KEZN
Encyclopedia
KEZN, also known as EZ-103, is a 1.9 kW Class A soft rock
radio station serving the Palm Springs, California
, USA market at 103.1 MHz. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Radio
and is that company's smallest station in terms of market size.
The station was founded in 1977 by broadcast engineer Paul Posen under his company, Classic Broadcasting. The original call sign was KCPS, changing in the 1980s to KCBI and later to KECI. Studios were originally based in Indio
and broadcast a classical music
format, hence the company name.
By 1987, the studios were moved to a converted house in Palm Desert
where they remain to this day. In the early 1990s, the station began to shift toward a very mellow format with the broadcast of "Format 41," the soft rock music service of Westwood One
. In 1994, KEZN became the only Soft Rock AC station in the Palm Springs market with the changeover of KPLM to a contemporary country music
format. Legendary Los Angeles broadcaster Russ O'Hara
teamed with local personality Kayla Stone for the "Russ and Kayla" morning drive slot; another local favorite, Debra Kaye Ahlers occupied the mid day shift; Orange County favorite Dale Berg, the PD handled Afternoon Drive. Morning drive has been occupied for several years by former Nashville Network announcer Dan McGrath while former KCLB personality John O (John Ostrum) occupies the afternoon drive. The early personalities helped propel KEZN to the highest rated adult station in the market. By the fall of 1997, KEZN showed a 23 share with women 25 to 54 in middays according to Arbitron
.
Posen sold his interest in the station in 1997 to a firm that would later be absorbed by CBS. KEZN was operated under the CBS Radio banner for several years afterward, switching later to Viacom's
Infinity Broadcasting banner after absorbing CBS. The station has since reverted back to the CBS Radio banner since the corporate dismantling of Infinity Broadcasting by its parent company.
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
radio station serving the Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, USA market at 103.1 MHz. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
and is that company's smallest station in terms of market size.
The station was founded in 1977 by broadcast engineer Paul Posen under his company, Classic Broadcasting. The original call sign was KCPS, changing in the 1980s to KCBI and later to KECI. Studios were originally based in Indio
Indio, California
Indio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
and broadcast a classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
format, hence the company name.
By 1987, the studios were moved to a converted house in Palm Desert
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
where they remain to this day. In the early 1990s, the station began to shift toward a very mellow format with the broadcast of "Format 41," the soft rock music service of Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
. In 1994, KEZN became the only Soft Rock AC station in the Palm Springs market with the changeover of KPLM to a contemporary country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
format. Legendary Los Angeles broadcaster Russ O'Hara
Russ O'Hara
Russell Eugene Nealeigh O'Hara is a one-time Los Angeles, USA radio personality whose career began at the forefront of the Boss Radio/Top 40 format....
teamed with local personality Kayla Stone for the "Russ and Kayla" morning drive slot; another local favorite, Debra Kaye Ahlers occupied the mid day shift; Orange County favorite Dale Berg, the PD handled Afternoon Drive. Morning drive has been occupied for several years by former Nashville Network announcer Dan McGrath while former KCLB personality John O (John Ostrum) occupies the afternoon drive. The early personalities helped propel KEZN to the highest rated adult station in the market. By the fall of 1997, KEZN showed a 23 share with women 25 to 54 in middays according to Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
.
Posen sold his interest in the station in 1997 to a firm that would later be absorbed by CBS. KEZN was operated under the CBS Radio banner for several years afterward, switching later to Viacom's
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
Infinity Broadcasting banner after absorbing CBS. The station has since reverted back to the CBS Radio banner since the corporate dismantling of Infinity Broadcasting by its parent company.