 | |
| Broadcast area | Palm Springs, California |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 106.1MHz |
| Branding | The Big 106 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Marker Broadcasting |
| KJJZ,KMRJ,KRHQ | |
| History | |
First air date | 1974 (as KPAL) |
Former call signs | KPAL (1974–1979) |
Call sign meaning | K-PaLM, as in "Palm Springs" |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 54360 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000watts |
| HAAT | 121 meters |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | thebig106.com |
KPLM (106.1FM) is aradio station inPalm Springs, California. The station broadcasts acountry music format. The station is owned by Marker Broadcasting.
The station, then calledKPAL, was founded in 1974 by Los Angeles radio personalityMagnificent Montague, whose trademark shout, "Burn!" was expanded to "Burn, baby, burn" during the 1965Watts riots. The construction permit for the station was the first issued to anAfrican-American in four decades.Call sign "KPLM" became available in 1979 when a local television station was purchased byEsquire magazine. Today, that same TV station retains the call letters ofKESQ-TV, althoughEsquire no longer owns it.
KPLM was aneasy listening station through the first years of its existence. By the early 1980s, Montague sold his interest in the station which soon featured legendary Los Angeles radio personalityAl Lohman in the weekday morning drive slot. A change was made to a contemporarycountry music format on January 5, 1994, giving KPLM an exclusive audience; no other FM country music station was on the air in the area at that time. After signing off the old format with "What a Wonderful World" byLouis Armstrong, the new format's first three songs were "Don't Rock the Jukebox" byAlan Jackson, "Friends in Low Places" byGarth Brooks and "Achy Breaky Heart" byBilly Ray Cyrus.
1996 saw new parent company RM Broadcasting expand its market share with the acquisition of financially troubled, Palm Desert-based KLCX, only on the air for a brief time at 102.3 MHz under aclassic rock format. KLCX was immediately reformatted intoKJJZ, a pioneeringsmooth jazz radio station. Studios for both stations are in the same Palm Springs location.
A third station,KAJR at 95.9 MHz, took to the air as a fully automatedJack FM affiliate beginning in August 2007.
KPLM has the distinction of covering a greater terrestrial area than any other Palm Springs station coupled with a worldwide audience via the internet as of November 30, 2006. KPLM's transmitter is on a mountain along the edge ofJoshua Tree National Park. As a result, the station not only blankets theCoachella Valley but reaches northward to theMojave Desert, southward toImperial County and northernBaja California and westward via two repeaters to theSan Gorgonio Pass cities ofBanning,Temecula andHemet. The first is located on Snow Peak above Banning; the second is within the city of Hemet.
The station also plays an active role in bringing major country acts to the area; indeed, the station is the most active of all Palm Springs stations in sponsoring major concerts. Concerts in 2007 includedVince Gill with wifeAmy Grant,Trisha Yearwood andReba McEntire. Superstar duoMontgomery Gentry concluded the 2007 calendar in October at the Spa Resort Casino in downtown Palm Springs. 2008 concluded withWynonna Judd who appeared for a holiday concert at theMcCallum Theatre in December; 2009 began withJosh Turner at the McCallum andBrooks & Dunn at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, both in February.
Other key on-air personnel include news director Jeff Michaels, production manager and nighttime talent Nick Summers, promotions manager Kory James andprogram director Al Gordon. (Nick Summers is now at the Alpha Media cluster in Palm Springs)
33°52′16″N116°13′41″W / 33.871°N 116.228°W /33.871; -116.228