BREAKING: A Big Change Coming to Los Angeles Radio

KNX won't be on FM anymore

Audacy is moving KNX News back to 1070 AM only and flipping 97.1 FM to sports.

The new station — 97.1 The Fan — launches May 11 at 6 am.

That’s the headline. And it’s a big one.

KNX going to FM was one of the most important strategic moves the station made in years — I was there when it happened. It was survival. A recognition that AM alone wasn’t enough anymore.

This reverses that.

Yes, 1070 AM has a massive signal. At night, it can cover a significant part of the western United States. But reach isn’t the same as relevance.

Listeners — especially younger ones — have been moving away from AM for years. Carmakers are pushing to remove AM from car radios. FM gave KNX a cleaner signal, better in-building reception, and access to an audience that simply wasn’t tuning to AM.

Now that piece is gone.

In its place: a full-time sports format with a promise of all-live, local weekday shows.

The lineup isn’t out yet.

The real story here is the signal shift — and what it says about where Audacy thinks the audience is going.

More on this breaking news as it develops.