KLAC

For the television station formerly known as KLAC-TV, seeKCOP-TV.For the company with stock ticker KLAC, seeKLA Corporation.

Not to be confused withKLAAorWLAC.

KLAC

Los Angeles, California United States
Broadcast area	Southern California
Frequency	570kHz
Branding	AM 570 LA Sports
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Sports radio
Affiliations	Fox Sports Radio Los Angeles Dodgers Audio Network Los Angeles Clippers Radio Network Los Angeles Chargers Radio Network
Ownership
Owner	iHeartMedia, Inc. Los Angeles Dodgers (Los Angeles Broadcasting Partners, LLC)
Sister stations	KBIG KEIB KFI KIIS-FM KOST KRRL KSRY KVVS KYSR
History
First air date	March 1924(1924-03)
Former call signs	KFPG (1924–1925) KMTR (1925–1946)
Call signmeaning	Los Angeles, California
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	59958
Class	B
Power	5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates	34°04′11″N118°11′36″W
Repeater(s)	98.7KYSR-HD2(Los Angeles)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live(viaiHeartRadio)
Website	am570lasports.iheart.com

KLAC(570AM) is a commercialsports radiostation licensed toLos Angeles, California,servingGreater Los Angeles.Owned by a joint venture betweeniHeartMedia, Inc.and theLos Angeles Dodgersbaseball club, KLAC serves as the Los Angeles affiliate forFox Sports Radio;theflagship stationfor theLos Angeles Dodgers Radio Network,theLos Angeles Clippers,UCLA Bruins footballandbasketball;and the home of radio personalitiesFred Roggin,Rodney Peete,Petros PapadakisandMatt "Money" Smith.

The KLAC studios are located in the Los Angeles suburb ofBurbank,while the station transmitter resides in Los Angeles'Lincoln Heightsneighborhood. Besides its mainanalog transmission,KLAC simulcasts over aHDdigital subchannelofKYSR,and streams online viaiHeartRadio.

History

Early years

KLAC first signed on in 1924 as KFPG. In 1925, it became KMTR, with thecall signchosen for the new owner, K. M. Turner, a radio dealer. In the 1930s, it transmitted with 1,000 watts and had its studios at 915 North Formosa Street.

In 1946,Dorothy Schiff,publisher of theNew York Post,bought the station and renamed it KLAC, for Los Angeles, California. During the 1940s, Douglas Adamson worked as a disc jockey on KLAC and was voted one ofBillboardmagazine's top ten DJs in America. Al Jarvis created his West Coast version of theMake Believe Ballroom;in a KLAC advertisement in the 1947 edition ofBroadcasting Yearbook,Jarvis is described as "the dean of the nation's disc jockeys" and the show promised to give away "a newMercury,diamond rings, etc. "

KLAC added a TV station, KLAC-TV at channel 13, on September 17, 1948.Both the radio and TV operations were housed in studios at 1000 NorthCahuenga Boulevardin Hollywood. Al Jarvis notably hosted a TV edition of theMake Believe Ballroom,and a youngBetty Whitewas part of his staff,Regis PhilbinandLeonard Nimoyalso worked behind the scenes at the station. KLAC-TV was sold to theCopley Pressin 1953, with the callsign changed to the currentKCOP-TV.

Also in 1948, KLAC-FM began experimenting with FM broadcasts. The station official signed on the air on March 7, 1961, as KLAC-FM.It mostlysimulcastthe AM station. In the late 1960s, it began airing its own programming, a vocaleasy listening/MOR sound. In 1975, the station was sold toCombined Communications,later becomingKIIS-FM.

Metromedia ownership

KLAC and KLAC-FM were purchased byMetromediain 1963.Metromedia programmed afull servicemiddle of the road(MOR) format of popular music, news and sports, similar to other Metromedia stations such asWNEWin New York City andWHKinCleveland.KLAC and KLAC-FM at different times featured the talents ofLes Crane,Louis Nye,andLohman and Barkley.Metromedia also ownedKTTV(channel 11), and all three stations were housed in studios atMetromedia SquareonSunset Boulevard.

