KIOI
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: No information is given past the year 2012. (May 2023) |
iHeartMedia, Inc. | |
| KISQ, KKSF, KMEL, KNEW, KOSF, KYLD | |
| History | |
First air date | October 27, 1957 (as KPEN) |
Former call signs | KPEN (1957–1968) |
Call sign meaning | KIOI (frequency is around "101" on an analog tuner) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 34930 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 125,000 watts |
| HAAT | 354 meters (1,161 ft) |
| Repeater(s) | See § FM Boosters |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 1013.iheart.com |
KIOI (101.3
KIOI has an
KPEN
KIOI was first licensed in 1957 as KPEN, licensed to the
KPEN debuted on October 27, 1957, with 1,500 watts from a transmitter located on Kings Mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Unusual for the era, KPEN was not affiliated with any stations on the AM band, which meant it had to have 100% original programming. The station put an emphasis on high audio quality, in contrast to other FM stations that did not take advantage of FM broadcasting capabilities. During the day, KPEN played mostly orchestral pop music, switched to a lighter blend of background "dinner music" in the early evening, then classical music after 8. Eventually Gabbert and Gielow hosted an evening program called Excursions in Sound, which showcased high fidelity recordings and took advantage of the high quality broadcast signal.
Two years after KPEN's successful debut, the transmitter was moved to San Bruno Mountain and power increased to 35,000 watts. Then, on August 14, 1964, power was further increased to 125,000 watts, making it the most powerful signal west of the Mississippi River (it was grandfathered in at that power level by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which capped stations in that part of the country at 50,000 watts).
KPEN became the first station west of the Mississippi to broadcast in
In the 1960s, the station moved studios from Atherton to San Francisco, first in a
By the mid-1960s, KPEN played primarily orchestral and light vocal performances of pop songs and standards, in competition with similar FM station KFOG (owned by Kaiser Broadcasting).
K-101
On December 1, 1968, KPEN changed its callsign to KIOI ("K-101"), considered an innovative matching of call letters to a dial position. Eventually, the station added pop and rock music to its
By 1970, K-101 advertised itself as being at 101 on the FM dial and had the address of 1001 California Street, with zip code 94101.
During the 1970s, Gabbert developed another lasting technological achievement as KIOI became the first station in the country to develop circular polarization, which was a key element to FM reception in automobiles, which used to be difficult. Gabbert also experimented with quadraphonic sound (in association with RKO General's KFMS-FM). By the mid-1970s, Gabbert purchased KSAY, changing its call sign to KIQI. Originally programmed as an oldies station, by the end of the decade, it was flipped to a Spanish language format.
In September 1980, Gabbert sold KIOI to Charter Company for $12.5 million, then the highest price paid for an FM station. He then purchased KEMO-TV (Channel 20) in San Francisco, changing the callsign to KTZO ("TV 20"). Gabbert later returned to local radio when he purchased KHIT-FM, KOFY (1050 AM) and KDIA (1310 AM). KIOI was profitable, however, various management tweaked the format to compete with market leader KOIT at various times, leaning softer-AC, or would lean towards Hot AC, which they retained throughout the 80s. On February 8, 1996, sister station WYNY in New York simulcast KIOI for a day as part of a week-long stunt of simulcasting sister stations nationwide before flipping formats to rhythmic adult contemporary as WKTU.
Star 101.3
During the late 1990s, KIOI was flanked by soft AC
Throughout the changes, local morning host
Since June 30, 2008, afternoon drive has been hosted by the nationally syndicated
In January 2012, Bleu moved over to mornings at sister station KOSF. In June, Frosty Stillwell, formerly of KLSX in Los Angeles, and Sandy Stec, formerly of KEZR in San Jose, were announced as KIOI's new morning hosts. (Frosty would later leave the station and be replaced by Marcus D. Najera, formerly of KLLC.)
Boosters
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT |
Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KIOI-FM1 | 101.3 FM | Walnut Creek, California | 4085 | 150 (Vert.) | 300 m (984 ft) | D | 37°55′58.80″N 122°7′19.20″W / 37.9330000°N 122.1220000°W | LMS | No HD Radio |
| KIOI-FM2 | 101.3 FM | Pleasanton, California | 90740 | 900 (Vert.) | 358 m (1,175 ft) | D | 37°39′32.40″N 121°55′55.20″W / 37.6590000°N 121.9320000°W | LMS | HD Radio |
HD Programming
On January 19, 2006, Star 101.3 began broadcasting on an
The format was later replaced with a
References
- ^ "Login to All Access | Breaking Radio News and Free New Music".
- ^ "Superpower" Grandfathered FM's by D. Smith (retrieved October 11, 2022)
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/KIOI
- ^ "The Short Life of KLX-FM (1948-55)" by John F. Schneider, 2014 (theradiohistorian.org)
- ^ "KLX-FM Oakland, Calif. Now on Air on 101.3 mc" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 24, 1948. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ FCC History Cards for KLX-FM (FCC.gov)
- ^ KPEN 97.7/101.3 FM - Atherton/San Francisco
- ^ "KIOI/San Francisco Goes '80s" (PDF). R&R. November 24, 2000. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ^ Saxe, Frank (May 2001). "Newsline". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 20. p. 78.
- ^ Sullivan, James. "The '80s are so over, on the radio, at least." THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, FINAL ed., sec. SUNDAY DATEBOOK, 16 Dec. 2001, p. 57. NewsBank: Access World News, infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0F0723F786AEB23F. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.
- ^ "HD Radio station guide for San Francisco, CA". Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2016-09-04. HD Radio Guide for San Francisco
External links
- KIOI in the FCC FM station database
- KIOI in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- FCC History Cards for KIOI (covering KPEN / KIOI for 1957–1980)
- List of "grandfathered" FM radio stations in the U.S.