KZZP

KZZP
City of license Mesa, Arizona
Broadcast area Phoenix, Arizona
Branding "104.7 KISS-FM"
Slogan "All The Hits!"
"The Valley's Number 1 Hit Music Station!"
Frequency 104.7 MHz (also on HD Radio)104.7HD2 The Hot Spot
First air date 1950 (as KTYL-FM)
Format Top 40 (CHR)
HD2: Pride Radio
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 472.0 meters (1,548.6 ft)
Class C
Facility ID 47742
Callsign meaning KiZZ fm Phoenix.
Former callsigns KTYL-FM (1950-1958)
KBUZ-FM (1958-1976)
KIOG (1976-1980)
KZZP-FM (1980-1991)
KVRY (1991-1996)
Owner iHeartMedia, Inc.
Sister stations KESZ, KFYI, KGME, KMXP, KNIX, KOY, KYOT
Webcast Listen Live
Website 1047kissfm.com

KZZP (104.7 FM) - currently branded as 104.7 KISS-FM - is a Top 40 (CHR) radio outlet serving the Phoenix, Arizona area. The iHeartMedia, Inc. station broadcasts at 104.7 MHz with an Effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 kW and is licensed in Mesa, Arizona. Due to its 100 kW signal from South Mountain, the station can be easily picked up in most parts of Tucson. The station plays a large variety of hip-hop, pop and rock tracks, as well as the flagship station of the syndicated "Johnjay and Rich in the Morning" show. Its studios are located in Phoenix near Sky Harbor Airport and its transmitter is in South Mountain Park.

History

Early years

104.7 FM originally signed on the air in 1950 as KTYL-FM (calls now used by a station in Tyler, Texas), co-owned with 1310 AM in Mesa. It later became KBUZ-FM with a beautiful music format. In 1976, the station changed its call letters to KIOG and aired a soft rock format. Western Cities Broadcasting purchased KIOG in 1980 and flipped it to a Top 40 format as KZZP, with personalities like Jonathon Brandmeier, Jimmy Kimmel, Dave Otto, Kevin Ryder of Kevin and Bean fame, and Steve Goddard. The station was then known as "104 KZZP."

Brandmeier, better known to everyone as Johnny B., later made a huge name for himself in Chicago at WLUP-FM. His show on KZZP featured prank phone calls, parody songs which Brandmeier himself usually wrote, sang and recorded, and a cast of regular characters. When Brandmeier went to Chicago's WLUP, Western Cities won an injunction to keep him off the air in that market until his contract with KZZP had officially expired. As of July 2012, Brandmeier hosts mornings on Chicago's WGWG-LP for a reported seven-figure salary.

KZZP, also known as "Hitmusic 104" in their early days, enjoyed a spectacular run from 1985 until early 1990 as one of America's leading CHR stations, led by program director Guy Zapoleon and owned by Nationwide Communications. During Zapoleon's era, the station played mass appeal hits along with some adventurous dance and alternative releases. Zapoleon hired morning man Bruce Kelly from Boston in July 1985.

In addition to Brandmeier, KZZP also produced a long list of future stars in the radio business, including Valerie Knight, Kevin Weatherly, Gene Baxter, Todd Fisher, Clarke Ingram, Nick Sommers, Michelle Santosuosso, Bill "Stu" Stewart, Carey Edwards, Kent Voss, William "Buddy" LaTour, Mike Elliot, John O'Rourke, Susan Karis, and Dave Ryan.

In December 1989, Bruce Kelly signed a five-year contract with the station, but was fired weeks later. He sued for wrongful termination and won; years later, Bruce went to KKFR and teamed up with former WLUP/Chicago DJ Maggie Brock to host KKFR's "Bruce And Maggie In The Morning."

KZZP, like most Top 40 stations in the country in the late 1980s and early 1990s, struggled to adjust to changing times, as the station went through numerous personality and personnel changes. In addition, music tastes among their target audience began changing during that time.

KVRY (1991–96)

Variety 104.7

On April 28, 1991, after playing "Funeral For a Friend" by Elton John, KZZP began stunting with a ticking clock. Two days later on April 30, KZZP flipped to Hot Adult Contemporary, branded as "Variety 104.7." The KZZP calls were retired for KVRY at the time of the flip. The first song on "Variety" was "Roll With It" by Steve Winwood.

Return to KZZP (1996–present)

KZZP 104.7, and 104.7 ZZP

On April 1, 1996, KVRY returned to KZZP, though with a Modern AC format, and the "104.7 KZZP" moniker, making an attempt to capture the audience that grew up listening to the original incarnation. Brandmeier made a brief return, via syndication, in mornings, in 1996, but to no ratings success. The station returned to #1 in the ratings for a couple of periods during the time. Jacor bought Nationwide's radio stations, including KZZP, in 1997. Bruce Kelly returned in August 1998 for a brief run in mornings. In February 1999, due to competition from the similarly-formatted KMXP (which became its sister station at the time of the Jacor-Nationwide merger) and losing most of its audience to the new station, KZZP began evolving back to Mainstream Top 40 by including more rhythmic and upbeat tracks in its playlist; the shift would be completed that April. In June 1999, KZZP would rebrand as "104-7 ZZP." The station made even more changes, including airstaff (the station briefly aired Rick Dees in syndication for a few months in 2000) and playlist direction. With all of these changes, however, KZZP was continually ranked in the mid-2 to low-3 share range of the market.

104.7 KISS-FM (2001-present)

On April 20, 2001, at 6 PM, after playing "Higher" by Creed, KZZP began stunting with a 3-day loop of Prince's song Kiss. At Noon on April 23, the station relaunched as "104.7 KISS-FM", featuring an introduction from Destiny's Child, whose song Survivor was the first song played. [1] By this time, Jacor had been merged into its current owners, iHeartMedia (then known as Clear Channel Communications). KZZP, under Clear Channel and PD Tom Caloccoci, went into a Rhythmic-leaning Top 40 direction that included some dance crossovers. Although they would broaden up to include mainstream Pop product by 2004, KZZP's playlist still leaned heavily towards Rhythmic, similar to many Top 40 stations in large cities, as their playlist is less rhythmic-leaning, though they still add more rhythmic tracks than the usual CHR.

Competition-wise, KZZP is also one of four Top 40 stations battling for listeners in the Phoenix market, the other three being rhythmic rivals KKFR, KNRJ and KZON, as well as the mainstream Top 40 simulcast of KMVA/KEXX.

HD radio

KZZP's HD Radio signal is multiplexed. The main signal is a simulcast of KZZP's Top 40 programming. The second channel carries The Hot Spot, a pop and new music format which is heard on several other Kiss stations across the United States.

References

  1. ↑

External links

Coordinates: 33°20′02″N 112°03′36″W / 33.334°N 112.060°W