In the mid-1960s, KLAC switched to atalk radioformat known as "Two-Way Radio." Hosts includedJoe Pyne.In the 1970s, KLAC switched to anadult standardsformat, playing music from the 1940s and early 1950s, along withsoft adult contemporaryhits of the 1950s and 1960s. By early 1970, KLAC evolved to more of a full-service mainstreamadult contemporaryformat focusing on popular adult hits from 1964 up to that time.

Country music

As the 1970s began, Los Angeles had twocountry musicstations,KFOXandKIEV.However, neither station had a signal as powerful as that of KLAC. With this, on September 28, 1970, KLAC, due to the leadership of Ron Martin, decided to drop adult contemporary for country music.The number one on the station's first "Big 57 Survey" was "For The Good Times"byRay Price.

The original DJs included Deano Day, Gene Price, Harry Newman, Sammy Jackson and Jay Lawrence, joined the following year byDick Haynes,Charlie O'DonnellandLarry Scott.L.A. veteran DJ Nancy Plum (KTNQ, KMPC) was heard in the last days of the country format.

In the fall of 1980, KLAC got some serious competition in the country music field, including a station on FM;KZLA-FM (93.9)andKZLA (1540 AM)switched to country, followed in December 1980 byKHJ.(KHJ would return tooldieson April 1, 1983.) KZLA-AM-FM and KLAC competed through the 1980s. During this time, KLAC DJ Harry Newman could also be heard as the image voice forKCOP-TV,which had been co-owned with KLAC until the late 1950s. (KCOP later became asister stationtoKTTV,which previously was co-owned with KLAC for 21 years.)

In this July 1984 photo, an advertisement poster of KLAC can be seen in the background during the1984 Summer Olympics torch relay.

Capital Cities and Malrite

In 1984, Metromedia sold KLAC toCapital Cities Communications,which subsequently sold its previous Los Angeles AM station, KZLA (nowKMPC) toSpanish Broadcasting System.One year later, Capital Cities announced its acquisition of ABC; the newly-merged company opted to retainKABCandKLOS,with both KLAC and KZLA-FM being sold toMalrite Communications.KLAC moved toclassic country,playing country and western hits from the 1950s to the 1970s. One exception to the music format was a "combat talk" show hosted byOrange CountyconservativeiconWally George,on Monday nights during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In late 1993, KLAC fired all its DJs and newscasters, including 31-year veteran Dean Sander, and dropped country forWestwood One's satellite-fedadult standardsservice, known as "Stardust." It playedFrank Sinatra,Barbra Streisand,Nat King Cole,Neil Diamond,Peggy Lee,Petula Clark,Dean Martin,Johnny Mathis,The Carpenters,Elvis Presley,theAmes Brothers,Tony Bennett,Perry Como,Dionne WarwickandBarry Manilow.The station concentrated on vocalists from the 1960s and 70s, withbig bandmusic no longer played. KLAC stayed with this format in some form until 2001.

Clear Channel ownership

KLAC was owned by Malrite until 1993, when the station was sold to Shamrock Communications in a group deal along with KZLA. In 1995, Shamrock's stations were absorbed by Chancellor Media and KZLA was swapped toBonneville Internationalin the late 1990s. Chancellor Media became AMFM Inc. when it merged with Capstar in 1999. In 2000, AMFM Inc. merged withClear Channel Communications.In 2014, Clear Channel changed its name to iHeartMedia, KLAC's current co-owner. In 2001, KLAC became atalk radiostation, airingsyndicatedprograms fromDon Imus,Clark Howard,Dr.Dean Edell,The Truckin' Bozoshow,and local hostMichael Jackson.

