KDLW

KDLW

City of license	Los Lunas, New Mexico
Broadcast area	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Branding	Z 106-3
Slogan	Hit Music Now
Frequency	106.3 MHz
First air date	1992 (as KZPY)
Format	Mainstream Top 40
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	261 meters
Class	C1
Facility ID	51762
Callsign meaning	WiLD former brand on 97.7 spelled backwards
Former callsigns	KZPY (1990-1995) KDNR (1995-1997) KYLZ (1997-2005) KAGM (2005-2013)
Owner	American General Media
Sister stations	KABG, KAGM, KHFM, KLVO, KKIM, KARS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	z1063.com

KDLW is a commercial radio station located in Los Lunas, New Mexico, broadcasting to the Albuquerque, New Mexico area on 106.3 FM. KDLW airs a Mainstream Top 40 music format branded as "Z 106-3".

The format was launched on April 1, 2013 as a successor to the former "OMG! Radio" that aired from 2009-2011 on 97.7 and on 106.7 from 2011-2013. The "OMG!" airstaff however were not moved to the new station which has been running jockless.

106.3 broadcasts a full powered signal from a site near Los Lunas and covers Albuquerque from the south and also serves communities in Valencia County and Central New Mexico.

History

106.3 Signs on as Z-Rock

In the Spring of 1992, a new sign on came to 106.3 as KZPY FM.

Rhythm Driven 106-3

In January 1995 106.3 flipped to a "Dance and Romance" format with the calls KDNR. The format would become CHR-Dance branded as "Rhythm Driven 106-3" a few months later. The station was owned by Crescent Communications which also owned KSOL now KYLD which would also become the sister format to the new format "WILD 106" which in the Bay Area would be known as "Wild 107-7. The station was sold to American General Media in 1997 shortly after changing formats to Rhythmic Top 40.

Wild 106

In the summer of 1997, 106.3 took the calls KYLZ-FM which were transferred from San Francisco using the same moniker and format as "Wild 107-7 simulcast in the South Bay on 99.1 now KSQL. The new station was branded as "Wild 106" and went head-to-head with KKSS "Kiss" 97.3 which had been very popular with local youth for much of the 1990s. The two stations would often be in a fierce battle for hip-hop listeners over the next seven years. KKSS had shifted to mainstream top 40 in early 2001 making KYLZ the lone rhythmic contemporary station for nearly two years. However KKSS returned to rhythmic in late 2002 after changing ownership putting the two stations in direct competition once again with KKSS eventually reclaiming the top spot in the format. In late 2004, American General Media had opted to challenge the markets' top rated station 770 KKOB (AM) after its morning host had signed with the company. 106.3 was selected as the station to house the new news and talk format and therefore ending Wild 106 in February 2005. "Wild" was revived in December 2007 as KDLW on 97.7 FM but had not been an effective competitor with KKSS as KYLZ was. After 106.3 launched a new hip-hop format in July 2009, Wild 97.7 became known as OMG! Radio on August 24, 2009 with a mainstream top 40 format.

Talk FM

In March 2005, 106.3 became KAGM with a news and talk format that started with the departure of Larry Ahrens from top rated 770 KKOB (AM) in December 2004. Ahrens had been that stations morning show host for nearly 25 years. He had soon signed with American General Media with the intent of challenging his former station. Other local hosts who would be featured on KAGM were Dianne Anderson who had just left her TV news anchor job at KOAT. She would host an afternoon talk show on 106.3 later joined by her husband Mark Mathis. The late afternoon "drive time" featured Chris Jackson who was 770 KKOB's afternoon host during the late 1990s. Also Phil "The Bean" Sisneros co-hosted that show. Sisneros was formerly the longtime morning show host on KKOB-FM until late 2002 at the time of that stations switch to mainstream top 40. National talk radio hosts Glenn Beck and Rusty Humphries originally filled the midday and nighttime slots but the station had numerous line-up changes during its run. However the station achieved low Arbitron ratings and appeared to have little or no impact on KKOB-AM. In 2006 Jackson and Sisneros were let go and replaced with a couple of previously unknown hosts while Dianne Anderson joined Larry Ahrens in the morning shift but later returned to television taking a new anchor job at KRQE. The format ended on September 29, 2006 replaced with a temporary simulcast of sister station KZNM 106.7's Spanish-language oldies format.

