KWVE-FM SOLD TO CHAPEL, WILL CHANGE FORMAT

Owners of KWVE-FM (107.9) in San Clemente have accepted a cash offer for the station tendered by Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, which will convert the station’s rock format to all-religious programming later this year if there are no obstacles to the sale.

“The sale hasn’t gone into escrow yet,” Marty Aspegren, one of KWVE’s nine co-owners, said Thursday. “But they made an offer, and it has been accepted.”

Calvary Chapel’s offer was chosen over two others from non-religious groups--one from a group in Sacramento and another in Boston--because, Aspegren said, “it was a cash offer and you don’t see very many of those.” Aspegren did not identify the other interested parties.

Calvary Chapel pastor, the Rev. Chuck Smith, could not be reached for comment Thursday. The evangelical Christian church over which Smith presides is one of the most financially successful churches in Orange County.

Because of the major shift in the station’s direction, it is not known how many, if any, of KWVE personnel will be retained by the new owners, who are novices to radio.

Disc jockey Jed the Fish, whose nightly “Nightwave” show was one of KWVE’s most popular local programs, reportedly has left the station. He signed off the air Wednesday night telling listeners, “The station has been sold, and you’ll be hearing religious programming in the next few months.”

Most KWVE employees were officially informed of the impending sale Thursday. If escrow and Federal Communications Commission approval of the license transfer proceed smoothly, the changeover will take place in April or May.

At 50,000 watts, KWVE is the most powerful radio station in Orange County, although its signal does not reach all areas of the county because it is partly blocked by hills in San Clemente and Laguna Beach. Early last year, KWVE replaced most of its local disc jockeys with nationally syndicated programming beamed via satellite from a base in Chicago.

Its biggest listenership has been in the southern part of the county, the fastest-growing region of Orange County and a potentially lucrative radio market. Its signal also extends well into northern San Diego County. “They are getting a great property,” Aspegren said, although she declined to reveal the sale price. A KWVE source who asked not to be identified said Calvary Chapel posted a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the deal.

After escrow opens, Calvary Chapel will be required to apply to the Federal Communications Commission for approval of the change in ownership, at which point other interested parties could challenge the transfer. But the FCC rarely turns down ownership transfers.

Aspegren said KWVE’s owners had not been actively seeking to sell the station but that “We do get offers. It’s amazing that we had three to vote on at the same time.”

On the two occasions--in fall 1982 and spring 1984--when KWVE registered in Arbitron ratings, radio’s equivalent of television’s Nielsen ratings, it garnered only fractional ratings points. But KWVE management often stated its belief that the station’s low Arbitron numbers did not accurately reflect the listenership.

“In the last four months, we have really taken off,” Aspegren said, echoing the statement of a KWVE source who said that during December, KWVE had its biggest revenue month in its history.

“The satellite has proven successful, and there have been more and more people listening. People have liked our sports, and we’ll soon be starting to broadcast USC women’s basketball games” until the transfer takes place, Aspegren said. “But I think they’ll be able to pick up a lot of listeners we didn’t get, so this should be exciting for them.”