KIHT
| City of license | St. Louis, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater St. Louis |
| Branding | KHITS 96 |
| Slogan | KHITS 96.3 Hits of the '70s & '80s |
| Frequency |
96.3 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) 96.3-2 FM Classical "RAF STL" 96.3-3 FM Smooth jazz "Hip 96.3" |
| Translator(s) | 107.3 K297BI (St. Louis, relays HD2) |
| First air date | December 11, 1959 (as KADI at 96.5) |
| Format | Adult Hits |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 313 meters |
| Class | C1 |
| Facility ID | 27022 |
| Callsign meaning | K I H T = Jumbled call letters for KHITS |
| Former callsigns |
KADI (1959-1987) KRJY (1987-1994) |
| Owner | Emmis Communications |
| Webcast |
Listen Live Listen Live (HD2) |
| Website |
k-hits.com rafstl.org (HD2) |
KIHT (96.3 MHz) is an FM radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, branded as "KHITS 96.3 Hits of the '70s & '80s".
Music that is played on this station is classic hits from the 1970s and 1980s, with some occasional 1990s and early 2000s tracks.
KHITS 96 is home to some of St. Louis' most legendary radio announcers, including Rick Sanborn, Todd Morgan, Drew Johnson and Mark Klose.
KHITS 96 has two HD channels. 96.3-HD2 airs a classical music format branded as "RAF STL" (relayed on FM translator K297BI 107.3 FM), while 96.3-HD3 airs a smooth jazz format as "Hip 96.3".
History
The 96.5 frequency originally went on the air on December 11, 1959 as KADI under the ownership of William Cady, making it one of the first commercial FM radio stations in the St. Louis area. KADI spent most of the 1960s on and off the air in the early turbulent days of FM radio. By the early '70s, the station was sold to Richard J. Miller, who would put a Progressive Rock station on the air. In the mid-'70s, KADI moved down one notch on the dial to 96.3 MHz to allow new station KSCF (now known as KFTK) in Florissant to go on the air at 97.1 MHz.
In 1987, the station's call letters were changed to KRJY, and the station switched to a Soft Adult Contemporary format as K-Joy 96 (later J96), and in late-1991 the station switched to '50s/'60s oldies as "Jukebox 96."
In 1993, the station was sold by R.J. Miller to Heritage Broadcasting, who then owned WIL-FM/WRTH-AM, and on St. Patrick's Day of 1994, the station first took on its current call letters and "KHITS 96" identity, first with a format of "The Greatest Hits of the '70s." Heritage's St. Louis properties were sold to Sinclair Broadcasting in the mid-'90s, and Sinclair sold the station to current owner Emmis Communications in 2000.
On-air staff
- Rick Sanborn
- Todd Morgan
- Drew Johnson
- Mark Klose
External links
- RAF - Radio Arts Foundation of St. Louis official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KIHT
- Radio-Locator information on KIHT
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for KIHT
- Query the FCC's FM station database for K297BI
- Radio-Locator information on K297BI
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Coordinates: 38°34′28″N 90°19′32″W / 38.5744°N 90.3255°W