 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater St. Louis |
| Frequency | 104.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 104.9 The Patriot |
| Programming | |
| Format | Conservative talk |
| Subchannels | HD2: AdultR&B |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KATZ,KATZ-FM,KLOU,KSD,KSLZ,W279AQ | |
| History | |
First air date | February 15, 1964 (1964-02-15) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Talk radio |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 13793 |
| Class | C3 |
| ERP | 8,400 watts |
| HAAT | 175 meters (574 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
|
| Website | 1049thepatriot |
KTLK-FM (104.9FM) is a commercialradio station licensed toColumbia, Illinois, and servingGreater St. Louis. Owned and operated byiHeartMedia, the station airs aconservative talk format known as "104.9 The Patriot". Studios and offices are on Highlands Plaza Drive in St. Louis just south ofForest Park.
KTLK-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 8,400 watts. The transmitter is in the Resurrection Cemetery inShrewsbury, amid the towers for other St. Louis FM and TV stations. KTLK-FM is licensed by theFCC to broadcast usingHD Radio technology.[2] The HD-2digital subchannel carries theurban adult contemporary format previously heard on the main channel, known as "Majic 104.9".
Most of the schedule is made up of nationally syndicated programs, largely from co-ownedPremiere Networks.[3]
On February 15, 1964, the station first signed on the air. Its original call sign was WCBW. It broadcast from the basement of station owner Joseph Lepp in Columbia, and was a typical small town radio station. In 1980, the station was sold to Continental Broadcasting, becoming the first station in the St. Louis area playingcontemporary Christian music, still with a weak 3,000-watt signal. The station was called "104.9 The Bridge" at the time.
In 1993, the station was granted a power upgrade, allowing it to move to the St. Louis Master antenna site inShrewsbury, and upgrade from 3,000 watts to 25,000 watts, making the 104.9 frequency a full market St. Louis signal. That made the station much more valuable, as did deregulation allowing operators to own several different FM stations in a market in 1996.
In 1997, the station was sold to Jacor Broadcasting, who also owned urban powerhouse KMJM, “Majic 108”, which was then at 107.7 FM.[4][5][6] Instead of installing a new format on the 104.9 frequency, KMJM-FM was relocated to the weaker 104.9 MHz frequency on October 20 of that year to allow its newCHR stationKSLZ a better signal into the suburbs on the full 100,000-watt class C 107.7 frequency.[7] After the move, the station rebranded as "Majic 105", which later became "Majic 104.9".
By 1999, Jacor was merged intoClear Channel Communications (now known as iHeartMedia as of September 16, 2014). Clear Channel also owned KATZ AM-FM. KATZ-FM aired an urban adult contemporary format playing mostly adult R&B, while "Majic" played a format consisting mostly ofhip hop and current R&B hits. The formats on the two stations were swapped on April 1 of that year, with Majic adopting the urban adult contemporary format from 100.3, while maintaining most of the same staff, and 100.3 was rechristened as "The Beat" with amainstream urban format that would last until October 2009, when it flipped tomodern AC.
On November 7, 2012, at 9 a.m., KMJM-FM and its urban AC format moved to 100.3 FM (ironically, KATZ-FM's former frequency), replacing classic rock-formatted KBWX ("The Brew"). Simultaneously, the 104.9 frequency changed its format toRhythmic CHR, branded as "Wild 104.9". KMJM-FM and KBWX also swapped call letters, which were approved on November 15.[8]
"Wild" never really caught on in the Nielsen ratings for the St. Louis market, as it barely got above a 2.0 share during its nearly 4-year existence (the last ratings under the format had KBWX with a mere 1.6 in the September 2016 books).
On October 11, 2016, KBWX began running liners in between songs redirecting "Wild" listeners toKSLZ. On October 18, at Noon, after playing "2 On" byTinashe, followed by a commercial break, KBWX flipped to alternative rock as "ALT 104-9". The first song on "ALT" was "Everlong" by theFoo Fighters. The flip gave St. Louis its second alternative outlet, as the station competed againstKPNT. The flip also occurred in order to eliminate the format overlap with KMJM, which flipped fromclassic hip hop back to urban a little over two weeks prior.
With the move, KBWX added "The Woody Show" syndicated from sister stationKYSR inLos Angeles for morning drive, marking a return to the market for the show's host, who was on KPNT from 2009 to 2014.[9][10] On October 25, 2016, KBWX changed call letters to KLLT to match the "ALT" branding.
On July 17, 2020, at 10 a.m., KLLT dropped the alternative format and brought theurban AC format and “Majic” branding (which was airing on translator W279AQ (103.7 FM)) back to the 104.9 FM frequency. This is the fifth incarnation for the "Majic" branding in St. Louis, as it originated in 1979 on107.7 FM, then moved to 104.9 FM in 1997, and then to 100.3 FM in 2012 before being dropped two years later. The format and “Majic” moniker was revived in May 2017 on W279AQ.
The flip came after KLLT registered a 1.0 share in the June 2020 PPM ratings for the market, well behind KPNT’s 5.6 share. KLLT and W279AQ were simulcast until July 27 at midnight, when the latter flipped to theAfrican-Americanall-newsBlack Information Network. The KMJM-FM call letters also returned on the 27th.[11]
On August 15, 2021, iHeart announced that KMJM-FM would flip toconservative talk as "The Patriot" on August 16 at midnight. Subsequently, the station's former urban AC format and "Majic" branding shifted to KMJM-FM’s HD2 subchannel. The station gave a St. Louis affiliate to a number ofPremiere Networks talk shows, whose parent company is iHeartMedia.
"The Patriot" competes against several St. Louistalk radio outlets, including local powerhousesKMOX andKFTK-FM (both owned byAudacy), along withKTRS (partially owned by theSt. Louis Cardinals), the "NewsTalkSTL" network originated byKNBS, andKRTK/KVMO.[12] On August 23, 2021, KMJM-FM changed call letters to KTLK-FM to match the new format.
38°34′23″N90°19′30″W / 38.573°N 90.325°W /38.573; -90.325