Mt. Wilson and KPCC join up in cross-promotional alliance.

In the first deal of its kind in Los Angeles, two commercial radio stations owned by Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters are teaming up with public station KPCC-FM (89.3) in a cross-promotional deal to tout one another's programming.

Announcement of the agreement between KPCC and Mt. Wilson stations KMZT-FM (105.1) and KSUR-AM (1260) comes on the heels of a deal between another public station, KUSC-FM (91.5), and the local Clear Channel Communications Inc. cluster in which the radio giant is helping KUSC, which programs mostly classical music, in fundraising activities.

For its services, Clear Channel will receive a percentage of the money it raises, an arrangement between public and private organizations that company officials said is common in other markets.

The arrangement prompted Saul Levine, owner and general manager of Mt. Wilson and its KMZT-FM (105.1) and KSUR-AM (1260), to renew his claims that Clear Channel was trying to put him out of business.

Last year, he accused Clear Channel of "predatory behavior" when it switched KLAC-AM (570) back to a standards format in direct competition with KSUR. Levine claims the latest Clear Channel move was an attempt to dilute KMZT's audience. Like KUSC, KMZT is primarily a classical music station.

"They are a mega-conglomerate that has undertaken a course of action to harass us anyway they can and put us out of business," Levine said.

Charlie Rahilly, senior vice president West Coast for Clear Channel, bristled at the suggestion that the company had it out for Levine, the last independent commercial broadcaster in Los Angeles.

"We compete aggressively but very fairly," Rahilly said. "We were in standards for a long time on KLAC and we went to talk and it didn't work out, so we went back to standards. We don't wish (Levine) any ill will. There is lots of business to go around."

Despite the close timing of the Mt. Wilson/KPCC and Clear Channel/KUSC deals, Levine insisted the developments were not related. The arrangement with KPCC was first discussed months before Clear Channel revealed its plans, he said.

KPCC has been seeking a local partner for some time. Because KPCC listeners tend to tune to classical stations at a high level, the station approached KUSC about a possible cross-promotional deal a year ago, Davis said. KUSC declined the invitation.

'Win-win'

"The goal is for us to get our listeners when they want talk, news and information, to go to KPCC, and for KPCC's audience when they want classical music or standards to go to our stations," said Levine.

The cross-promotional program will involve six to 10 spots per day by each company and could start as early as this week. There is no cash component to the arrangement and Mt. Wilson's sales staff will not be involved in raising money for KPCC, Levine said.

The deal appears to be especially beneficial to KPCC because of the greater reach of the Mt. Wilson stations, which have a cumulative weekly audience of 600,000 listeners, compared to 400,000 listeners for KPCC.

"The primary reason for doing this is that we share a lot of listeners with KMZT," said Bill Davis, president of KPCC-owner Southern California Public Radio. "A lot of people who listen to NPR in the morning will listen to a classical station later in the day."

Davis acknowledged the risk of the stations diluting their audiences by sending listeners elsewhere, but he said it was more likely that KPCC would pick up listeners.

Besides National Public Radio shows like "Morning Edition," KPCC programming includes news from the BBC World Service, current events talk shows and Minnesota Public Radio's "Marketplace." Weekend shows include "Car Talk" and "A Prairie Home Companion."

In the spring 2003 Arbitron Inc. ratings period, KMZT had a 1.6 rating, meaning it averaged that percentage of overall listeners in a Los Angeles market with more than 10 million people over the age of 12. That was down from a 1.8 rating in the winter period and a 2 rating last fall.