KKDZ

KKDZ
City of license Seattle, Washington
Broadcast area Seattle metropolitan area
Branding Radio Disney AM 1250
Frequency 1250 kHz AM (also on HD Radio)
First air date May 14, 1922
Format Children's
Power 5,000 watts
Class B
Transmitter coordinates 47°33′49″N 122°21′35″W / 47.56361°N 122.35972°W (day)
47°40′23″N 122°10′8″W / 47.67306°N 122.16889°W (night)
Callsign meaning Kid's
DZ=Disney or
Former KIDSTAR children's radio network
Former callsigns KTW
KYAC
KKFX
Affiliations Radio Disney
Owner The Walt Disney Company
(Sale pending)
(RD Seattle Assets, LLC)
Website http://www.radiodisney.com

KKDZ (1250 AM) is a radio station in Seattle, Washington, that serves as the Radio Disney outlet for the Puget Sound region. The ABC O&O operates at 1250 kHz with 5,000 watts full-time.

History

KKDZ is one several AM stations in Seattle that signed on in the 1920s, having debuted on the air on May 14, 1922 as KTW. Originally at 833 kHz, KTW would switch signals to 740 kHz by 1924, 660 kHz by 1925, 760 kHz by 1927, 1270 kHz by 1928, and 1220 kHz by 1931 before moving to its current signal in 1941. Commercial programming would start in 1946.

After KTW was sold in 1964 they would debut a Top 40 format, which lasted only nine months before switching to the "Nashville Sound" a country format. It flipped to News/Talk in 1971. But financial problems would result in the station being sold and a format flip to R&B, along with a call letter change to KYAC in 1975. KYAC moved its format over from 1460.

K-Fox

In 1981 the station was sold to Northstar Broadcasters, and renamed KKFX (K-Fox). VP & General Manager John L. Hawkins implemented "Greatest Hits" music during the day to serve a general audience, a format he had success with at San Francisco station KNEW and others. Because the nighttime radio audience is a different listener profile, in the evenings K-Fox music transitioned to "Night Beat -- The Beat of the Fox", emphasizing R&B and dance music. Night Beat proved so popular that the station evolved to playing it full-time, using the slogan "K-Fox -- Seattle's Hottest Music". The station was known for a howl sound effect dropped between songs (it didn't matter that wolves howl while foxes bark). This format continued with minor variations until KKFX signed-off in March 1993.

Disney

On May 14, 1993 the station returned to the air as KKDZ, where they would serve as the flaghip station for the fledgling KIDSTAR children's radio network. However financial problems would force the station off the air on March 22, 1997. In August of that same year KKDZ returned as an affiliate of Radio Disney, who would later buy the station in 1998 and have owned it ever since.

The cessation of operations of KARR (AM) in February 2014 due to the expiry of the lease on their transmitter site also affected KKDZ, as it used the KARR site for night time operations. KKDZ has filed an STA to run on lower power from their separate daytime transmitter site. [1]

On August 13, 2014, Disney put KKDZ and twenty-two other Radio Disney stations up for sale, in order to focus more on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=49328
  2. ↑ Lafayette, Jon (August 13, 2014). "Exclusive: Radio Disney Moving Off Air to Digital". Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Radio Disney to Sell the Majority of Its Stations". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2014.

External links