L-A Radio: Meruelo Media LMA Of KLOS Begins Today

Meruelo Group announced today that its media division, Meruelo Media, entered into an agreement with Cumulus Media Inc. to purchase KLOS 95.5 FM in Los Angeles.

Cumulus announced the $43 million dollars cash deal Monday. Cumulus also announced that it has entered into a swap agreement with Connoisseur Media under which Cumulus will obtain four stations in and around Allentown, PA in exchange for two Cumulus stations in Southern Connecticut.

Mary Berner

Mary G. Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus, said, “These transactions are part of the continued execution of our portfolio optimization strategy. Both transactions are accretive, and the sale of KLOS-FM to Meruelo Media at an attractive multiple allows us to generate substantial cash, which can be used to further pay down debt and invest in high potential business opportunities. The Connoisseur Media swap significantly strengthens our presence in Allentown and the Lehigh Valley.”

Under the terms of the agreement with Connoisseur Media, Cumulus will receive WODE-FM, WWYY-FM, WEEX-AM and WTKZ-AM in and around Allentown, PA and Connoisseur Media will receive WEBE-FM in Westport, CT, and WICC-AM in Bridgeport, CT. The parties will begin programming each other’s respective stations under Local Marketing Agreements on May 1, 2019.

The Meruelo Group now has six broadcast stations in Los Angeles including KPWR “Power 106” 105.9/FM, KDAY 93.5/FM in Redondo Beach, KDEY 93.5FM in Ontario, KWHY-TV and KBEH-TV.

"KLOS 95.5 is one of the most iconic Rock stations in the world.  We are thrilled to add this legendary brand to our Media Division," stated Alex Meruelo, Chairman and CEO of the Meruelo Group.

Otto Padron

Otto Padron, President of Meruelo Media, added, "KLOS will be a crown piece in our strategically curated, LA-focused multimedia portfolio. As we've done with all our media properties, we will take full advantage of our deep local resources to grow the globally recognized KLOS heritage rock brand for generations to come."

Effective April 16, 2019, Meruelo Media will take over programming of KLOS under a Local Marketing Agreement.  Mr. Padron expects the transaction to be completed in the third quarter of 2019, after customary regulatory approvals are obtained.

KLOS is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, including the one-day-only return of popular morning show hosts Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps on April 25.

KLOS signed-on December 30, 1947 as KECA-FM, simulcasting the programming of AM sister station KECA. The two stations were owned by ABC and, in 1954, the call letters of the AM and FM stations were accordingly changed to KABC and KABC-FM, respectively.

 In 1960, KABC adopted an all-talk format. On January 1, 1968, due to new FCC rules requiring FM stations to have separate programming from their AM counterparts, KABC-FM experimented with a schedule of all-news radio, the first station in Los Angeles so formatted. This experiment did not last long: KABC-FM dropped all-news programming on March 11, 1968, the same day that KFWB switched to the format.

KABC-FM then adopted a progressive rock format. It used taped programming known as "Love", also run on other ABC-owned FM stations across the country. The syndicated format was voice-tracked by Brother John Rydgren. "Love" was soon dropped in favor of live, locally programmed freeform/progressive rock music, which became the norm on most ABC owned-and-operated stations by the mid-1970s. In 1971, the station adopted the KLOS call letters to avoid confusion with its AM talk station.

In late 1971, the freeform progressive rock sound ended, as ABC-owned FM Stations Vice President Allen Shaw and KLOS program director Tom Yates launched the first album-oriented rock (AOR) station in the United States. Under AOR, KLOS played only the top tracks from the best-selling rock albums and used the slogan was "Rock 'N Stereo".

KLOS has been home to many prominent progressive and AOR rock DJs from Los Angeles radio history. Bob Coburn, a former program director in Chicago and an assistant program director at KMET, was heard on KLOS from 1980 to 1994, and later worked at KLSX, KCBS-FM and KZLA before returning to KLOS. He also hosted the syndicated Rockline program. Coburn died of lung cancer December 17, 2016, at age 68.

In addition to his work with KLOS, renowned veteran disc jockey Jim Ladd also appeared on KNAC in its progressive days, KMET, and KLSX. Often dubbed "The Last DJ", after the Tom Petty song that was written about him, Ladd was allowed unusual latitude in selecting the music for his program. His show was routinely the number-one music-based show in its time slot. Ladd left KLOS in October 2011 and joined SiriusXM the following January, hosting daily on the Deep Tracks channel.

Joe Reiling worked at KLOS from 1977 to 1981 and from 2003 to 2009. He started the Local Music Show (later renamed Local Licks). Most of Reiling’s time away from the station found him hosting his own alternative rock show worldwide on AFN (American Forces Network and formerly AFRTS, Armed Forces Radio and Television Services). He was also involved in managing, producing and programming the in-flight audio entertainment for many domestic and international airlines as well as Air Force One. Reiling died October 7, 2017.

Longtime KLOS personality Frank Sontag hosted a public affairs call-in talk show that aired Sunday nights and early Monday mornings. He was part of the Mark & Brian morning team and ran the control board, also contributing to the show at times. In 2009, Sontag left the station and in 2013, became the host of a Christian talk and discussion program, The Frank Sontag Show, on KKLA-FM.

Cynthia Fox, former KMET and KLSX personality, hosted the weekday show In Tune at Noon, featuring a daily celebration of events in rock and roll history and in the news. She left KLOS in July 2013 and eventually joined then-rival classic rock station KSWD.

Other former KLOS personalities include longtime morning hosts Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, as well as Geno Michellini, Joe Benson, Steve Downes and full-time fill-in Lynda Clayton. One former KMET DJ, Denise Westwood, was also heard on KLOS handling weekends and fill-in starting in 2000 for 16 years. During her last few years Denise also hosted the Sunday morning public affairs show Spotlight on the Community. Former program director Rita Wilde, who later went on to KSWD, had been choosing the music on KLOS for decades; afternoon DJ Joe Benson also left for KSWD.

KLOS 95.5 FM (61 Kw)

Periodically, KLOS abandoned its format with an "A to Z" special, where songs from the KLOS library were played alphabetically by title. Running 24 hours a day (with breaks only for Mark & Brian and Jim Ladd's show), it generally lasted about two weeks with no repeated songs. Unlike many similar specials, the KLOS A to Z unearthed a large number of rarely heard songs; this marked a stark contrast with the station's regular playlist. In its final years, the A to Z special aired around the Christmas holidays.

On September 16, 2011, Cumulus Media purchased Citadel, acquiring KLOS and sister station KABC 790 AM.