As Cal State University Northridge AAA “88.5 The SoCal Sound” KCSN Northridge/Los Angeles closes on its acquisition of simulcast partner 88.5 KSBR Misson Viejo, the station is hyping the new KOCV call letters to take effect on Monday, November 16.

South Orange County Community College District’s Saddleback College filed to donate KSBR to KCSN in January. The two colleges entered an operating agreement in September 2017 expanding KCSN’s AAA programming to both signals as “The New 88.5“, while at the time placing most of KSBR’s programming on HD2. After an attempt in 2019 to find a third party operator for both stations never went anywhere, the stations rebranded in August 2022 as “The Socal Sound“.

General Manager Patrick Osburn said, “The KCSN legacy call letters will continue to boom all over LA, and especially the San Fernando Valley, but we were very pleased with the audience support and enthusiasm we received from Orange County music lovers. Orange County has long been a geographic challenge for both broadcasters and listeners, as they felt disenfranchised from LA and north San Diego. Finally, KOCV validates that Orange County proper has its’ very own eclectic rock station. The previous KSBR call letters were a limited reference to the southern Saddleback College area of the county. We wanted to have the entire OC feel like they were part of something cool and something bigger. With The OCVIBE and the Kronke organization becoming neighbors in the center of Orange County, we thought an update of our Orange County call letters to KOCV made a lot of sense. The SoCal Sound always wants to be in center of where the action is. The SoCal Sound rock-based format will remain intact, ready to keep serving the SoCal region.””

Program Director Marc ‘Mookie’ Kaczor followed, “The call letter change further reinforces The SoCal Sound’s commitment to super-serving Southern California. Our public radio station is on an upward trajectory, much like central OC region.”