KBAY
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2008) |
Former frequencies | 94.3 MHz (1969–1975) |
|---|---|
Call sign meaning | Bay Area |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 35401 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 44,000 watts |
| HAAT | 158 meters (518 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°12′32″N 121°46′27″W / 37.20889°N 121.77417°W |
| Repeater(s) | 92.1 KKDV (Walnut Creek) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | kbaycountry.com |
KBAY (94.5
KBAY has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 44,000 watts. The transmitter is on a hill in Santa Teresa County Park, near Coyote Peak, south of San Jose.[1]
The station switched to the country format on April 5, 2022, five years after having served as a classic hit station and in various other formats previously since going on the air in 1970.
94.5 FM history
The facility went on the air in 1970 as KPER-FM at 94.3. The station broadcast in Gilroy with 3,000 watts and was co-owned with
Harvey Levin, the majority owner of KFAT-Levin Radio, died of cancer in May 1982 at the age of 38,
On March 4, 1991, after stunting for three days with a loop of "
KBAY radio history
The KBAY call letters were originally assigned to a UHF television station (Channel 20), based in
KBAY (then at 100.3 FM), which began broadcasting on 104.5 MHz in the 1950s, rose to become the market leader in San Jose and enjoyed a sizable listenership in both the San Jose and San Francisco markets throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Its easy listening format gave way to light jazz instrumentals, and by the early 1990s, pop music was introduced. The Snell family guided the station and its sister station KEEN Country 1370 AM through the decades as United Broadcasting.
The Snells sold their two properties in 1997, and KBAY became a part of the American Radio Systems group, which included KKSJ (the former KEEN), KUFX, and KSJO. Shortly thereafter, a three-way swap of frequencies landed KBAY at 94.5 FM. KBAY then became known as "The Bay" for a couple of years. American Radio Systems sold KBAY to Infinity/CBS in 1999. In the early 2000s, the KBAY identity was replaced by B-94.5, "The Bee". This was an attempt to distance the station from the perceived "stigma" of its earlier life as an "elevator music" station. In September 2003, KBAY's owner CBS-Infinity Radio removed its "World Music" format, called "The Wave", from its 93.3 MHz frequency in order for KBAY to simulcast on it. Infinity moved the KBAY studios to San Francisco and 94.5 became legally identified as KBAA. The simulcast experiment lasted only a year much to the relief of its staff, largely from the South Bay. 93.3 was sold and became KRZZ with a Regional Mexican music format, and the KBAY call letters returned to 94.5. CBS-Infinity Radio sold KBAY and its sister station KEZR to NextMedia Group in 2005. Effective February 10, 2014, KBAY, KEZR, and the 31 other NextMedia radio stations nationwide became part of a new broadcasting group headed by Dean Goodman called Digity LLC, an affiliate of Palm Beach Broadcasting, LLC, for a purchase price of $85 million. The company ran about 60 locally programmed stations.
Effective from February 25, 2016, Digity, LLC and its 124 radio stations were acquired by Alpha Media for $264 million.
On December 16, 2016, "Sam and Lissa in the Morning" ended its run on KBAY, as Sam Van Zandt retired, and Lissa Kreisler was let to go from the station. Van Zandt had worked in radio for 50 years, and Kreisler had worked at KBAY for 29 years. The dismissal of Kreisler was much to the disapproval of listeners, and she even stated that she "wanted a few more years." The year 2016 also saw Dana Jang, KBAY program director since 2005, depart, and Ronnie Stanton, who had last worked as program director at Vancouver's CFOX-FM, take over; evening host Nicci Ross also departed the station at the same time and moved to rival KISQ. The changes came as KBAY was facing increasing competition from KOIT and KISQ in the San Francisco market. The two San Francisco stations also appear in San Jose's ratings.
During December 2016, KBAY began running liners promoting "one last present" from the station, to come at 5 p.m. on Christmas Day. Alpha Media announced on December 21 that KBAY would end its adult contemporary format after over 20 years and flip to classic hits as 94.5 Bay FM at that time.[6][7]
In 2018, veteran programmer Dave Numme was appointed Program Director/Content Director for KBAY and its sister station KEZR. About the same time, the stations' studios were moved from downtown San Jose after 20 years to a South San Jose business park. Under Numme's leadership, ratings for "Bay FM" have consistently been number one in San Jose, as well as at the top of San Francisco's ratings for key demographics and dayparts. His on-air staff consists of Bruce Scott in mornings, longtime midday host Jona Denz-Hamilton, and Danny Miller in afternoons.[8] Miller is also a public address announcer for the San Jose Sharks, San Jose Earthquakes and San Francisco 49ers.
In the spring of 2021, KBAY changed its slogan to "The '80s and More" and began to add more '90s songs back to its playlist. New voice imaging was introduced along with the change. KBAY brought back Christmas music for the Holiday season after a 3-year hiatus, in December 2021, dubbing it "94.5 K-Sleigh" for the season, then returned to its Classic Hits format at 9 p.m. on December 25, with the first song being "Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart. The music was updated to focus on '80s and '90s hits, with a decreased emphasis on 1970s era songs.[9]
On April 5, 2022, at 3 p.m., after playing "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears, KBAY flipped to a country format as Bay Country, dropping live local personalities Bruce Scott mornings and Jona Denz-Hamilton, double-decade midday host. The move came ahead of the sale of KRTY to the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), which resulted in the replacement of its long-time country format with one of its Christian radio networks. The station has been simulcasting on KKDV to cover the Oakland and Berkeley areas since April 6, 2022.[10] The first song on "Bay Country" was "What's Your Country Song" by Thomas Rhett.
From July 28–30, 2023, the station stunted with all-Taylor Swift music as "Tay Bay", in honor of the local dates on The Eras Tour at Levi's Stadium.[11][12][13]
References
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/KBAY
- ^ "FM Broadcast Stations, Table of Assignments, Gilroy, Ca" (PDF). Federal Register. April 9, 1974. p. 12872. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ Beitiks, Edvins (January 9, 1983). "KFAT gets the KWSS of death". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ Beitiks, Edvins (January 18, 1983). "Is there life after KFAT? Time will tell". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1991/RR-1991-03-08.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ KBAY San Jose To Flip To Classic Hits
- ^ KBAY Becomes 94.5 Bay FM
- ^ "Danny Miller Rises to Afternoon Host at KBAY". 20 May 2021.
- ^ KBAY Returns to San Jose
- ^ "Country To Remain In Bay Area As KBAY And KKDV Become Bay Country". RadioInsight. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
- ^ "KBAY To Go All Taylor Swift This Weekend". RadioInsight. 2023-07-19. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "KSON Is Now 'George-FM'". All Access. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
- ^ "KBAY/KKDV (Bay Country 94.5/92.1)/San Jose To Transform Into 'Tay Bay' For Taylor Swift Shows". All Access. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
External links
- Bay Country 94.5 website
- KBAY in the FCC FM station database
- KBAY in Nielsen Audio's FM station database