(AllHipHop News) Listeners of 93.5 KDAY in Los Angeles are not pleased with a suspected programming change set to come. With the proposed sale of KDAY by Magic Broadcasting to RBC Communications for $19.5 million, the station is reportedly switching from a classic Hip-Hop and R&B format to Chinese language talk radio according to nbclosangeles.com.
The KDAY call letters have a long history in the L.A./Redondo Beach area. The original KDAY 1580 AM was actually the first station in the country to play Hip-Hop exclusively. KDAY also helped launch the careers of West Coast rap acts like N.W.A.
As of yet the sale is not final. It still must be approved by the FCC which may mean that RBC will not take over KDAY for another 4 months at the earliest. There is also an ongoing legal matter concerning Magic Broadcasting.
A previous attempt to sell the station to SoCal935 for $35 million in 2010 fell through supposedly because there was still pending ligation involving Magic owner Don McCoy and creditor/license holder Durden Enterprises.
Radioinsight.com reports that McCoy is quoted saying, “I don’t understand [why] someone would buy a station with a stockholder lawsuit filed against it. It will be interesting to see what happens.”
There have not been any formal public statements about a format change at KDAY from any of the parties involved.
In February, KDAY’s ratings put the station in a tie for 29th place in its market.
Watch the NBC report on the sale in the video below.