| Broadcast area | Central Coast (California) |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 102.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 102.5 K-Don |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Rhythmic contemporary |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KION,KOCN,KPRC-FM,KTOM-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1960; 65 years ago (1960) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Heritage calls ofKION (AM), indicating its affiliation with theDon Lee Network |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 26930 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 15,000 watts |
| HAAT | 723 meters (2,372 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | kdon |
KDON-FM (102.5MHz "K-Don") is acommercial radio stationlicensed toSalinas, California, and serving theMonterey–Salinas–Santa Cruzradio market and theCentral California Coast. It broadcasts arhythmic contemporaryradio format and is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. The station's studios are on Moffett Street in Salinas.
KDON-FM has aneffective radiated power of 15,000 watts, itstransmitter is on San Juan Grade Road, atopFremont Peak inPrunedale, California.
The stationsigned on in 1960.[2] Its originalcall sign was KSBW-FM, the counterpart to KSBW 1380 AM (nowoff the air) andKSBW-TV Channel 8 (now owned byHearst Television).
KSBW-FM at firstsimulcast the programming on KSBW 1380 AM, by the late 1960s it was broadcasting anautomatedbeautiful music format. It featured quarter-hour sweeps of soft instrumentalcover versions of adult pop music, with limited talk and commercials.
KSBW-FM became aTop 40/CHR station as KDON-FM in the early 1980s. The KDON call sign has aTop 40 heritage in the Monterey-Salinas market going back to the mid-1960s, when it was used on1460 AM. The AM station on 1460 kHz gave up those call letters and its Top 40 format to become atalk radio station. KDON-FM began as an automated Top 40 station with no disc jockeys. This was not uncommon for FM Top 40 stations in those days, when most radios only received AM stations. As the years progressed and more listeners switched to the FM band, on-air personalities were added.
The format evolved intoRhythmic Contemporary by 1988 and since then has remained one of the highest rated stations in the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz radio market.
In the early nineties,Mancow Muller hosted a local morning show on KDON (he would later go onto success as a morning host in Chicago andsyndicated around the country).
36°45′22″N121°30′07″W / 36.756°N 121.502°W /36.756; -121.502