Country Returns To L.A. Radio At 540 AM On October 28th

According to the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, MT. WILSON BROADCASTERS owner SAUL LEVINE will take Adult Standards off of XESURF-A (540)/TIJUANA and flip it to Country on OCTOBER 28th.

LEVINE told the OCR, "Los Angeles and Orange County listeners were pretty upset with the loss of country music on KZLA. That station, '93.9 FM,' switched to a new format (MOViN) called rhythm pop contemporary and added Rick Dees to morning drive a few weeks ago. We received a lot of letters and e-mails saying, basically, 'You are the last independent radio owner in the market. Please help us.'"

According to the report, former KZLA air personalities WHITNEY ALLEN, PAUL FREEMAN, BRIAN DOUGLAS, and TONYA CAMPOS will be heard on 540. ALLEN confirms to ALL ACCESS that her syndicated shows will air on 540 Country, and speculation is that she will likely do afternoons. DOUGLAS is set to do mornings, with FREEMAN and CAMPOS handling some weekend duties.

LEVINE's Adult Standards format "Unforgettable" will still be heard on KKGO-A (1260). LEVINE explained, "We selected 540 AM in large part because it has a better reach into ORANGE COUNTY, which seems to be the center of Country music listening."

The OCR report adds that LEVINE said he is working closely with the syndicator DIAL GLOBAL, which will consult on the music programming. The emphasis will be on music from the '70s, '80s, '90s, and current hits. A new site, www.540country.com, still linked to the Adult Standards simulcast at 540/1260, will eventally stream the new Country format 24/7, and according to DON BARRETT's LARadio.com, the Country format "will be simulcast on 105.1 FM Digital H2 with 100-mile coverage from LOS ANGELES."

With this clear indication of SAUL LEVINE about to jump into Country, ALL ACCESS can't help but wonder aloud and speculate how long before one of the major players will spin the format wheel ... and have it land on Country. In "Country Returning To El-Lay Radio?" (NET NEWS 9/27), word was that this trend and book were "clearly" going to be the tipping points on decisions at one major cluster.

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