The future of Indie 103.1 FM, hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as "America's coolest commercial station," may be in jeopardy because a shift in federal regulations will force Clear Channel Communications Inc. to abandon its business partnership with the station's owner.
Indie 103.1 is owned by Entravision Communications Corp., a Santa Monica-based Spanish-language media company. But it went on the air 14 months ago under a so-called joint sales agreement with Clear Channel, the largest radio station operator in the U.S. and the owner of eight stations in the L.A. market.
Revised Federal Communications Commission regulations redefine joint sales agreements in such a way that Indie 103.1 constitutes Clear Channel's ninth station here, and federal media rules bar any company from owning more than eight.
Radio ratings -- An article in Thursday's Business section said radio station Indie 103.1 FM (KDLD/KDLE) posted higher ratings in the 25- to 34-year-old demographic group than KCBS-FM (93.1) in the fall 2004 ratings period. That was true for the geographic area where Indie 103.1's signal is strongest, but for the Los Angeles market as a whole, KCBS-FM outranked Indie 103.1.
Roy Laughlin, Clear Channel's regional vice president in Los Angeles, said the company would walk away from the partnership April 1.
"Our lawyers have told us that we have to do this," Laughlin said. "The audience and advertisers will see no disruption, that is my hope."
He called Indie 103.1 "a great success story." With rock star DJs such as Steve Jones, formerly of the Sex Pistols, the station's unusual playlist finds room for the Clash, Franz Ferdinand and Frank Sinatra.
It's unclear whether Entravision will continue the format without the business benefits of the arrangement with Clear Channel, which used its clout to line up advertisers for the station.
Entravision executives declined to comment.
Jeff Pollack, a radio consultant, said the industry chatter was that programming on Indie 103.1 would probably be rejiggered and geared toward one of the L.A. area's myriad ethnic communities. But there has been speculation that the station's bond with a valuable listener niche might make it a natural to move to satellite.
"No matter what, it's going to be hard for the station to continue as it is," Pollack said. "It certainly has its fans and an intriguing music mix, but the ratings have just not been there."
Under the joint sales agreement, Clear Channel's advertising staff sold time on Indie 103.1 at rates lower than those offered by the region's dominant rock powerhouse, KROQ-FM (106.7), which is owned by Infinity Broadcasting Corp.
Clear Channel's salespeople also pitched ad time in bundled deals with its other stations, such as KIIS-FM (102.7) and KBIG-FM (104.3).
