Adult hits radio station in Seattle
KJAQ
(96.5
FM
) is a
commercial
radio station
in
Seattle, Washington
. KJAQ airs an
adult hits
music format branded as "
Jack FM
". It is owned by
iHeartMedia, Inc.
The studios and offices are in the
Belltown
neighborhood northwest of
Downtown Seattle
. The station's
transmitter
is on
Tiger Mountain
in
Issaquah
.
[3]
KJAQ broadcasts in the
HD Radio
format. The HD-2 subchannel carries an
alternative rock
format and HD-3
simulcasts
conservative talk
KPTR
, also owned by iHeart.
History
[
edit
]
Classical (1959?1973)
[
edit
]
The station
signed on
the air in 1959 as
KLSN
.
[4]
It was a
classical music
station broadcasting from the
University Village
Shopping Center, owned by a company called "Sight and Sound."
R&B (1973?1977)
[
edit
]
In 1973, the station was acquired by Carl-Del, Inc., which also owned KYAC (1460 AM, now
KARR
), with the FM flipping to a simulcast of the AM station's
R&B
format, and changed call letters to
KYAC-FM
. The stations used the slogan "The Soul of the Sound," referring to
Puget Sound
.
Top 40 (1977?1982)
[
edit
]
In February 1977, after
O'Day Broadcasting
bought the station, the call letters switched to
KYYX
.
[1]
It carried a
Top 40
format.
New wave (1982?1984)
[
edit
]
In late 1982, the station shifted to
new wave music
. The station was called "96.5 The Wave" and featured radio personalities Mike "Beaver" Bell, Damien, Stephen Rabow, John Langan, and Van Johnson. The station's moniker was "The Rock of The 80s."
[5]
In December 1983, Madison Park Broadcasting acquired KYYX.
Soft adult contemporary (1984?1985)
[
edit
]
On March 26, 1984, Madison Park announced that the station would change formats within a few months because of poor ratings and revenue. On May 13, after playing "
Radio, Radio
" by
Elvis Costello
, KYYX signed off with a montage of station identifications and two customized songs based on "KYYX" for 5 minutes. After going
dark
for three weeks, the station would then flip to
soft adult contemporary
as
KKMI
.
[6]
[7]
[8]
Adult alternative (1985?1987)
[
edit
]
In December 1985, Madison Park sold the station to Behan, who shifted the format to "Quality Rock KQ-96",
KQKT
, in May 1986. Shamrock Broadcasting bought the station in the Fall of 1986.
Album Rock (1987?1994)
[
edit
]
On January 5, 1987, 96.5 flipped to
KXRX
, a personality-driven
album rock
station featuring Robin & Maynard in mornings, Larry Snyder middays, Crow & West afternoons, Beau Roberts evenings, and Scott Vanderpool overnights.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
On April 8, 1994, the station was the first to report that a body had been found in the home of
Kurt Cobain
. The body would turn out to be Cobain's. An electrician working at the home found the body and called the station with the tip, hoping to win
Pink Floyd
concert tickets in exchange for the information.
[14]
Alliance Broadcasting bought the station from Shamrock in May 1994.
Country (1994?1999)
[
edit
]
On June 25, 1994, KXRX began
stunting
with comedy routines. On June 29, at 5:30 p.m., the station began a robotic countdown that started at 40,000 and ended at 1. However, instead of ending the countdown at 1, it counted up to 40,000, then back to 1. On July 1, at 3 p.m., Alliance flipped the station to a
country music
format as "Young Country 96.5" with the call letters
KYCW-FM.
It was the third FM country station in the Seattle
radio market
, competing against
KMPS-FM
and
KCIN
.
[15]
[16]
[17]
Alliance merged with
Infinity Broadcasting
in September 1995. Shortly afterwards, Infinity sold KYCW to
EZ Communications
in February 1996, with KYCW joining KMPS and KCIN under common ownership. That prompted EZ to flip KCIN to
Rhythmic AC
the following month. EZ Communications was bought out by
American Radio Systems
in July 1997.
Westinghouse
/
CBS
bought American Radio Systems' stations (including KYCW) on September 19, 1997.
[18]
In June 1998, CBS split off the radio division under the revived Infinity name, which would be renamed
CBS Radio
in December 2005.
'80s hits (1999?2003)
[
edit
]
On December 17, 1999, Infinity flipped KYCW-FM to
all-80s hits
, branded as "96-5 The Point", and changed call letters to
KYPT
.
[19]
[20]
“The Point” saw some initial success, but then declined in the ratings. In 2001, much of the on-air staff was fired, leading to rumors of a format change to
adult contemporary
. However, the station continued with its all-80's format and brought in a new air staff. Despite the changes, ratings continued to slip.