On September 12, 2002, KLAC returned to an adult standards format, becoming the "Fabulous 570." In addition to many of the station's previous standards artists, theplaylistalso includedNorah Jones,Diana Krall,Harry Connick Jr.,Rod StewartandMichael Bublé,contemporary artists whose music is influenced by theBig BandEra. During the standards/lounge music period,Brad "Martini" Chambers,Jim "Swingin' Jimmy D" Duncan, Daisy Torme (Mel Torme's daughter) and LA radio and TV vetGary Owenswere among the air talent.

XTRA Sports 570

On February 4, 2005, Clear Channel Communications conducted a format swap on three of their radio stations inSouthern California,including KLAC. KLAC switched formats tosports radio;adopted the "XTRA Sports 570"; with programming drawn from bothXETRA (690 AM)andKXTA (1150 AM).Concurrently, XETRA changed format from sports radio to adult standards, re-branded as "The Fabulous 690"; and KXTA changed formats from sports radio toprogressive talkas KLTK (1150 AM). All on- and off-air personnel were reassigned between the three stations; with KLAC retainingSteve Hartman,Lee HamiltonandVic "The Brick" Jacobsfrom both XETRA and KXTA, along with the local rights toThe Jim Rome Show.KLAC also initially marketed itself as servingboththe Los Angeles and San Diego markets with the switch.

In February 2006, KLAC phased out the use of the XTRA Sports nickname as part of a re-orientation to the Los Angeles market, and was simply referred to on air as "AM 570". The XTRA Sports name was later re-launched in San Diego onKLSDon November 12, 2007, with Lee Hamilton starting local programming. For a brief time, "AM 570" placed less emphasis on sports and more emphasis on male-oriented talk to compete with the now-defunctKLSX,then the local home ofAdam CarollaandTom Leykis,and previouslyHoward Stern's L.A. station. Local hosts on KLAC were instructed to not limit themselves to sports, but also include celebrities, relationships, politics and current events. In addition, non-sports hosts Erich "Mancow"Muller andPhil Hendriewere added to the lineup.

The switch also meant that former afternoon host and one-timeSan Diego Chargersradio voiceLee "Hacksaw" Hamiltonwas moved to weekend duty. He also hosted a daily 5 p.m. sports update on KLAC for several months until landing a weekday show on San Diego–based KLSD. The KLAC call letters were initially only announced during station identification at the beginning of each hour, but would soon be used more often under the "AM 570 KLAC" brand, starting when the station celebrated its 30th anniversary as the Laker radio flagship. Some promotions spelled out the meaning of the call letters as "K-Los-Angeles-California".

Starting in late 2006, KLAC shifted its focus again to more sports content. Phil Hendrie voluntarily retired from his syndicated show to pursue an acting career (but would later revive the program on KTLK). Hendrie's time slot was filled by Joe McDonnell, who would last for two years at KLAC.Into The Night withTony Bruno,which KLAC co-produced withThe Content Factory,replaced McDonnell in September 2008.

Mancow was replaced withRoggin and Simers²(Squared),hosted byKNBCsportscasterFred Roggin,T.J. Simersof theLos Angeles Times,and Simers' daughter, Tracy Simers.Roggin and Simers²lasted 11 months before being replaced in September 2007 byDan Patrick's syndicated morning show, also produced by The Content Factory. FormerUSC Trojans footballrunning back and former KMPC afternoon hostPetros Papadakisjoined KLAC in January 2007, teaming up with sportscasterMatt "Money" Smith(then the host of the Lakers Radio Network's pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage) to host an afternoon drive program dubbed thePetros and Money Show.

On December 11, 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that KLAC would no longer be the team's flagship station following the 2008–2009 season, with Laker games moving toKSPN,ESPN Radio's Los Angeles station.On September 23, 2011, theLos Angeles Dodgersannounced that KLAC would become the flagship for the team'sradio networkbeginning in the 2012 season.

