 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "KIOZ" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater San Diego |
| Frequency | 105.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Rock 105.3 |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Active rock |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KGB,KGB-FM,KHTS-FM,KLSD,KMYI,KOGO,KSSX | |
| History | |
First air date | 1954 (as KSON-FM) |
Former call signs | KSON-FM (1955–1957) KPAY (1957) KDFR (1957–1958) KITT (1958–1981) KCBQ-FM (1981–1996) |
Call sign meaning | IOZ looks like the number102 (original frequency was 102.1 FM, nowKLVJ) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 13504 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 26,000watts |
| HAAT | 210 meters (690 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 32°50′20″N117°14′59″W / 32.838944°N 117.249750°W /32.838944; -117.249750 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | rock1053.iheart.com |
KIOZ (105.3FM, "Rock 105.3") is acommercialradio station that islicensed toSan Diego, California. The station is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasts anactive rockmusic format. KIOZ's studios are located in San Diego'sSerra Mesa neighborhood on the northeast side, and the transmitter is located inLa Jolla.
The station at 105.3 FM went on the air in 1954 as KSON-FM, co-owned withKSON (AM). It broadcast initially on 101.5 MHz and moved to 104.7 MHz at the end of 1954. The station changedcall letters twice in 1957; the second call sign, KDFR, reflected its ownership byDorothy and C.FredricRabell.
In March 1958, the newly renamed KITT, abeautiful music-formatted station, began broadcasting on 105.3 MHz. The transmitter was located in downtown San Diego atop the Bank of America building. The station struggled financially for many years; the station was perpetually for sale, at one point for as low as $100,000. KITT was airing an Adult Contemporary format in 1978 when it went off the air due to transmitter problems, and remained so for more than a year.
When KITT returned to the air in March 1979, it adopted a Disco format. "K105" as it was branded, debuted in the April/May 1979 ratings with a 4.2 share, though the numbers quickly receded.[1]
In 1981, KITT was bought by the owners ofKCBQ and begansimulcasting its new AM counterpart as KCBQ-FM. The station changed formats many times. First, following the end of the simulcast, KCBQ-FM signed on as "KCBQ Country" to compete withKSON-FM (97.3 FM). When that effort failed, it became "The Eagle", another flop.
KCBQ-FM eventually found success as anoldies station. Owner Compass Media proceeded to rehire former program director Rich Brother Robbin, who adjusted the format to "modern oldies". In October 1995, Compass sold six stations, including KCBQ-AM-FM, to Par Broadcasting for $68 million.[2]
On April 1, 1996 at midnight, KCBQ-FM swapped frequencies with KIOZ, transferring the latter station's call letters andactive rock format from102.1 FM (IOZ resembles the number 102) to 105.3 FM. Meanwhile, KCBQ's call sign was dropped in favor of a new identity: KXST, for "Sets FM", with anadult album alternative (AAA) format.[3][4] In October 1996, just one year after purchasing KIOZ, Par Broadcasting sold its four-station San Diego cluster toJacor Communications for $72 million, part of a complex four-way swap of stations throughout California.[5]
The new "Rock 105.3" thrived under Jacor. KIOZ aired the syndicated programThe Howard Stern Show weekday mornings after it was pulled from Mexican radio stationXETRA-FM. Shannon Leader was on-air middays, B.C. and Woody hosted afternoon drive, Mikey Esparza (later ofThe Mikey Show) was on evenings, and Mark The Shark hosted the overnight slot. It also had controversial moments, such as the "head up your ass" billboard of the late 1990s.
In 2004,The Mikey Show replaced Howard Stern on the KIOZ lineup. This change resulted fromClear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), which purchased Jacor, canceling Stern's morning show from the six Clear Channel-owned stations that carried it, owing to the "Nipplegate incident at Super Bowl XXXVIII. (Stern would move toKPLN that summer, then ultimately off terrestrial radio altogether — and thus outsideFCCindecency regulation — when he moved toSirius Satellite Radio in January 2006.)The Mikey Show itself left KIOZ in 2010 when Esparza moved toKBZT.[6]
KIOZ was the flagship station of theSan Diego Chargers football team from 2005 until their relocation after the2016 NFL season. Staffing the microphones for pre-game shows were Eddie "The Oracle" Pappani (from KIOZ morning drive programThe Show), and former NFL playersLew Bush andJim Laslavic of San Diego'sKNSD.
ReplacingThe Mikey Show inmorning drive is a program known simply asThe Show, which debuted on January 4, 2010. The show has a cast of four: Eddie, Sky, Thor and Emily. Costa, as he is referred to on-air, left the program in August 2012. After 13 years, Ashlee left on September 5, 2017. Emily, the newest member ofThe Show, joined on January 2, 2018.[7]
| ByAM frequency | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ByFM frequency |
| ||||
| NOAA Weather Radio frequency | |||||
| Digital radio by frequency & subchannel | |||||
| Bycall sign | |||||
| Defunct | |||||
