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| Broadcast area | Los Angeles County Orange County, California |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 93.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 93.5 KDAY |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic hip-hop |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | 1961 (as KAPP-FM) |
Former call signs | KAPP-FM (1961–1965) KKOP (1965–1978) KFOX (1978–2000) KMJR (2000–2001) KFSG (2001–2003) KZAB (2003–2004) |
Call sign meaning | OriginalKDAY (AM) was aDaytimer (i.e., shut down at night) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 10100 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 4,200watts |
| HAAT | 117 meters (384 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°0′19″N118°21′44″W / 34.00528°N 118.36222°W /34.00528; -118.36222 |
| Repeater | 93.5KDEY-FM (Ontario) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 935kday.com |
KDAY (93.5FM, "93.5 KDAY") is aradio station that is licensed toRedondo Beach, California and serves theGreater Los Angeles area. The station is owned byMeruelo Media and airs aclassic hip hopformat. The station's studios are located inBurbank and its transmitter is inBaldwin Hills. KDAY also extends its signal coverage into theInland Empire by adding a full power simulcast,KDEY-FM inOntario, California to fill in all of the overlapping and gaping issues and problems in its eastern coverage area.[1]
KDAY first signed on in 1948 as a 10,000-wattsoul/R&B outlet at 1580AM. Itscall sign represented the fact that it was a "daytimer"; i.e., it broadcast only during daytime hours and signed off every evening.[2][3] It flipped to atop 40 format a short time later.
After his firing fromWABC in November 1959, fameddisc jockeyAlan Freed arrived at KDAY and worked there for about one year. By that time the station had a 50,000-watt transmitter but was on-air only during the daytime.[4]
In 1960,George Carlin, with his comedy partnerJack Burns, arrived in Los Angeles and were hired at KDAY for their comedic stylings. They performed in area coffee houses when the radio station went off the air at sunset and were subsequently discovered and performed onTonight Starring Jack Paar. Carlin and Burns worked at the station for less than six months.[5] In 1972, KDAY switched toalbum-oriented rock only to revert to soul/R&B in January 1974. KDAY moved its transmitter to Los Angeles in 1968, and concurrently upgraded to 50,000 watts day and night. FM stations such asKJLH grew in popularity in the early 1980s, cutting into KDAY's audience. KDAY fought back by hiring Greg Mack fromKMJQ in Houston as music director in 1983. Mack eventually addedhip hop music to the station's playlist to appeal to mostly youngBlack andLatino listeners.Dr. Dre andDJ Yella Boy became the first mixer DJs at the station.[6]: 214–216
In the first ratings period under Mack's leadership, KDAY's ratings beat another Los Angeles Black AM station,KGFJ, and "began to enjoy a second life as the only rap-friendly station in town and, frankly, in the entire country."[6]: 217 By September 1983, KDAY also upgraded its sound toAM stereo.[7]Dan Charnas described KDAY's audio upgrade as "laughable" and "sounding liketwo tinny AM radios playing side by side."[6]: 293
After violence in the stands forced the cancellation of aRun-DMC concert at theLong Beach Arena for the group'sRaising Hell tour,[8] KDAY organized a "Day of Peace" on October 9, 1986.[6]: 218 In a two-hour special, KDAY featured Run-DMC, singerBarry White, and boxerPaul Gonzales appealing to rivalgangs to stop feuding and opened phone lines for callers to describe gangs' impact in their communities.[9] There were no murders or incidents of gang violence that day. Within two weeks, theBloods andCrips, the two largest gangs in Los Angeles, signed a peace treaty.[6]: 218
In 1990, Mack left KDAY that year to work for rival KJLH. Real estate investorFred Sands, who also owned heavy metal stationKNAC, bought KDAY the next year.[6]: 293–294 [10] On March 28, 1991, at 1 p.m., KDAY switched to abusiness format with call lettersKBLA.[6]: 294 [11]
KDAY was resurrected on 93.5 FM on September 20, 2004, offering arhythmic contemporary format that emphasizedold school hip hop, a nod to its AM heritage.[12]
In April 2006, KDAY began moving away from rhythmic contemporary and toward anurban contemporary approach as the station refocused its target audience towardAfrican Americans. This was in response to competitorKPWR (Power 106) de-emphasizing urban in favor of rhythmic contemporary in order to target Hispanic listeners. Due to sinking ratings, a month later, long-time hip-hop/R&B stationKKBT eliminated hip hop from the format, and flipped to a mixture ofurban adult contemporary (urban AC) andurban talk programs, similar in format toKHHT andKJLH. (Only afterwards did KKBT change its call letters and name to KRBV and "V100".) In addition, KDAY broughtSteve Harvey on board onMemorial Day weekend in 2006;[13] he had been released by KKBT the previous year. Weeks later, rival KKBT signed onTom Joyner to carry his syndicated morning show there; however, in December 2006, KKBT would dismiss Joyner due to low ratings, partly attributed to Harvey's success.[14][15][16]
On July 23, 2007, KDAY and sister stationKDAI inOntario, California temporarily switched from anurban contemporary format torhythmic contemporary under the consultancy of Harry Lyles and newly installed program director Theo. In a statement to online trade publicationAll Access, Lyles commented on the changes: "I am very excited and thrilled to be working with Don McCoy, Roy Laughlin and Theo. All we're doing is playing to the taste of Los Angeles and if we play what they want, they will listen. WithPPM coming, this will make things a lot more interesting in Los Angeles."[17][18] The format turnback might have been spurred byMagic Broadcasting's July 19 sale ofKWIE (96.1 FM, "Wild 96.1") inSan Jacinto. Originally, the KDAY call letters were intended to be dropped in favor of the station picking up the KWIE calls as "Wild 93.5". For a time, the station only referenced itself as simply "93.5" on air until it could come up with a name and a call sign to fit the rhythmic format. This happened in July 2007, when the sale of KWIE toLiberman Broadcasting was completed and that station became KRQB. The KWIE call letters moved to the Ontario station, which at the time held the call sign KDAI.[19] After the sale was completed, the format tweak ended up being only temporary; the intent was for KWIE listeners in theInland Empire to migrate to the 93.5 FM signal as KDAY reverted tourban contemporary the following August.
