KJLH
MHz (HD Radio) | |
Branding | Radio Free 102.3 KJLH |
---|---|
Programming | |
Format | Urban adult contemporary |
Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
History | |
First air date | 1951 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | John Lamar Hill, owner of Angelus Funeral Home (former owner) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 64639 |
Class | A |
ERP | 5,600 watts |
HAAT | 103 meters (338 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°59′52″N 118°21′32″W / 33.99778°N 118.35889°W |
Links | |
Webcast | MP3 stream (64 Kb) AAC stream (64 Kb) Web player |
Website | kjlhradio.com |
KJLH (102.3
History
The 102.3 signal was originally licensed to Long Beach, California with the callsign KFOX-FM consisting of a country music format; upon a 1961 sale to the Illinois-California Broadcasting Co., the callsign was changed to KILB.
In 1965,
In 1979, after 14 years of ownership, Hill sold KJLH to R&B/pop/soul musician
During its first eight years, KJLH enjoyed modest success as a R&B/Urban station, and a had great familiarity with the African-American community. However, it was hampered by the fact that the station was on a Class-A FM signal; it only broadcast at 2,250 watts, limiting the signal to the central and southern portions of Los Angeles County (including Downtown and South Central Los Angeles), while in other areas like the San Fernando Valley, the signal would be weak or non-existent, depending on where the station can be picked up with a strong antenna. (KJLH received a signal upgrade to 5,600 watts in 2000.)
From the late 1970s up to the late 1980s, they were one of five R&B/Urban stations in the market that targeted the African-American community, along with AMs KGFJ and KDAY, and FMs KACE and KUTE. Of the four that have since flipped formats, only the KDAY calls have since been revived, but on the FM dial, and like KJLH, they also have limited signal coverage.
In 1986, KJLH would pick up an unlikely competitor that would deal them their first major blow: KPWR. When that station debuted, Wonder retaliated by cutting new imaging and liners in the hopes of retaining their listener base, but that tactic backfired as they began to see its audience going over to the full-powered "Power 106", and would never recover.
Its second setback would be the 1990 debut of KKBT, whose evolution to an R&B/soul/hip hop direction would result in KJLH going into a more Mainstream Urban direction in 1992 under the programing of Frankie Ross (who was terminated from the station in late 2003), and renamed the station KJLH Rhythm 102.3, but that tactic backfired also. KJLH went through a great deal of turmoil as it struggled with poor ratings during 1993–95. In November 1995, former morning jock Cliff Winston was appointed to PD and bought KJLH into its current urban AC direction, and increased its playlist with urban smooth jazz crossovers, R&B oldies, current R&B and gospel crossovers. In addition, KJLH would embrace the growing neo-soul music genre at the time.
KJLH would get more competition in 2001, when KCMG dropped rhythmic oldies to become KHHT (it is now
Despite the setbacks, KJLH has maintained serving the community in addition to its longtime audience. It has an extensive lineup of religious programming, including gospel music weekday mornings and all day Sundays. KJLH is also the only adult R&B station with a continuous live and local air staff. In addition, most of KJLH's on air staff has been with KJLH longer than former rivals KHHT and especially KRBV, which have seen multiple turnovers. Both KHHT and KRBV abandoned the format in the late 2000s.
KJLH became the third overall urban radio station in Los Angeles to carry The Steve Harvey Morning Show on August 10, 2009; this comes after KDAY dropped the show. The former KKBT was the original home of the Steve Harvey Morning Show when it started out as a local show.
As of
KJLH celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015.[4]
References
- ^ "KJLH 102.3 FM photos".
- ^ LA Radio Guide American Radio History [dead link]
- ^ "Celebrating 50 Years 102.3 KJLH". Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
- ^ "Celebrating 50 Years 102.3 KJLH". Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
External links
- Station website
- KJLH in the FCC FM station database
- KJLH in Nielsen Audio's FM station database