KBAY

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KBAY
City of license	Gilroy, California
Broadcast area	San Jose, California
Branding	K-BAY
Slogan	The South Bay's Soft Rock
First air date	1970
Frequency	94.5 (MHz)
Format	AC
ERP	35,000 watts
Class	B
Callsign meaning	BAY = Bay Area
Owner	NextMedia Group
Website	www.kbay.com

KBAY (94.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Gilroy, California and serving San Jose and the South San Francisco Bay area. Its current format is adult contemporary It is owned by NextMedia Group along with sister station, Mix-106.5 KEZR FM. Its studios are located in the heart of downtown San Jose at 190 Park Center Plaza #200, San Jose, CA 95113.

Before KBAY, 94.5 FM was home to KUFX, KWSS, and KFAT. See more about these stations in Wikipedia.

KBAY The call letters were originally assigned to a UHF television station (Channel 20), based in San Francisco, California. It ceased operation after a few years due to the scant number, in the 1950s, of Bay Area homes with UHF-capable television sets. Channel 20 became home to KTZO, turned KEMO, turned KOFY, turned KBWB.

[edit] KBAY Radio HISTORY

Originally at 104.5 in the 1950s, KBAY 100.3 FM, became the market leader in San Jose and had a very strong listening audience in the San Francisco market throughout the 1970s and '80s. Its easy listening format gave way to light jazz instrumentals and by the early 1990s, pop music was introduced. The Snell family guided the station and its sister, KEEN Country 1370 AM through the decades as United Broadcasting.

The Snells sold their 2 properties in 1997, and KBAY became a part of the American Radio Systems group which included KKSJ (the former KEEN), KUFX, and KSJO. Shortly thereafter, a 3-way swap of frequencies landed KBAY at 94.5 FM. KBAY then became known as "The Bay" for a couple of years. American Radio Systems sold KBAY to Infinity/CBS in 1999. In the early 2000s, the KBAY identity was replaced by B-94.5 "The Bee". This was an attempt to distance the station from the perceived "stigma" of its earlier life as an "elevator music" station. In September of 2003, KBAY's owner CBS-Infinity Radio removed its "World Music" format called "The Wave" from its 93.3 frequency in order for KBAY to simulcast on it. Infinity moved the KBAY studios to San Francisco and 94.5 became legally identified as KBAA. The simulcast experiment lasted only a year much to the relief of its staff, largely from the South Bay. 93.3 was sold and became KRZZ with a Regional Mexican music format, and the KBAY call letters returned to 94.5. CBS-Infinity Radio sold KBAY and its sister Mix 106.5 KEZR FM to NextMedia Group in 2005.

KBAY maintains top ratings in the 12+ demographic and in its 25-54 demographic, particularly with women listeners. Its "listen-at-work" orientation and "South Bay's Soft Rock" slogan are to its credit. Since 2005, Dana Jang has been its Program Director. Dana had significant success at legendary San Jose rock stations, KOME and KSJO, and most recently as the Chicago area Station Operations Manager for Next Media. Program Directors over the years include: Bob Kohtz 1970s-2001, Jim Murphy 2001-2005, Dana Jang 2005-present.

Some of the memorable voices from KBAY over the years have been Bob Kohtz (mornings or afternoons 1977-1996) (Bob also held the positions of Program Director and Music Director for many years, and was the Imaging Voice For The Famed "Good Morning Vietnam" Show), Dave Young (evenings 1975-1986), Lissa Kreisler (morning news and morning co-host since 1988), Bud Kelly (middays 1980s, began broadcasting in 1948 and is currently on KLIV in San Jose), Don Potter (mornings mid-1990s, now on KKDV in Pleasanton, CA), Kirk Patrick (mornings late '90s-early 2000s now Program Director of WWWM-FM in Toledo, OH ), Jona Denz-Hamilton (longtime South Bay announcer, KBAY middays 1996-2002 & currently), Sam Van Zandt (longtime San Francisco radio personality & host of TVs Candid Camera, now morning host), and Kim Vestal (longtime KARA morning host, KBAY middays 2002-2006). Lovesong specialist, Delilah, has garnered top ratings in her daypart with her syndicated show on KBAY from 7 until midnight.

External Links:

• www.kbay.com

• Query the FCC's FM station database for KBAY