 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | |
| Frequency | 97.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM ("KIRO" pronounced as "Cairo") |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Subchannels |
|
| Network | CBS News Radio |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KIRO (AM),KTTH | |
| History | |
First air date | October 26, 1948; 76 years ago (1948-10-26) |
Former call signs | |
Call sign meaning | SeeKIRO (AM) |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 33682 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 55,000 watts |
| HAAT | 729 meters (2,392 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°30′14″N121°58′29″W / 47.50389°N 121.97472°W /47.50389; -121.97472 (KIRO-FM Tower) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | mynorthwest |
KIRO-FM (97.3MHz) is acommercial radio stationlicensed toTacoma, Washington, and serving theSeattle-Tacomaradio market. It airs anews/talkradio format and is owned bySalt Lake City–basedBonneville International, a broadcasting company owned bythe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The studios and offices are located on Eastlake Avenue East inSeattle'sEastlake district.[4]
KIRO-FM starts weekdays with a news block, hosted byDave Ross with Colleen O'Brien. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up of local talk hosts. At night,nationally syndicated shows are heard,Prime Time with John Dickerson,CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor,Coast to Coast AM withGeorge Noory andThis Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal. Weekends feature shows on money, health, food, travel, home repair and veterans, some of which are paidbrokered programming. Nights and weekends, an update fromCBS News Radio begins most hours.
KIRO-FM'stransmitter is onTiger Mountain inIssaquah.[5] Itseffective radiated power (ERP) is 55,000 watts.[6] KIRO-FM broadcasts in theHD (digital) radio format.[7] The HD-2digital subchannelsimulcasts co-ownedKIRO (710 AM)'ssports radio format. The HD-3 signal airsKTTH (770 AM)'sconservative talk format.
The station was founded as KTNT-FM and was owned byThe Tacoma News Tribune. Itsigned on the air on October 26, 1948.[8] The station was powered at 10,000 watts, a fraction of its current output, and exclusively targeted Tacoma and SouthPuget Sound.
The Tacoma News Tribune added an AM station in 1952, KTNT (1400 kHz, nowKITZ); and in 1953, KTNT-TV (channel 11, nowKSTW). Thecall signs for the three stations were derived from the newspaper's initials.
In 1976, the call letters were changed to KNBQ.[9] While the AM station carried a personalityadult top 40 sound, the FM station switched to anautomated adult contemporary format ("Mellow sounds in contemporary music") branded as "97 KNBQ". In early 1977, that format evolved to an automated music-intensiveTop 40 format as "Q-97 FM". That automated Top 40 format shifted over time from using syndicated programming tapes (such as from Drake-Chenault's XT-40 format) to a locally programmed approach, and eventually added live DJs. By 1980, the station was live and local with a full DJ staff and a personality intensive approach. (The KNBQ call letters later were found onFM 102.9 and currently onFM 98.5.)
In the 1980s, the Tacoma News Tribune boosted KNBQ's power to 100,000 watts. TheFederal Communications Commission granted aconstruction permit to increase theantenna height to 1,480 feet, moving the transmitter toTiger Mountain. That greatly increased the station's value, now able to compete in the entire Seattle-Tacoma media market. In 1987, KNBQ was sold to the original iteration ofViacom.[10] Viacom kept the Top 40 format but used a "no talking over the music" policy to differentiate KNBQ from other Seattle Top 40 outlets.
On February 1, 1988, the station flipped to anoldies format as "K-Best 97.3". It picked up the KBSG-FM call letters.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] "K-Best" initially concentrated on the biggest hits of the 1960s, with some 1970s songs and a few late 1950s hits. As the station moved into the 1990s, the 1970s titles were increased and the 1950s songs were removed.
Entercom bought the station in 1996. For many years, KBSG-FM wassimulcast on co-owned KBSG inAuburn (1210 AM, nowKMIA). This lasted until 2002, when KBSG flipped toall-news radio (KBSG would later be sold toBustos Media, which specializes in Spanish language formats). On August 1, 2007, after Entercom traded KBSG,KIRO andKTTH toBonneville as part of a multi-market station swap, KBSG was rebranded from "KBSG 97.3" to "The New B97.3", and dropped the word "oldies" from the station's title.[18][19] The station'splaylist was moved to more 1970s and 80s music, with fewer 60s titles. The format moved from oldies toclassic hits.
Exactly one year later, on August 1, 2008, the station's call letters were switched to KIRO-FM.[20]
On August 12, 2008, at 4:23 a.m., the 97.3 frequency began to simulcast co-owned news/talk radio stationAM 710 KIRO. The final song on 97.3 as a classic hits station, "Start Me Up" by theRolling Stones, faded out as the FM station joined KIRO AM'sWall Street Journal This Morning in progress.[21][22][23][24][25][26]
On April 1, 2009, KIRO-FM became the primary station as the simulcasting on KIRO (AM) came to an end. It marked the completion of the station's transition to the FM frequency that began in August 2008.[27][28] KIRO (AM) is now asports talk station, branded as "710 ESPN Seattle".
Also moved from KIRO to KIRO-FM were theNFL broadcasts of theSeattle Seahawks Radio Network (later named theBing Radio Network and theAmerican Family Insurance Radio Network, currently theDelta Air Lines Seahawks Radio Network). KIRO-FM is now theflagship station for the team's play-by-play and the pre- and post-game shows. The Seahawks had been heard on KIRO (AM) since the NFL franchise was launched in 1976.
Towers:47°30′14″N121°58′29″W / 47.50389°N 121.97472°W /47.50389; -121.97472 (KIRO-FM Tower), onTiger Mountain
Headquarters:47°38′8″N122°19′29″W / 47.63556°N 122.32472°W /47.63556; -122.32472 (KIRO studios),Seattle, Washington, on the shores ofLake Union