The Range

KAGM signed on with a classic country format on October 4, 2006, after a failed 18-month attempt at a News/Talk format designed to challenge the markets top rated station 770 KKOB (AM). It used "The Range" branding that two other stations had previously used in recent years. The earlier versions of "The Range" had decent 12+ Arbitron ratings but did not last for very long.

"The Range" branding was originally used in Albuquerque on KKRG-FM when Simmons media launched a classic country station on the 101.3 FM frequency in December 2001. After a little less than a year, Simmons had sold the station, along with four other FM stations, to Hispanic Broadcasting (now Univision Radio) and changed the format to Regional Mexican. The Range got another shot in April 2004 on the 105.1 frequency but in March 2006 Univision dropped The Range in favor of its "Recuerdo" Mexican Oldies format.

Power 106-3

On July 20, 2009 KAGM flipped directions to Rhythmic and adopted the "Power 106" moniker. With this move, AGM had two Rhythmic outlets in the same radio market, the other being KDLW up until August 2009 when it switched directions to Top 40/CHR. Power 106.3 plays a Rhythmic format of today's Hits but also with some "old School R&B & Hip Hop" mixed in similar to what KSYU "Hot 95" was. They also have attacked rival KKSS over their claim of who actually plays "Hip-Hop & R&B," calling them a "Hip-Pop" station. As of July 2012, Power 106-3 has begun to mix more Urban Hip Hop Cuts into their rotation, however according to Radio-Info they are still listed as a Rhythmic Top 40 Station

On March 28, 2013 it was announced that Power 106 was moving from 106.3 to 106.7. This occurred on April 1, 2013 at 8am. The 106.7 frequency covers Albuquerque from the north and makes this station available in Santa Fe and northern New Mexico. The new branding is "Power 106.7". ^[1]

Z106.3

At 8AM (MDT) April 1, 2013, KAGM took over KDLW's Top 40/CHR format and relaunched it as "Z106.3, Hit Music Now." However, despite a banner on its webpage leading up to the switchover, the station (KDLW) did not do any announcements or promos and in the hours before it switched signals they were running jockless. Even after the switch to 106.3 the website was still under construction and its Facebook page went blank. This would spark a comment from Lance Venta of "Radio Insight" by criticizing the owners for executing a poorly planned idea and deceiving the listeners by not using advantage of the social media in the days leading up to the switch.^[2] On April 4, 2013, the station changed its call sign to the current KDLW. For three months after the launch the station had no social media presence and it's webpage only featured a white background with standard lettering with a link to its web stream. The station continues to run sweepers telling "Power" listeners to tune in to 106.7. In early July it has updated its webpage and revived the "OMG!" Facebook page with the updated logo.

Format history

• KZPY-FM Hard rock "Z-Rock" (KZRQ 105.1 simulcast) 1992-1995
• KDNR-FM Dance Hits "Rhythm Driven 106-3" 1995-1997
• KYLZ-FM Rhythmic Top 40 "Wild 106" 1997-2005
• KAGM-FM News/Talk "106.3 Talk FM" 2005-2006
• KAGM-FM Classic Country "The Range" 2006-2009
• KAGM-FM Rhythmic Contemporary "Power 106" 2009-2013
• KDLW Mainstream Top 40 Z106.3 2013-present

Former logo

References

External links

• KDLW Official Website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KDLW
• Radio-Locator information on KDLW
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for KDLW

Coordinates: 34°47′56″N 106°49′01″W / 34.799°N 106.817°W / 34.799; -106.817