| SimulcastingKMVADewey-Humboldt | |
|---|---|
| |
| Broadcast area | Phoenix metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 103.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Hot 97.5 / 103.9 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Rhythmic hot AC |
| Subchannels |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KKFR,KMVA,KOAI | |
| History | |
First air date | February 25, 1981 (1981-02-25) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Arizona |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 54944 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 189 meters (620 ft) |
| Translators |
|
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live Listen live (HD2) |
| Website | hot975hot1039 kzon |
KZON (103.9FM) is a commercialradio station licensed toGilbert, Arizona, United States, and serving thePhoenix metropolitan area. It simulcasts anRhythmic Hot AC radio format with co-ownedKMVA (97.5 FM)Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona, as "Hot 97.5/103.9." The two stations are owned by the Riviera Broadcast Group with studios on 7th Street inMidtown Phoenix.
The transmitter is on East Ocotillo Road at North Schnepf Road inSan Tan Valley, Arizona.[2] KZON is also heard on twoFM translators: 94.9 MHz inChandler and 96.1 MHz inFort McDowell.
The station signed on the air on February 25, 1981. Its original call sign was KQEZ. It called itself "Easy Country 103" and its city of license wasCoolidge, Arizona.[3][4] It was powered at only 3,000watts, a fraction of its current output, so the station primarily focused on theCasa Grande Valley.
In 1991, original owner Larry E. Salsburey sold the station to Scott Christianson's Chriscom. KQEZ, however, fell on financial hard times in the early 1990s. In September 1992, KQEZ's disc jockeys informed listeners that they had not been paid in a month; at that time, owner Christianson said he could not pay workers because of $200,000 in debt. In April 1993, the station went off the air altogether.[5]
Two months later, the station was sold to J.M. Wolz, the first of three license transfers in a year. Wolz put the station back on the air with aclassic rock format as KAZR. A signal upgrade followed providing the southern sections of the Phoenix area with a clear signal.
On March 20, 1995,[6] the format was flipped to amodern rock/top 40 hybrid branded as “The Blaze.” A change of call letters to KBZR followed the change of format.
In the spring of 1996, the station began moving its transmitter closer to Phoenix. At the same time, the station began a 6-monthstunt of anautomatedRhythmic Oldies format, only going by the moniker "S.T.E.V.E." The name was an acronym standing for "Songs That Everyone Vociferously Enjoys."
On October 30, 1996, at 3:30 p.m., the station completed its upgrade, and the station once again began stunting, this time with people chanting "Party! Party! Party!" for several hours which ended with a sound of a record scratching and a male announcer saying "Arizona's Party Station" in reverse, which led to its new name and slogan, and the station flipped to ahip hop-emphasizingrhythmic top 40 format as "103.9, Arizona's Party Station". The call letters were changed in the spring of 1997 to KPTY to reflect the station branding. Despite the station's signal limitations, KPTY did well in the ratings. In fact, rivalKKFR, which was airing a broad-basedMainstream Top 40 format at the time, began to move towards hip hop-emphasizing rhythmic top 40 format as well, and took away much of KPTY's audience.
In 1998, KPTY evolved to a hybrid hip-hop/modern rock format shortly followed by a change of branding to "Party Radio @ 103.9." During the last week of 1999, KPTY stunted with a supposed broadcast hijacking with buzzing sounds and audio glitches in the songs, legal IDs and sweepers, while theDJs were talking. On December 31, 1999, KPTY began stunting with a 24-hour loop of "We Like To Party" byThe Vengaboys. On January 1, 2000, KPTY returned to a rhythmic top 40 format (this time with more of a dance lean) as "103.9 The Party".
In October 2001, the station's owners were persuaded by the staff of theoriginal KEDJ "The Edge" on 106.3 FM and 100.3 FM to drop theRhythmic Top 40 format and bring the KEDJ call letters and itsalternative rock format over to 103.9 FM. KPTY flipped to "The Edge" exactly 5 years after the station began: October 30, 2001 at Noon. The 106.3 and 100.3 frequencies originally used by "The Edge" were sold to Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (nowUnivision Radio) and switched to aRegional Mexican format.
In April 2008, the morning show "The Morning Ritual" was dropped in place of thesyndicatedAdam Carolla Show fromLos Angeles. The Adam Carolla Show was cancelled on February 20, 2009, due to Carolla'sflagship stationKLSX flipping formats. It was quickly replaced by another Los Angeles–based morning show,Kevin and Bean.
In July 2009, the station relaunched as "FM/1039...Where Music Matters." FM/1039 Launched under then-Program Director Tim Virgin. That same month, Virgin left to do Afternoons atQ101 inChicago. Former program director Marc Young returned to the station and took over afternoon duties as well.
On January 8, 2010, the "FM 103/9" branding was changed to "X 103-9...Alternative Rock Now." On February 2, 2010, under the direction of Program Director Marc Young, the station's call letters were changed from KEDJ to KEXX to align with the "X 103.9" branding.
On January 12, 2012 at 6AM, the station shifted its alternative rock format for a hybrid mix that includedclassic rock artists, rebranding under the name "My 103.9." "Personal Jesus" byDepeche Mode was the last song under theiralternative rock format; the first song under the readjusted format was "It's My Life" byTalk Talk.
As of June 2012, the station shifted to aHot AC format, still under the name "My 103.9."
On December 27, 2013, Trumper Communications and Riviera Broadcasting Group announced that they would merge their Adult Top 40 outlets into one simulcast, withKMVA and KEXX becoming "Hot 97.5/103.9 Trending Radio." The combined signals made their launch at midnight on January 1; the last song as "My" was "This Love" byMaroon 5, and the first song under the "Hot" simulcast was "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" byP!nk.
On April 9, 2015, its HD2 digital subchannel became the high definition simulcast ofKOAI inSun City West.
On June 20, 2016, KEXX changed its call letters to KZON, taking over the call sign from 101.5 FM which changed their callsign toKALV-FM earlier that month.
On June 17, 2022, at noon, KZON and KMVA shifted to rhythmic hot AC, keeping the "Hot" branding and adopting the "Rhythm of the Valley" positioner, with the first song being "Hot in Herre" byNelly.[7]
On January 15, 2026, KZON-HD2 and K235CB dropped its simulcast withKOAI 95.1 FM Sun City West and launched an adult album alternative format, branded as "94.9 The Zone".[8]
33°14′49″N111°31′52″W / 33.247°N 111.531°W /33.247; -111.531