On April 8, 2008,Radio One inked a deal with KDAY which saw the station pick up the former "Beat" branding, logo and several syndicated shows from Radio One. The move came after Radio One sold KRBV toBonneville International, who in turn dropped KRBV's urban AC format the previous day; that station is nowKKLQ. From that point, the station used the slogan "The Beat of LA", a nod to the popular hip hop station during the 1990s and early 2000s. One such personality who returned to Los Angeles radio following KRBV's flip wasMichael Baisden, host of the syndicated afternoon showLove Lust and Lies which debuted on KDAY August 18.[20]
On August 14, 2008, the station's signal was upgraded from 3.4 kW to 4.2 kW thanks to a newtransmitter that improved coverage throughout theLos Angeles metropolitan area. The new tower replaced one that had been in use for fifty years. Also around this time, KDAY tweaked its mainstream urban format to a hybrid urban AC/urban talk approach — a direction similar to urban AC, but featuring current adult-friendly R&B music with on-air talk personalities and some hip-hop product — targeting an 18–49 audience. Most of KDAY's programming was being filled by syndicated shows during the day, except for DJ Theo'sslow jam showTheo After Hours, which aired live weeknights. The same day, KWIE dropped its simulcast of KDAY and flipped to arhythmic adult contemporary format branded "FLO 93.5".[21][22] According to station management, the decision to tweak KDAY's format was due toArbitron's plans to implement thePortable People Meter (PPM) in the Los Angeles radio market and where they believe they can tap into certain areas where they can attract the African American audience.[23][24] The new changes resulted inR&R andNielsen BDS removing the station from the Urban reporting radio panel in its August 29, 2008 issue.[25]
These changes were not popular with KDAY's listeners. Criticism arose over dropping live airstaff in favor of increased syndicated content and replacing hip hop music with the urban AC/talk format; listeners claimed the owners had ruined the legacies of both KDAY and The Beat.[26] Those upset with the new approach predicted its demise as it was already tried unsuccessfully at KKBT; they also felt that Los Angeles could not support two adult R&B outlets (the other beingKJLH, asKHHT was a rhythmic AC outlet aimed at Hispanics).[27]
There had been hints of possible changes at KDAY coming throughout mid-2008, which became evident in the station's decision to replaceMo'Nique's syndicated show in October 2008 for more music-driven local content.[28] Another move would come with programming director Theo's exit several weeks later, with Adrian "AD" Scott becoming interim PD in addition to his Operations Manager duties. As a result, KDAY made a shift back to an urban format and was reinstated to theR&R/BDS Urban panel in January 2009. The following March, KDAY re-added local air personalities to its lineup, with DJ Dense taking middays and Tha Goodfellas, who had been handling afternoons and weekends, taking the evening slot.[29]The Steve Harvey Morning Show was dropped on May 29, 2009, but later resurfaced onKJLH.[30][31] In addition, Michael Baisden's nationally syndicated show, which aired in afternoon drive, was dropped on July 31, 2009. This was followed byKeith Sweat's nationally syndicated show,The Keith Sweat Hotel.
