By GARY LYCAN
SPECIAL TO THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

KMVN, known as “Movin 93.9” FM, is moving on out April 14, and so is Rick Dees.  The Emmis Communications-owned station is switching to a Spanish format on April 15.

Advertisers and others were notified by the station Friday after Emmis announced it had signed a local marketing agreement with Mexican radio company Grupo Radio Centro, which will take over programming and ad sales.
The $7 million, seven-year deal includes terms allowing GRC to buy the station outright during that time, and if that is not possible due to international restrictions, the deal allows a third party to buy KMVN.

Dees became a legend in modern Southern California radio. He began on the former KHJ in 1979 and ignited a 23-year top-rated career on KIIS/102.7 FM.  Along the way, he became his own cottage industry, moving into music, electronics, cable TV (The Fine Living channel) and creating Dees Entertainment, a content provider to radio stations throughout the U.S.  

After Ryan Seacrest replaced him on KIIS, he took some time off before debuting on KMVN in morning drive in 2006 with a show similar to the one he did on KIIS-FM. In 2008 he introduced the Dees Digital Network Media Player and a variety of audio and sound content at his www.rick.com site.

“Buenos Tardes,” Dees said in a phone call Friday afternoon. In the interview, he said he applauded the company decision, saying, “It’s the way business is right now. Emmis is a great company. I am in business with them. They are a great customer,” a reference to the fact his company produces three Weekly Top 40 countdown shows that are provided to Emmis and other stations in the U.S.

“It is like being married and the audience is married to the personality. It is sometimes like a wife coming home and the husband isn’t there.  But I will still be around.

“My three-year contract runs until September, and Emmis is honoring it. Radio is just one way to get content today. A week from Monday (April 13), we are launching a 24-hour radio channel at www.allnumber1hits.com.  It is young-centric Top 40 radio.  It will be launched first over www.rick.com and then it will be available to terrestrial radio, broadband and so forth,” he said.

Dees said he will “tweet a little bit about how I feel” at www.twitter.com/rickcom. “It will be sad to not go in and do a regular show. Our trends were going up and we were on a roll the last couple of months. For right now, I want to make sure that everybody on the show felt appreciated.”

Turning to his corporate side as a successful provider of radio and TV content, he said, “When I was a kid, in first grade, I sold mistletoe door to door for a quarter a box, and I had a big wad of quarters in my pocket.  So I knew then I wanted to keep on making quarters.”

Regarding the change to a Spanish format, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan said in a statement, “As we announced last year, we are exploring strategic alternatives, lowering debt and better positioning ourselves to face the current recession.  We want to do what is right to get the best results for our shareholders and employees.  I couldn’t be prouder of our KMVN team.  It is always difficult to part with a station and our people, but in these challenging times, it is the right decision for Emmis.”

--Special thanks to Gary Lycan, O.C. Register