 | |
| Broadcast area | Seattle-TacomaMetropolitan Area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 570kHz |
| Branding | Talk Radio 570 KVI |
| Programming | |
| Format | Conservative talk radio |
| Affiliations | 24/7 News Compass Media Networks Radio America Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KNWN,KNWN-FM,KPLZ-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | November 24, 1926; 98 years ago (1926-11-24) (on 1280 AM) |
Former frequencies | 1280 kHz (1926–1928) 1060 kHz (1928) 760 kHz (1928–1932) |
Call sign meaning | Vashon Island (refers to the transmitter location) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 35853 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts unlimited |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°25′19″N122°25′44″W / 47.42194°N 122.42889°W /47.42194; -122.42889 |
| Repeater(s) | 101.5KPLZ-HD3 (Seattle) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | kvi.com |
KVI (570AM) is acommercialradio station inSeattle, Washington, known as "News Talk 570 KVI." Owned byLotus Communications, it airs aconservative talkradio format. The studios and offices are located with formersister stationKOMO-TV at KOMO Plaza (formerly Fisher Plaza) in Seattle. KVI is powered at 5,000watts, using anon-directional antenna, giving it a signal that extends from theU.S.-Canada border toOlympia. Itstransmitter is onVashon Island, located roughly halfway between Seattle andTacoma.[2]
On weekdays, KVI airs both local andnationally syndicated shows. Local hosts include John Carlson (Commute with Carlson) and Ari Hoffman. National programs includeMarkley, VanCamp and Robbins (whose show is syndicated from theWMBD studios inPeoria),The Dana Loesch Show andRed Eye Radio. Two versions of "TheLars Larson Show" are heard, one for theNorthwest at noon and a national show at 2 a.m. Weekends feature shows on money, health and cars, some of which are paidbrokered programming. Syndicated weekend shows includeSunday Night Live with Bill Cunningham andSomewhere in Time with Art Bell. Most hours begin with an update fromiHeartMedia's 24/7 News.
KVI's history can be traced back to November 24, 1926; 98 years ago (November 24, 1926). Itsigned on the air on 1280kilocycles and waslicensed toTacoma. By the spring of 1928 its frequency shifted to1060 AM, followed by another shift to760 AM in the fall. By September 1932, it had moved to its permanent home at570 AM.[3] It was powered at 1,000watts and was owned by the Puget Sound Broadcasting Company. During the "Golden Age of Radio," KVI was anetwork affiliate ofCBS, carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,game shows,soap operas andbig band broadcasts. It also carried programs from theDon Lee Network.
In 1949, KVI relocated its city of license to Seattle and got a boost to 5,000 watts.[4] KVI broadcast from a single tower onVashon Island and it moved its studios into theCamlin Hotel inDowntown Seattle. With its arrival in Seattle, it shifted its network to theMutual Broadcasting System, sinceKIRO was already the CBS affiliate in Seattle.[5]
In 1959,Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters added KVI to its portfolio.[6] KVI switched to anadult contemporary format in 1964. By 1973, KVI had evolved into afull service,middle of the road (MOR) direction. It was during this period that it became established as a dominant player in the market. KVI was theflagship station for the ill-fatedSeattle Pilotsbaseball team in their only season of play in 1969. It later became the radio home for the successfulSeattle Mariners, from their inaugural season of 1977 until 1984. KVI was also the original home of theSeattle Sounders (NASL) from their inaugural season in 1974 until 1976, and was the westside flagship station of theWashington State University Cougars from 1972 until 1979 and again from 1983 until 1987.[7]
In 1976, KVI acquired anFM radio station,KETO at 101.5 MHz.[8] Under Golden West, the new KVI-FM became a successfulAdult Top 40 station, now known as KPLZ-FM. With the beginning of the 1980s, music listening on AM radio was shifting to FM and KVI added several talk shows.[9]
On July 23, 1984, KVI switched tooldies.[10][11] That direction would last less than a decade, and by 1992, KVI had a fulltimetalk radio format. At first, the station used the slogan "the balanced alternative" with a line up alternatingliberal andconservative talk hosts, but by 1993, KVI dropped all its liberal hosts exceptMike Siegel. Siegel, formerly a liberal, swung right in his views during this period and remained on the station. The other slots were filled by a line up of both local and nationally syndicated conservatives. By May 1994, the year KVI and KPLZ were sold toFisher Communications, KVI had an almost entirely conservative-talk format.[12]
KVI returned to afull service format at 4 p.m. on November 7, 2010, with a mix of oldies and recent hits, news and traffic updates.[13][14][15]
Due to the failure of the format, which only garnered an average of a 0.5 share of the market, KVI beganstunting withChristmas music on Thanksgiving Day, 2011. On January 3, 2012, the station flipped back to talk, this time as "Smart Talk," with an emphasis on entertainment reports, lifestyle and health info, and local news. Programs included "Sunrise Seattle", aGood Morning America-type program hosted by Mark Christopher and Elisa Jaffe,Don Imus,Clark Howard,Phil Hendrie, "The Buzz" with Scott Carty, the "Daily Wrap from the Wall Street Journal" withMichael Castner, ConsumerMan with Herb Weisbaum, as well as paidbrokered programming on weekends.[16][17] After only nine months, the "Smart Talk" format was dropped on September 4, 2012 in favor of a return to conservative talk.[18][19]
On April 11, 2013, Fisher announced that it would sell its properties, including KVI and KOMO-TV, to theSinclair Broadcast Group.[20] The price for all the stations was $373.3 million.[21] Although nearly all of Sinclair's broadcast properties are television stations, the company initially retained KVI, KPLZ-FM,KOMO andKOMO-FM.[22] The deal was completed on August 8, 2013.[23]
On June 3, 2021, Sinclair announced they would sell KVI, KPLZ and KOMO-AM-FM toLotus Communications for $18 million. Sinclair retained KOMO-TV.[24] The sale was completed on September 28, 2021.[25]