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| Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 103.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Classic Hits 103.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic hits |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KIOI,KISQ,KKSF,KMEL,KNEW,KYLD | |
| History | |
First air date | November 3, 1947; 78 years ago (1947-11-03) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Oldies San Francisco" (previous format) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 65484 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 6,400 watts |
| HAAT | 403 meters (1,322 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°41′17″N122°26′10″W / 37.688°N 122.436°W /37.688; -122.436 |
| Repeater | 103.7 KOSF-FM2 (Pleasanton) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | classichits1037 |
KOSF (103.7FM) is acommercial radio stationlicensed toSan Francisco, California. It airs aclassic hitsradio format and is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. KOSF's studios are on Townsend Street in San Francisco'sSoMa district.
KOSF has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 6,400 watts. Itstransmitter is located on Colma Road atopSan Bruno Mountain inBrisbane.[2] KOSF broadcasts usingHD Radio technology.
The stationsigned on the air on November 3, 1947; 78 years ago (November 3, 1947).[3] Its originalcall sign was KGO-FM and it was owned byABC Radio. It mostly simulcast itssister station,KGO810 AM, occasionally airing astereo version ofThe Lawrence Welk Show. The original frequency was 106.1 MHz, later moving to its current 103.7 MHz.
By the late 1960s, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) began requiring FM stations to offer separate programming from that of their AM counterparts. KGO-FM, like other ABC-owned FM stations around the country, became an outlet forLove, anautomatedprogressive rock format.
To develop a separate identity from its AM counterpart, KGO-FM changed its call sign to KSFX in early 1971. Its progressive rock format continued until May 1973, when KSFX switched to aTop 40 "Musicradio" approach, similar toWABC in New York City. By late 1974, the station veered towards adance/soul-flavored format. During the late 1970s, KSFX had a brief run with adisco music format.
In late 1980, KSFX switched to analbum-oriented rock (AOR) format modeled after sister stationKLOS in Los Angeles andWPLJ in New York. It played the top songs from the best selling rock albums. This lasted until May 1982. Stiff competition from rival rock stationsKMEL andCBS-ownedKRQR prompted KSFX to drop AOR.
In 1982, the station returned to its KGO-FM call letters and switched toAll-Talk, based on 810 KGO's success as San Francisco's top station. While KGO had mostly local talk hosts, KGO-FM featured programs from the ABC-syndicatedTalkradio network, along with some local shows.
ABC sold the station on January 1, 1984, to Weaver, Davis, Fowler (WDF), which ownedKLOK1170 AM inSan Jose. Accordingly, the station was renamed KLOK-FM. (This is not connected with the currentKLOK-FM, aRegional Mexican station inGreenfield.)
KLOK-FM had an interactiveadult contemporary format called "Yes/No Radio." Listeners would call in their votes on whether songs should remain on or to be removed from theplaylist. This only lasted three years.
In 1987, the station was sold to Brown Broadcasting Corporation. The call sign was changed to KKSF and under the direction of formerKIFM programmer-turned-consultant Bob O'Connor and associate Michael Fischer. They specialized in a format that at first was termed "new adult contemporary" or NAC. The description later evolved tosmooth jazz.
KKSF debuted on July 31, 1987, at midnight. The first song played was "Back In The High Life Again" bySteve Winwood. The general manager from 1987 to 1997 was David A. Kendrick. Liner notes of the first "KKSF Sampler for AIDS Relief" list the members of the group responsible for the development of the KKSF concept as Willet Brown, Mike Brown, Dave Kendrick, Phil Melrose, Bob O'Connor, Michael Fischer, and Steve Feinstein.
Steve Feinstein, who had previously been a format editor at trade magazineRadio & Records, was chosen by consultant Bob O'Connor and GM Dave Kendrick to be KKSF's first program director. Until his death in 1996, Feinstein guided KKSF to be one of the leading stations in the NAC/Smooth Jazz format. He was known for being open and responsive to listener comments and suggestions. He constantly searched for new and interesting music that fit the KKSF sound, often gravitating to lesser-known imports and hard-to-find, out-of-print selections.
In 1988, the station teamed with theSan Francisco AIDS Foundation to produce their firstKKSF Sampler for AIDS Relief album. Songs were donated by the artists so that KKSF could give all the net proceeds from the sale of the Sampler albums to the foundation. Often, the Sampler CDs were the only way to find certain KKSF listener favorites that had otherwise gone out of print. There were seven KKSF Samplers produced by Dave Kendrick and Steve Feinstein, with Sampler 7 being dedicated to Feinstein's memory, as he died in September 1996, during the album's creation.
