 | |
| Broadcast area | Seattle metro area Puget Sound |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 107.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 107.7 The End |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Alternative rock |
| Subchannels | HD2:Channel Q |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | September 15, 1962; 63 years ago (1962-09-15) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "The End" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 34530 |
| 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 |
| Translator | HD2: 103.3 K277AE (Seattle) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
KNDD (107.7FM, "107.7 The End") is acommercialradio station inSeattle, Washington. It is owned byAudacy, Inc. and airs analternative rockradio format. Its studios are located on Fifth Avenue inDowntown Seattle. The station broadcasts with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 68,000watts. It transmits from a tower 707 meters (2,320 ft) inheight above average terrain (HAAT) nearIssaquah, Washington, onTiger Mountain.[2]
KNDD broadcasts inHD.[3] Its HD2 subchannel airs anLGBTQTalk/EDM format known asChannel Q, which also feeds a 250-wattFM translator in Seattle, 103.3K277AE.
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The station firstsigned on the air on September 15, 1962, as non-commercial KRAB.[4] It was founded byLorenzo Milam and eventually owned by the Jack Straw Memorial Foundation.[5] The station’s effective radiated power was 20,000 watts. KRAB broadcast aneclectic mix ofPacifica radio features,world music,jazz, and much more. But the station was also dangerously close to insolvency.
Its management realized the station could be sold to a commercial broadcaster and anendowment created, allowing the foundation to broadcast in the non-commercial part of the radio dial, which exists between 88.1 MHz and 91.9 MHz. The owners of KRAB originally applied to share time withKNHC, owned by theSeattle Public Schools. However, the school district did not want to give up air time. Ultimately, the foundation got a license for 90.7 MHz inEverett, Washington. KRAB's legacy remains on the air atKSER. In April 1984, after Sunbelt Communications bought KRAB, the 107.7 FM frequency wentdark for the next 11 months.
The first commercial station on 107.7 signed on March 9, 1985. It playedoldies-basedsoft adult contemporary music and was known as KMGI, "Magic 108."[6] The station had limited success for four years under the format; under the ownership of the Noble Broadcast Group, in August 1989, KMGI would refocus as aHot AC station and rebranded as "I-107.7."[7][8]
KMGI brought together the morning team of Kelly Stevens and Alpha Trivette, who remained with the station throughout its days as "I-107.7". All forms of AC tried on the station resulted in low ratings.
At 3 p.m., on August 16, 1991, KMGI beganstunting with TV theme songs, and had different voices stating "The End is coming" between some songs and during its commercial breaks.[9] A week later, on August 23, at 3 p.m., the station flipped tomodern rock, and changed its name and call letters to "107-7 The End", KNDD.[10][11][12][13] The End's first songs were "It's The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" byR.E.M., followed by "Sex (I'm a ...)" byBerlin. The station initially went by the slogan "The Cutting Edge of Rock." This positioning statement borrowed directly from itsSan Diego/Tijuana sister stationXETRA-FM. It was the Seattle market's fourth attempt at a modern alternative format, dating back to KZAMAM 1540 in the late 1970s (nowKXPA). Other stations in the format at one time or another includedKJETAM 1590 andKYYXFM 96.5, which both trace their histories to the 1980s.[14]
Within six weeks of The End's first broadcast, three albums by local artists —Ten byPearl Jam,Nevermind byNirvana andBadmotorfinger bySoundgarden — were released. These albums helped come to define the sound known asgrunge, and the station quickly became one of the leaders in alternative rock radio. KNDD was also the first commercial station to play the bandWeezer, when in June 1994, the station added "Undone (The Sweater Song)" to itsplaylist.[15]
Noble traded KNDD toViacom in exchange forKHOW-AM-FM inDenver in December 1992.Entercom acquired the station in 1996.[16] Entercom rebranded asAudacy in March 2021.[17]
In 1998, MTV'sThe Real World was taped in Seattle and required the season's cast to work at KNDD as "modulators".
On December 18,2003, the station moved to a classicalternative rock direction.[18]CBS Radio followed suit 29 hours later by flipping KYPT ("96.5 The Point") to KRQI ("96-5 K-Rock") to provide competition. Shortly after KRQI's sign-on, KNDD moved back to a current-based direction, although it dumped mosthard rock bands. KRQI only remained as an alternative rock station for two years, flipping toadult hits in 2005 asKJAQ.
In 2011, Sandusky'sKLCK-FM changed formats fromadult album alternative/modern AC to alternative rock. The rivalry lasted only a year, as KLCK shifted tohot adult contemporary in March2012.
For many years, the station's morning show was titled "The Morning End", and was hosted by Andy Savage. Savage was let go in 2003 when his contract expired. After a period of music-based shows,The Adam Carolla Show,syndicated fromLos Angeles, began airing in morningdrive time in 2006.
In May 2006, long time program director Phil Manning announced that he was leaving the station. Scott Geiger, also known as Lazlo, of sister stationKRBZ inKansas City, was named the new program director on June 1, 2006.[19] In November 2006, he began hosting afternoons with asimulcast of his KRBZ show, which was co-hosted by his then-wife Afentra Bandokoudis, under "The Church of Lazlo" moniker.
In June 2008, KNDD announced that Mike Kaplan would be replacing Geiger as program director. Kaplan had previously served as operations manager for two of Entercom's stations inNew Orleans. KNDD also announced that Geiger would stay on as aDJ, and continue to host his afternoon show "The Church of Lazlo."[20][21][22] On July 17, Lazlo and Afentra announced that they would depart KNDD. On August 25, both "Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz" and "The Church of Lazlo" returned to Kansas City on KRBZ.[23]
In February 2009, the syndicated Adam Carolla Show was cancelled, leaving KNDD without a morning show. After an on-air search for a new morning host that featured well known DJs and local musicians, Whitney "Red" Knoerlein was named host of a freshly resurrected version of The Morning End.[24] The current wake-up host is Gregr.
In April 2013, program director Mike Kaplan, who became Program Director at alternative rock stationKYSR inLos Angeles, was replaced by Garett Michaels.
In 2007, the station was nominated for the "Alternative Station of the Year" award byRadio & Records magazine. Other nominees includedWBCN inBoston;KROQ-FM inLos Angeles;KTBZ-FM inHouston;KITS inSan Francisco; andWWDC inWashington, D.C.[25]
In January 2019, KNDD's HD2 subchannel flipped from an all-Pacific Northwest bands and artists format to Entercom's "Channel Q," atalk andEDM network aimed at theLGBTQ community.[26]
Channel Q also airs on Entercom HD subchannels inLos Angeles,San Francisco,Phoenix,Sacramento andHouston. Hosts includeJai Rodriguez,John Duran,Julie Goldman andShira Lazar. Channel Q is also heard on anFM translator in Downtown Seattle, 103.3 K277AE, which formerly relayed co-ownedKHTP.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K277AE | 103.3 FM | Seattle, Washington | 18522 | 250 | 191 m (627 ft) | D | 47°36′20.3″N122°19′50.4″W / 47.605639°N 122.330667°W /47.605639; -122.330667 (K277AE) | LMS |
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