KCLU buys AM radio station
KCLU will increase its reach in Santa Barbara County and northern Ventura County with the $1.44 million purchase of KIST-AM 1340.
The acquisition will boost the National Public Radio station’s signal in Santa Barbara from four watts – which can’t penetrate some buildings – to 650 watts.
The station will be heard on 1340 AM from Goleta and Isla Vista to Ventura County’s Rincon. In Santa Barbara County, KCLU is broadcast on 102.3 FM only in the city of Santa Barbara and part of Montecito.
KCLU plans to begin broadcasting on the AM 1340 station sometime in the next month, pending Federal Communications Commission notification. Immediately after the switch, the same KCLU programming will be heard on all three stations.
Eventually, the station plans to differentiate some programming to target each region. The $1.44 million cost of the purchase will be reimbursed as part of a $7.5 million capital campaign to fund improvements to KCLU, Cal Lutheran officials said.
