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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
| Frequency | 1260kHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Catholic radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Relevant Radio, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | December 18, 1926 (98 years ago) (1926-12-18) |
Former call signs |
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Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | "San Francisco Bay" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 6369 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts day 1,000 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | |
| Translator | see below |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | relevantradio |
KSFB (1260AM) is aradio station licensed toSan Francisco, California. It broadcastsRelevant Radio, aRoman Catholic radio format, to theSan Francisco Bay Area of the United States. It was previously known as KYA (AM) until 1983, and KOIT (AM) and KXLR after that.
The AM station was a simulcast of the former sister stationKOIT-FM, and unlike that station, continued to be owned byBonneville International until February 1, 2008, when it was officially sold toIHR Educational Broadcasting.
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The station originated as KYA in1926, and has had 14 owners and 4 different callsigns in 85 years. KYA was owned by everyone fromHearst Corporation toAvco Broadcasting of California, a subsidiary ofthe jet and aerospace contractor.[2]
KYA went on the air on December 18, 1926, with 500watts on 970 kHz. from theClift Hotel in San Francisco.[3] The owners were Vincent I. Kraft of Seattle, who had startedKJR (AM) there, and Frederick C. Clift of San Francisco. It got a license for 1,000 watts on 850 kHz. in November 1927. Its studios moved to theWarfield Theatre building at 988 Market Street, but the transmitter stayed at the Clift Hotel.[2]
In November 1928,Johnny Patrick and Helen Troy, developed a musical comedy routine of “Cecil and Sally”, first broadcast in 1928 on KYA, and debutedThe Funniest Things on a West Coast connection of a short-lived ABC network, later, after the ABC network went bankrupt, in 1929, it moved toKPO and the NBC Pacific Coast Network. In 1930, Patrick and Troy syndicated their programs to other radio stations byelectrical transcription records, made at the MacGregor[4] and Sollie recording studio in San Francisco, with the program heard on over 53 radio stations, including 27 states, 5 Canadian provinces, the Hawaiian Islands, Australia and New Zealand,[5] between 1930 and 1933.[6]
In November 1928, KYA moved to 1230 kHz. as part of a nationwide frequency reshuffling, and joined theColumbia Broadcasting System. By May 1929 its transmitter was reported to be at 680 Geary Street at Taylor Street. The station licensee went bankrupt in August, and KYA was transferred to a new corporation by the end of 1929. The transmitter facility was moved again, on 25 June 1930, to theWhitcomb Hotel.[2]Having moved to various locations around the radio dial during the chaotic early days of broadcasting, KYA was assigned permanently to 1260 kHz. as a result of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) in1941.[2]
In the mid-1950s, KYA made its mark as arock and roll station. KYA was for many years the leadingTop 40 music radio station in the Bay Area, until the stronger-signalledKFRC switched to the format in1966. From time to time, up through 1970, KYA would again beat KFRC in theArbitron ratings, but KYA's dominance was truly over after the mid-1960s.[citation needed] Former KYA morning man and legendary radio programmerBill Drake went on to consult KFRC to its ratings success; it was at KYA that Drake first made his mark as program director. KYA was also instrumental in the careers of future sportscaster Johnny Holliday, audio and electronics store pitchmanTom Campbell,[7] Hall of Fame disc jockey andunderground radio pioneerTom Donahue (a.k.a. "Big Daddy"), and Tommy Saunders, who retired from KYA's successor, KOIT, in2006.
Other notable disc jockeys who plied their trade on KYA's airwaves in the 1960s includedLes Crane, (air name Johnny Raven),Casey Kasem,Jim Stagg, Bobby Mitchell, Norman Davis, "Emperor" Gene Nelson,Peter Tripp,Tony Bigg,Russ "The Moose" Syracuse, Chris Edwards,[7] Ed Hider,Johnny Holliday,Bill Holley (a cousin ofBuddy Holly),[7] Bwana Johnny, andGary Shaffer. The 1970s saw a staff that includedChristopher Cain,Roger W. Morgan, Jay Stone, Scott Thomas, Steve Jordan, Jimmy "Jet" Powers, Jeff Serr,Gary Mora, andMichael Rivers.[8]
In the mid-1960s, a group of KYA DJs, led by Holliday, formed a basketball team known as the KYA Oneders (pronounced "Wonders"). The team played many Bay Area high school faculties, helping the schools raise funds for a variety of programs. Perhaps the most famous of the Oneders wasRick Barry, who played for the team during the 1967-68 campaign before jumping from the NBA'sSan Francisco Warriors to the ABA'sOakland Oaks.
During the 1960s, the radio station issued weekly tabloid newsletters and hit sheets, TheKYA Swingin' Sixty and later theKYA Beat (also known asThe Official Top 30). These popular flyers were available at Bay Area record stores and other sponsor locations. The station's under-promoted news team included Mark Adams(Don Allen), Terry Sullivan,Larry Buller, (air name of Larry Brownell),Tony Tremayne (air name of Mel Fritze) and Brad Messer, who would later be inducted in theTexas Radio Hall of Fame.
In September 1979, KYA AM & FM flipped to a light album rock format under the title "Easy Rock 93." Within months the AM station would flip again, this time to an oldies format while the FM station would continue the light album rock format as KLHT (K-LITE). Morgan, Mora, Serr and Syracuse would be brought back to revive the station from its heyday. This format would hold until the station was sold in 1983.
KYA's dominance was basically over by the late 1960s when FM stations began playing rock & roll and gained large chunks of the audiences. King Broadcasting took over on November 1, 1977.
KYA, which became KOIT in1983 under the ownership of Bonneville International Corp., still transmits from the station's classicJulia Morgan-designed transmitter building onCandlestick Point, with studios at 2nd and Howard inSan Francisco. Morgan was on retainer for Hearst, and the building has the trademark Hearst eagle above the front door.
A KYA jingle can be heard at the beginning of the movieZodiac. A commercial for a now-defunct localSan Francisco Bay Area retailer, Gensler-Lee Diamonds, can be heard preceding the jingle. "Gensler-Lee Diamond; Gensler-Lee Diamonds; the place to buy diamonds if you're really smart; Gensler-Lee Diamonds... the store... with a heart!"
In mid-2007, Bonneville reached an agreement to sell the 1260 AM frequency toIHR Educational Broadcasting. IHR took over the station's operations in December of that year under a time-brokerage agreement, and officially closed on the station on February 1, 2008.
In 2007, KOIT (the former 1260/KYA) became KSFB, a Catholic-oriented station owned byImmaculate Heart Radio. Ironically, KYA's chief Top 40 rival in the 1960s and 1970s, KFRC (610 AM), is now the Christian-orientedKEAR (the KFRC call letters would return in January 2009, this time at1550 AM replacing KYCY and the station is owned byCBS Radio).
On December 10, 2007, a religious format came to 1260 AM; the call sign was changed to KSFB. KSFB is part of one of the largest Catholic radio networks in America, and its daily broadcasts include daily Mass and rosary. Many other programs, such asLife Is Worth Living with BishopFulton J. Sheen, Fr.John Corapi, andMother Angelica, were also on the air.[citation needed]
KSFB flipped to theRelevant Radio branding when IHR Educational Broadcasting and Starboard Media Foundation consummated their merger on July 3, 2017.[9]
In addition to the main station, KSFB is relayed by these translators.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K269FB | 101.7 FM | San Francisco, California | 147348 | 240 | D | LMS |
| K285FA | 104.9 FM | Walnut Creek, California | 18542 | 99 | D | LMS |
