| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater San Diego |
| Frequency | 103.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 103.7 KSON |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Country music |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | February 1965 (1965-02)[1] |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | From the 97.3 frequency's original AM sister station KSON (nowKNSN); likely ahomonym for "sun" |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 59816 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 26,500 watts |
| HAAT | 210 meters (690 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 32°50′20″N117°14′59″W / 32.8389°N 117.2498°W /32.8389; -117.2498 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
KSON (103.7MHz, "103-7 KSON") is a commercialFMradio stationlicensed toSan Diego, California. Owned byAudacy, Inc., the station broadcasts acountry musicformat.
The station's current call letters and programming originate from a sister station now known asKWFN. Following Entercom (now Audacy)'s merger withCBS Radio, the new sister stations swapped signals to improve KSON's reach following the divestment of itsformer simulcast partner on 92.1 FM. Prior to its current format, the station had aired beautiful music, top 40, various adult contemporary formats, and classic rock formats, as well as CBS Radio's ultimately unsuccessfulhot talk formatFree FM.
KSON broadcasts in theHD Radio format; its second subchannel formerly featured alegendary country format branded asNashville Legends.
The station began broadcasting in February 1965 as KSDO-FM, and aired aclassical music format.[3][1][4] It was co-owned withKSDO AM.
In spring 1971, the station adopted a country music format.[5] On August 16, 1971, the station's call sign was changed to KOZN-FM, and it was branded "Your Country Cousin".[6][4] The station was later branded "Z-104".[7][8]
On September 7, 1977, the station adopted abeautiful music format.[8] On May 20, 1979, the call letters were changed to KJQY and the station was known as "K-Joy".[4][9] In the late 1980s, KJQY and otherGroup Weasy listening stations shifted to a format termed "adult spectrum radio".[10] Instrumentals continued to make up a majority of the station's playlist, but it became morejazz oriented.[10]
In 1990, it shifted to asoft AC format.[11] The station was branded "Sunny 103.7".[12]
On February 16, 1995, it became "Rock Mix 103.7", playingclassic rock music.[13][14] Its callsign was changed to KMKX the following month.[15] On July 5, 1996, the call letters changed to KPLN and the station was then known as "The Planet", continuing with a classic rock format.[15][16][17] TheKPLN calls are now assigned to ahot adult contemporary station servingBillings, Montana.
On October 25, 2005, the station changed formats from classic rock to anFM talk format with the brand "Free FM", and their call letters changed on October 28 from KPLN to KSCF.[18][15] In December 2005,Howard Stern left the terrestrial airwaves and moved toSirius Satellite Radio. At the beginning,Adam Carolla was their morning show host. He started January 3, 2006, replacing Stern.
On March 1, 2006,The Phil Hendrie Show was replaced by theDick and Skibba Show, a local show formerly from sister97.1 Free FM in Los Angeles. The show aired in the 7pm-10pm time slot, then the only live and local talk show in San Diego in the evening. As a result, this pushedPhil Hendrie to a later 10pm-1am time slot. Dick and Skibba were fired on February 14, 2007, according toprogram director Jim Daniels, the show was toocerebral forSan Diego.
On March 5, 2007, the Generation Y University Show replaced theDick and Skibba show. The show was hosted by three 23-year-old men who were allMt. Carmel High Schoolalumni who grew up inRancho Peñasquitos. The show had previously aired on Sunday afternoons from 5pm-7pm. The show was cancelled on April 25, 2007, and replaced by Generic Radio.
At first, CBS Radio had high hopes for KSCF with extensive marketing aimed at attracting the adult male demos, but ever since they switched formats from KPLN toFree FM, the station's ratings started to drop. In fall 2005, (when 103.7 became Free FM), ratings were at a 2.2 share, mainly due toHoward Stern being the morning show host. In the beginning of 2006, 103.7's ratings dropped in half to a rating of 1.1, due to a much less popularAdam Carolla morning show. The ratings would later slip in Summer 2006 to a rating of 1.0, and remained at 1.0 in theFall 2006.[1][permanent dead link]
In the end, the attempt to make Free FM a success in San Diego had proven to be too difficult and like otherFree FM sister stations inNew York City (WFNY) andSan Francisco (KIFR), which returned toactive rock andclassic hits respectively, KSCF decided to switch formats in June 2007. To add to the demise of theFree FM family of stations, its sister station inPhoenix (KZON) flipped toRhythmic Contemporary at the same exact time as KSCF's format switch.
On June 22, 2007, at 3 p.m., KSCF flipped toOldies as "K-Surf 103.7." The first song played was "Surfin' U.S.A." byThe Beach Boys. They were supposed to be the market's first FM Oldies outlet since 2005, whenXHOCL had the format prior to its flip toRegional Mexican. The last song played in the short-lived oldies format was "Bobby's Girl" byMarcie Blane. Following "Bobby's Girl" at 5 p.m., the Oldies format turned out to be a stunt as the station revealed its true format,Modern AC, branded as “Sophie @ 103.7”, adapted slightly from sister stationKLLC inSan Francisco, which is known asAlice @ 97.3. Its first song under this format wasJack Johnson's "Upside Down", followed byFall Out Boy's "Thnks fr th Mmrs."
On March 29, 2012, CBS Radio announced that at 5 pm that day, it would flip KSCF to aCHR format with a heavy emphasis on upbeat rhythmic, dance and pop hits targeting teens and adults 18–34 years old, as "Energy 103.7". In a statement made to radio industry website All Access, SVP/Market Manager Bob Bolinger noted that "Today's charts are dominated by energetic and upbeat Top 40 hits and the fans of this popular music are among the most engaged and digitally focused listeners. Using a powerful combination of over the air and online will produce a superior product and great results for brands that support the station". On April 2, KSCF changed its call letters to KEGY.[19][20][21] Energy 103.7 also hosted kids from San Diego County on the show for short generalized quizzes.
On September 4, radio show host AJ Machado announced via AJ in the Morning's Facebook page that he would be joining KEGY in morning drive. AJ and his longtime producer, Hula, have been without a radio show home since leavingStar 94.1 in mid-July of the same year.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge withEntercom (which ownsKBZT,KXSN andKSON).[22] Prior to the completion of the transaction, both KEGY and KSON announced that they would be moving to different signals; the two stations ultimately swapped. Immediately after the deal closed on November 16 at 9:00 p.m. (which would be midnight on the 17th at Entercom's headquarters), Entercom moved the country format and KSON intellectual properties to 103.7; 97.3 then began stunting with a loop advising listeners of the swap, while KEGY'sEnergy programming was temporarily moved online-only over the weekend before re-launching there the following Monday.[23] The callsigns were swapped on November 24, completing the move.
KSON was home to one of the longest running award-winning shows. The "KSON Bluegrass Special" with Wayne Rice started on March 7, 1976, with the last show airing on September 13, 2020. For 44 years and more than 2,300 shows, San Diego bluegrass fans found a home on KSON as the station transitioned from AM to AM/FM to FM to streaming onradio.com from vinyl records to CDs to MP3s. At the same time the show was being cancelled, theInternational Bluegrass Music Association was presenting another award to long time DJ Wayne Rice.[24][25][26]
As of January 3, 2025, KSON is the home of "John and Tammy in the Morning" every weekday morning.
KSON broadcasts using an HD Radio transmitter, the HD1 channel is the digitized standard signal as required by law. It formerly had two subchannels.
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