Retro Friday: Mom, Sometimes My Country Music Radio Station Doesn't Feel Fresh

From 1982, a commercial for L.A. country radio station KZLA. How sitting on a bunch of rocks by the ocean was supposed to bolster this guy's pitch for country music, I don't quite get.

Of course, as you know, station owner Emmis dumped country off KZLA a few years ago in favor of rhythmic AC format KMVN, with Rick Dees in the morning. When that flopped, they leased the station to Mexico's Grupo Radio Centro, which now programs Spanish-language KXOS at 93.9. But that format has so far been a flop as well.

Another One Bites the Dust: Movin 93.9 Signs Off

As expected (see original post here), KMVN-FM "Movin' 93.9" signed off at midnight, replaced by a Spanish Hot Adult Contemporary format.

That means L.A. morning star Rick Dees is back in radio exile, although he has just launched a new Internet radio venture, All Number 1 Hits.com. (According to Dees' site, "The ALL NUMBER 1 HITS channel is a live, 24-hour Top 40 radio channel which targets the 6-34 year old listening audience... The launch of ALL NUMBER 1 HITS will feature an exclusive one-on-one with Miley Cyrus as its first guest host. Along with Miley, young visually-oriented entertainers will host shows, including Kevin Dees, Joe Kieley, Mark Wong, and Lizard Man. Gerry DeFrancesco, heralded as the most recognized top 40 programmer, is heading up the programming and consulting of the current driven format.")

Movin' 93.9 seemed to have finally found its niche as a mostly-80s retro station, and had seen its ratings tick up in recent months. But owner Emmis, hurting for cash, saw an opening in leasing the station out to Mexico's Grupo Radio Centro for $7 million a year.

The station ended its run at midnight with, of course, Donna Summer's "Last Dance." Here's how it programmed its final hour:

11:58 PM "LAST DANCE" - DONNA SUMMER
11:53 PM "TOO SHY" - KAJAGOOGOO
11:51 PM "SHOUT" - TEARS FOR FEARS
11:47 PM "BEST OF MY LOVE" - EMOTIONS
11:45 PM "SAFETY DANCE" - MEN WITHOUT HATS
11:37 PM "SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO" - CLASH
11:32 PM "ROCK LOBSTER" - B-52'S
11:29 PM "MAD ABOUT YOU" - BELINDA CARLISLE
11:20 PM "SIMPLY IRRESISTABLE" - ROBERT PALMER
11:16 PM "COME ON EILEEN" - DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS
11:13 PM "LUCKY STAR" - MADONNA
11:08 PM "PRETTY IN PINK" - PSYCHEDELIC FURS
11:05 PM "GOOD TIMES" - CHIC
11:02 PM "LOVE PLUS ONE" - HAIRCUT ONE HUNDRED

Rick Dees Loses Radio Home: "Movin 93.9" To Go Spanish

Rick Dees is once again out of a job.

KMVN-FM -- known as the rhythmic AC "Movin' 93.9" -- is expected to flip to a Spanish format later this month. Dees hosts the morning show there.

Format flip means the one-time Los Angeles morning drive champ, who left KIIS-FM in 2004 but returned to the airwaves with great fanfare in 2006, will lose his radio gig later this month.

Move to Spanish comes as Mexico's Grupo Radio Centro has struck a deal with KMVN owner Emmis to operate the radio station under a lease management agreement. (Because it's a Mexican company, it can't own a U.S. station outright.)

Here's the press release:

Emmis Enters Into Long-Term LMA with Grupo Radio Centro for Los Angeles' KMVN

Indianapolis -- Emmis Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: EMMS) today announced it has entered into a long-term Local Marketing Agreement (LMA) for KMVN-FM (93.9) with one of Mexico's leading broadcasting companies, Grupo Radio Centro, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: RC).

The LMA for the Los Angeles radio station will start on April 15, 2009 and continue for up to seven years, for $7 million a year. At any time during the LMA, Grupo Radio Centro (GRC) has the right to purchase the station for $110 million. At the end of the term, Emmis has the right to require GRC to purchase the station for the same amount.

"I couldn't be prouder of our KMVN team," Emmis Chairman and CEO Jeff Smulyan said. "It is always difficult to part with a station and our people, but in these challenging times, it is the right decision for Emmis."

Under the LMA, Emmis will continue to own and operate the radio station, with GRC providing Emmis with programming to be broadcast. Under the arrangement announced today, GRC will find a purchaser who meets all applicable FCC ownership requirements if it is not qualified to own the station at the time of purchase.

Emmis purchased the station in 2000 and flipped format from country to rhythmic pop contemporary in August 2006.

Indeed, Emmis caused quite a stir in 2006 when it dumped the country format on the station (then known as KZLA) to target young women with a new rhythmic format.

The switch, however, was a big bust. Listeners rejected the station -- which eventually dropped current songs and focused on more of an adult contemporary approach. Dees, meanwhile, never posed any competitive threat in the morning slot.

Movin' had recently seen its numbers tick up, but it wasn't enough. Emmis had attempted to sell the station to Bonneville, but had asked for too much money; Bonneville came in and bought 100.3 instead (where its "The Sound" format is now struggling).

The KMVN switch reps yet another major format change in what has become a tumultuous time in L.A. radio -- following the KDLD switch from "Indie 103.1" to Spanish and KLSX's switch from FM Talk to top 40.