KCLA
Encyclopedia
KCLA was an American radio station
licensed to serve the community of Pine Bluff, Arkansas
, USA. The station was most recently owned by Community Broadcast Group Inc., and the broadcast license
held by M.R.S. Ventures, Inc. When it went off the air
permanently in early 2007, KCLA broadcast programming from Fox Sports
, Westwood One
, Hog Sports Talk, and ESPN Radio
in a sports radio
format branded as "The Fan, SportsRadio 1400".
, based Community Broadcast Group Inc., through its MRS Ventures subsidiary, purchased four Pine Bluff radio stations from the Deane family's SeArk Radio and Delta Radio of Pine Bluff. Delta Radio, owned by W.M. "Buddy" and Helen Deane, sold AM station KOTN. SeArk Radio, owned by their daughter Dawn Deane, sold FM stations KPBQ-FM
and KZYP
plus AM station KCLA. KOTN sold for a reported for $350,000 and the other three sold for a combined $1.05 million.
Buddy Deane moved to Pine Bluff from Baltimore, where he had hosted a dance-show known as the Buddy Deane Show, in 1964. (This show was parodied as the Corny Collins Show by John Waters
in the film Hairspray.) Deane retired from broadcasting in May 2003 after completing the sale of his family's radio stations and died shortly thereafter in July 2003.
In June 2006, the station's owner, Jerry D. Russell, suffered a stroke. The station was being operated by another broadcaster, Hodges Broadcasting LLC, under a local marketing agreement
but that operator was unable to obtain the financing to purchase the station. With Hodges gone and Russell unable to operate the station himself, KCLA went off the air
for good in early 2007. In a February 2011 letter to the FCC, the owner indicated that he was surrendering the station's broadcast license as well as the licenses for ten sister station
s in similar dire circumstances. On May 2, 2011, the station's license was cancelled and the KCLA call sign assignment was deleted permanently from the FCC database.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to serve the community of Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
, USA. The station was most recently owned by Community Broadcast Group Inc., and the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
held by M.R.S. Ventures, Inc. When it went off the air
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
permanently in early 2007, KCLA broadcast programming from Fox Sports
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
, Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
, Hog Sports Talk, and ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
in a sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
format branded as "The Fan, SportsRadio 1400".
Ownership
In April 2002, Tyler, TexasTyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
, based Community Broadcast Group Inc., through its MRS Ventures subsidiary, purchased four Pine Bluff radio stations from the Deane family's SeArk Radio and Delta Radio of Pine Bluff. Delta Radio, owned by W.M. "Buddy" and Helen Deane, sold AM station KOTN. SeArk Radio, owned by their daughter Dawn Deane, sold FM stations KPBQ-FM
KPBQ-FM
KPBQ-FM was an American radio station licensed to serve Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA. The station was owned by Community Broadcast Group Inc. and licensed to M.R.S. Ventures, Inc....
and KZYP
KZYP
KZYP was an American radio station licensed to serve Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA. The station was most recently owned by Community Broadcast Group, Inc., and its broadcast license held by M.R.S. Ventures, Inc....
plus AM station KCLA. KOTN sold for a reported for $350,000 and the other three sold for a combined $1.05 million.
Buddy Deane moved to Pine Bluff from Baltimore, where he had hosted a dance-show known as the Buddy Deane Show, in 1964. (This show was parodied as the Corny Collins Show by John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
in the film Hairspray.) Deane retired from broadcasting in May 2003 after completing the sale of his family's radio stations and died shortly thereafter in July 2003.
In June 2006, the station's owner, Jerry D. Russell, suffered a stroke. The station was being operated by another broadcaster, Hodges Broadcasting LLC, under a local marketing agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
but that operator was unable to obtain the financing to purchase the station. With Hodges gone and Russell unable to operate the station himself, KCLA went off the air
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
for good in early 2007. In a February 2011 letter to the FCC, the owner indicated that he was surrendering the station's broadcast license as well as the licenses for ten sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
s in similar dire circumstances. On May 2, 2011, the station's license was cancelled and the KCLA call sign assignment was deleted permanently from the FCC database.