He rolls on Beethoven and tells Tchaikovsky the information: Los Angeles will quickly share his venerable Kusco Music Radio Station with San Francisco.
Starting from this summer season, Kusc and KDFC of the Bay Area mix their programming workers and on air. Both stations owned by the so -called will current their broadcasts in a single audio feed underneath the classical California moniker, which has been used of their model within the final three years.
The full embrace of the traditional title of California implies that the stations will not use their native name letters exterior the legally obliged identifications offered on the prime of every hour. Kusk has been synonymous with classical music in Los Angeles because it was based in 1947. Usc acquired KDFC in 2011.
James Muhammad, president of Classical California, the non -profit entity that manages each stations, confirmed the merger plans to the Times. He mentioned the workers of a presenter on Kusc and Kfdc can be maintained and can proceed to transmit from their research within the middle of Los Angeles and within the Civic Center of San Francisco.
“We have the worldwide air skills and what we want to be that each one our community can have entry to that expertise,” Muhammad mentioned in an interview on Wednesday.
Classical California distributes Kusc and Kfdc indicators to different smaller stations of the state. Kusnard’s programming is listened to in Oxnard stations, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. KDFC can be listened to within the stations of Ukiah, Monterey, Silicon Valley and Napa Valley.
Muhammad mentioned that the merger just isn’t guided by the discount of prices, however will assist to offer sources for enlargement.
“There are quite a few processes during which there are duplications of efforts,” he mentioned. “Through the financial savings of the time we will present extra companies and experiences for our donors.”
Like different radio stations, Classical California has used streaming audio channels on its web site to offer area of interest musical programming as a method to appeal to youthful listeners. The merger will enable classical California to mix the web sites of the stations and create a extra strong platform.
Muhammad believes that the radio public will welcome extra voices from exterior town. An evening program hosted by the traditional pianist Lara Downnes is already listened to on each stations. Muhammad noticed that Kusgna leaning on the KDFC workers to transmit through the fires of the Los Angeles space final month.
Radio stations in all codecs have climbed to scale back prices whereas they proceed to lose listeners with podcasts and the audio streaming. But Muhammad mentioned that Kusc and KDFC are “in good kind financially” due to the sturdy contributions of the listener, though they decreased in 2024.
According to latest annual stories, Kusc and KDFC are masking their prices.
In 2024, Kusg had a turnover of $ 10.4 million, sufficient to handle the bills of $ 9.8 million within the station. KDFC obtained $ 7.3 million and had nearly $ 7 million bills.
The stations obtained $ 1 million in authorities funding, which may very well be in danger because the Trump administration is searching for cuts to the budgets.
The mixture of Kusc and KDFC comes when each stations have marked a few of their highest evaluations.
Kusc, which airs on 91.5 fm in Los Angeles, obtained a share of the three.0 viewers in December, in line with Nielsen. The station reached 472,000 listeners per week throughout that month, making it the most important traditional radio viewers within the nation.
KDFC has acquired a share of the 6.3 viewers, rating in third place in San Francisco, an uncommon outcome for a classical station in an vital market.
In addition to taking part in music, traditional radio stations function a reference to establishments of high quality arts as opera firms and symphonic orchestras by means of promotional partnerships and sponsorships. (Kusc has a fantastic presence on the Los Angeles Times e book pageant)
Last yr, Kusl transmitted reveals of La Opera, Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The station has sponsored live shows on the Hollywood Bowl over the previous eight years.
The stations are additionally a supply of civic pleasure amongst inventive clients of their communities. One of the challenges that classical California can face is to persuade donors that their contribution to a station is not going to solely serve their hometown.
Muhammad has mentioned that classical California will assist that the adjustments will enable him to take a position extra in reaching the native communities that serves. “We actually intend to assist us to offer much more companies and extra alternatives to interact in classical music that our listeners and donors recognize,” he mentioned.