Classic alternative (2003?2005)
[
edit
]
On December 19, 2003, at 5:00 p.m., after playing "
Burning Down the House
" by
Talking Heads
, KYPT flipped to
classic alternative rock
as "96-5 K-Rock."
[21]
[22]
The call letters switched to
KRQI
on New Year's Day, 2004. The station played songs from artists such as
Foo Fighters
,
Kid Rock
,
Iggy Pop
,
Red Hot Chili Peppers
,
R.E.M.
,
U2
, and
Depeche Mode
, as well as capitalizing on Seattle grunge acts such as
Nirvana
,
Pearl Jam
,
Alice in Chains
, and
Soundgarden
. It competed with the longer established alternative station
KNDD
. In advance of KRQI's debut, 29 hours earlier, KNDD adjusted to a gold-based Alternative format. KRQI brought in former KNDD personalities Andy Savage and Bill Reid for morning and afternoon
drive time
. Ratings for the station under this format were poor.
Adult hits (2005?present)
[
edit
]
On April 22, 2005, at 10:00 a.m., after playing "
Black
" by Seattle band
Pearl Jam
, KRQI flipped to its current
Adult Hits
format as "96-5 Jack FM." The first song on Seattle's "Jack" was "
Get the Party Started
" by
P!nk
.
[23]
Jim Tripp was hired as the program director.
[24]
The station's call letters were changed to
KJAQ
on May 7, 2005.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with
Entercom
, which already owned four FM stations in Seattle (
KHTP
,
KISW
,
KKWF
, and
KNDD
).
[25]
On October 10, CBS Radio announced that as part of the process of obtaining regulatory approval of the merger, KJAQ would be one of sixteen stations that would be divested by Entercom, along with sister stations
KZOK
and
KFNQ
. (Entercom would keep
KMPS
.)
[26]
On November 1, 2017,
iHeartMedia
announced that it would acquire KJAQ, KZOK, and KFNQ. To meet ownership limits set by the FCC,
KFOO
and
KUBE
were divested to the Ocean Stations Trust in advance of a sale to a different owner.
[27]
Until the completion of the divestment of KFOO and KUBE to the trust, CBS placed KJAQ, KZOK, and KFNQ into the Entercom Divestiture Trust. The merger of CBS and Entercom was approved on November 9, and the deal was consummated on November 17.
[28]
[29]
The sale of KJAQ to iHeartMedia was officially completed on December 19, 2017.
[30]
[31]
On March 3, 2021, the
National Hockey League
expansion team
Seattle Kraken
announced a multi-year broadcast agreement with iHeart; as part of the deal, KJAQ was announced to simulcast a yet-undetermined number of games with
KJR
.
[32]
On March 8, 2021, the station was branded as "96-5 Jill FM" under the slogan "Playing What SHE Wants" to celebrate
International Women’s Day
.
[33]
HD radio
[
edit
]
- 96.5-HD1 carries the analog format ("96-5 Jack FM") from the standard 96.5 FM frequency.
- 96.5-HD2 carries an
alternative rock
format known as "Alt 96-5 HD2", transferred from former sister station
KFOO
.
- 96.5-HD3 carries a simulcast of conservative talk-formatted
KPTR
1090 AM
.
[34]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
History Cards for KJAQ
, fcc.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Call Sign History
, fcc.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ^
"KJAQ-FM 96.5 MHz - Seattle, WA"
.
radio-locator.com
. Retrieved
21 May
2023
.
- ^
"Broadcasting Yearbook 1960 page A-249"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
21 May
2023
.
- ^
"KYYX 96.5 FM 1983 TV commercial"
. YouTube.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-22
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"This is the last 5 minutes of KYYX 96.5 FM in Seattle"
. YouTube. 2014-03-06.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-22
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"RandR"
(PDF)
. www.americanradiohistory.com. 1984
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"RandR"
(PDF)
. www.americanradiohistory.com. 1984
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"RandR"
(PDF)
. www.americanradiohistory.com. 1987
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"RandR"
(PDF)
. www.americanradiohistory.com. 1986
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"96.5 Brand X Commercial - 1992"
.
YouTube
.
- ^
"KXRX FINAL MORNING SHOW 1994"
.
YouTube
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-22.
- ^
"KXRX 96.5 FM SEATTLE - The final Mike West broadcast with special guest Gary Crow"
.
YouTube
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-22.
- ^
"Remembering the Day Kurt Cobain's Music Died"
. 24 October 2018.
- ^
"RandR"
(PDF)
. www.americanradiohistory.com. 1994
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"BRAVO: Local country radio stations fighting, and switching"
. Web.kitsapsun.com
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"Young Country 96.5 FM 1995 TV Ad Commercial"
.
