Sunnylands Broadcasting has flipped All-Christmas 104.3 KFUT Mecca/Palm Springs CA to Soft AC “CV 104.3” KHCV.
Positioned as “Smooth Favorites”, KHCV is taking over the format that had previously been heard on 103.9 K280CV Cathedral City/92.7 KKUU-HD2 prior to its flip to Sports last September. Former “103.9 The Breeze” PD/Morning host Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald takes the same role at KHCV.
The station describes its format as “Smooth favorites like Adele, Ed Sheeran, Michael Buble, John Legend, Sam Smith, Alicia Keys, George Benson, Earth Wind & Fire, John Mayer, Marvin Gaye, Michael McDonald, Norah Jones, Phil Collins, Sting, Smokey Robinson, Boz Scaggs, Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison and Tony Bennett”.
Eric Jon Magnuson 
Charles Everett 
Woof! 
It didn’t sink in until now, but I like the fact that even the translator’s call letters (K280CV) were apparently chosen for local branding (i.e., “CV” stands for “Coachella Valley”).
Translator operators do not get to choose a callsign. Each translator is assigned the first available callsign for that channel when approved by the FCC.
Yup. The K280CV calls were just coincidental.
Ok, so why is Palm Springs a “low power” city? All but 2 TV stations are low power, allot of FM’s are low power. Wonder why. You cannot get the station in Coachella, when the tower is the same tower as KESQ “NewsChannel3” and Low power CBS and Fox stations.
I also wonder if the “hip and trendy” ways that the Coachella Valley will support a Soft A/C anymore. especially in the northern part of the Valley, where it’s rich and trendy. That’s where the signal is directed to. And nobody has HD radio, except in cars. Maybe the cashflow will outweigh the ratings.
From my 30 yrs of radio and TV experience, this was not a good move.