KYZZ

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KYZZ
City of license	Salinas, California
Broadcast area	Santa Cruz Monterrey Salinas, California
Branding	Jammin 97.9
Slogan	Where Hip Hop Lives
First air date	1997
Frequency	97.9 (MHz)
Format	Rhythmic Top 40
ERP	3,000 watts
Class	A
Owner	Buckley Broadcasting
Website	www.jammin979.com

KYZZ is a commercial radio station in Salinas, California, broadcasting to the Santa Cruz-Monterrey-Salinas, California area on 97.9 FM.

KYZZ airs a rhythmic Top 40 music format branded as "Jammin 97.9".

[edit] History of 97.9 FM

97.9 FM was owned by Wolfhouse Broadcasting until late 2005. Under Wolfhouse's tenure, 97.9 had many formats. Originally, the programming was Spanish contemporary music.

In July 2002, 97.9 became "97.9 En Fuego" - a Latino-leaning CHR/Rhythmic station. Included was music by Lil' Rob, Nightowl, N.O.R.E. and other Latino hip-hop artists. Voiceovers were by Angie Martinez; the slogan was "Blazin' Hip Hop y Mas" (Blazing Hip Hop and More). The format was launched prior to the Raggaeton phenomena, and subsequently did not have enough variety or promotional power to compete with crosstown heritage CHR/Rhythmic KDON-FM.

In 2003, the station switched back to Spanish contemporary.

In July 2005, the station switched again - this time to "EXA-FM... The Orange Station." "EXA" is short for "Exitos" or Hits in Spanish. The station featured a bilingual CHR/Rhythmic mix with Raggaeton, Mexican artists such as Fey and Moenia, and American hip-hop tracks. The format was also not very successful, and morphed into a more Raeggaeton-leaning station by Fall 2005.

In Late 2005, 97.9 FM was sold to Buckley Broadcasting, owners of crosstown KWAV-FM and KIDD-AM. Prior to the sale, all EXA-FM programming was moved to Wolfhouse's 93.9 FM frequency.

On January 3, 2006, 97.9 FM began broadcasting as CHR/Top 40 "Z-97.9" with new calls KYZZ. It became the first Mainstream Top 40 radio station in the Monterey Bay since the early 1990's. Artists included All-American Rejects, Green Day, Fort Minor, Nelly Furtado, Pussycat Dolls, James Blunt, Juelz Santana, Kelly Clarkson, Nelly, and Gwen Stefani. Also included were more Latino-based artists such as Pitbull, Frankie J, and Daddy Yankee. Programming on the station was under the direction of Freeze.

After several unsuccessful ratings books, "Z-97.9" flipped to CHR/Rhythmic "Jammin' 97.9" in Early November 2006. Program Director Freeze was let go, but much of the airstaff was retained. The new format is again Latino-leaning, and also includes numerous "Hyphy" songs by E-40, The Federation, The Team, and Mistah F.A.B. Current ratings show an increase in listeners over the former CHR/Top 40 format.

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KYZZ