 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | EasternIowa |
| Frequency | 96.5MHz |
| Branding | 96.5 Kiss Country |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KKRQ,KMJM,KOSY-FM,KXIC,WMT | |
| History | |
First air date | February 27, 1963 (1963-02-27) |
Former call signs | WMT-FM (1963–2012) |
Call sign meaning | "Kiss Country" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73594 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 158 meters (518 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°1′40″N91°38′25″W / 42.02778°N 91.64028°W /42.02778; -91.64028 (WMT-FM) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | 965kisscountry |
KKSY-FM (96.5MHz "Kiss Country") is acommercialFM radio station inCedar Rapids, Iowa. It broadcasts acountry musicradio format and is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. KKSY carries thesyndicatedBobby Bones Show in morningdrive time andAfter Midnite with Granger Smith overnight.
KKSY-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for most FM stations. Thetransmittertower and studios are on Old Marion Road and Collins Road NE (Iowa Highway 100) in Cedar Rapids, co-located with thetower forKGAN channel 2.[2]
The stationsigned on the air on February 27, 1963, as WMT-FM, thesister station toWMT (600 AM), the oldest station in Cedar Rapids. At first, the two stationssimulcast. By the late 1960s, WMT-FM had its own format featuringeasy listening,jazz andclassical music. There were 90-minute classical music segments in the morning and evening with regular programs of jazz andshow tunes fromBroadway musicals. Some of those early announcers were Keith Webster, Bill Dutcher, Don John Ross, Bill Grubbe, and Jim Wicks, as well as other WMT announcers who took the helm of hosting on FM. WMT-FM would simulcast the 15-minute newscasts of WMT-AM several times a day.
In the 1970s, WMT-FM became a full-timebeautiful music station. It played quarter hour sweeps of soft instrumentals, with someHollywood and Broadway show tunes.
In an effort to sound younger, WMT-FM added more soft vocals to its easy listening format, as the audience for beautiful music was aging. WMT-FM switched to anadult contemporary format in 1982, and became the dominant AC station for the Cedar Rapids market. The amount of adult contemporary stations in the Cedar Rapids market (excluding Waterloo) was upgraded from one to three, when WMT-AM flipped fromMOR to adult contemporary in 1986, andKCRG returned to its adult contemporary format after a nearly three-year hiatus in January 1987. Both WMT and KCRG's adult contemporary formats did not last long, as WMT-FM became the only (and dominant) AC station in the Cedar Rapids market after WMT-AM flipped back to MOR in late 1988 and KCRG flipped tooldies in 1989.
WMT-FM's studios have been located at Broadcast Park on Collins Road in Cedar Rapids, along with WMT and TV stationKGAN (the former WMT-TV), since it signed on. Until the 1970s, the studios of WMT radio were located on the fifth floor of the historicParamount Theatre building in downtown Cedar Rapids.[3] It was one of the few stations with a callsign beginning with W located west of theMississippi River.
By the early 2000s, WMT-FM stepped up the tempo of itsplaylist and transitioned tohot AC. The station was known for its "time warp weekends" and long-standing tradition of being heavily involved in the Cedar Rapids community. The station hosted "Uptown Friday Nights" every Friday night in downtown Cedar Rapids. WMT-FM often joined up with WMT for special promotional events, and simulcasts during severe weather conditions.
WMT-FM ended its longtime hot adult contemporary format on December 27, 2011. Its owner,Clear Channel Communications, transferred the country format from co-ownedKKSY 95.7 FM, to 96.5 MHz. Thecall sign on 96.5 was changed to KKSY-FM. For several weeks, there was a temporarysimulcast period.[4][5] The 95.7 facility began to simulcast WMT on January 2, 2012, and eventually took the KWMG call letters on January 17, 2012.[6]
In 2014, Clear Channel changed its name toiHeartMedia, Inc. As an iHeart Country station, KKSY carriesThe Bobby Bones Show Monday through Saturday mornings fromNashville. In overnights, KKSY carriesAfter Midnite with Granger Smith. Both shows are syndicated by co-ownedPremiere Networks.