At the "Fresh Fest" concert atNokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, hints were made on stage (including a new logo that was shown on all stage banners and screen graphics) that a full-blown format flip to resemble the original KDAY'sclassic hip hop sound would occur on August 17, 2009, at 7:30 a.m. At that time, after playingBoyz II Men's "End of the Road", the station dropped the "Beat" branding and reverted to KDAY, withSnoop Dogg's "Gin & Juice" ushering in the new format.[32] Station spots between songs indicated that the previous syndicated fare was a programming mistake on the part of KDAY that did not reflect what Los Angeles fans wanted and that the station would "never do that again". The flip officially left Los Angeles as the largest market without anurban contemporary station until KHHT flipped back to that format asKRRL in 2015, replacing Houston in that distinction. (Houston would regain an urban contemporary outlet in KHHT's sister stationKKRW, which flipped to that format over a year before KHHT.)[33] A month later, in September 2009, KWIE would return to simulcasting KDAY under new call lettersKDEY-FM.[34]
In November 2009, KDAY management hired veteran programming consultants Bill Tanner and Steve Smith to help in the evolution of the station alongside program director Adrian Scott, new operations manager Brian Bridgman, and new general manager Zeke Chaidez. Tanner explained what was in store for KDAY's future: "Brian, Steve and I have offered some refinements based on our many years of experience in Los Angeles ... We're just getting started with the music. We will be adding jocks and more surprises in the weeks ahead." On-air music mixing returned to the station with the additions of Mr. AD, Eddy Xprs, Class1c, and DJ Dense.[35]
On December 27, 2010,Magic Broadcasting announced it would sell KDAY and KDEY-FM to SoCal935, LLC for $35 million. At the time, SoCal935's principal investors Warren Chang and John Hearne also had a financial stake in Riversiderhythmic contemporary stationKQIE.[36] TheFederal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the sale on December 8, 2011;[37] however, even after three extensions of time to consummate the sale, the transfer of ownership never took place.
Another proposed sale of KDAY and KDEY-FM was announced April 10, 2013, this time to RBC Communications, a group led byChinese/Hong Kong broadcasterPhoenix Television and its editor-in-chief and current affairs anchorAnthony Yuen.[38] By October, however, RBC had pulled out of the deal, marking the second failed attempt by Magic to divest the two stations.[39]
On June 7, 2015, KDAY began airingArt Laboe's syndicated six-hour Sunday nighturban oldies programThe Art Laboe Connection. Previously, the show was broadcast on KHHT until the aforementioned flip of that station in February 2015.[40]
KDEY-FM dropped its simulcast of KDAY a second time in February 2017, as the former flipped to an urban contemporary format targeting its localInland Empire market as "Wild 93.5". Before the switch, ownerMeruelo Media filed aspecial temporary authority with the FCC for KDEY-FM by reducing power to determine any possibleco-channel interference issues.[41] However, after just seven months, KDEY-FM would return to simulcasting with KDAY for a third time on October 30, 2017.[42]
On May 9, 2017,Emmis Broadcasting sold KDAY competitorKPWR (Power 106) to Meruelo Group for $82.75 million; Meruelo began operating KPWR that July.[43] As a result of the acquisition and the company's decision to retain KPWR's rhythmic contemporary format, airstaff and management, Meruelo announced that it would relocate the KDAY studios toBurbank alongside KPWR. Under Meruelo ownership, KDAY and KDEY-FM refocused their programming on classic hip hop and rhythmic throwbacks to avoid overlap.[44][45]
The station at 93.5 FM, licensed toRedondo Beach, California, signed on in 1961 as KAPP-FM and was owned by South Bay Broadcasting Company. The license was granted after the applications forKPOL-FM andKNX-FM were denied. Chuck Johnson and Lonnie Cook came to KAPP-FM fromKTYM-FM (103.9 FM) inInglewood. The frequency was shared as the signal's programming came from Redondo Beach in the daytime, and thepop,blues,doo wop, andjazz format being aired by Johnson and Cook (from Johnson's home) at night. It has been determined that their FMtop 40 chart is the oldest one known to exist.
The station changed its callsign to KKOP with its sale to Southern California Associated Newspapers in 1965 and began playing mellow pop music. The transmitter moved toTorrance in the 1970s. In 1978, KKOP became KFOX-FM upon its sale to the former operators ofKFOX at 1280 AM. Like its predecessor, KFOX-FM playedcountry music. The format in the early 1980s was anadult contemporary hit music station. In 1981–1982, KFOX-FM employed Los Angeles' youngest disc jockey at the time, a 16-year-old student fromTorrance High School, Brett Nordhoff, who later changed his on-air name to Kidd Kelly.[46]
By 1983, KFOX-FM had evolved into a multi-ethnic, multilingual format such as Radio Rangarang (Persian), Radio Omid (Persian), and Radio Naeeri (Armenian). In the mid-1990s, this became "Radio Korea USA" with an all-Korean format. This continued until 1999, when theInternational Church of the Foursquare Gospel (ICFG) moved the KFSG call letters andChristian radio format to 93.5 FM. This switch was a condition of sellingKXOL-FM (96.3 FM), acquired bySpanish Broadcasting System specifically for the purpose of relocating KFSG.[47] In 2002, the lease arrangement with the ICFG ended and SBS switched KFSG to aSpanish-language outlet, first as KMJR ("La Mejor") and later KZAB as La Sabrosa.
Small. Daytime-only at the time. Though it did have Art Laboe and 50,000 watts, so it wasn't all bad.