KXOL-FM

KXOL-FM 96.3, Latino 96.3, is a Latin leaning Rhythmic music radio station in the Los Angeles area.

History

For many years 96.3 was a Christian radio station in Los Angeles known as KFSG, owned by the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (the call letters stood for "FourSquare Gospel"). They ran religious programming produced by their own church along with syndicated staples like "Focus on the Family", "Joni and Friends", "Insight for Living", "In Touch", among others. They ran such shows half the time, playing music the other half.

For years the station played traditional Christian music with contemporary Christian for only a few hours a week on Saturday. But by 1981 they began to mix in softer contemporary Christian songs to their format. By 1987 KFSG was an adult contemporary Christian station playing artists like Twila Paris, Steven Curtis Chapman, Petra, David Meece, Randy Stonehill, PFR, White Heart, among others.

The station was owned by the Foursquare Church until 2001 when it was sold to the Spanish Broadcasting System. On April 30, 2001, KFSG moved its programming to 93.5 (now KDAY) but dropped the music and went to religious talk programming full time. By 2003, KFSG was off the air when that station was sold to another Spanish group.

The new owners gave 96.3 a Spanish AC format, and the call letters were changed to KXOL on May 9, 2001. The station became known as El Sol 96.3, one of two Spanish Soft AC radio stations in Los Angeles until May 2005, when its format change left KLVE as the only station in L.A. now playing the format.

KXOL decision to drop their Spanish adult contemporary format for hurban wasn't without controversy: The abrupt switch violated a transmitter lease agreement that KXOL's parent company, Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), had with Emmis Communications; the agreement required formal notification to Emmis of any change in format and expressly prohibited KXOL from programming to directly compete with Emmis' Rhythmic Contemporary outlet KPWR. SBS switched formats anyway, and Emmis filed a lawsuit to force SBS to either drop the format switch or find a new transmitter. SBS announced that KXOL would move to another transmitter site a month later, and both parties settled the dispute sometime after.

KXOL has had success as a Latin Urban, and much of that success is likely attributed to KXOL snatching some of (the now-defunct) KKBT and KPWR's Hispanic base. However, it has begun to tilt its direction slightly towards Hip-Hop but still remain within the Hurban area.

Competition

KXOL has 5 competing stations. 105.9 KPWR(aka Power 106) and 102.7 KIIS compete with KXOL in the L.A. area. 99.1 KGGI competes with KXOL in the IE and parts of east L.A. County. 104.7 KCAQ(aka Q104-7) and 103.3 KVYB(aka The Vibe) compete with KXOL in parts of Ventura County and L.A. County(in areas near the L.A. County-Ventura County border line. KVYB's signal can only be heard in very little of KXOL's signal coverage areas because of KVYB's signal coming from distant Santa Barbara.

96.1 KWIE at one point had the same hurban music format as KXOL, but then later changed to a Rhythmic Top 40 music format up until its flip to Regional Mexican in August 2007. KVYB, whose format originally started out as a hybrid Hurban/Rhythmic because of its target audience at the beginning of that station's debut, has now completely shifted to a more Rhythmic direction.