KZPT
 | |
| City of license | Kansas City, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Kansas City, MO-KS |
| Branding | 99-7 The Point |
| Frequency | 99.7 MHz |
| First air date | October 1962 (as KMBC-FM) |
| Format | Hot AC |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 335 meters |
| Class | C0 |
| Facility ID | 6379 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°01′20.00″N 94°30′49.00″W / 39.0222222°N 94.5136111°W |
| Callsign meaning | KanZas (uses Z instead of S) PoinT |
| Former callsigns |
KMBC-FM (1962-1967) KMBR (1967-1991) KLTH (1991-1998) KYYS (1998-2008) KBLV (2008-2009) KKSN (2009-2010) KGEX (2010-2011) |
| Owner |
Entercom (Entercom Kansas City License, LLC) |
| Sister stations | KCSP, KMBZ, KMBZ-FM KRBZ, KQRC, KUDL, WDAF-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 997thepoint.com |
KZPT (99.7 FM, "99-7 The Point") is an American radio station broadcasting a Hot AC format. It is licensed to and serves the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1962 under the call sign KMBC-FM. The station is currently owned by Entercom, which lists the station as an AC on its website.
History
Early years
99.7 FM's roots go back to an experimental station, W9XER, which likely broadcast between 42 and 47 mHz. KMBC-FM signed on as a commercial station in 1944. In 1946, it moved to 97.9 FM. For two more years, KMBC-FM broadcast on 100.5 FM. Metromedia signed on the station at its permanent 99.7 FM location on October 15, 1962 with middle of the road music. KMBC-FM broadcast at 4,300 watts, but upgraded to 98,000 watts in 1966. Bonneville bought the station in 1967 and requested new call letters to separate the station from its original AM and TV counterparts. That became reality on July 18, 1966, when the station changed call letters to KMBR, and began airing an easy listening format. KMBR was a steady presence in the market, lasting for around 25 years.
In May 1991, the station updated its format to adult contemporary, as well as its imaging, calling itself "Lite 99.7". The KLTH call letters moved over to Kansas City from St. Louis on October 16, 1991. KLTH and KUDL battled for years, but one was never really dominating the other. By 1997, both were under the same owner, Entercom, and one had to go. Originally, KLTH was going to flip to Modern AC as "Alice", but KOZN beat them to it.
Revival of KY
On October 20, 1997, after playing "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg, KLTH flipped to classic rock, branded as "99-7 KY", picking up the former "KY" moniker, most of their former airstaff, and, on January 23, 1998, the KYYS call letters, all from the original KYYS on 102.1 FM (now KCKC), which flipped to KOZN on September 18. The first song on the revival of "KY" was "Back In Black" by AC/DC. In addition to playing a lot of music associated with the old KYYS, the station also played a few new songs from old artists. In addition, the station competed with classic rocker KCFX. KYYS came very close to acquiring the Kansas City Chiefs broadcast rights from KCFX; however, Entercom had too much of the total market revenue to acquire those rights. In September 2005, KYYS changed slogans to "Everything That Rocks," exactly the slogan of KCXM at the time, and altered the playlist to include more 1980s hard rock. KYYS started airing the syndicated "Nights with Alice Cooper" in 2006. However, this format altering led to a decline in ratings, resulting in many listeners jumping ship to KCFX.
Death of KY; subsequent formats
With ratings on the decline, and failing to effectively compete against KCFX, KYYS was ended for a second time. The day after the dismissal of the entire KY airstaff, on January 11, 2008, at 1 PM, after playing "In The Dark" by Billy Squier, KYYS flipped to a gold-based AAA format, branded as "99-7 the Boulevard." The first song on "The Boulevard" was "The Boulevard" by Jackson Browne. On January 18, 2008, KYYS changed call letters to KBLV. (At the same time, the KYYS call letters were warehoused at 1250 AM, which airs a Regional Mexican format.) The station was mostly automated during this time. Ratings for the station sunk even further.
367 days later, on January 13, 2009, at 3 PM, after playing "Touch Me" by The Doors, KBLV began stunting with all-American Idol contestant music. One hour later, the station flipped to Hot AC, branded as "99-7 Kiss FM."[1]The first song on "Kiss" was "Light On" by American Idol winner and Blue Springs native David Cook. On January 20, 2009, KBLV changed its call letters to KKSN. KKSN was the second station in Kansas City to use the "Kiss" moniker; 107.3 FM was branded as "Kiss FM" when it aired Top 40 (1993-1994) and modern rock formats (1995-1996) (it is now Urban AC as KMJK). Almost all of the station's programming was syndicated: Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, On-Air with Ryan Seacrest in afternoons, and Kim Iverson at night. With the exception of Michelle Nichols in middays from March to June, middays were jockless. Kelly Urich, longtime personality at rival KMXV, joined the station in afternoons on November 9 as the station's only local talent, moving Seacrest to middays. Ratings improved slightly when the station flipped to "Kiss", but still remained near the middle or bottom of Kansas City Arbitron ratings reports.
At 10 AM on April 16, 2010, after Kraddick's show (and after playing "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga), KKSN rebranded as "Gen X Radio 99-7 Kiss FM". [2]The first song on "Gen X" was "To Be With You" by Mr. Big. KKSN dropped Kraddick and Iverson from the lineup at this time, with Seacrest remaining as the lone syndicated holdover from the previous format. On May 27, the station dropped "Kiss FM" from their branding, now being named "Gen X Radio 99-7." The station changed call letters to KGEX on June 1. During its time as "Gen X", the station added a full-time local airstaff. Throughout its time as "Gen X", ratings for the station remained anemic.
99-7 The Point
On March 23, 2011, at Noon, after playing "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day, KGEX flipped back to adult contemporary, this time branded as "99-7 The Point." The first song on "The Point" was "Get The Party Started" by P!nk. The new format was designed to combine the audience split between KGEX, KUDL and KCKC. It was also designed to replace KUDL, as that station announced it would flip from its 34-year old adult contemporary format to become a simulcast of KMBZ (AM).[3] On March 28, KUDL began simulcasting KGEX as part of a transition period to shift KUDL's audience over to the new format. On March 30, 2011, the simulcast between the two stations ended; on the same day, KGEX changed their call letters to the current KZPT. KZPT's staff, in the beginning, included Urich (moved from afternoons) in morning drive, Tony Lorino in middays (Seacrest's show was dropped with the flip to "The Point"), Tanna Guthrie (formerly of KYYS and KUDL) in afternoons, and Matt Gapske at night. By the Fall of 2011, the station shifted back to Hot AC, as the station added more current music. Ratings for the station have since improved, with KZPT usually holding a 4 share of the market (#10).
Programming
The current programming schedule is:[4]
Monday through Friday[4]
- 5 – 9A: Kelly Urich & Brian the Intern
- 9 – 2P: Nycki Pace
- 2 – 7P: Tony Lorino
- 7 – Midnight: DJ Kirby
Saturday[4]
- 6 – 9A: Brian the Intern
- 9 – 2P: Tony Lorino
- 2 – 7P: Brady Goodman
- 7 – Midnight: Point Music
Sunday[4]
- 6 – 9A: Brian the Intern
- 9 – 2P: Nycki Pace
- 2 – 7P: Brady Goodman
- 7 – Midnight: Point Music
References
External links
- Official Website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KZPT
- Radio-Locator information on KZPT
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for KZPT
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