Spanish-Language KPLS Abruptly Goes Off Air

KPLS, which hit the airwaves last year as Southern California’s first all-talk Spanish-language station, abruptly stopped transmissions Friday.

The station’s approximately 30 employees were shocked when they were told the station would close, some said.

“It was something we weren’t expecting,” said Amy Rico, who provided traffic updates and recorded commercials for the station that occupied 830 AM on the radio dial.

Rico and other employees said station officials did not tell them why the station was closing. Owners of the Orange-based station could not be reached for comment Friday. Rico said company officials would issue a public announcement next week.

Billing itself as La Voz (the voice), KPLS debuted in January, 1992, and made a commitment to cover breaking news as well as issues concerning the Latino community.

The station recently helped coordinate disaster relief to Tijuana after parts of that sprawling border city were devastated by heavy rains and mudslides that killed dozens.

The signal extended from Carlsbad in northern San Diego County north to Ventura, and inland as far as San Bernardino. KPLS was one of several Spanish-language radio stations that broadcast in Southern California.

Throughout the day there were news, sports and current events programs, as well as call-in talk shows on topics such as medicine, law and psychology.

All-talk Spanish-language radio has been catching on in such large metropolitan areas as New York and Miami.

KPLS’s format was designed to tap into a Latino market in Southern California that has grown dramatically, said Danny Villanueva Sr., part owner of the station, in an interview last year.

“We believe the niche for this is much greater than anyone anticipated,” he said at the time.

The owners of Orange County Broadcasting Co., the parent company of KPLS, applied for the license in 1980 and six years later were awarded the frequency, the only one in the Los Angeles and Orange counties market not already assigned by the FCC.