Wikipedia

KKWF

KKWF(100.7FM"100.7 The Wolf" ) is acommercialradio stationinSeattle, Washington.The station is owned byAudacy, Inc.and it airs acountry musicradio format.The studios and offices are on Fifth Avenue inDowntown Seattle.

KKWF
Broadcast areaSeattle metropolitan area
Frequency100.7MHz(HD Radio)
Branding100.7 The Wolf
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatCountry
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
1948;76 years ago(1948)
Former call signs
  • KIRO-FM (1948–1975)[1]
  • KSEA (1975[1]–1991)[2]
  • KWMX (1991–1992)[2]
  • KIRO-FM (1992–1999)[2]
  • KQBZ (1999–2005)[2]
Call signmeaning
"Wolf"
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID6367
ClassC
ERP68,000watts
HAAT707 meters (2,320 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
47°30′13″N121°58′33″W/ 47.503722°N 121.975944°W/47.503722; -121.975944
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live(viaAudacy)
Websitewww.audacy.com/seattlewolf

KKWF has aneffective radiated power(ERP) of 68,000watts,usingbeam tilt.Thetransmitteris located inIssaquahonTiger Mountain.

History

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KIRO (AM) simulcast (1948–1967)

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The station firstsigned onin 1948 as KIRO-FM (not to be confused with the currentKIRO-FM,which has broadcast on 97.3 FM since 2008).[4]It was owned by the Queen City Broadcasting Company and itsimulcastedco-ownedAM 710KIRO.The two stations wereCBS RadioNetwork affiliates,airing its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,soap operas,game showsandbig bandbroadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio."In 1958,KIRO-TVsigned on the air as Seattle'sCBSTelevision affiliate, which it still is today (with exception of a hiatus from 1995 to 1997, when it was a UPN station).

As network programming moved from radio to television, KIRO-AM-FM switched to afull servicemiddle of the roadformat of pop music, news and sports. In 1963, Queen City Broadcasting, owned by Saul Haas, was sold toBonneville International,a broadcasting corporation set up bythe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(LDS Church).[5]

Progressive rock (1967–1973)

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In the late 1960s, theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) began requiring FM stations in large cities to stop full-time simulcasts of their co-owned AM stations. For a few years, KIRO-FM aired aprogressive rockformat, beginning in 1967.

Beautiful music (1973–1989)

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The station flipped toBeautiful Musicin 1973, utilizing theWRFM(New York City) program service, which was later renamed the Bonneville Program Services. In 1974, the KIRO-FMcall signwas changed to KSEA to separate the FM station's identity from the AM. At the time, KSEA competed againstKEUT,KEZX,KBIQandKIXI,all of which aired easy music formats.

The format gradually evolved from mostly instrumental beautiful music to a mix of instrumentals and vocals aseasy listening( "Easy 101" ) in the early 1980s.[6]

In the mid-1980s, as the easy listening audience was aging, KSEA moved tosoft adult contemporarymusic.

Adult contemporary (1989–1992)

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On February 17, 1989, KSEA shifted to a mainstream adult contemporary format.[7]KSEA also telecasted its audio onKIRO-TVthroughout the late 1980s into the early 1990s when KIRO was off-air, mainly during sign-off time in overnights. The station shifted tohot adult contemporaryas KWMX ( "Mix 101" ) in April 1991, though this would last for only a short time.[8][9]

News/talk (1992–1995)

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On September 21, 1992, the station returned to a simulcast of then-sister stationKIRO.With the change, the KIRO-FM call letters were reinstated.[10]From February to September 1993, KIRO-FM was promoted as being part of the "KIRO News Network", with KIRO's radio and TV personalities working together as part of an experiment dubbed "News Outside the Box".[11]The station broke the simulcast (except for mornings) on July 5, 1994, airing a separately programmed talk format, while retaining the KIRO-FM call sign.

The initial lineup included a simulcast of KIRO in morningdrive time(which would be replaced by local comedianPat Cashmanin September), Rick Enloe in late mornings (who would later be replaced by Amy Alpine), Dave Brenner andDr. Laura Schlessinger'ssyndicatedshow in afternoons,Gil Gross(syndicated fromSan Francisco) in evenings),Leslie Marshallat night (who would later be replaced byJim Bohannon), along withBernie Wardand David Essel on weekends.[12]

Hot talk (1995–2005)

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On January 6, 1995, the station rebranded as "100.7 The Buzz," and added the syndicatedTom LeykisShow to the lineup.[13][14]KIRO-FM was sold by Bonneville toEntercomin March 1997.[15]The station changed its call letters to KQBZ in May 1999, and shifted tohot talkin 2000 with the slogan "Radio For Guys."

