KFMK

KFMK (Spirit 105.9) is an Austin, Texas radio station operating a Contemporary Christian format. It is licensed to Round Rock, Texas with an ERP of 4,500 watts from a transmitter site near West Lake Hills, TX, and is currently owned by CRISTA Media after being owned by Clear Channel Communications and the Aloha Station Trust.^[1][2] Studios are located on Loop 360 in Southwest Austin.

Station history

As "Jammin 105.9"

KFMK was launched in November 1998 as a Rhythmic Oldies-formatted station, after initial stunting as alternative rocker "The Planet 105.9", which began on July 7 of that year. From the inception it played mostly R&B, Classic Soul, Motown, and Disco from the 1960s and 1970s only. In 2003, the station gradually added more songs from the 1980s and 1990s to the playlist, while at the same time having the 60s and 70s R&B in heavy rotation. Even then it occasionally debuted new music, though this was rare in contrast to traditional Urban AC formatted R&B stations. With this approach, KFMK challenged KKMJ (mainstream AC), KAMX (hot AC), and rhythmic KQBT (later KXBT).

Finally in 2006, KFMK revamped the playlist and dropped the 60s and 70s music altogether and instead played more music from the 1980s to present, more along the lines of a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary. This was done to accommodate the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show that aired on KFMK. On October 13, 2006, the station rebranded as "The New Jammin' 105-9" and dropped all on-air personalities, except for Kidd Kraddick in the Morning. Part of the rebranding included former tweaking of the format to one inspired by the "MOViN' format created by Alan Burns & Associates.

In the Fall of 2008, KFMK began playing current Rhythmic fare on weeknights and on weekend afternoons/nights, including current Hip-Hop product, trying to improve ratings. This failed, as the station was ranked #16 overall.

As "105.9 The Beat"

On September 15, 2009, at 5 a.m., after playing "Dance and Shout" by Shaggy, the station stunted for three hours playing rock using "The Planet" moniker (formerly used during its sign on in 1998), then segued into music of other genres, as well as airing "change" soundbites. At 9 a.m., the station officially flipped formats to a hip hop-leaning Rhythmic Contemporary station branded as "105-9 The Beat". The station dropped Kidd Kraddick's morning show, but kept airing Ryan Seacrest, most likely due to a contract issue (this ended on May 19, 2010). This was the fourth incarnation for "The Beat", as the branding originated on KQBT/KXBT (now KLQB) in 1998, before moving to KXBT (now KTXX) in 2007. (It was relaunched under Clear Channel's trademarked banner only a year after KXBT dropped it.)

As "Spirit 105.9"

On May 21, 2010 Clear Channel announced that it planned to move KFMK's Hip Hop format to the 102.3 frequency, where it has better coverage and a more powerful signal, starting May 31. Sister station KPEZ, known as "The River", which resided at the 102.3 frequency, moved its format over to the 105.9 signal.^[3]

On June 9, 2010 it was announced that CRISTA Broadcasting, a division of CRISTA Ministries has reached an agreement to purchase KFMK.^[4][5]

On July 26, 2010, the station changed ownership from Clear Channel Communications to Aloha Trust LLC.^[6]

On September 20, 2010, at 4:20 PM, KFMK fully shifted to a contemporary Christian format and rebranded as "SPIRIT 105.9".

References

External links

• Spirit 105.9 website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KFMK
• Radio-Locator information on KFMK
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for KFMK

Coordinates: 30°19′23″N 97°48′00″W / 30.323°N 97.800°W / 30.323; -97.800