KSFM (FM)
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| KSFM | |
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| Broadcast area | Woodland/Sacamento |
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| Branding | "102.5 KSFM" |
| Slogan | Your #1 Station for Hip Hop and R&B |
| Frequency | 102.5 (MHz) (Also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1961 |
| Format | KSFM: Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio KSFM-HD2: Dance |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 152 meters |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | K Sacramento's Favorite Music |
| Owner | CBS Radio |
| Sister stations | KHTK, KNCI, KQJK, KYMX, KZZO part of CBS Corp. cluster with KOVR and KMAX-TV |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.ksfm.com |
KSFM is a Rhythmic Contemporary Hits outlet serving the Sacramento, California, USA area. Its city of license and transmitter are located in Woodland (In Yolo County) but their studios are based in Sacramento. KSFM's current slogan is "102.5 KSFM, Your #1 Station for Hip Hop and R&B."[1]
KSFM is owned by CBS Radio, which in turn is part of CBS Corporation's Sacramento radio and TV cluster, which includes Jack FM KQJK, Adult Contemporary KYMX, Adult Top 40 KZZO, Country music KNCI, sports talk KHTK, CBS affiliate KOVR TV, and CW affiliate KMAX-TV.
The station offers a current-based mix of R&B/Hip-Hop product, with upbeat Pop tracks added in for balance. Those ingredients have helped KSFM distinguish themselves from rival Rhythmic KBMB (103.5 The Bomb) (whose playlist heavily favors Hip-Hop) and Mainstream Top 40 KDND (107.9 The End) (which offer listeners a broad-based playlist).
KSFM is one of the most listened to stations in Sacramento due to their large radio signal, averaging over 300,000 listeners per day. Its core audience includes teens, 18-34 adults (mostly females) and young Hispanics.
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[edit] Station History
KSFM originally signed on the air in 1961 as MOR KATT("The Tiger Tail"), but would later go dark by 1968. The call letters KSFM were previously assigned to a station in Sacramento on 96.9 FM, but that station was sold to the owners of PSA airline and renamed as KPSC. In 1970 the Woodland station returned to the air as Top 40 KRBT ("Robot 10-25"), which started out with live jocks, only to go automated from 1972 to the spring of 1974, when then-owner Kula Broadcasting searched for a new programmer and new format to run on the station. The owners hired Don Wright, formerly of KZAP, KXOA/KNDE and KRBT. His plan for the station was “formatted” progressive rock. Unlike mostly freeform KZAP, KSFM’s new format would be rock-based, albeit somewhat eclectic in approach. The air talent would have a mid-tempo delivery style (neither fast and screaming nor completely laid back). The station would also keep the KSFM call letters, but would have the moniker “Earth Rock 102, KSFM.”
In early May 1974, "Earth Rock 102" made its debut. Drake-Chenault, owners of KXOA-FM (107.9) attempted to sue the owners of KSFM, because they had recently used the “Earth Rock” name for their station. As a result, in July, the name became "Earth Radio 102." Within six months of its debut, “KSFM-Earth Radio 102” made the top six in overall “twelve-plus” ratings in the Sacramento area. When the station management only delivered a $25.00 monthly pay raise, much of the air staff left to run KSJO (92.3) in San Jose. Nonetheless, the station continued to obtain stellar ratings.
The format was a combination of well-established “mainstream” and “up and coming” rock artists. While the station would play mainstream rock artists, the announcers often focused on their deeper album cuts. Additionally, the music flow was diverse enough that one could hear a searing Led Zeppelin track and a folksy Joni Mitchell song in the same set, yet the music would flow naturally. The air talent programmed much of the music without the use of a set playlist. While a listener could hear an occasional Country record by Jerry Jeff Walker or a Reggae tune by Peter Tosh, they knew it would be followed by a rock record, seamlessly followed by a casual back announcement from knowledgeable air talent. KSFM’s format was dayparted, so listeners would be treated to a much harder rock sound at night. Earth Radio 102 had little or no musical repetition. A listener truly did not know what they would be hearing next.
Earth Radio had a number of additional programming features that made it unique. For example, it ran a news block each weekday morning from 9:30 to 10:00 known as “Earth News”. The alternative news included nationally-syndicated interviews with rock stars of the day. The news also included odd information that would interest the station’s audience. Each weekday, at 9:40 AM, 1:40 and 6:40 PM, the station would run a “Concert Calendar”, where they would announce upcoming concert venues in both local and regional locations. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday evenings at 9:10 PM, the station would track an entire record album from start to finish. Initially, this was a weekly feature, but was so successful; it had been expanded to three nights a week. The program was initially known as “Record a Record”, but the name eventually changed to the “Whole Earth Record.” In between record sides, the announcer (Dave Whittaker) would play an “Instrumental Interlude”, where the listener would hear an instrumental song from a completely different artist to break up the album.
In late 1976, the station hired Dennis Newhall as an on-air staff announcer. He had experience working at KZAP and KSJO. Subsequently, he was promoted to Program Director in 1977.
“Earth Radio 102’s” success continued until the summer of 1979. In January 1979, KZAP’s new owners installed radio consultant Lee Abrams’ “Super Stars” format on the formerly freeform station. KZAP’s new format was rock-oriented, but with more of a Top 40 approach in how it scheduled songs, attracting 18-34 year old male listeners from both types of stations. The change brought KZAP stellar ratings at the expense of “Earth Radio”. KSFM went from a 4.7 “twelve-plus” share to a somewhat disappointing 3.1 share in the Spring 1979 Arbitron ratings. Initially, there were rumors of KSFM either becoming more mainstream or switching to a country music format.
In August 1979, the station announced on-air it would be switching the format to “Mass Appeal” music the following month. On August 20, the Sacramento Union featured an article on the format switch. The entire air staff would be replaced. KSFM management hired radio consultant Jerry Clifton to initiate the new format. In the Union article, Clifton described the “Earth Radio” format as “esoteric…similar to a Jazz station.”
KSFM broadcast its last full day of progressive rock on September 9, 1979. The following day, the station began a five day stunting period where it played a full day of music by a well-known established artist. The stunting period acted as a “buffer” between the vastly different formats. The first day (September 10, 1979) was a full day of Led Zeppelin, followed by a day of the Beatles. By the fifth day, the station was playing Donna Summer and the Bee Gees as featured artists. On September 14, KSFM started what would become a major success story that would continue today when it flipped to a hybrid Disco/Top 40 direction. By 1984, the station would evolve all the way to its current--and, as of today, still dominant--Rhythmic Contemporary Hits direction.
[edit] KSFM-HD2
Although it has not signed on yet, KSFM's HD2 subcarrier will offer a commercial-free Dance Top 40 format[2].
[edit] References
- ^ Hip-hop radio prank (July 21, 2006).
- ^ Sacramento HD radio guide
[edit] External links
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