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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Phoenix metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 101.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Live 101-5 |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Contemporary hits |
| Subchannels |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | July 5, 1964 (1964-07-05) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Arizona's Live Station |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 63913 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 530 meters (1,740 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°19′52″N112°03′47″W / 33.331°N 112.063°W /33.331; -112.063 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website | www |
KALV-FM (101.5FM, "Live 101-5") is a commercialradio station licensed toPhoenix, Arizona, United States. It is owned byAudacy, Inc. and it airs acontemporary hit format. KALV-FM's studios are located in downtown Phoenix, and its transmitter is inSouth Mountain Park.[1]
On July 5, 1964, the station signed on the air as KHEP-FM and aired aclassical music format.[2] It was owned by Grand Canyon Broadcasting, along with religious station1280 AM KHEP (nowKXEG). In 1973, KHEP-FM moved from the AM radio tower to a new facility on South Mountain, increasing its effective radiated power from 26 to 100 kilowatts. In 1985, KHEP-FM was sold to the owners of theBoston Globe and took thecall sign KONC ("Concert 101"). On March 31, 1986, the station abandoned classical music for satellite-deliveredsoft rock as KAMJ ("Magic 101"), using theTranstar Radio Networks' 'Format 41' service, with a local morning show anchored by Mike Del Rosso.[3][4][5]
By 1989,EZ Communications had taken the station completely live and local with ahot adult contemporary format as "The All New Magic 101". On May 7, 1990, it moved to amainstream adult contemporary format as KMXX ("Mix 101").[6]
After being sold to Sundance Broadcasting in 1992, the station would switch toAAA under the callsign KZON ("The Zone") on July 31.[7][8] The "Zone" moniker would carry throughout its incarnations ofmodern rock,modern AC,Adult Top 40 and back to modern rock in 2000. In 2002, KZON began airingThe Howard Stern Show, a nationally syndicated talk show, until its move away from terrestrial radio to XM satellite radio (laterSirius XM) in January 2006.[9]
To replace the Stern show, it was announced on December 23, 2005, that KZON would adopt CBS Radio'sFree FM format, featuring mostly nationally syndicatedhot talk shows includingThe Adam Carolla Show, Frosty, Heidi & Frank,The Tom Leykis Show andPhil Hendrie. On January 3, 2006, the station switched from a focus on Modern Rock to the male-targeted talk format, with rock music played during overnights and weekends.[10] During its brief run, it attempted to appeal toward young adult men, as CBS Radio had high hopes that this format would do well in Phoenix, using a promotional campaign that came along with it. On January 3, 2007, KZON reduced the music content and began to add more talk shows to the weekend lineup, and a taped Tom Leykis episode airing overnights, all in an attempt to attract more listeners.
Despite some ratings growth, the hot talk format proved to be a failure in the market, especially whentalk radio stationKTAR moved toFM in January 2007. Rumors of a format change came true at 5 p.m. on June 21, 2007, when the station's broadcast of theTom Leykis Show was "hijacked" by station intern 'Renaldo', who began playing all-Paris Hilton music, while starting a petition on its website to free Hilton, who was serving a brief prison sentence at the time.[11] At 5 p.m. the next day, KZON flipped torhythmic CHR as "101-5 Jamz, Blazin' the Valley's Hits & Hip-Hop". The first song played on "Jamz" was "Party Like a Rockstar" by theShop Boyz.[12][13][14]
KZON was the fourth station to drop the Free FM format, following sister stationKSCF inSan Diego, California, which flipped toModern AC, sister station and former Free FMflagship WFNYNew York City, which returned toActive rock and its original call letters and monikerWXRK (K-Rock 92.3), and sister station KIFR/San Francisco, which picked up theKFRC-FM call letters andClassic Hits format from its sister station (which is nowKMVQ) after it dropped the aforementioned format several months earlier. As with many format changes in radio, there has been a backlash from fans of Free FM who wanted to see the station and its personalities return.[15][16] The former Free FM website was linked to the stream of sister stationKLSX "97.1 Free FM" inLos Angeles, where Carolla and Leykis originated until 2009, when KLSX dropped the format for Top 40.[17][additional citation(s) needed]
In regarding KZON's flip to rhythmic, the station began attackingKKFR, saying that the "Power" has been turned off (in reference to KKFR's frequency switch from 92.3 to 98.3) and "Where Hip Hop USED to live." KZON also boasted on air to playing "100,000 watts of 'Static-Free' Hip-Hop" and borrowedApple's "Mac vs. PC" ad campaign in which KZON billed itself as the "Mac" to KKFR's "PC". In addition, the station also attempted to take on Top 40 rivalKZZP, the formerRhythmic AC (latertop 40) stationKMVA, and (as of 2013) former Old School Hip-Hop turned RhythmicKNRJ. In response to KZON's debut and full-powered signal range, KKFR's then-programming director Bruce St. James stated he wasn't worried, tellingthe Arizona Republic, "What are they going to do? Play more hip-hop than us? Really, I think we'll be OK."[11] St. James would end up joining KZON as its new PD in January 2010,[18] but after almost three months on the job, he resigned on March 30, 2010, to pursue other opportunities. In November 2008, KZON switched its slogan to "The Valley's #1 Hit Music Station", a slogan that KKFR would also adopt the following December, giving the Phoenix area two radio stations with the same format and slogan. Since then, KKFR has dropped that slogan.
As of 2010, KZON has expanded its focus to include Dance and Pop tracks, overtaking KZZP and KKFR in the Arbitron PPMs.[19]
In 2013, KZON dropped the "Jamz" portion of its moniker and branded itself as just "101.5". On September 6, the station rebranded as "Live 101-5", and shifted its playlist to more mainstream material, but would later scale back on Pop/Rock product and focus more on Rhythmic Pop/Dance hits.[20] KZON reports toMediabase as a Top 40/CHR reporter, but continued to report toBDS as a Rhythmic reporter until March 2015, putting the station in line with CBS Radio's Top 40/CHR presentation, which emphasizes current Rhythmic Pop and Dance product, along with daily and weekend mix shows that continued after the rebranding.
The station changed its call sign to KALV-FM on June 1, 2016.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom (NowAudacy, Inc.).[21] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[22][23]
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