During the early 2000s, KQBZ carriedDon & Mikein middays andPhil Hendriein evenings.[16]By November 2005, the station's weekday lineup consisted of local personalities Robin & Maynard (who were previously onKZOK-FM) in mornings,BJ Sheain middays, Tom Leykis in afternoons,The Mens Roomin evenings, andJohn and Jeffand All-Comedy Radio in late nights, with paid and specialty programming on weekends.[17]

Country (2005–present)

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At 8 a.m. on November 30, 2005, in the middle of "Robin & Maynard", the station beganstuntingwith a countdown clock (usingMicrosoft Sam) to Noon the same day. At that time, the station flipped tocountryas "100.7 The Wolf" with the new call letters KKWF.[18]The first song played on The Wolf was "How Do You Like Me Now?!"byToby Keith.[19]With the flip,The Men's Roomand BJ Shea moved over to sister stationKISW.Tom Leykis moved over as well, but on tape delay, from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.[20]

Entercom acquired KKWF's long-time country rivalKMPSin November 2017, as a result of its merger withCBS Radio.In the immediate aftermath of the merger's completion, KMPS dropped its country format in defense of KKWF (making it the only full-market country station in the Seattle market), and ultimately flipped tosoft adult contemporaryon December 4, 2017. Rock stationKVRQwould flip to country later the same day.[21][22]

HD radio

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KKWF signed onHD Radiooperations in 2006. 100.7 HD 2 carried acomedy radioformat simply branded as "All Comedy Radio." The format had been heard overnights when the station was KQBZ.

On June 18, 2011, the signal flipped toSmooth Jazz,filling the void left open byKWJZwhen that station flipped toModern ACon December 27, 2010.

In late February 2012, theBluesformat from sister station 103.7 HD2 was bumped to 100.7 HD2, effectively ending the smooth jazz format.

In early June 2018, 100.7-HD2 and 94.1-HD2 swapped formats, with the blues format moving to 94.1-HD2 and the classic country format moving to 100.7-HD2.[23]

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References

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  1. ^abHistory Cards for KKWF,fcc.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  2. ^abcdCall Sign History,fcc.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  3. ^"Facility Technical Data for KKWF".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 314
  5. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 page B-172
  6. ^"KSEA Radio Seattle TV Spot - June 1981".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2021.
  7. ^"It's AC For KSEA",Radio & Records.February 17, 1989. pp. 3, 26. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  8. ^"1991 KWMX Mix 101 Promo".YouTube.
  9. ^"Mix 100.7 FM WA 1992 TV Ad Commercial".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2021.
  10. ^"Radio & Records, September 11, 1992"(PDF).worldradiohistory.com.
  11. ^"Kiro 100.7 FM News Radio Commercial (1993)".YouTube.
  12. ^"When did 100.7 go talk? - Page 2".radiodiscussions.com.
  13. ^"Radio & Records, January 13, 1995"(PDF).worldradiohistory.com.
  14. ^"FM 100.7 The Buzz Brain Commercial 1995".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2021.
  15. ^Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1998 page D-442
  16. ^"100.7 The Buzz KQBZ-FM".June 2, 2003. Archived fromthe originalon June 2, 2003.
  17. ^"100.7 The Buzz KQBZ-FM".November 4, 2005. Archived fromthe originalon November 4, 2005.
  18. ^"Radio & Records, December 9, 2005"(PDF).worldradiohistory.com.
  19. ^"100.7 KQBZ becomes" The Wolf "KKWF".Format Change Archive.December 2, 2005.
  20. ^"100.7 The Wolf TV Campaign by Rosler Creative".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2021.
  21. ^Entercom Flips KMPS Seattle to Soft AC
  22. ^Hubbard Launches Country 98.9 Seattle
  23. ^HD Radio Guide for Seattle-TacomaArchivedJuly 22, 2015, at theWayback Machine
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