KBKS-FM

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KBKS-FM
History
First air date
May 1959; 65 years ago (1959-05)
Former call signs
  • KLAY-FM (1959–1980)
  • KRPM-FM (1980–1981)
  • KRPM (1981–1986)
  • KRPM-FM (1986–1995)
  • KCIN-FM (1995–1996)
  • KRPM-FM (1996)
  • KBKS (1996–2004)
Former frequencies
106.3 MHz (1959–1961)
Call sign meaning
"Kiss" (former branding)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID27020
ClassC
ERP73,000 watts
HAAT698 meters (2,290 feet)
Transmitter coordinates
47°30′16.7″N 121°58′7.8″W / 47.504639°N 121.968833°W / 47.504639; -121.968833
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
HD2: Listen Live
Websitehits1061seattle.iheart.com

KBKS-FM (106.1

Issaquah.[3]

KBKS is the flagship station of the syndicated morning show The Jubal Show.

History

Beautiful music (1959–1972)

The station

signed on the air in May 1959 as KLAY-FM.[4] It was originally on 106.3 MHz, with an effective radiated power of 830 watts. KLAY-FM was owned by Clay Huntington and aired a beautiful music format, playing 15-minute music sweeps of mostly instrumental cover versions of pop songs, Broadway and Hollywood showtunes. KLAY-FM was the first FM station in the Pacific Northwest
broadcasting in stereo.

In 1961, the station moved to 106.1 MHz, its current frequency, and increased power to 25,000 watts. With a tower 700 feet tall, the station was still limited to the area around Tacoma and not the larger Seattle

radio market
. (The transmitter would be moved to Tiger Mountain in 1980.)

Progressive rock (1972–1980)

On May 1, 1972, KLAY-FM began airing a progressive rock format during the evening and overnight hours, with the beautiful music format remaining in other dayparts. By October 1972, the rock format was airing full-time. Several famous Seattle radio personalities got their start here during this time period.

Country (1980–1996)

In March 1980, the station was sold to Ray Court. The station then flipped to

Yakima; in 1998, the program became nationally syndicated as The Lia Show, running until 2022.[9]

In the Spring of 1996, shortly after the passage of the

Infinity Broadcasting two weeks prior, which then lead to the end of the country format on KCIN and KRPM.[10]

On March 18, 1996, KCIN/KRPM dropped regular programming and began simulcasting KMPS for four days, then began simulcasting KYCW for two days. At Midnight on March 24, KCIN/KRPM began a 39-hour stunt with random audio soundbites, while announcing a change to come the following afternoon.

Rhythmic AC (1996–1997)

On March 25, 1996, at 3 p.m., KCIN/KRPM flipped to a gold-leaning

Rhythmic Adult Contemporary format, branded as "Kiss 106."[11][12][13] KCIN reacquired the KRPM-FM call sign on April 5, but would adopt the KBKS call letters on April 15, with the -FM suffix being added on January 12, 2004. (KRPM AM continued to simulcast until February 1, 1999, when it flipped to classic country
.)

KBKS's

KUBE, KLSY, and KPLZ-FM.[14]

Top 40 (1997–2016)

On May 23, 1997, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, KBKS flipped to

Hot AC three years prior. The Rhythmic AC format later returned to Seattle radio on KQMV from 2006-2010, and KMTT
in 2013.

EZ and

Infinity Broadcasting name, which would be renamed CBS Radio
in December 2005.

At first, KBKS' direction leaned more towards

Rhythmic Top 40
direction. KBKS became more mainstream in early 2000. In 2007, at the same time the station rebranded to "106.1 KISS FM," the station began leaning more rhythmic, in the hopes of denting KUBE's dominant ratings in the Seattle Top 40 battle.

Sale to Clear Channel

Former KBKS logo (2007–2011); also with "Seattle's#1 Hit Music Station" as slogan (2011–2012)

On December 10, 2008,

Clear Channel Communications while trading two stations in Houston, Texas. The deal was approved by the FCC on March 31, 2009, and consummated on April 1.[18]
Under Clear Channel, now iHeartMedia, the station backed off of its rhythmic lean and returned to a more mainstream direction.

The acquisition by Clear Channel joined KBKS with former long-time rival

KNUC and later to adult album alternative as KPNW-FM
.)

Hot AC (2016–2018)

KBKS logo, 2011-2018 (also with purple and gray lettering from 2018-2020)

As part of a major format shuffle involving four of iHeartMedia's Seattle stations, on January 19, 2016, at noon, KBKS's top 40 format moved to 93.3 FM (as KPWK, "Power 93.3"), displacing KUBE's rhythmic top 40 format (which moved to co-owned

KYNW, which flipped to alternative (then, after a sale to Bustos Media in 2019, Regional Mexican).[19][20][21][22]
Bender & Molly remained in mornings, with midday host Karen Wild and afternoon host Eric Tyler being let go as part of the change.

