MARS FM PART 1 OF 3 -1991 - LA Radio

The former owner of KROQ-FM has made what his executives admit is a dicey business move by purchasing two Southern California radio stations and playing music so new that most people haven't heard of it.

"It's a very risky strategy," admitted Howard Freshman, the promotions director at the new MARS-FM. "L.A. is very cutting edge. There is a risk because we don't know if people will accept this on a mass appeal basis. My thinking is if you don't take risks, you can't win big."

MARS is simulcasting on KSRF-FM Santa Monica and KOCM-FM Newport Beach, both at 103.1 on the FM dial. Ken Roberts, former owner of KROQ-FM, purchased the Los Angeles and Orange County stations last spring with the expressed first-ever plan to broadcast the same programming on two nearby stations with the same frequency. Each station broadcasts on about 3,000 watts, and Freshman conceded he has a broadcast "hole" in the northern San Fernando Valley.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• kroq
• radio
• techno
• don
• boles
• celeberty
• skin
• the
• germ's
• 103.1
• fm
• swedish
• egil
• groove
• industrial
• gothic

[lambchopxoxo]

i remember this station very well. i loved it and like everyone i can remember, was sad when it ended.

[TheNewMusicNetwork]

@PaulyTheGimp = know your role and shut your fucking hole you cock polishing hanson loving POSER. you weren't even old enough to listen to mars fm back then. I on the other hand have tapes from those days.

nirvana was never played. they would have been on kroq.

case closed

[PaulyTheGimp]

@TheNewMusicNetwork: then it is clear you were not listening at that point.

[TheNewMusicNetwork]

mars fm was cool but it was still hard to beat kroq in 91 since they still had decent music, and djs like poor man, among others.

i can't remember when kroq was sold to viacom but that would have been the time to start mars.

mars should have stuck with more hard alternative + electronic-rock bands(nin, 242, ministry, etc) and just an occasional techno song here and their(lords of acid, etc).

[TheNewMusicNetwork]

@PaulyTheGimp you couldn't be more wrong.

[TheNewMusicNetwork]

mars was good. nice nitzer ebb intro.

[mpresev]

@PaulyTheGimp they even played Nirvana..

[PaulyTheGimp]

mars did not have enough financial backing, ad sales were weak their reception was absolute shit, and the masses were just not into it. Towards the end they played shit top 40ish type music and stuff you could listen to on KROQ or other commercial stations.

[mpresev]

@ShankyMcShankerson77

they were at a new studio in Santa Monica..

a news show did a special on Mars and

they were pretty much high tech.

[mpresev]

@ShankyMcShankerson77

No, they were broadcasting in Santa Monica