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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 101.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 101.5 Hank FM |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Classic country |
| Subchannels | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | September 1, 1959 (65 years ago) (1959-09-01) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "K-Plus" (former handle) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 21663 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP |
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| HAAT | 372 meters (1,220 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | crankthehankseattle.com |
KPLZ-FM (101.5 FM) is acommercial radio station inSeattle, Washington. It is owned and operated byLotus Communications and it airs a gold-basedcountry musicradio format. The radio studios and offices are co-located with formersister stationKOMO-TV within KOMO Plaza (formerly Fisher Plaza) in theLower Queen Anne section of Seattle, directly across the street from theSpace Needle.
KPLZ has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 99,000 watts (100,000 watts withbeam tilt). Thetransmitter is located onCougar Mountain inIssaquah.[2] KPLZ broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. Its HD2digital subchannel simulcasts theall-news radio format onKNWN, and the HD3 subchannel simulcasts theconservative talk radio format onKVI.
On September 1, 1959; 65 years ago (1959-09-01), the stationsigned on the air. The originalcall sign was KETO-FM.[3] It was owned by Chem-Air, Inc. and featured aneasy listening format. Its effective radiated power was 10,000 watts.
The 1960 edition of "Broadcasting Yearbook" showed an advertisement for KETO-FM as "Your key to good listening". A sketch of a pelican was included in the ad, wearing headphones and holding a key (for KEY-to). However, in the 1960s, few people owned FM radios and the audience was limited.
By 1970, KETO-FM had increased its power to 100,000 watts. It adopted acountry music format in April 1974, competing against juggernaut KAYO (1150 AM, nowKKNW) for country music listeners.
In 1976, Seattle hosted a two-stationCHR/Top 40 ratings battle betweenKING andKJR. Golden West Broadcasters, owned by entertainerGene Autry, bought KETO-FM in 1976. Golden West already ownedKVI, which had a popularmiddle of the road/adult contemporary format. Management decided to switch the FM station'scall sign to KVI-FM, calling it "The FM KVI", and wanted to give it a younger sound to complement the AM station. KVI-FM flipped to a Top 40 format, becoming the company's first station with the format. The first song under the new format was "Beginnings" byChicago. KVI-FM's first program director was Frank Colbourn, who relocated to Seattle fromMonterey, California, to sign-on the new format.
The new format quickly became popular as AM music began to lose some of its audience to the FM band. Colbourn earned the station twelve gold records from artists such asStevie Wonder,Exile, andDonna Summer. However, there was some confusion between KVI (which had switched to atalk format), and its Golden Westsister station, KVI-FM. In 1978, KVI-FM became "K-Plus 101" and changed its call letters to KPLZ.
In the late 1970s, while KJR and KING maintained mainstream Top-40 formats, "K-Plus" became the area'sde factodisco music station for a couple of years, airing a higher percentage of dance hits than the AM Top 40 stations.
The death of disco, combined with the 1981, sign-on of Top-40 upstart KBLE-FM, which later becameKUBE, signaled a tough ratings environment for KPLZ in the early 1980s.
In response, KPLZ moved slightly towards anadult contemporary format, using the slogan "The Music Magazine" and branding as simply "KPLZ". However, under the leadership of Program Director Jeff King, and later Casey Keating, the station was in a close race in the ratings with KUBE for Top 40 supremacy during the 1980s.
The station moved back to mainstream Top 40 on September 5, 1983, changing its slogan to "Hot Hits". It began using a Hot Hitsjingle package and formatics developed byMike Joseph, who created the Hot Hits format, adopted by numerous radio stations in the early 1980s. KPLZ later changed its moniker to "Z 101.5", before moving back to "101.5 KPLZ" in the late 1980s.[4][5] During its "Z 101.5" days, KPLZ was an affiliate ofRick Dees Weekly Top 40.
Meanwhile, KUBE struggled for a time, but ultimately adopted arhythmic contemporary approach in early 1992. During this time, KPLZ's ratings dropped while KUBE ascended the ratings ladder. KPLZ tried various angles of the format, such as counteracting KUBE's rhythmic direction with a more mainstream CHR direction, as well as emphasizing hits from the previous five years. When that strategy didn't work, KPLZ began playing more rhythmic titles by January 1993.
Fisher Communications bought the station in 1994.[6]
On January 14, 1994, at noon, KPLZ finally gave up on Top 40 and flipped tohot adult contemporary as "Star 101.5". The first song on "Star" was "Waiting for a Star to Fall" by Seattle duoBoy Meets Girl.[7][8][9] Kent Phillips and Alan Budwill, who had hosted mornings on the station since 1986, remained after the flip to "Star" and continued until December 2018, when Budwill retired and Phillips moved to afternoons; mornings would then be hosted by Curt Kruse and Corine McKenzie and producer Leonard Barokas until they were let go from the station in March 2021.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
On April 11, 2013, Fisher Communications announced that it would sell its properties, including KPLZ-FM, to theSinclair Broadcast Group.[16] Fisher owned radio stations in Seattle and inGreat Falls, Montana, as well as TV stations inWashington,Oregon,Idaho,California and other markets.
Although Sinclair primarily owns television stations, the company said it would retain KPLZ,talk radioKVI,all-news radioKOMO and continued to leaseKOMO-FM as a simulcast of KOMO (AM) (KOMO-FM would be purchased outright by Sinclair in June 2020).[17] The deal was completed on August 8.[18]
On June 3, 2021, Sinclair announced they would sell KPLZ, KVI and KOMO-AM-FM toLotus Communications for $18 million. Sinclair retained KOMO-TV.[19] The sale was completed on September 28.[20]
On April 1, 2024, Lotus announced that KPLZ would drop the hot AC format after 30 years at 2 p.m. that day. At that time, after playing "End of the Road" byBoyz II Men and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" byGreen Day, the station flipped to a gold-leaningcountry music format as "101.5Hank FM". The first song as "Hank" was "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" byAlan Jackson andJimmy Buffett. The move also triggered a similar move atKPNW-FM just four hours before in retaliation, and came as the station carried just a 2.1 share in the January 2024 Nielsen Audio market ratings. Both KPLZ and KPNW now compete againstKKWF, which had a 7.1 share in those same ratings, ranking second in the market.[21][22]
KPLZ, under its run as "Star", spent the latter part of each year playing an all-Christmas music format. In 2016, the station briefly rebranded as "Santa FM", which sparked rumors of a format change or rebranding away from the "Star" name after the holiday season. However, at midnight on December 26, KPLZ returned to its hot AC format and the "Star" branding, but adjusted itsplaylist to include some additional gold/recurrent songs from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.[23]
47°32′38″N122°06′29″W / 47.544°N 122.108°W /47.544; -122.108