KSWD (94.1FM, "Emma 94.1") is an radio station inSeattle, Washington. Owned byAudacy, Inc., it broadcasts ahot adult contemporary format. KSWD's studios are located on Fifth Avenue inDowntown Seattle; the station broadcasts from two transmitters located nearIssaquah onTiger Mountain, with its main transmitter operating at 73 kWeffective radiated power (ERP) and its auxiliary transmitter operating at an ERP of 53 kW.

KSWD

Seattle, Washington United States
Broadcast area	Seattle metropolitan area
Frequency	94.1MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	Emma 94.1
Programming
Language	English
Format	Hot adult contemporary
Ownership
Owner	Audacy, Inc. (Audacy License, LLC)
Sister stations	KHTP KISW KKWF KNDD
History
First air date	July 8, 1961 (1961-07-08)
Former call signs	KOL-FM (1961–1975) KEUT (1975–1978) KMPS-FM (1978–2017)
Call sign meaning	Sounds like "sound" (former station branding)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	20356
Class	C
ERP	73,000 watts
HAAT	698 meters (2,290 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	47°30′17″N121°58′08″W / 47.504639°N 121.968833°W /47.504639; -121.968833
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live (via Audacy)
Website	www.audacy.com/emma941seattle

KSWD broadcasts inHD Radio, formerly carrying ablues format on its HD2 subchannel branded asThe Delta.

The station's legacy on FM radio dates back to July 8, 1961, when it signed on as KOL-FM, asimulcast of itsAM sister stationKOL (1300 AM). From 1962 to 1967, KOL-FM was owned by television producers and game show mogulsMark Goodson andBill Todman;^[2] during this period, KOL-AM-FM airedtop 40 andmiddle of the road formats.^[3][4][5][6] The pair of stations was sold to Buckley Broadcasting in 1967.^[7]

The station had aprogressive rock format from 1968 to 1975, competing withKISW and, starting in 1974,KZOK-FM.

In 1975, the station changed itscall letters to KEUT and its format tobeautiful music.

The station changed to its long-runningcountry music format as KMPS-FM on February 1, 1978,^[8] continuing to simulcast its AM sister. Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, KMPS-FM was the dominant (and sometimes only) country station in the Seattle area.^[9][10]

EZ Communications bought KMPS-AM-FM from Hercules Broadcasting in 1986.^[11] EZ sold the AM station toSalem Communications ten years later in 1996. In July 1997, EZ merged withAmerican Radio Systems.Westinghouse/CBS bought American Radio Systems' stations (including KMPS) on September 19, 1997.^[12] In June 1998, CBS split off the radio division under the revivedInfinity Broadcasting name, which would be renamedCBS Radio in December 2005.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge withEntercom. KMPS would be retained by the new company, making it a sister station to country competitorKKWF as well asKHTP, KISW, andKNDD.^[13] To meet ownership limits set by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC), sister stationsKFNQ,KJAQ, and KZOK-FM were divested toiHeartMedia.^[14] The merger was approved on November 9, and was consummated on November 17.^[15][16] At noon on the same day as the completion of the merger, after playing "Friends in Low Places" byGarth Brooks, KMPS-FM switched to all-Christmas music, leading to speculation that the station was planning to change formats after the holiday season. On-air personality Deanna Lee denied that this was the case, and stated that KMPS would remain a country station.^[17][18] However, the rumors would turn out to be true.

On December 4, 2017, at 9:12 am, KMPS-FM flipped tosoft adult contemporary as94.1 The Sound, launching with "Hello" byLionel Richie. The change briefly made KKWF the only country station in Seattle, beforeKVRQ abruptly flipped to the format in response later that morning.^[19][20][21] The station's call letters were changed to KSWD on December 11, these calls were previously used byKKLQ, an Entercom rock station divested during the merger which had also branded itself as "The Sound".^[19][22] The KMPS calls were moved to sister stationKRAK inHesperia, California.

On January 16, 2018, formerKMTT morning host John Fisher was announced as KSWD's morning host beginning January 22.^[23] Ten days later on January 26, it was announced that Seattle resident and nationally syndicated personalityDelilah would become the station's midday host beginning January 29. Alongside her daytime program on weekdays, KSWD airs her syndicated program on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.^[24]

In May 2018, Smokey Rivers (who previously worked for iHeartMedia's Phoenix cluster andKMXZ-FM, and was CBS Radio's president of adult contemporary from 2000 to 2005) was named the station's program director, and began to additionally host afternoons.^[25] In October 2018, Jeanne Ashley was named assistant program director and new morning co-host.^[26]

On September 4, 2024, at 10 a.m., KSWD flipped tohot adult contemporary asEmma 94.1; the flip brought the format back to the market a little over five months afterKPLZ-FM flipped toclassic country.^[27]

KSWD broadcasts inHD Radio with one digital subchannel and a former channel:^[28]

• KSWD-HD1 is a digital simulcast of the analog signal.
• KSWD-HD2 formerly broadcast ablues format known as "The Delta". The HD2 subchannel has since been turned off.

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 20356 (KSWD) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• KSWD inNielsen Audio's FM station database