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| Broadcast area | Greater Houston |
| Frequency | 101.1MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Mega 101 |
| Programming | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Format | |
| Subchannels | HD2:Tejano music ("Fierro") |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | June 30, 1947 (1947-06-30) |
Former call signs | KTRH-FM (1947–70) |
Call sign meaning | LOL in lower case resembles "101" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 35073 |
| Class | C |
| ERP |
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| HAAT | 585 meters (1,919 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 29°34′34″N95°30′38″W / 29.57611°N 95.51056°W /29.57611; -95.51056 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website | www |
KLOL (101.1FM, "Mega 101") is a commercial radio station inHouston, Texas. It is owned byAudacy, Inc. and airs aSpanish-languageLatin pop format. KLOL serves as the Spanish-languageflagship station for theHouston Texansfootball team.
The studios and offices are inGreenway Plaza in Houston.[2] Thetransmitter is located off McHard Road inMissouri City, Texas.[3]
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For much of the early days of radio,KTRH had been one of Houston's top AM stations, co-owned withThe Houston Chronicle. In 1947, an FM station was added, 101.1 KTRH-FM.[4] It was the third FM station in Houston (after the short-lived KOPY and KPRC-FM) and mostlysimulcast KTRH's programming when few people had FM radios. KTRH-AM-FM aired theCBS Radio Network line-up of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows andbig band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio".
In the 1950s, as network programming moved from radio to TV, KTRH-AM-FM switched to afull-servicemiddle of the road (MOR) format. In 1965, KTRH-AM-FM were acquired by the Rusk Corporation. Under Rusk ownership, KTRH-FM experimented withprogressive rock programs at night while simulcasting AM 740 in the daytime. In 1970, Rusk switched the station over to a full-time rock format as KLOL.[5]
In 1970, "I'm Free" byThe Who ushered in a new format andcall sign to the 101.1 frequency, and "The KLOL Legend" was born. In the early days, KLOL was known as "Mother's Family" and later "K101" and utilized what would be termed afreeform radio format, where eachDJ would choose which records he wanted to play. The "Mother's Family" name was a reference to KFMK-FM (97.9, nowKBXX), Houston's original progressive rock radio station, known as "Mother Radio".
A major contributor to the early and ongoing success of KLOL was the late laid-back DJ Maurice "Crash" Collins. KLOL played cuts from mostly rock albums in the early years, but it was also possible to hearjazz,blues,folk music andR&B. In the mid-1970s the main rock competition to 101 KLOL wasABC-owned 96.5 KAUM. KAUM eventually switched toTop 40 hits. In addition, 100.3KILT-FM was another competitor for KLOL also playing rock music,
By the late 1970s, KLOL had moved from progressive rock to analbum-oriented rock sound, with a structuredplaylist of only the top tracks from the best selling albums. The station changed its moniker to "101 KLOL". KLOL achieved victory in early 1981 against format rival KILT-FM, which soon changed its format tocountry music. Shortly thereafter, KLOL had another rival in 97ROCK (96.5 KSRR) and one of the fiercest AOR battles of the 1980s commenced. KLOL once again won the battle as KSRR flipped to Top 40 as KKHT in 1986 (and is nowKHMX).
KLOL mellowed somewhat in the 1980s, as did many AORs, but the playlist remained quite wide. The station's core artists wereThe Eagles,Bruce Springsteen,Fleetwood Mac,Van Halen,The Rolling Stones,Billy Joel,Led Zeppelin,Boston,The Police andTom Petty.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, KLOL was one of the top-rated AOR stations in theUnited States. KLOL featured legendary morning hosts Mark Stevens and Jim Pruett and their cleverly titled "Stevens and Pruett Show", chalking up both high ratings and several fines from theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) for "offensive content". Dayna Steele anchored mid-days with her audience of "Steele Workers". In the evenings it was "Outlaw Radio", anactive rock show with "a lot of attitude". KLOL was regularly in the top 3 in that time frame.
In 1993, Evergreen Media bought KTRH and KLOL for $49 million.[6] Evergreen started to make changes to KLOL's sound. The station started relying heavily on eitherclassic rock product (KLOL would be almost all classic rock from 1996 to 1998) or current product from "safe artists" who were often not that popular. KLOL virtually ignored the explodinggrunge rock andalternative rock bands in the 1990s.
In late 1998, KLOL began playing more current material. Some thought active rock was finally coming to Houston on KLOL. Alternative rock-formattedKTBZ-FM had moved to a more pop-alternative sound to target listeners who had previously tuned in the now defunct 102.9 KKPN, amodern AC station that is nowKLTN. So the opportunity for a harder-edged station was there. But the station stopped short of going to an active rock sound.
Clear Channel Communications became the owner of KLOL in 2000. For several years, Clear Channel retained the rock format. Many thought Clear Channel would bring back the classic sound of the station during the previous decades. Instead, KLOL carried on in the same vein for another four years.
Rumors of a KLOL format change had been heard since at least 1989. Some had speculated on a switch tourban oldies or Top 40 as "KISS 101". However, the November 10, 2004, edition of "the Walton & Johnson Show" on KLOL informed listeners that if they wanted to keep listening, they had better learnSpanish.
On November 12, 2004, after a rerun of the "Walton & Johnson Show", KLOL segued into the "10 O'Clock Rock Block" as normal. Then, at 10:11 am, the station changed its format toHurban (Spanish-languagehip hop music).[7][8][9][10] "I'm Free" by The Who would bookend the 34-year history of KLOL as a rock station.
In the fall of 2007, KLOL redesigned the station's entire look, changing the format to a more contemporaryLatin pop sound under the direction of Clear Channel's Senior VPAlfredo Alonso. This design was made to better compete with other Spanish-language stations on the Houston radio dial. The name MEGA 101 was kept, while thelogo was changed. The website was also redesigned. Dayna Steele began to learn Spanish while she prepared for a career in politics.
On December 15, 2008, Clear Channel andCBS Radio announced a multi-station swap: KLOL and co-owned 96.5 KHMX would go to CBS Radio, while CBS Radio-owned stationsWQSR inBaltimore,KBKS-FM inSeattle,KLTH andKXJM inPortland, Oregon, andKQJK inSacramento, California, would go to Clear Channel. The sale was approved on March 31, 2009, and was consummated on April 1.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge withEntercom.[11] The merger was approved on November 9, and was consummated on the November 17.[12][13]
On September 25, 2018, Entercom struck a new content deal withNBCUniversal Television Group stationKTMD (Telemundo Channel 47). The TV station will provide news, weather and other content for KLOL programming.[14]
On November 12, 2012, after eight years of absence, Rock 101 KLOL returned as anInternet radio format.[15][16] The online-only version plays classic, progressive and some contemporary rock as well as blues-rock, often commercial-free. The Internet station is run by volunteers and uses a listener-supported business model. It is not owned by Audacy.
The station has several syndicated shows as well as original programming. Classic station imaging is played and old clips of Stevens & Pruett's "Uncle Waldo" are aired on Friday mornings. Former "on air" personalities such as the late Jim Pruett, Dayna Steele and Scotty Phillips have contributed with sweepers and station drops, along with other material.
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