KIRO (AM)
| |
---|---|
Branding | Seattle Sports |
Programming | |
Format | Sports |
Affiliations | |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
KTTH, KIRO-FM | |
History | |
First air date | April 27, 1927 | (as KPCB at 650)
Former call signs | KPCB (1927–1935) |
Former frequencies | 650 kHz (1927–1937) |
Call sign meaning | Sounds like Cairo |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 6362 |
Class | A |
Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°23′55″N 122°26′0″W / 47.39861°N 122.43333°W |
Repeater(s) | 97.3 KIRO-FM HD2 (Tacoma) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | sports |
KIRO (710
KIRO is a
History
650 KPCB (1927 to 1937)
The station began broadcasting on April 27, 1927, as KPCB on 650
710 KIRO (1937 to 1960)
In 1937, KIRO was assigned the
On June 29, 1941, a new, 50,000-watt transmitter on Maury Island became operational. From the 1930s through the 1950s, KIRO recorded countless hours of CBS programming for time-delayed rebroadcast to its Pacific Time Zone listeners. These electrical transcriptions are, in many cases, the only recordings made of World War II-era news coverage over the CBS Network. The discs were donated to the University of Washington in the early 1960s and are now held at the National Archives as the Milo Ryan Phonoarchive Collection.
In 1948, the original KIRO-FM went on the air at 100.7 MHz. It initially
1960 to 1980
Haas sold KIRO to
Morning host
In 1973, KIRO ended a 35-year affiliation with CBS and switched to the
"Newsradio 71 KIRO" debuted in June 1974, with news and talk segments replacing most music programming. In September 1974, KIRO switched affiliations again from Mutual, becoming an NBC Radio Network affiliate, but switched back to CBS in November 1976.[4][5]
1980 to 2008
In 1980, Lloyd Cooney left KIRO to run for the United States Senate. Ken Hatch became President, CEO and Chairman, a position he held until 1995. Under Hatch's leadership, KIRO Inc. acquired KING AM, KING-FM, and Third Avenue Productions. KIRO, Inc. became one of the nation's premier regional broadcast groups, and was led by general manager Joe Abel during this period.[citation needed]
KIRO was a
In 1993, Bonneville attempted to merge the staff of KIRO radio with that of then-sister station KIRO-TV in an attempt at synergy (the staffs merged in June 1992, with KIRO radio's general manager and news director Andy Ludlum at the helm). Dubbed the "KIRO News Network", this meant that KIRO-TV anchors and reporters would be heard on the radio, while KIRO radio personalities would be seen during KIRO-TV newscasts; during this period, KIRO's radio programming originated from a massive newsroom especially constructed for what was called "News Outside the Box", sharing space with their TV co-workers. Local independent station KTZZ (currently KZJO) simulcast KIRO radio in the mornings with cameras mounted in-studio showing the KIRO staffers on-screen during this time.[7] The effort was a failure and was scrapped completely by September of that year.[8][9][10][11]
For 25 years, KIRO's morning news, anchored by Bill Yeend, consistently placed at or near the top of the Seattle
Sports broadcasts
Sports play-by-play has been a staple of the KIRO schedule throughout its history. Since the team's inception in 1976, KIRO has been the
KIRO was also the radio home to popular sportscaster
Dave Ross
Dave Ross joined KIRO as a reporter from
Ross returned to the air immediately following the November election. He was moved to the afternoon drive-time shift in February 2005. Ross moved back to his 9am-noon shift in May 2006. Since January 2012, Ross has hosted Seattle's Morning News from 5-9 a.m. In addition to his KIRO work, Ross does a daily commentary on the CBS Radio Network and is also substituted for Charles Osgood on CBS Radio's "Osgood File" segments.
After selling KIRO-TV to the
Talk on FM, sports on AM
On August 12, 2008, KIRO began simulcasting its programming on sister station KBSG-FM, which dropped its long-running classic hits format. This began the transition of KIRO Newsradio from AM to FM.[14] To complete the transition, KIRO AM switched to a sports radio format, as "710 ESPN Seattle," on April 1, 2009. It regained the rights to broadcast Seattle Mariners games, beginning in the 2009 season.[15] KIRO also simulcasts the Seattle Seahawks games with KIRO-FM, and has extensive team-related programming throughout the year. KIRO-FM continues the news/talk format.[16] In addition, 710 ESPN Seattle is the play-by-play home for the Washington State Cougars college football and basketball broadcasts.
Mike Salk was named Program Director of 710 ESPN Seattle on March 13, 2014, returning to the station after a stint in Boston. Before leaving for Boston, Salk had been a co-host on the station.[17]
On March 7, 2022, KIRO rebranded as "Seattle Sports". The rebranding, which coincided with rival
Locations
- Towers: 47°23′55″N 122°26′0″W / 47.39861°N 122.43333°W, Vashon Island, Washington
- Headquarters: 47°38′8″N 122°19′29″W / 47.63556°N 122.32472°W, Seattle, Washington near <https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bonneville+Seattle/@47.6357055,-122.3274274,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x5490152053d98791:0xba4811b38c4adfae!8m2!3d47.6357051!4d-122.32515> the shore of Lake Union
Notes and references
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/KIRO-AM
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1936 page 92
- ^ Victor Stredicke, "KIRO-AM Becomes Mutual Affiliate," The Seattle Times, March 25, 1973, TV Showtime, p. 23
- ^ Victor Stredicke, "KIRO-AM Becomes N.B.C. Affiliate," The Seattle Times, September 8, 1974, TV Showtime, p. 26.
- ^ Victor Stredicke, "N.B.C. for KIXI; KIRO Reclaims C.B.S.," The Seattle Times, November 28, 1976, TV Showtime, p. 30.
- ^ "Kiro Newsradio 71 Radio Station Commercial (1985)". YouTube.
- ^ "Ktzz-TV To Feature Radio News | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "News In Motion -- Is Kiro's New Format Of Walk-And-Talk Broadcasting Cutting-Edge Television With A Better Brand Of News, Or Just More Theatrics? | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "American Journalism Review - Archives". ajrarchive.org. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "Remembering Seattle's 'news out of the box'". MyNorthwest.com. February 15, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "Seattle Radio History - 710AM (KIRO)". October 13, 2010.
- ^ "710 ESPN Seattle becomes home of XFL Seattle Dragons shows, programming". mynorthwest.com. January 30, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ Virgin, Bill (January 18, 2007). "Entercom trades radio stations". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ Bonneville International (July 30, 2008). "KIRO Radio to begin simulcast on 710 AM and 97.3 FM". Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ Evans, Jayda (November 14, 2008). "Seattle gains a second all-sports radio station". Seattle Times. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ Evans, Jayda (November 12, 2008). "Sources: KIRO-AM to shift to all sports". Seattle Times. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ Henderson, Brady (March 13, 2014). "Mike Salk returning to 710 ESPN Seattle". 710sports.com. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ^ KIRO Rebrands As Seattle Sports Radioinsight - March 7, 2022
External links
- KIRO (Seattle Sports)
- KIRO in the FCC AM station database
- KIRO in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Pictures and information about the KIRO transmitter facility
- FCC History Cards for KIRO