KKSF was the first commercial radio station to have a presence on theWorld Wide Web. In October 1993, the station launched a website created by chief engineer Tim Pozar and morning host Roger Coryell, using theURLhttp://kksf.tbo.com and laterhttp://www.kksf.com. The site was hosted byInternet service provider TLGNet, which was co-founded by Pozar.[4]
In 1993, Brown Broadcasting purchased classical stationKDFC (then at 102.1 FM). The two stations were co-located at 455 Market Street until 1997, when both were sold to Evergreen Media. Evergreen sold KDFC toBonneville International that same year but kept KKSF, which eventually passed to Chancellor Broadcasting, AMFM Broadcasting, and finallyClear Channel Communications during a short period of rapid ownership changes in the late 1990s. Studios were moved to their present location at 340 Townsend Street in 1998.
The sound of KKSF changed with the new ownership. The smooth jazz consultancy Broadcast Architecture became more involved with the station at this time. Gradually, the station became more like other stations in the US using the "Smooth Jazz" handle, dropping some of its more eclectic music along the way in favor of mass appealR&B songs.
The 2000s brought many changes to KKSF. In 2001, several announcers left, with a number of them going to former sister station KDFC. Former KKSF morning host John Evans joined KDFC where he hosted the afternoon show for seven years. Through the next eight years, the number of live announcers on staff gradually decreased, as KKSF began airing syndicated programming in morning drive, like the nationalWake Up with Whoopi show hosted byWhoopi Goldberg, and laterThe Ramsey Lewis Morning Show, featuring pianistRamsey Lewis. In 2008, KKSF addedThe Dave Koz Radio Show in afternoons. By the end of the smooth jazz era at KKSF, only midday personality Miranda Wilson was truly live in her time slot.
On May 18, 2009, at 3 pm, KKSF flipped toclassic rock, branded as "103.7 The Band". Owner Clear Channel cited economic considerations and the results of "exhaustive market research". The first song on "The Band" was "Everybody's Everything" bySantana.[5] The demise of smooth jazz on KKSF also ended one of the Bay Area's most spirited radio rivalries, that withurban adult contemporary stationKBLX-FM, which often included smooth jazz as part of its "quiet storm" format.
In its first few months as "The Band", KKSF increased its listenership among adults ages 25–54, considered amore desirable group by advertisers than KKSF's previous audience, which skewed considerably older. The station featured mostly out-of-market personalities whovoice-tracked their shows, and had a very small local staff.
KKSF began shifting towards aclassic hits format in February 2011 afterEntercom added classic rock onKUZX (using the frequency of KKSF's one-time sister station KDFC). In the Bay Area, the classic hits format had previously been heard onCBS Radio'sKFRC-FM, which became a simulcast ofall-newsKCBS in October 2008.
The transition to classic hits on KKSF was completed on April 8, 2011, at 3 pm, when the station rebranded as "Oldies 103.7". The last song on "The Band" was "Changes" byDavid Bowie, while the first song on "Oldies" was "I Got You (I Feel Good)" byJames Brown.[6][7] The branding was changed to simply "103.7 FM" in December. On January 3, 2012, KKSF changed its call sign to KOSF.[8]
In November 2013, KOSF adopted a new on-air moniker, "The Bay's 103.7". The station rebranded again on May 2, 2014, at 5 pm, this time to "Big 103.7". No programming or staff changes were made in either case. The first song on "Big" was "Born to Be Wild" bySteppenwolf.[9]
On June 6, 2016, iHeartMedia announced that KOSF would flip toall-1980s hits as "iHeart80s @ 103.7" that day at noon. The change came after its namesake webstream was ranked the most-listened-to stream on theiHeartRadio streaming platform and mobile application for 2016. The last song on Big was "Last Dance" byDonna Summer, and the first song on iHeart80s was "We Built This City" by San Francisco bandStarship.
KOSF aired commercial-free for its first eight days.MTVVJMartha Quinn began hosting the station's morningdrive time show on June 14.[10][11]
On May 24, 2021, at 10 am, KOSF relaunched with a broader-based classic hits format as "80s Plus 103.7". While 1980s hits still remain the focus of the format, the change saw the station added some songs from the late 1970s and the 1990s. To a certain extent, this brought the station closer to what it was prior to the debut of the prior format. The last song as "iHeart '80s" was "Oh Sherrie" byHanford nativeSteve Perry, while the first song as "80s Plus" was "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" byJoan Jett & the Blackhearts.
Shortly after the move, in January 2022, likely due to popularity of her morning show on KOSF, Martha Quinn was chosen to become a national show host across all of iHeart's classic hits stations, including KOSF. Her syndicated show was offered to stations in their midday time slot. To fill in the morning show gap, KOSF promoted Christie James, former midday DJ and co-host of the Martha Quinn Show. Her show was named "Morning Drive with Christie Live". Former show producer Karena Velasquez was promoted to co-host.[12][13]
On August 2, 2024, KOSF rebranded as "Classic Hits 103.7". The rebranding broadens the stations playlist from being mostly 80s centric, as it reintroduces 70s and 90s back into the rotation along with 80s hits.[14]
KOSF is rebroadcast on the followingFM booster:
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOSF-FM2 | 103.7 FM | Pleasanton, California | 86911 | 185 (Vert.) | 1,000 m (3,281 ft) | D | LMS |