 | |
| Broadcast area | Fresno metropolitan area -Central Valley |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 93.7MHz |
| Branding | 93.7 Kiss Country |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Affiliations | Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KMGV,KMJ,KMJ-FM,KWYE | |
| History | |
First air date | 1946; 79 years ago (1946) (as KRFM) |
Former call signs | KRFM (1946–1964) KFRE-FM (1964–1971) KFYE (1971–1991) |
Call sign meaning | "Kiss" (2 times) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 26924 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 68,000watts |
| HAAT | 580 meters (1,903 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | ksks.com |
KSKS (93.7FM) is a commercialradio station inFresno, California. The station is owned byCumulus Media and it airs acountry musicradio format branded as "93.7 Kiss Country". Its studios are at the Radio City building on Shaw Avenue in North Fresno and itstransmitter is off Auberry Road inMeadow Lakes, California.[2] KSKS has local DJs during the day. In the evening, airs thesyndicatedCountry Nights with Bev Rainey fromWestwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media.
KSKS is licensed to broadcast in theHD (digital hybrid) format.[3] As one of the oldest FM stations in the Fresnomedia market, the station is considered agrandfathered superpower station, as itseffective radiated power is 68,000 watts at aheight above average terrain of 580 meters (1,903 feet). (Stations at that height inCentral California should run less than 3,000 watts, according to currentFederal Communications Commission rules forClass B regions; however, KSKS went on the air in 1946, founded before the rules were put in place.)[4]
The stationsigned on the air in 1946; 79 years ago (1946). KRFM were the originalcall letters. The first owner was Paul Bartlett, a Fresno radio station pioneer. The station's studios were originally at the transmitter site in Meadow Lakes. In the 1940s and 50s, few people owned FM receivers, so finding an audience was difficult.
The station was acquired by the owner of KFRE (940 AM, nowKYNO) and KFRE-TV (nowKFSN-TV), which originally operated onVHF channel 12, laterUHF channel 30. As asister station to KFRE and KFRE-TV, the FM station took the call sign KFRE-FM.[5] All three stations were owned byTriangle Publications. Triangle was the publisher of the popular weekly magazineTV Guide. The company decided to sell off its Fresno properties in 1971.
Because the stations were sold to separate companies, and the owner of the AM station kept the KFRE call sign, the FM station took new call letters, KFYE. The station was a mostly-instrumentalbeautiful music outlet. It played quarter-hour sweeps of instrumentalcover tunes of popular adult music,Broadway andHollywoodshow tunes.
Through the 1980s, the station added more vocals as aneasy listening station. In 1992, KFYE completed the transition to anadult contemporary format known as "Y-94." In the 1980s,disc jockey Ray Appleton hosted "Lunchtime at the Oldies" on Y-94. Appleton would go on to become a populartalk show host at 580KMJ. In 1992, KFYE flipped tocountry music as KSKS. KSKS and KMJ were acquired byCBS Radio in 1998.[6]
In 2006, CBS Radio decided to leave most medium-sizedmedia markets and concentrate on its stations in larger cities. On November 16 of that year, the company announced the sale of KSKS and its other Fresno-area stations to Peak Broadcasting.
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in whichTownsquare Media would purchase Peak Broadcasting, and then immediately swap Peak's Fresno stations, including KSKS, toCumulus Media in exchange for Cumulus' stations inDubuque, Iowa andPoughkeepsie, New York. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition ofDial Global. Peak, Townsquare, and Dial Global were all controlled byOaktree Capital Management.[7][8] The sale to Cumulus was completed on November 14, 2013.[9]
37°04′37″N119°26′06″W / 37.077°N 119.435°W /37.077; -119.435