KACD-FM (defunct)
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Channel 103.1 was the former moniker of Santa Monica radio station KACD-FM, which simulcast with KBCD-FM in Newport Beach at 103.1 MHz, as an Adult Contemporary format station with a twist - the music would be intermixed with slightly eclectic selections, occasional selections of classic rock, and a few others. The format was unofficially titled "World Class Rock", which they stuck with for their lifespan.
KACD debuted on June 20, 1994, simulcasting a pop format with KBCD as "CD 103.1." The stations had previously aired a jazz format as KAJZ/KBJZ. In 1998, with Nicole Sandler at the helm, following a hiatus from her days at KSCA, KACD began playing "Adult Rock," including Dave Matthews, Tracy Chapman, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Tom Petty, Keb Mo, Led Zeppelin (with a standing rule that Stairway to Heaven would get absolutely no airtime), Pink Floyd, Dramarama, Yes, Beck, Vertical Horizon, and many others of similar caliber, spanning from the late 1960s to the present. The station had a very small staff who worked six-hour shifts (a change from the otherwise normal four-hour shift that most jocks took), with programming director Nicole Sandler taking the afternoon shift.
In late 2000, after Clear Channel merged with AMFM, it was determined that the station had insufficient coverage for the Los Angeles basin. It was decided that Channel 103.1 would be the first radio station to go off the air and transition directly to the internet on a fulltime web stream at channel1031.com and worldclassrock.com. The call letters were divested, and the frequency was given over to KDLD/KDLE, a Spanish language station. While the switch to online-only broadcast was innovative, it did create logistical problems for certain circumstances such as locally-oriented contests - unless they were rich and spontaneous, it would be very difficult for somebody who won tickets to see Beck playing in Los Angeles to get in from across the country. During this time, the station also maintained a low powered AM transmitter in order to maintain listings on Arbitron.
In 2001, the station in Santa Monica was eventually closed, The Channel1031.com address, as of January 2006, belongs to hard rock station Channel 103 in Albany, and worldclassrock.com belongs to KBCO in Denver, a similarly formatted station.
