Kobe Bryant, Frank Sinatra...and Al Franken?
I guess that if I had read all the regular radio publications I would have known what the final results would be, but I've remained in blissful ignorance of what would actually happen today, February 3, at 9:00 am Pacific Standard Time. Even though I was in meetings and missed the whole thing, it was pretty well documented on the web.

If you were in the Los Angeles area at about 8:59 or so and tuned to either 690 or 1150 on your AM dial, you would have heard Joel Myers with special guest Magic Johnson. By 9:01, you would have heard them on 570 on the AM dial. If you to a web page that still has the URL xtrasports690.com, you can hear audio (Windows Media format) of "the switch."



Meanwhile, I don't know exactly what was broadcasting on 570 at 8:59, but by 9:01 it was broadcasting on 690. If you go to a web page that still has the URL klac570.com, you can learn all about the Fabulous 690.



Meanwhile, presumably at some time around 9:01 (or maybe not), the sound of Air America could finally be heard over much of Los Angeles (an Inland Empire station broadcast Air America, but we all know what El-Lay thinks of the 909 and 951).

From Reuters Canada:

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Much as conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh grew in popularity as he railed for eight years against Democrat Bill Clinton, Franken sees Bush as the perfect foil in his mission to amplify the voice of the political left on daytime talk radio.

In an interview with Reuters ahead of this week's return of Air America to Los Angeles, the second largest U.S. city, Franken said he was as disappointed as any lefty by Bush's victory over Democratic challenger John Kerry.

But in his view, Kerry's loss was Air America's gain.

"Obviously, it's more fun to go after Bush's terrible ideas and programs than to defend Kerry's not-quite-exactly-what-we -want plans," said Franken, 53, whose New York-based show and the rest of Air America's lineup will begin airing on KTLK-AM in Los Angeles on Thursday, the day after Bush's State of the Union address.

By the end of the month, the network that began in just six cities on March 31, 2004, then nearly collapsed weeks later amid financial woes, will have spread to 50 stations nationwide....

The network's programming, which includes shows hosted by actress Janeane Garofalo and commentator Randi Rhodes, also airs on satellite radio and the Internet on (http://www.airamericaradio.com)....

"We are as far as I can determine the fastest-growing network in the history of this industry," [Air America President Jon] Sinton said, adding that its cumulative national audience ranges from 2.5 million to 3 million listeners per week.

That pales in comparison to the 20 million so-called "ditto heads" who tune in weekly to hear Limbaugh on nearly 600 stations nationwide, but Sinton noted that the conservative commentator has a 15-year jump on Air America.

The KTLK launch marks a key turning point after the network was unceremoniously dumped from another Los Angeles station last spring due to a cash crunch....

Ironically, some of the network's biggest successes have come on stations owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc., the media giant seen by liberals as a tool of the right and whose subsidiary, Premiere Radio Networks, syndicates Limbaugh's show.

But Sinton said it should come as no surprise "when businesses behave in ways that will enhance their bottom line."...

As one industry insider who spoke on condition of anonymity put it, "If Franken can deliver an audience, they'll run to Franken. They don't care about his politics."

Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio broadcaster, currently owns more than 1,200 stations, with 175 focused on news or talk....

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UCLA Sports is affected:

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The UCLA Bruins and XTRA Sports have moved. Beginning at 9:00 a.m. this morning (Feb. 3), both organizations moved to 570, creating XTRA Sports 570. The 570 signal is one of the strongest in Los Angeles and can be heard clearly in San Diego.

XTRA Sports 570 now carries all of the sports programming from 690/1150 and is also the flagship station for UCLA football and men's basketball as well as the Los Angeles Lakers. The call letters for the station remain KLAC even though it is now referred to as XTRA Sports 570.

When there is a conflict between UCLA and Laker games, UCLA will be heard on the Fabulous 690 (XETRA). There are three games on the remaining schedule -- tonight against Washington State, Feb. 10 vs. Arizona State and Feb. 27 vs. Notre Dame -- that will be broadcast on 690. All other games will be heard on 570.

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Well, the Clippers will join Al Franken (I'm sure he's thrilled), and there's a lot of talk in San Diego over who benefits from the move:

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Don Martin, newly appointed station manager, insists XTRA Sports 690 is not leaving San Diego and has not been run out of town by The Mighty 1090. It's only moving down the dial to KLAC (570).

The move, which is official on Feb. 3, was necessary because Clear Channel ---- the parent company for both XTRA and KLAC wanted to take advantage of the sports-talk format on KLAC ---- the flagship station of the L.A. Lakers.

XTRA's signal is legendary, reaching "from Baja to the Canadian Rockies," according to Lee Hamilton, XTRA's best-known personality and the man at the forefront of sports-talk radio in San Diego.

KLAC's signal is something less than that.

It's strong in Los Angeles and is fine in some parts of San Diego's North County during the day. It does, however, fade some at night.

Still, Martin said, "we don't anticipate losing San Diego."

"If we were walking out on San Diego, I'd pull Lee Hamilton," Martin said. "But I won't. He'll continue to broadcast from San Diego. When we shifted the bulk of XTRA Sports to L.A., a lot was said about us abandoning San Diego. The truth is we never left.

"We'll keep a presence in San Diego. We have a number of billboards planned to let people know where to find us.

"Our people will continue to talk Chargers and Padres."

According to the Fall 2004 ratings that were released on Monday, The Mighty 1090 ruled the sports-talk market in San Diego in the target audience of men 25-54 with a 3.8 rating. XTRA wasn't far back, though, at 3.5....

"KLAC isn't a full-market station in San Diego," said John Lynch, CEO at The Mighty 1090. "What they're trying to do is get serious ratings in L.A. I think we'll benefit in San Diego because we're focusing on San Diego."...

Both Martin and Lynch want ratings. They also both want Jim Rome, a syndicated show that runs from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Rome is syndicated by Premier, which is owned by Clear Channel. Clear Channel owns 570 and 690. Martin said that as long as he has anything to say about it, Rome will never go to 1090.

And while Rome delivers ratings numbers, wouldn't his show get away from Lynch's stated goal of being live and local? On 690, sports-talk will be replaced by The Standards ----- a mix of bad elevator music meets the oldies. In the L.A. market, that format was 31st among 43 stations in the overall 12-plus ratings.

The only sports on 690 after Feb. 3 will be overflow play-by-play from 570, which carries the Lakers, UCLA football and basketball, the L.A. Avengers of the Arena Football League as well as the Oakland Raiders. The Clippers will move to 1150.

The Mighty 1090 will continue to use the Padres as the centerpiece to its play-by-play stable along with San Diego State football and basketball....

The Chargers and KFMB Radio (760) are at the end of their deal.

After several bad seasons on the field, KFMB was ready to let the team go, but this past season convinced executives to make another run at keeping the team.

There is no question The Mighty 1090 wants the Chargers, but with the Padres playing into October, a secondary station would have to be found to take overflow play-by-play.

KLAC (570) has been contacted about carrying the Chargers in L.A., but the station has two years remaining on an agreement with the Raiders.

So it's possible 690 could be used as an L.A. affiliate for the Chargers.

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This article didn't mention hockey at all. And nobody cares.