KDDB
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| Broadcast area | Honolulu |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 102.7MHz |
| Branding | 102.7 Da Bomb |
| Programming | |
| Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Pacific Radio Group, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | November 23, 1988 |
Former call signs |
|
Call signmeaning | "Da Bomb" (Slang for "It's The Bomb!", meaning great or awesome) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 38244 |
| Class | C |
| ERP |
|
| HAAT | 577 meters (1,893 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 21°23′49.0″N158°5′58.0″W/ 21.396944°N 158.099444°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 1027dabomb |
KDDB(102.7MHz) is acommercialFMradio stationlicensedtoWaipahu, Hawaii,and serving theHonoluluradio market.The Pacific Media Group station is known as "102.7 Da Bomb". It broadcasts atop 40 (mainstream CHR)format.Thestudiosand offices are on Bishop Street in Honolulu.
KDDB has aneffective radiated power(ERP) of 61,000watts,horizontal polarizationand 60,000 watts vertical. Thetransmitteris located off Palehua Road inAkupu.[2]KDDB also transmits onOceanic Spectrumdigital channel 854 for the entire state ofHawaii.[3]
History
[edit]Country music and Freeform
[edit]The stationsigned onthe air on November 23, 1988.[4]It was acountry musicstation using thecall signKDEO.
In 1991, the station flipped to an eclecticfreeform formatas "Radio Free Hawaii." It proved to be popular with listeners, who voted viaballotboxes in various locations across O'ahu and Maui and via their website.[5]These votes were compiled into the Hawaiian Island Music Report (Hawaiian Island Charts).
Financial problems
[edit]The owner of KDEO entered into an operating agreement withKRTR-FMin November 1994, citing financial troubles, the format was changed toclassic rockas "The Blaze".[6][7]The Blaze proved unpopular, and the station returned to Radio Free Hawaii by May 1995.[8]
Despite the popularity of the voting-based format, Radio Free Hawaii had trouble generating revenue. The station's manager, "Sheriff" Norm Winter, stated in an interview years later that this was due to his refusal to subscribe to the Arbitron ratings system, as the fee to subscribe was $50,000 at the time. Advertisers at the time relied mainly on the Arbitron ratings to buy airtime, and were not impressed by Winters' own in-house research showing that the station was in the top 3 stations in Oahu listenership. As a result, the station went deeper and deeper into debt.[9]
The station, under Winter's leadership, was instrumental in starting the first annual rock festival in Hawaii, theBig Mele.[10]
Cool 102.7/Double K Country
[edit]On March 7, 1997, the station was acquired by Caribou Broadcasting. The new owners dropped the Radio Free Hawaii format for anrhythmic adult contemporaryformat. It was known as "Cool 102.7" KHUL.[11]
However, the rhythmic AC sounds didn't attract enough listeners or ratings. In 1998, the station returned to country music as KKHN, "Double K Country".
102.7 Da Bomb
[edit]
On November 17, 2000, at 3:00 p.m. the country format ended. The owners movedKQMQ-FM'sRhythmic Top 40format to the 102.7 frequency. Afterstuntingwith a loop ofThe Gap Band'sYou Dropped a Bomb on Me,the station relaunched as "102.7 Da Bomb." The first song was "What's Your Fantasy"byLudacris.
In late 2000, the call sign were changed to KDDB. At first, KDDB, like most other Rhythmic start-ups, had featuredhip-hop musicas a core component of theplaylist.But it scaled back on the genre after KIKI and KQMQ both flipped formats, along with the changing taste in its listeners. Da Bomb began playing other musical genres, including the EDM culture. (KIKI later returned to Rhythmic as KUBT in September 2016.) Although KDDB's slogan boasted "All The Hits Now!," the station's playlist featured a unique blend of current Rhythmic Pop/Dance hits. Non-rhythmic Top 40 hits were not included.
Mainstream Top 40
[edit]In July 2018, the station transitioned to a Top 40/CHR presentation with the inclusion of pop hits. It began to compete with 104.3KPHW,which also shifted to Top 40/CHR. That gave Honolulu two outlets with mainstream Top 40/CHR playlists, ending a five-year drought in Honolulu. The market had two mainstream CHRs for the first time since 1997. The station was owned by the Ohana Broadcast Company.
Pacific Media Group acquired the Ohana Broadcasting cluster effective September 1, 2019, bringing its station total across Hawai'i to 20 and giving it its first stations on O'ahu.[12]
In the media
[edit]In a December 1983 episode ofMagnum, P.I.titled "The Look", the 102.7 MHz frequency was used as the home of the fictitious KTDE, "K-Tide". The plot revolved around a femaledisc jockeyworking at that radio station.
In reality, the 102.7 MHz frequency was not broadcasting at that time. There were no FM stations in Honolulu found above 97.5 MHz.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for KDDB".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^Radio-Locator /KDDB
- ^Digital Cable Program Guide / LineupsArchivedFebruary 25, 2011, at theWayback Machine-Oceanic Time Warner Cable(accessed March 20, 2011)
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 2010page D-176,Broadcasting & Cable
- ^"Radio Free Hawaii bucks KDEO-FM for populist style".Honolulu Star-Bulletin.May 20, 1991. p. B-1.RetrievedSeptember 18,2019.
- ^"Station ends experimental play".Hawaii Tribune-Herald.November 7, 1994.RetrievedSeptember 18,2019.
- ^Harada, Wayne (January 25, 1995)."KSSK still the champ after top 10 shuffle".Honolulu Advertiser.RetrievedSeptember 18,2019.
- ^Harada, Wayne (May 3, 1995)."KSSK-FM is challenged by KIKI-FM, KCCN-FM".Honolulu Advertiser.RetrievedSeptember 18,2019.
- ^Shawn Lopes (June 3, 2001)."Where Bob Marley Met Nirvana".RetrievedApril 8,2016.
- ^Roger Bong (June 22, 2014)."INTERVIEW: Jelly's Sheriff Norm Winter Talks About Radio Free Hawaii".RetrievedApril 8,2016.
- ^"Remembering Radio Free Hawaii, 15 Years Later".Franklin Avenue.March 19, 2012.RetrievedMay 12,2016.
- ^"Pacific Media Group Expands to Oʻahu".Big Island Now.July 1, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 17,2019.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 38244 (KDDB)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- KDDBinNielsen Audio's FM station database