Following the move of Rhythmic CHR “103.3 The Vibe” KVYB Santa Barbara CA to 106.3 Oak View and stunting all weekend, Cumulus Media has flipped 103.3 to Classic Hits KRUZ 103.3.
Featuring a 1980s Rock leaning Classic Hits presentation, the new format will go after Point Broadcasting Classic Rock 99.9 KTYD. The new format launched at 8am today with Kenny Loggins “Footloose”, Bon Jovi “Dead Or Alive”, and Huey Lewis & The News “Heart Of Rock & Roll”. The station will be programmed by Brandon Young, who joins Cumulus from RedRock Broadcasting Hot AC “Mix 103.1” KURR Hildale/St. George UT where he joined as PD/afternoon host in February.
The KRUZ call letters return to 103.3 where it called home from 1972 until 2005 through runs as Beautiful Music, AC and Hot AC. The call letters then moved to 97.5 until 2012 where it evolved to Adult Alternative and its branding was duplicated in far-reaching markets such as Green Bay WI and Fayetteville AR. After some time parked on an AM in Salt Lake City, the call letters were placed on 106.3 in 2017.
The grandfathered 105kW/905m signal of 103.3 covers a huge swath of the Central California coast including the Oxnard/Ventura, Santa Barbara, Lompoc/Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo markets although the focus is on the first two from a sales perspective as part of Cumulus’ Oxnard cluster.
CUMULUS MEDIA announces that it has brought the legendary KRUZ 103.3 call letters back to California’s Central Coast with the launch today of Classic Hits radio station KRUZ 103.3. Concurrently, Classic Hip Hop station 103.3 The Vibe (KVYB-FM) signed off in the Santa Barbara market and debuted in the Oxnard market as CHR formatted 106.3 The Vibe, Oxnard’s Hit Music Station.
Sommer Frisk, Regional Vice President/Marker Manager, Cumulus Oxnard/Ventura, said: “Everything good takes time. And, after more than a decade, it’s time we bring KRUZ 103.3 FM back to the Central Coast! It’s also the right time to move 106.3 The Vibe to Oxnard to give the fans what they’ve been begging for. With the combination of KRUZ 103.3’s powerful signal, along with the synergy of its legendary sister brand 106.3 The Vibe, we will provide new and exciting ways for our listeners and marketing partners to engage with the fans up and down the Central Coast. We could not be happier to welcome Brandon Young to our superstar programming team headed by Operations Manager, Justin Taylor. This duo is unstoppable and are ideal for this huge project.”
Justin Taylor, Operations Manager, Cumulus Oxnard/Ventura, commented: “It’s been really exciting to put together and build the stations that people all along the coast are going to absolutely LOVE!! From the great programming to the dynamic on-air personalities, these are going to be stations that people will be talking about.”
Brandon Young, Program Director, KRUZ and KVYB, added: “I am absolutely thrilled to join the amazing Oxnard/Ventura, Santa Barbara team of Cumulus Media! I have no doubt that we will take KRUZ 103.3 and 106.3 The Vibe to incredible new heights. Sommer Frisk and Justin Taylor, thank you for this tremendous opportunity.”
