KACD-FM (defunct)
KACD-FM (103.1 FM) was the former callsign of a Santa Monica, California radio station, which simulcast with KBCD-FM in Newport Beach with a AAA format - a mix of modern rock, classic rock, folk, blues, and worldbeat, along with other types of cutting edge music. The format was previously heard on KSCA, 101.9 FM from 1994 to 1997. The station was nicknamed "World Class Rock" & "Channel 103.1", which were kept until the station went off the air.
History
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 made the switch to Adult Album Alternative, adding such artists as Dave Matthews, Tracy Chapman, Toad The Wet Sprocket to the mix. Artists as diverse as Tom Petty, Keb Mo, Led Zeppelin (albeit with a standing rule that their most popular song, Stairway to Heaven would get no airplay, due to its overuse over the years), Pink Floyd, Dramarama, Yes, Beck, Vertical Horizon, and many others of similar caliber, spanning from the late 1960s to the present, found a new home at KACD. The station had a very small staff who worked six-hour shifts (normally DJs usually worked in 4-hour shifts), with Nicole Sandler taking the afternoon shift (in addition to program director duties), and Andy Chanley handling the mornings from 5:30 AM until well after noon.
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 full-time 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 - since the station could be heard anywhere in the world, it was not practical to offer tickets for local promotions & concerts, as the station was not likely to provide airfare & accommodations for listeners coming from outside of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. 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 website closed after less than a year, and as of January 2006, belongs to a hard rock station Channel 103 in Albany, and worldclassrock.com belongs to KBCO in Boulder, Colorado, a similarly formatted station.
In April 2008, KSWD-FM in Los Angeles, changed its format and began referring to its programming as "World Class Rock", boasting a fair amount of AAA-styled programming, mixed with a heavier dose of Classic Rock than the previous AAA stations. It also broadcasts on a stronger signal than KSCA & KACD did. However, the station was unable to boost ratings, and dropped most of the AAA music by the summer of 2009, in favor of classic rock, with occasional modern rock classics (such as 80s new wave thrown into the mix, and less hard rock than their closest competitors, KLOS & Jack-FM play.