Classical Powerhouse KDFC Sold to USC

The Bay Area's only classical music station announced on Tuesday that it will become a non-profit, in a move full of repercussions that change the Bay Area radio landscape.

The University of Southern California, which is purchasing KDFC from Entercom Communications for an undisclosed price, took over operation on Tuesday afternoon. On Monday, the station will permanently move from 102.1 on the FM dial to 89.9 and 90.3. Entercom will start broadcasting San Jose classic rock station KUFX in the classical station's old spot.

The move bodes well for the future of classical music radio in the Bay Area, but it comes at a price. In the near future, at least, KDFC's signal strength will make it difficult or impossible for many listeners to receive - especially in the South Bay. Meanwhile, college radio station KUSF, which had been broadcasting on 90.3 since 1977, lost that frequency on Tuesday morning, in a move that blindsided many of its staff and volunteers.

The Federal Communications Commission must approve the proposed deal, a process which often takes several months. The following moves would become permanent with an FCC blessing:

-- KDFC becomes a nonprofit, with ties to the people who run KUSC in Los Angeles, broadcasting on 89.9 and 90.3. The current staff remains intact, and relationships with the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony will continue. The KDFC studio remains in the same building on Third Street in San Francisco, with the new nonprofit paying Entercom for space and engineering services.

-- KUFX, known as "The Fox," on Monday will begin simulcasts on 98.5 in San Jose and 102.1 in San Francisco. The studio will move from San Jose to San Francisco, with a lineup that includes holdovers Greg Kihn and Tim Jeffreys - plus afternoons with "Big" Rick Stuart, who recently departed from KFOG.

-- KUSF and KNDL, a Christian music station in the North Bay, will lose their signals. A spokesman for the University of San Francisco said KUSF will continue as an online-only station.

The deal has been in the works for months. But the strains on commercial classical stations go back years. The way radio ratings are measured has changed in recent years to the disadvantage of classical stations. KDFC was still holding on to a Top 10 overall market ranking in the most recent Arbitron ratings from December, but was less successful in the advertiser-friendly 25- to 54-year-old demographic.

After recent moves to non-commercial broadcasting by radio stations in New York and Miami, KDFC was one of the last big-city classical station still using the paid advertising model.

"They really are the last station standing," said Classical KUSC President Brenda Barnes, who will be the managing director of the nonprofit that runs KDFC. "But even with that commitment and that great work, the model just doesn't work that well any more."

KDFC program director Bill Lueth said the station, which has lost staff in recent years, will now be budgeted for growth, with hosts including Hoyt Smith and Dianne Nicolini staying on board. But the station's signal, which currently transmits on a prime spot on Mt. Beacon, will be considerably smaller. The more powerful of the station's two new frequencies, at KUSF, is positioned on a campus building.

And until the FCC approves the deal, KDFC can do little to solve the signal problem, other than point people toward its popular webcast. The South Bay will be the area that is most impacted.

"Being able to hear the station is a critical part of the operation," said Lueth. "It's going to be priority one."

Entercom and USC officials declined to state the monetary terms of the deal. A school official said KUSF was purchased for $3.75 million.

SF Opera General Director David Gockley and San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas both released statements supporting the move. KDFC broadcasts the symphony on Tuesday nights and the opera on the first Sunday night of each month.

At KUSF, members of the mostly volunteer staff said they didn't know about the changes until late Tuesday morning. The station abruptly went off the air at 10 a.m. USF spokesman Gary McDonald said KUSF retains its call letters and logo for the webcast and will renew its focus as a learning lab for students.

Starting Tuesday afternoon, KDFC was set to "trimulcast" on 102.1, 90.3 and 89.9. On Monday, KDFC will lose its 102.3 signal to KUFX, and simulcast on the other two frequencies.

E-mail Peter Hartlaub at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com.