New Radio Station Will Serve Valley

A Sacramento radio station owner has announced plans to start a new San Fernando Valley radio station in late summer or early fall.

Edward Stolz, owner of Sacramento’s KWOD-FM, said the 50,000-watt station, KRCK-AM (1500), will be based near Sunland and Tujunga. He won’t commit to a specific format yet and hasn’t made any official hirings. Without alienating other listeners, Stolz said he will focus primarily on building a San Fernando Valley audience.

“The Valley lifestyles differ from downtown Los Angeles lifestyles,” said Stolz, 41, who has managed KWOD-FM since 1976, “but most of the stations in the L.A. market ignore the Valley. It’s been a gold mine for KGIL.”

But Mike Lundy, program director and operations manager of KGIL-AM (1260), a news-talk station in Mission Hills, said the Valley can no longer be targeted as a separate entity in the L.A. radio market.

“That hasn’t been the case for 10 years now,” Lundy said. “The Valley is now a very strong part of L.A. It’s all tied together.”

Nonetheless, Stolz has initiated research to determine which format would be most successful. His Sacramento station plays contemporary hits and top 40 music, but Stolz maintains that he’s open to all possible formats.

Lundy is skeptical any format will work on AM radio.

“Surveys have shown that under 30% listen to AM radio,” Lundy said, “and most of them are listening to talk shows. It will be hard for them to find people who are turned off by AM radio. Young people just don’t listen to it.”

Gerry Cagle, corporate program director for KWOD-FM, however, countered that AM radio is likely to make a comeback because of advanced audio quality.

“A lot of research is being done which shows that with a better stereo sound, people will go back to AM,” Cagle said. “The audience has to know that AM is OK. We’re realistic. We’re not going to be the No. 1 station, but we’ll get an audience.”

In addition, Cagle isn’t concerned about the station’s position at the high end of the AM dial. “The dial position isn’t really as important as the quality,” he said. “A lot of bad stations have great positions on the dial, and a lot of good stations are at the end.”

Stolz’s acquisition ends his 15-year quest to own and operate a station in the highly competitive L.A. market. “It’s the ultimate proving ground,” he said, “and I can’t wait to get started.”

As a USC law student in 1975, Stolz filed an application to purchase the property that had previously housed KROQ-AM; the station had closed earlier in the year. Since then, the frequency has not been used.

For years, Stolz said, his bid was tied up in a series of legal and procedural delays. Finally, in 1987, the Federal Communications Commission approved his application, and since then, he has taken steps to get a city building permit. He said he expects to spend several million dollars to start the station.

He said the station will have enough power to be heard in all sections of Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, although there won’t be any significant coverage in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Its studios will be in Century City.

Stolz said he has already received calls and letters from hundreds of people interested in the disc jockey and administrative positions. The station will require about 35 employees, he added, with some of them transferring from KWOD-FM.