KZON
Simulcasting Rhythmic Contemporary) | |
---|---|
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
KKFR, KMVA, KOAI | |
History | |
First air date | February 25, 1981 (as KQEZ) |
Former call signs | KQEZ (1981–1993) KAZR (1993–1995) KBZR (1995–1997) KPTY (1997–2001) KEDJ (2001–2010) KEXX (2010–2016) |
Call sign meaning | AriZONa |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 54944 |
Class | C1 |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 189 meters (620 ft) |
Translator(s) |
|
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live (may be restricted) |
Website | hot975hot1039 |
KZON (103.9
KZON is a
History
Country (1981–1993)
The station
In 1991, original owner Larry E. Salsburey sold the station to Scott Christianson's Chriscom. KQEZ, however, fell on financial hard times in the early 1990s. In September 1992, KQEZ's disc jockeys informed listeners that they had not been paid in a month; at that time, owner Christianson said he could not pay workers because of $200,000 in debt. In April 1993, the station went off the air altogether.[5]
Classic rock (1993–1995)
Two months later, the station was sold to J.M. Wolz, the first of three license transfers in a year. Wolz put the station back on the air with a classic rock format as KAZR. A signal upgrade followed providing the southern sections of the Phoenix area with a clear signal.
Rock/top 40 hybrid (1995–1996)
On March 20, 1995,[6] the format was flipped to a modern rock/top 40 hybrid branded as “The Blaze.” A change of call letters to KBZR followed the change of format.
Rhythmic oldies (1996)
In the spring of 1996, the station began moving its transmitter closer to Phoenix. At the same time, the station began a 6-month
Hip-hop (1996–2001)
On October 30, 1996, at 3:30 p.m., the station completed its upgrade, and the station once again began stunting, this time with people chanting "Party! Party! Party!" for several hours which ended with a sound of a record scratching and a male announcer saying "Arizona's Party Station" in reverse, which led to its new name and slogan, and the station flipped to a
In 1998, KPTY evolved to a hybrid hip-hop/
Alternative (2001–2012)
In October 2001, the station's owners were persuaded by the staff of the
In April 2008, the morning show "The Morning Ritual" was dropped in place of the
In July 2009, the station relaunched as "FM/1039...Where Music Matters." FM/1039 Launched under then-Program Director Tim Virgin. That same month, Virgin left to do Afternoons at
On January 8, 2010, the "FM 103/9" branding was changed to "X 103-9...Alternative Rock Now." On February 2, 2010, under the direction of Program Director Marc Young, the station's call letters were changed from KEDJ to KEXX to align with the "X 103.9" branding.
Classic rock (2012)
On January 12, 2012 at 6AM, the station shifted its alternative rock format for a hybrid mix that included classic rock artists, rebranding under the name "My 103.9." "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode was the last song under their alternative rock format; the first song under the readjusted format was "It's My Life" by Talk Talk.
Hot adult contemporary (2012–2022)
As of June 2012, the station shifted to a
On December 27, 2013, Trumper Communications and Riviera Broadcasting Group announced that they would merge their Adult Top 40 outlets into one simulcast, with
On April 9, 2015, its HD2 digital subchannel became the high definition simulcast of
On June 20, 2016, KEXX changed its call letters to KZON, taking over the call sign from 101.5 FM which changed their callsign to KALV-FM earlier that month.
Rhythmic (since 2022)
On June 17, 2022, at noon, KZON and KMVA shifted to rhythmic hot AC, keeping the "Hot" branding and adopting the "Rhythm of the Valley" positioner, with the first song being "Hot in Herre" by Nelly.[7]
Previous logo
References
- ^ FCC.gov/KZON
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/KZON
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1982 page C-11
- ^ Wilkinson, Bud (February 25, 1981). "KUPD fires program director and brings in radio consultant". Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Newberg, Julie (April 17, 1993). "DJ too obnoxious? Fire back at station in a number of ways". Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Newberg, Julie (March 13, 1995). "Shock jock Stern has Valley deejays talking". Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Hot 97.5/103.9 Phoenix Relaunches as the Rhythm of the Valley Radioinsight - June 17, 2022
External links
- Official website
- KZON in the FCC FM station database
- KZON in Nielsen Audio's FM station database