KWYE
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2008) |
Hot adult contemporary | |
| Ownership | |
|---|---|
| Owner |
|
| KMGV, KMJ, KMJ-FM, KSKS | |
| History | |
First air date | 1962 (as KCIB-FM at 94.5) |
Former call signs | KCIB-FM (1962–1968) KFIG (1968–1984) KFIG-FM (1984–1992) KSXY (1992–1994) KRBT (1994–1996) KVSR (1996–2003) |
Former frequencies | 94.5 MHz (1962–1973) |
Call sign meaning | The WYE (as in the word Wye) is sounded out from Y |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 18406 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 10,000 watts |
| HAAT | 328 meters |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | y101hits.com |
KWYE (101.1
History
KCIB-FM went on the air in 1962 on 94.5 MHz. It began as a religious FM station, but when the Universal Broadcasting Company acquired it in 1968, it switched KCIB-FM to middle-of-the-road music using the call letters KFIG. KCIB was co-located in Clovis at a site shared with KXQR-FM and KAIL TV 53. In late 1969, the format was changed to an "underground" album rock format patterned after San Francisco's KMPX. KFIG moved to 101.1 in 1973. This format lasted until the late 1970s, when the format was changed to adult contemporary, "Mellow Music". In 1984, the station adopted the "Yes/No Radio" format, where several times a day KFIG would play a song and invite listeners to call in and vote on whether or not KFIG should continue playing that song. After the "Yes/No Radio" format was retired, the station went back to being a regular adult contemporary station.
In September 1992, the callsign was changed to KSXY. Despite the obvious connotation of "Sexy" implied by that callsign, station management initially insisted that they were NOT meaning to imply "Sexy" by that choice of callsign. For about six months, the airstaff read the call letters as K–S (pause) X-Y. After that time, the station nickname was changed to "Sexy 101.1".
"Sexy" lasted until Headliner Broadcasting sold the station to EBE Broadcasting, who owned KNAX and KFRE. In June 1994, the new owners changed the format of KSXY to country. They heralded the format change by playing nothing but Garth Brooks music under the "101.1 K-Garth" name, and then relaunched as "Froggy Country 101.1" KRBT. Froggy Country was a satellite format and did not make much of a ratings impact in the Fresno market.
When the station was sold to
On December 13, 2006, new owners Peak Broadcasting pulled the plug on KWYE's Top 40 format and flipped the station to adult contemporary, billing themselves as the place for "Today's Hits, Yesterday Favorites." The reason for this might have to do with Fresno/Hanford/Visalia radio market already being saturated with two other Top 40s, Rhythmic rivals KBOS-FM and KSEQ. Although KWYE maintained good ratings in the market, it wasn't enough to overtake the Rhythmics, especially in a market with a large Hispanic population.
Recently, KWYE has tweaked its format to include more current hits, dropping the hits from the 1970s from their playlist, and changing their slogan to "80's, 90's, Now." In mid-April 2009, KWYE segued into a
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which
References
- ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Archived from the original on March 1, 2010.
- ^ "KWYE Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-09-20.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Official: Cumulus Buys Dial Global, Spins Some Stations To Townsquare; Peak Stations Sold To Townsquare, Fresno Spun To Cumulus". All Access. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
- ^ "Cumulus Makes Dial Global And Townsquare Deals Official". RadioInsight. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
- ^ "Cumulus-Townsquare-Peak Deal Closes". All Access. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
External links
- KWYE website
- KWYE in the FCC FM station database
- KWYE in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- FCC History Cards for KWYE