Top 40 (2018–present)

On May 3, 2018, at 3:00 p.m., concurrent with the revival of the rhythmic format and KUBE branding on 93.3, KBKS reverted to its previous mainstream Top 40/CHR format.[23] Despite this, ratings remained rather low; the station registered a 2.2 share in the October 2018 Nielsen Audio ratings, down from a 3.2 in September, and trailing KQMV's 6.8 share by a significant margin.[24]

On October 24, 2018, KBKS dropped all of its on-air personalities, and began to run promos hinting at the end of the Kiss format. The next day, the station began a stunt in which songs were periodically interrupted by a demonic voice saying "Kiss is dead", along with airing songs with various sound effects added. On October 29, the station also began promoting an impending announcement on October 31 at 4:00 p.m. At that time, the station ran an announcement by iHeartMedia's regional president Robert Dove, saying the company was in the process of revamping KBKS to create a station "that is real, connected to the community, positive, and proud to live in Seattle". KBKS retained its existing format and Kiss FM branding. The station also announced that it would hold a contest to find new co-hosts for its morning show, explaining the prior stunt by stating that Kiss was "dead serious" about finding "Seattle's Funniest Person". The station solicited nominations for this title from listeners, with a chance to win $10,000 if someone is hired based on their suggestion. This came as longtime host Bender Cunningham was let go after nearly 18 years.[25][26][27]

On November 12, 2018, The Carla Marie & Anthony Show (which originated with KPWK's CHR format)[28] premiered as KBKS's new morning show.[29] The attempts at retooling did little to improve KBKS's ratings, only increasing by a single tenth of a share by February 2019. In March 2019, Amber Cole (from WEBG Chicago) and Evan Omelia were announced as the winners of the aforementioned "Seattle's Funniest Person" contest, and joined the morning show as co-hosts on April 1.[30][31]

The Jubal Show, Hits 106.1 (2020–present)

On July 26, 2020, Carla Marie and Anthony announced their departure from the station.[32] The next day, KBKS announced that Jubal Fresh, formerly the co-host of KQMV's nationally-syndicated morning show Brooke & Jubal in the Morning, would host mornings on the station beginning in August. It marked Jubal's return to KBKS, as he had previously been involved in the station's previous Jackie & Bender show.[33][34]

To promote the launch of the new morning show, KBKS temporarily rebranded as Jubal 106.1 on August 3, 2020.

syndicate The Jubal Show via Premiere Networks in October.[37][38]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KBKS-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "KBKS-FM - FM Station Profile - FCC Public Inspection Files". publicfiles.fcc.gov.
  3. ^ "KBKS-FM 106.1 MHz - Tacoma, WA". radio-locator.com.
  4. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1960 page A-249
  5. ^ "MEDIATRIX MARKET PROFILE SEATTLE VOLUME 1 NUMBER 9" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com.
  6. ^ "1984 KRPM FM106 "People who listen to country music are real people" Seattle Local TV Commercial" – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "KRPM Country Radio Commercial (1987)" – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "K106 FM Seattle - 1991" – via YouTube.
  9. ^ "Westwood One's The Lia Show & Later With Lia To End Production - RadioInsight". December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Radio & Records, March 22, 1996" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com.
  11. ^ community.seattletimes.nwsource.com [dead link‍]
  12. ^ "Country K106, popular DJ Ichabod Caine off air in format switch". web.kitsapsun.com.
  13. ^ "Radio & Records, March 29, 1996" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com.
  14. ^ baysadaye (November 12, 2008). "1996 KISS 106 Seattle". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Entertainment & the Arts - Kiss The Rhythm Goodbye: Top 40 Is On 106.1 Fm - Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com.
  16. ^ "KISS-FM 106.1 Seattle Commercial". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ "Radio & Records, September 26, 1997" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com.
  18. ^ CBS RADIO Completes Deal to Swap Five Mid-Size Market Stations for Two Large Market Stations With Clear Channel Communications
  19. ^ "iHeart Shuffles Four Seattle/Tacoma Stations". RadioInsight. January 19, 2016.
  20. ^ "iHeartMedia/Seattle Revamps Formats At Four Stations". All Access. January 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016.
  21. ^ "iHeart Makes Major Seattle Signal Shifts". InsideRadio. January 20, 2016.
  22. ^ "Causes And Effects Of iHeart's Seattle Shuffle". RadioInsight.
  23. ^ "KUBE 93.3 Returns In Seattle". RadioInsight. May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  24. ^ "Movin' 92.5 Leads Seattle's Aug. PPM's, News/Talk Takes Next Two Spots". September 5, 2018.
  25. ^ "106.1 Kiss-FM Seattle Relaunches Dead Serious About Finding New Morning Host". RadioInsight. October 31, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  26. ^ "KBKS (106.1 Kiss FM)/Seattle Jockless And Stunting". All Access. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  27. ^ "KBKS/Seattle Goes Under Construction, Calls Out For New On-Air Talent". All Access. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  28. ^ "Carla Marie & Anthony Move To KBKS For Nights". RadioInsight. May 20, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  29. ^ "Carla Marie & Anthony Introduced As Morning Team On KBKS (106.1 Kiss FM)/Seattle". All Access. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  30. ^ "KBKS Officially Announces New Additions To Carla Marie & Anthony Show And Winner Of Referral Contest". RadioInsight. March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  31. ^ "KBKS Officially Announces New Additions To Carla Marie & Anthony Show And Winner Of Referral Contest". RadioInsight. April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  32. ^ "Carla Marie & Anthony Depart 106.1 Kiss-FM Seattle". RadioInsight. July 26, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  33. ^ "Jubal Joins 106.1 Kiss-FM Seattle For Mornings". RadioInsight. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  34. ^ "Jubal Lands in Seattle". Radio Ink. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  35. ^ "KBKS Drop Kiss-FM Branding; Stunting As Jubal 106.1 In Preparation Of Morning Show Launch". RadioInsight. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  36. ^ "KBKS Becomes Hits 106.1 As Jubal Show Launches". RadioInsight. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  37. ^ "Jubal Sues Hubbard For Wrongful Termination". RadioInsight. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  38. ^ "Hits 106.1 • Home of The Jubal Show" – via YouTube.
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