"Y-93" redirects here. For the isotope of yttrium (Y-93 or
93
Y), see
Yttrium-93
.
Radio station in Bismarck, North Dakota
KYYY
(92.9
FM
) is a commercial
radio station
licensed to
Bismarck
,
North Dakota
, and serving the
Bismarck?Mandan
region.
Owned by
iHeartMedia
, the station has an
adult contemporary
format under the "Mix 92.9" banner. For 45 years, the station was known as "Y93" in various blends of
contemporary hit radio
(CHR) and adult contemporary. During some of this period, it was Bismarck's highest-rated radio station.
The KYYY studios are located on Rosser Avenue in Bismarck, while the transmitter resides north of the city in
Burleigh County
. In addition to a standard
analog transmission
, KYYY streams online via
iHeartRadio
.
History
[
edit
]
On November 24, 1965, Meyer Broadcasting, owner of
KFYR radio
and
television
, received a construction permit for a new FM station on 92.9 MHz in Bismarck.
[2]
The station launched August 15, 1966, as the first FM in the central North Dakota area, airing a fine music format and calling itself "Royalty in Music".
[3]
In 1973, the station was moved to the KFYR-TV mast at
Mandan
and adopted the Hit Parade format from
Drake-Chenault
.
[4]
The "Y93" name was instituted in late 1975, and the call letters were changed to KYYY on February 2, 1978.
[2]
The station's
Top 40
format was similar to that on KFYR, which had more service elements such as news and programs. In 1985, KYYY surpassed KFYR in the ratings; that year, the two Meyer stations accounted for just under half of all radio listening in Bismarck,
[5]
and the stations were number one and two in the market from 1984 to 1992, with
KQDY
and a resurgent country format breaking the grip.
[6]
KYYY tweaked to a satellite-delivered
hot AC
format in 1996 and dumped morning man Bob Beck, who had been heard on the station for 14 years.
[7]
Ratings dropped nearly 50 percent.
[8]
After a long and successful run in North Dakota broadcasting?dating back 73 years to the launch of KFYR?Meyer exited the business in 1998. Sunrise Television acquired KFYR-TV, while Meyer initially negotiated with
Cumulus Media
to purchase the radio properties.
[9]
However, those talks collapsed, and
Jacor
ultimately agreed to purchase KFYR and KYYY for $4.8 million in September 1998.
[10]
Clear Channel Communications?today's iHeartMedia?then entered into an agreement to buy Jacor less than a month later.
[11]
The Bismarck stations were to have been included in the proposed $452.1 million sale of small market properties to GoodRadio.tv LLC in 2007, which ultimately never occurred.
[12]
After
KKCT
(97.5 FM) flipped from
country
to CHR as "Hot 97.5", KYYY tweaked to a full-fledged CHR format in 2004. This lasted until 2005, when it changed to an
adult contemporary
format playing
Christmas music
during the holiday season annually. After playing Christmas music for the 2011 holiday season, KYYY tweaked its format again towards a hot AC format due to a growing abundance of Bismarck stations sharing the 1970s and 1980s music that KYYY played. On September 14, 2012, KYYY shifted back to CHR; it also replaced the
John Tesh
morning show (a holdover from the adult contemporary era) with
Elvis Duran and the Morning Show
, broadcast from
Z100
in
New York City
.
[13]
On November 5, 2021, iHeart flipped more than 80 stations to Christmas music for the season, including KYYY?which, unlike in past years, dropped its "Y93" branding after more than 45 years to go by "Christmas 92.9". At the time, KYYY was pulling half the rating of KKCT in the Bismarck market.
[14]
On December 27, KYYY adopted the "Mix 92.9" moniker and a mainstream adult contemporary format, with the first song being "
Apologize
" by
Timbaland
featuring
OneRepublic
.
[15]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for KYYY"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
a
b
FCC History Cards for KYYY
- ^
"KFYR-FM to Start Aug. 15"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. August 4, 1966. p. 18.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
"Power Hike Asked: KFYR-FM Plans Major Changes"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. June 23, 1973. p. 15.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
Cole, Janell (August 27, 1987).
"Y-93 boosts its radio dominance"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. p. 1B.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
Salter, Peter (August 19, 1993).
"Country soars to top: KQDY smashes Meyer's stranglehold on ratings"
. p. 1B.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
Melhus, G. Troy (April 3, 1996).
"Y-93 radio personality out of a job"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. p. 2B.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
Stembach, Chris (September 15, 1996).
"Morning listeners hold the key to station's success"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. p. 1F.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
Gardyasz, Joe (April 29, 1998).
"Sunrise to continue tradition"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. pp. 1A,
12A
.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
Gardyasz, Joe.
"Meyer sells two radio stations"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. pp. 1A,
8A
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-11-05
. Retrieved
2021-11-05
.
- ^
"Communications company acquires major rival"
.
The Bismarck Tribune
. Associated Press. October 9, 1998. p. 4A.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
"GoodRadio.TV paperwork filed"
.
Radio Business Report
. May 2007.
Archived
from the original on 2012-02-10
. Retrieved
2021-11-05
.
- ^
Venta, Lance (September 17, 2012).
"Y93 Bismarck Returns To CHR"
.
RadioInsight
.
Archived
from the original on November 26, 2020
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
Venta, Lance (November 5, 2021).
"After 46 Years, Y93 Bismarck Gives Way To Christmas 92.9"
.
RadioInsight
.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2021
. Retrieved
November 5,
2021
.
- ^
"KYYY Brings A Mix To Bismarck"
.
RadioInsight
. Retrieved
2021-12-27
.
External links
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]
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