YouTube
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-22.
- ^
World Radio History
[
dead link
]
- ^
"RandR"
(PDF)
. www.americanradiohistory.com. 1999
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"Seattle 96.5 The Point - Radio Station Commercial (2001)"
. YouTube. 2017-05-09.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-22
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"Radio Beat: KYPT hops the alternative train"
. seattlepi.com. 2003-12-24
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"RandR"
(PDF)
. www.americanradiohistory.com. 2004
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
"RandR"
(PDF)
. www.americanradiohistory.com. 2005
. Retrieved
2019-12-24
.
- ^
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2007 page D-546
- ^
"CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom - RadioInsight"
. 2 February 2017
. Retrieved
21 May
2023
.
- ^
Venta, Lance (October 10, 2017).
"Entercom Narrows Down 16 Stations To Be Divested To Complete CBS Radio Merger"
.
RadioInsight
. Retrieved
October 11,
2017
.
- ^
"Entercom Trades Boston & Seattle Spin-Offs To iHeartMedia For Richmond & Chattanooga - RadioInsight"
. 1 November 2017
. Retrieved
21 May
2023
.
- ^
Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017).
"Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger"
.
Radio Insight
. Retrieved
November 17,
2017
.
- ^
"Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio"
.
Entercom
. November 9, 2017
. Retrieved
November 17,
2017
.
- ^
"iHeart Begins Operating Remainder Of Boston & Seattle Acquisitions - RadioInsight"
. 19 December 2017
. Retrieved
21 May
2023
.
- ^
"Consummation Notice"
.
CDBS Public Access
.
Federal Communications Commission
. December 19, 2017
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
"Seattle Kraken Released Onto KJR - RadioInsight"
. 4 March 2021
. Retrieved
21 May
2023
.
- ^
"96.5 JACK FM Changes to 96.5 JILL FM For International Women's Day"
.
96.5 JACK-FM
. Retrieved
21 May
2023
.
- ^
"HD Radio Guide for Seattle-Tacoma"
. Archived from
the original
on 2015-07-22
. Retrieved
2015-05-31
.
External links
[
edit
]
Jack FM
-branded radio stations in the United States
|
---|
Local Stations
|
- KXAZ
(
Page, Arizona
)
- KPKR
(
Parker, Arizona
)
- KVLO
(
Little Rock, Arkansas
)
- KDRS-FM
(
Paragould, Arkansas
)
- KCON
(
Vilonia, Arkansas
)
- KCBS-FM
(
Los Angeles, California
)
- KAJK
(
Susanville, California
)
- KNOZ
(
Grand Junction, Colorado
)
- KRYD
(
Norwood, Colorado
)
- WJKD
(
Vero Beach, Florida
)
- KJOT
(
Boise, Idaho
)
- WJKG
(
Altamont, Illinois
)
- WEJT
(
Decatur, Illinois
)
- WRKX
(
Ottawa, Illinois
)
- KSAJ-FM
(
Burlingame, Kansas
)
- KRSL-FM
(
Russell, Kansas
)
- WLXX
(
Richmond, Kentucky
}
- WQSR
(
Baltimore, Maryland
)
- WVFM
(
Kalamazoo, Michigan
)
- KZJK
(
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
)
- KWJK
(
Columbia
/
Boonville, Missouri
)
- KDAA
(
Rolla, Missouri
)
- KYJK
(
Missoula, Montana
)
- KADL
(
Imperial, Nebraska
)
- KLKO
(
Elko, Nevada
)
- KRWK
(
Fargo, North Dakota
)
- KDSR
(
Williston, North Dakota
)
- WGTZ
(
Dayton, Ohio
)
- WYUP
(
Altoona, Pennsylvania
)
- WKGE
(
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
)
- KJKQ
(
Sisseton, South Dakota
)
- WASL
(
Dyersburg, Tennessee
)
- WCJK
(
Nashville, Tennessee
)
- KJFK/K242DE
(
Austin, Texas
)
- KJKK
(
Dallas, Texas
)
- KWFB
(
Holliday, Texas
)
- KOOI
(
Jacksonville, Texas
)
- KJFK-FM
(
Llano
)
- KJXK
(
San Antonio, Texas
)
- KTXN-FM
(
Victoria, Texas
)
- KWSA
(
Price, Utah
)
- KJAQ
(
Seattle, Washington
)
- WOZZ
(
Mosinee
/
Wausau, Wisconsin
)
- WPFP
(
Park Falls, Wisconsin
)
- WRHN
(
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
)
- KRVK
(
Casper, Wyoming
)
- KSIT
(
Rock Springs, Wyoming
)
- KBCE
(
Alexandria, Louisiana
)
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