KCSN-FM (88.5), based at California State University, Northridge, announced it will become the only non-commercial radio station in Los Angeles to broadcast an Adult Album Alternative (AAA or Triple A) format 24 hours a day beginning today.
Located on the universitys campus in the San Fernando Valley, KCSNs signal covers most of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys and a portion of Los Angeles west side, for a total potential audience of more than three million listeners.
Weve researched what is the best public radio format to reach the broadest audience and were convinced this is it. This format serves the musical interests of listeners in our region, said Karen Kearns, interim general manager of KCSN and associate dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, which holds the license for the station.
With the new format, the stations slogan will be 88.5 KCSN, the music you want.
AAA, sometimes called adult alternative, is a spin-off from the album-oriented rock format whose roots were established during the 1960s and has a playlist that is more diverse than most other formats. Less-played tracks are also common. Musical selection tends to be on the fringe of mainstream pop and rock as well as many other music genres such as indie rock, alternative rock, Americana, alternative country, jazz, folk, world music and blues.
Both Arbitron ratings and fundraising efforts tied to the stations hybrid AAA and Americana formats have grown in recent months, leading to the decision to fully convert to AAA on the FM station, Kearns said.
Since the summer of 2008, the station has broadcast AAA after 6 p.m. and on weekends, and classical music during the mornings and afternoons. KCSNs current classical service will move to the stations HD2 channel, 88.5 HD2.
Our small but devoted audience for classical music can now listen to unmatched digital-quality classical music on our HD2 channel and streaming online 24 hours a day at KCSNClassical.org, Kearns said. Thats a dramatic increase in the hours of classical programming time over what we are now providing.
With the universitys new $125-million Valley Performing Arts Center opening next January, the station also will have the opportunity to broadcast interviews with AAA artists who will perform at the new 1,700-seat theater, said Robert Bucker, dean of the college, and interviews with classical music performers will be broadcast on our HD2 channel.
KCSN now offers two Web sites for its programming services. KCSN.org features the new AAA service and includes a live stream, real-time playlists and other features of interest to the KCSN audience. Listeners also can hear KCSN on their iPhones through the Sundial iPhone app. Classical listeners can listen online and look up playlists at KCSNClassical.org.