 | |
| Broadcast area | Seattle metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 100.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 100.7 The Wolf |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Country |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | 1948; 77 years ago (1948) |
Former call signs | |
Call sign meaning | "Wolf" |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 6367 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 68,000 watts |
| HAAT | 707 meters (2,320 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°30′13″N121°58′33″W / 47.503722°N 121.975944°W /47.503722; -121.975944 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
KKWF (100.7FM "100.7 The Wolf") is acommercialradio station inSeattle, Washington. The station is owned byAudacy, Inc. and it airs acountry musicradio format. The studios and offices are on Fifth Avenue inDowntown Seattle.
KKWF has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 68,000watts, usingbeam tilt. Thetransmitter is located inIssaquah onTiger Mountain.
The station firstsigned on in 1948 as KIRO-FM (not to be confused with the currentKIRO-FM, which has broadcast on 97.3 FM since 2008).[4] It was owned by the Queen City Broadcasting Company and itsimulcasted co-ownedAM 710KIRO. The two stations wereCBS RadioNetwork affiliates, airing its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,soap operas,game shows andbig band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio." In 1958,KIRO-TV signed on the air as Seattle'sCBS Television affiliate, which it still is today (with exception of a hiatus from 1995 to 1997, when it was a UPN station).
As network programming moved from radio to television, KIRO-AM-FM switched to afull servicemiddle of the road format of pop music, news and sports. In 1963, Queen City Broadcasting, owned by Saul Haas, was sold toBonneville International, a broadcasting corporation set up bythe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[5]
In the late 1960s, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) began requiring FM stations in large cities to stop full-time simulcasts of their co-owned AM stations. For a few years, KIRO-FM aired aprogressive rock format, beginning in 1967.
The station flipped toBeautiful Music in 1973, utilizing theWRFM (New York City) program service, which was later renamed the Bonneville Program Services. In 1974, the KIRO-FMcall sign was changed to KSEA to separate the FM station's identity from the AM. At the time, KSEA competed againstKEUT,KEZX,KBIQ andKIXI, all of which aired easy music formats.
The format gradually evolved from mostly instrumental beautiful music to a mix of instrumentals and vocals aseasy listening ("Easy 101") in the early 1980s.[6]
In the mid-1980s, as the easy listening audience was aging, KSEA moved tosoft adult contemporary music.
On February 17, 1989, KSEA shifted to a mainstream adult contemporary format.[7] KSEA also telecasted its audio onKIRO-TV throughout the late 1980s into the early 1990s when KIRO was off-air, mainly during sign-off time in overnights. The station shifted tohot adult contemporary as KWMX ("Mix 101") in April 1991, though this would last for only a short time.[8][9][10]
On September 21, 1992, the station returned to a simulcast of then-sister stationKIRO. With the change, the KIRO-FM call letters were reinstated.[11] From February to September 1993, KIRO-FM was promoted as being part of the "KIRO News Network", with KIRO's radio and TV personalities working together as part of an experiment dubbed "News Outside the Box".[12] The station broke the simulcast (except for mornings) on July 5, 1994, airing a separately programmed talk format, while retaining the KIRO-FM call sign.
The initial lineup included a simulcast of KIRO in morningdrive time (which would be replaced by local comedianPat Cashman in September), Rick Enloe in late mornings (who would later be replaced by Amy Alpine), Dave Brenner andDr. Laura Schlessinger'ssyndicated show in afternoons,Gil Gross (syndicated fromSan Francisco) in evenings),Leslie Marshall at night (who would later be replaced byJim Bohannon), along withBernie Ward and David Essel on weekends.[13]
On January 6, 1995, the station rebranded as "100.7 The Buzz," and added the syndicatedTom Leykis Show to the lineup.[14][15] KIRO-FM was sold by Bonneville toEntercom in March 1997.[16] The station changed its call letters to KQBZ in May 1999, and shifted tohot talk with the slogan "Radio For Guys."[17]
During the early 2000s, KQBZ carriedDon & Mike in middays andPhil Hendrie in evenings.[18] By November 2005, the station's weekday lineup consisted of local personalities Robin & Maynard (who were previously onKZOK-FM) in mornings,BJ Shea in middays, Tom Leykis in afternoons,The Mens Room in evenings, andJohn and Jeff and All-Comedy Radio in late nights, with paid and specialty programming on weekends.[19]
At 8 a.m. on November 30, 2005, in the middle of "Robin & Maynard", the station beganstunting with a countdown clock (usingMicrosoft Sam) to Noon the same day. At that time, the station flipped tocountry as "100.7 The Wolf" with the new call letters KKWF.[20] The first song played on The Wolf was "How Do You Like Me Now?!" byToby Keith.[21] With the flip,The Men's Room and BJ Shea moved over to sister stationKISW. Tom Leykis moved over as well, but on tape delay, from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.[22][23]
Entercom acquired KKWF's long-time country rivalKMPS in November 2017, as a result of its merger withCBS Radio. In the immediate aftermath of the merger's completion, KMPS dropped its country format in defense of KKWF (making it the only full-market country station in the Seattle market), and ultimately flipped tosoft adult contemporary on December 4, 2017. Rock stationKVRQ would flip to country later the same day.[24][25]
KKWF signed onHD Radio operations in 2006. 100.7 HD 2 carried acomedy radio format simply branded as "All Comedy Radio." The format had been heard overnights when the station was KQBZ.
On June 18, 2011, the signal flipped toSmooth Jazz, filling the void left open byKWJZ when that station flipped toModern AC on December 27, 2010.
In late February 2012, theBlues format from sister station 103.7 HD2 was bumped to 100.7 HD2, effectively ending the smooth jazz format.
In early June 2018, 100.7-HD2 and 94.1-HD2 swapped formats, with the blues format moving to 94.1-HD2 and the classic country format moving to 100.7-HD2.[26]