 | |
| Broadcast area | Seattle metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 106.1MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Hits 106.1 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Subchannels | HD2:Pride Radio |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KHHO,KJAQ,KJEB,KJR,KJR-FM,KPTR,KZOK-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | May 1959; 66 years ago (1959-05) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 106.3 MHz (1959–1961) |
Call sign meaning | "Kiss" (former branding) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 27020 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 73,000 watts |
| HAAT | 698 meters (2,290 feet) |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°30′16.7″N121°58′7.8″W / 47.504639°N 121.968833°W /47.504639; -121.968833 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live HD2:Listen Live |
| Website | hits1061seattle.iheart.com |
KBKS-FM (106.1MHz) – branded asHits 106.1 – is acommercial radio stationlicensed toTacoma, Washington, and serving theSeattle metropolitan area. Owned byiHeartMedia, it broadcasts atop 40 (CHR)format. The studios and offices are located on Elliott Avenue West in theBelltown neighborhood ofSeattle.[2] Thetransmitter is onTiger Mountain, inIssaquah.[3]
KBKS is the flagship station of the syndicated morning showThe Jubal Show.
The stationsigned 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 abeautiful music format, playing 15-minute music sweeps of mostly instrumentalcover versions of pop songs,Broadway andHollywood showtunes. KLAY-FM was the first FM station in thePacific 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 Seattleradio market. (The transmitter would be moved to Tiger Mountain in 1980.)
On May 1, 1972, KLAY-FM began airing aprogressive 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.
In March 1980, the station was sold to Ray Court. The station then flipped tocountry music as "K106," and thecall sign changed to KRPM. The station competed againstEZ Communications-ownedKMPS. In 1984, Olympic Highsmith Broadcasting bought the station, with Heritage Media buying it four years later. The station wassimulcast onKRPM/KULL (770 AM) from 1986 to 1991, and again for a brief time beginning in January 1995.[5][6][7][8] On November 1, 1995, the station switched its call sign to KCIN-FM when the station rebranded to "Kickin' Country K106." The AM simulcast moved to1090 AM as part of a format swap with 770, with 1090 taking the KRPM calls. During this time, Lia Knight began her evening show, then known asCryin', Lovin' or Leavin', on KRPM, lasting until the station's format change and her departure forYakima; in 1998, the program became nationally syndicated asThe Lia Show, running until 2022.[9]
In the Spring of 1996, shortly after the passage of theTelecommunications Act of 1996, Heritage swapped KCIN and KRPM to EZ Communications in exchange for EZ'sNew Orleans cluster. The transaction made KMPS and KCINsister stations. EZ immediately took over the stations via alocal marketing agreement (LMA) until the purchase was completed later that year. EZ also bought rivalKYCW-FM fromInfinity 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-hourstunt with random audio soundbites, while announcing a change to come the following afternoon.[11][12][13]
On March 25, 1996, at 3 p.m., KCIN/KRPM flipped to a gold-leaningRhythmic Adult Contemporary format, branded as "Kiss 106."[14][15][16] 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 toclassic country.)
KBKS'splaylist consisted of a wide range of rhythmic hits targeting adults 25–54 years old, includingMotown, gold hits from the 1960s through the 1980s, re-currents, and current-day hits from artists likeCeline Dion,Toni Braxton,Mariah Carey,Janet Jackson, andBoyz II Men. The station primarily competed againstKUBE,KLSY, andKPLZ-FM.[17]
On May 23, 1997, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, KBKS flipped toTop 40/CHR and modified its moniker to "Kiss 106.1."[18][19][20][21] This marked the first Mainstream Top 40/CHR in the market since KPLZ shifted toHot AC three years prior. The Rhythmic AC format later returned to Seattle radio onKQMV from 2006-2010, andKMTT in 2013.
EZ andAmerican Radio Systems merged in July 1997.Westinghouse/CBS bought American Radio Systems' stations (including KBKS) on September 19, 1997.[22] In June 1998, CBS split off the radio division under the revivedInfinity Broadcasting name, which would be renamedCBS Radio in December 2005.
At first, KBKS' direction leaned more towardsModern AC as a way to counterKUBE'sRhythmic 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.
On December 10, 2008,CBS Radio announced it would swap five stations, including KBKS, toClear Channel Communications while trading two stations inHouston, Texas. The deal was approved by the FCC on March 31, 2009, and consummated on April 1.[23] 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 rivalrhythmic top 40 stationKUBE, as KBKS began competing against Sandusky Broadcasting's Top 40KQMV (Movin' 92.5) andModern AC KLCK-FM (Click 98.9), as well asFisher Broadcasting'sHot ACKPLZ-FM (Star 101.5). (KLCK-FM has since switched tocountry music asKNUC and later toadult album alternative asKPNW-FM.)
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-ownedKKBW). At the same time, KBKS shifted tohot AC, adopting the format fromKYNW, which flipped to alternative (then, after a sale toBustos Media in 2019,Regional Mexican).[24][25][26][27] Bender & Molly remained in mornings, with midday host Karen Wild and afternoon host Eric Tyler being let go as part of the change.
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.[28] 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.[29]
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 astunt 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 onOctober 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 andKiss 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 thatKiss 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.[30][31][32]
On November 12, 2018,The Carla Marie & Anthony Show (which originated with KPWK's CHR format)[33] premiered as KBKS's new morning show.[34] 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 (fromWEBG 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.[35][36]
On July 26, 2020, Carla Marie and Anthony announced their departure from the station.[37] The next day, KBKS announced that Jubal Fresh, formerly the co-host ofKQMV's nationally-syndicated morning showBrooke & 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 previousJackie & Bender show.[38][39]
To promote the launch of the new morning show, KBKS temporarily rebranded asJubal 106.1 on August 3, 2020.[40] On August 20, to coincide with the debut ofThe Jubal Show, KBKS relaunched its CHR format asHits 106.1.[41] iHeartMedia began tosyndicateThe Jubal Show viaPremiere Networks in October.[42][43]