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| Broadcast area | Kansas City metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 106.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 106.5 The Wolf |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Country music |
| Affiliations | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | May 8, 1978 (46 years ago) (1978-05-08) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Carried over from the former WDAF (610 AM); nowKFNZ |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 8609 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 299 meters (981 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°04′23″N94°29′06″W / 39.073°N 94.485°W /39.073; -94.485 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
WDAF-FM (106.5 FM) is acommercial radio stationlicensed toLiberty, Missouri, and serving theKansas City metropolitan area. Owned byAudacy, Inc., the station airs acountry musicradio format, branded as "106.5 The Wolf". Studios and offices are located on Squibb Road inMission, Kansas.
WDAF-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts.[2] Thetransmitter is located on Wallace Avenue in east Kansas City, Missouri, nearInterstate 435.[3] WDAF-FM broadcasts in theHD Radio format.
The stationsigned on the air on May 8, 1978, as KFIX-FM, the FM counterpart to KFIX (1140 AM, nowKCXL), and was owned by Investments, Inc.[4] KFIX-FM aired anadult Top 40 format, with news updates from theNBC Radio Network. Prior to the official sign-on, test transmissions carried thecall sign KSAB (standing for "Strauss-Abernathy Broadcasting").
SW Radio Enterprises took over in 1979, flipping the format on November 19, changing call letters to KSAS, branded as "SAS106+1⁄2". KSAS was aprogressive rock station, in contrast to the more mainstreamalbum rock format of top rock station KYYS (nowKCKC). Golden East Broadcasting bought the station in March 1982.
In March 1983, the station decided to take KYYS head-on, flipping to album rock, and changing the call letters to KKCI. The station used the name "106 KCI", a reference to theKansas City International Airport.[5] Longtime Kansas City DJ Randy Miller made his first market appearance at KKCI. Transcolumbia bought the station in 1985.
On January 10, 1986, after failing to compete against KYYS, KKCI went off the air. Three weeks later, the station signed back on and flipped to asoft adult contemporary format, branded as "K-Lite", and changing the call letters to KLTY.[6] KLTY tried to compete in a crowded AC field.[5] In November 1987, Olympia Broadcasting bought the station.[7]
On July 29, 1988, at 2 p.m., afterstunting for three days with a loop of "Kansas City" byThe Beatles, KLTY flipped back to album rock, changing call letters to KXXR. Scout Broadcasting, subsidiary of Olympia, owned the station around the time of the flip. The first song under the new rock format (and also the song that ultimately ended the format nearly two years later) was "Roll With It" bySteve Winwood.[8][9][10] The format, dubbed "Today's Rock and Roll", was a combination of rock-friendlyCHR hits,hard rock andmodern rock.
However, like the first time with the format, the second attempt as a rock station could not compete with KYYS. At 4 p.m. on June 15, 1990, KXXR flipped to arhythmic contemporary format, branded as "X-106". The first song on "X" was "Me So Horny" by2 Live Crew.[11][12][13] Capitol Broadcasting bought the station on March 15, 1991, for $2.6 million.[14] By June 1991, the station moved towards a more mainstream Top 40 direction and rebranded to using their call letters once again.[15]
Due to low ratings, the station was about to change formats to country, but Capitol decided to change course:country-formattedKCFM (107.3 FM), owned by Meyer Communications, offered to swap frequencies.[16] On February 16, 1992, at midnight, after playing "2 Legit 2 Quit" byMC Hammer, the frequency swap between the two stations took place, with KXXR moving to 107.3 FM, and KCFM’s country format moving to 106.5.[17][18]
After the frequency swap, 106.5 FMstunting with all-Garth Brooks music for 16 days, then changed its call sign to KKCJ (instituted on March 9) and moniker to "CJ-106". ("CJ" stood for "Country Junction".)[19][20] Capitol continued to own the station, while Sconnix, which owned country music rivalKFKF, entered into alocal marketing agreement (LMA) to run KKCJ as well. KKCJ was meant to be a younger-audience complement to KFKF, which targeted a more middle-aged audience. At first, KKCJ aired programming from theSatellite Music Network's "Country Coast to Coast" format, based inDallas; on March 29, 1993, KKCJ began airing local programming.[21] However, the station could not compete againstWDAF andKBEQ (which flipped from Top 40 in February 1993). In addition, Sconnix’s LMA with KKCJ would end asEZ Communications purchased both KFKF and KBEQ, with a stipulation that KKCJ would change formats to avoid competition.[22][23]
On March 10, 1995, at midnight, afterHeritage Media bought KKCJ, the station began stunting with simulcasts of KFKF and KBEQ, then a loop of liners redirecting listeners to both stations, before transitioning to all-polka andHootie & The Blowfish music on March 20. The station also interspersedmodern rock music during the stunting.[24] On March 30, at 10 a.m., the station flipped to asmooth jazz format, branded as "106.5 The City".[25][26] The first song on "The City" was "Smooth Operator" bySade.[27] On April 21, the station changed call letters to KCIY, to better fit the "City" moniker.
Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the station in 1997, withEntercom taking over in 2000. KCIY became the top soft music station in the market around this time. However, it came at the expense of co-ownedKUDL, which aired a mainstreamadult contemporary format.
In the summer of 2003, Entercom announced it would start asports talk format on 610 AM. This came after the signing of rivalWHB sports hostsJason Whitlock,Bill Maas, andTim Grunhard.[28] To make room for the new sports station, longtime country station “61 Country” would be moved to an FM frequency.
After a lengthy decision over which radio station to put the AM's country format (which involved sister stationKRBZ almost being killed off for it, only to have an executive order issued by Entercom corporate management in response to overwhelming listener turnout halting that), it was announced that KCIY would flip back to country.[29] At noon on August 10, 2003, after a 6-hour farewell show (and playing "Neither One of Us" byGladys Knight & the Pips), WDAF began simulcasting on both 610 AM and 106.5 FM, for a one-month period until the sports talk format on 610 AM finally debuted on September 10.[30] The new "Country 106.5 WDAF" initially featured the same longtime personalities of "61 Country" and a mostly gold-based country playlist. The WDAF call letters were officially moved over to 106.5 FM on August 22. (There had been a previous WDAF-FM in Kansas City from 1961 to 1974, at 102.1 MHz, nowKCKC).
On January 10, 2007, WDAF-FM rebranded as "106.5 the Wolf".[31] WDAF-FM continues in Kansas City's three-way country radio station battle, along withKFKF andKBEQ, both owned by Steel City Media. With the change to "The Wolf", the station shifted to a modern country format, which targeted younger listeners. Most of the longtime "61 Country" DJs were gone by that point.[32]
On December 5, 2019, it was announced that WDAF-FM would become theflagship radio station of theKansas City Chiefs with the start of the2020 season, directly off their win inSuper Bowl LIV, after the expiration of a 30-year deal withCumulus Media'sKCFX (101.1). Sister station KCSP carries wrap-around coaches and players programming and also simulcasts select games. The Audacy app carries coverage of the game on desktops/laptops only.[33] On August 8, 2024, Audacy announced that, as part of the move of KCSP's programming to KRBZ as KFNZ-FM "96.5 the Fan", that station would become the new flagship station of the Chiefs; WDAF-FM would continue to simulcast Chiefs games for the 2024 season.[34]
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