Fox Sports Radio

On January 20, 2009, the station announced a "merger" with KLAC and Fox Sports Radio. Many of the network shows would be based at KLAC, with the end of most local programming. General manager Don Martin was named KLAC's program director, and also became the network's program director, replacing Andrew Ashwood, who died a few months earlier. Some programs would be based at the Clear Channel Studios in Burbank and some would be based at the Fox Sports Radio network offices inSherman Oaks,which also housed thePremiere Networks' studios for Jim Rome. According to a report byLos Angeles Daily Newsmedia columnist Tom Hoffarth, Fox Sports Radio hostsBen Maller,Andrew Siciliano,Krystal Fernandez,Craig ShemonandJames Washingtonwere released from their duties.

Shemon and Washington's morning slot was replaced byDan Patrick,whileChris Myers' FSR show and Hartman's KLAC show were combined intoMyers and Hartman;Myers effectively replacedMychal Thompson(who was expected to leave the station at the end of the Laker season), and Vic "The Brick" Jacobs was reassigned to delivering brief sports updates. Siciliano and Fernandez's early evening show was replaced byPetros and Money,who would be carried on Fox Sports Radio between 2009 and 2014. KLAC initially dropped IntoThe Night with Tony Brunoto clearJT The Brick's existing FSR show, while Ben Maller's overnight show,The Third Shift,was canceled and replaced by a clip show entitledFox Sports Soup.JT The Brick's show replacedFox Sports Souplater in the year as the network assumed production ofInto The Nightand rehired Maller for weekend duty.

Myers left "Myers and Hartman" in March 2010 to focus on his other duties withFox Sports,replaced byPat O'Brienas co-host of the resurrectedLoose Cannons,alongside Hartman and Jacobs.

Dodgers co-ownership

In September 2014, the Dodgers announced the team would buy an equity stake in KLAC, co-owning the station with iHeartMedia.The Dodgers wanted to be the principal sports franchise carried on the station, with advertising imaged around the team. Dodgers President Stan Kasten said "We will be teaming up with the fantastic creative team at iHeartMedia on a number of projects and initiatives, to enhance our fans engagement."

On March 15, 2015, KLAC announced that it would drop its branding connected with Fox Sports Radio, changing to "AM 570 LA Sports," with a greater emphasis on Dodgers coverage, including a weeknight "Dodgers Talk" show all year round. The "LA" in KLAC's logo is derived from the Dodgers' cap insignia. Nevertheless, KLAC continued to carry some of the Fox Sports lineup such as Dan Patrick's morning show andJay Mohr's midday show. The change in ownership was consummated on August 5, 2016.

KLAC took over as the flagship station of theLos Angeles Clipperson March 16, 2016, following previous flagshipKFWB's sale and conversion to foreign-language programming mid-season. In case of a scheduling conflict with the Dodgers, the Clippers would be heard on KEIB.

In 2017, KLAC and its sister stationKFIacquired the rights to theLos Angeles Chargers.The play by play would air on KFI, with team shows and special programming on KLAC.In 2020, Chargers play-by-play would move toKYSR,also a KLAC sister station; KLAC would simulcast select games and continue to feature the Chargers during its programming.

Sports play by play

• Current:
  • Los Angeles Dodgers(Since 2012)
  • Los Angeles Clippers(1984–1987;Since2015)
  • Los Angeles Chargers(talk shows and special programming, with the games heard on 98.7 KYSR)
  • UCLA Bruins football
  • UCLA Bruins men's basketball
  • NFL on Westwood One
• Former:
  • Los Angeles Lakers(1977–2009;last game was anNBA Finalswin over theOrlando Magic)
  • Anaheim Angels(1999–2002,last game was a win over theSan Francisco Giantsto capture theWorld Series)
  • Los Angeles Raiders(1982–1994)
  • Los Angeles Avengers(2005–2008)
  • Los Angeles Sparks(2002–2005)
  • Los Angeles Express(1983–1984)

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 59958 (KLAC)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• KLACinNielsen Audio's AM station database
• FCC History Cards for KLAC