the network.

Kestler and the younger Smith snapped up broadcast licenses, built towers and invested heavily in satellite technology that beams low-power signals to remote pockets of listeners. As host of a daily call-in show, Kestler became one of the network's best-known voices.

The radio system did not carry advertising, relying instead on listener donations, money from preachers whose sermons it broadcast, and monthly subsidies from Chuck Smith's church.

Calvary Satellite Network now has about 400 low-power stations and 49 full-power stations in 45 states. Its coverage area has 22.5 million potential listeners. It estimates its worth at $250 million, derived mostly from the value of its broadcasting licenses.

As the network grew, so did tensions between Smith and his son. Stations were opened at a ferocious clip, but it typically took years for them to break even.

The elder Smith said his son and Kestler took to siding against him, refusing to listen to his pleas for a more conservative business plan.

In January 2003, he resigned from the network's board and cut off the monthly subsidies. Apart from misgivings about the network's direction, Smith said, he had developed moral qualms about Kestler.

A Calvary parishioner, a California woman, had come forward saying Kestler had made passes at her. Smith said he called Kestler about the accusation.

From there, Smith began funding the legal bills of women who came out against Kestler. Then, the story takes an even more bizarre turn: Not only did Smith give up, but he's handing the keys over to his nemesis Kestler. Whaaa?