Airwave Discord : Santa Clarita’s KBET and L.A.’s KKBT Squabble Over Who Gets to Keep the Radio Beat

Who’s got the beat?

Radio station KBET, a fledgling Santa Clarita operation that went on the AM airwaves June 28, says it is “the Beat of Santa Clarita.”

FM radio station KKBT, which replaced the Los Angeles classical music station KFAC on Sept. 20, encourages listeners to “Rock with the Beat.”

Has the similarity thrown listeners out of rhythm? KBET officials say yes and have threatened court action to stop Hollywood-based KKBT from using “the beat” as its slogan.

“That’s our identity, and it seems we had a prior claim to that identity,” said Michael Levine, KBET program director.

“This could literally put us out of business,” said Scott Howard, an Encino tax consultant and co-owner of Canyon Broadcasters, the parent company of KBET. The station, based in Canyon Country, is heard throughout the Santa Clarita Valley and in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley on 1220 AM.

Howard said the similar call letters and slogans have confused some listeners and advertisers who asked whether KBET had purchased a new station or had expanded its broadcast range. KKBT billboards erected in the Santa Clarita Valley add to the confusion, he said.

KKBT officials say KBET has no special claim to the word beat .

“It’s like the word rock ,” said Scott Ginsberg, president of Dallas-based Evergreen Media Corp., which owns KKBT. “No one can get a patent on the word. I don’t see how they can say the word beat is claimed by them. Besides, we’re using it in a different way.”

Ginsberg pointed out that KBET is on the AM dial while KKBT broadcasts on 92.3 FM. Moreover, KBET is not in KKBT’s primary service area, he said.

In a fit of harmony late Wednesday, after KBET threatened to sue, officials from the two stations agreed to begin negotiations. But it was unclear how discussions could settle the dispute since both stations have invested heavily in efforts to establish their identities and have slogans that reflect their call letters.

The dispute is reminiscent of a continuing court battle between radio stations KABC and KFI over the phrase “talk radio.” In that dispute, KABC, which has long billed itself as “KABC Talk Radio,” won a court order temporarily enjoining KFI from using “talk radio” in conjunction with its call letters. A final ruling on KABC’s lawsuit is expected soon.

Times staff writer Claudia Puig contributed to this story.