in 1939, simonton went to new york to meet with the founders of the muzak corporation, which had been founded some five years before. he proposed that muzak begin franchising, which it had not previously done, and ended up buying the franchise for the seven western states, which he held until the 1970s. on the strength of this success, he began acquiring holdings in tv and radio stations, which included krkd radio in los angeles and kula radio and tv in hawaii, the abc affiliate.