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KBZT
Broadcast areaSan Diego metropolitan area
Frequency94.9MHz(HD Radio)
BrandingAlt 94-9
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatAlternative rock
Subchannels
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
March 6, 1960(1960-03-06)
Former call signs
  • KLRO (1960–1978)
  • KBZT (1978–1987)
  • KWLT (1987–1989)
  • KKYY (1989–1991)
  • KRMX (1991–1992)
  • KBZS (1992–1994)
Call signmeaning
Sounds like "K-Best" (former branding)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID58816
ClassB
ERP26,500watts
HAAT209 meters (686 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
32°50′17″N117°15′00″W/ 32.838°N 117.250°W/32.838; -117.250
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live(viaAudacy)
Listen live(viaAudacy) (HD2)
Websitewww.audacy/alt949
www.audacy/bobsd(HD2)

KBZT(94.9FM,"Alt 94-9" ) is a commercialradio stationlicensedtoSan Diego,California.Owned byAudacy, Inc.,the station broadcasts analternative rockformat. Its studios are located in San Diego's Stonecrest area, and the transmitter is located inLa Jolla.

KBZT broadcasts inHD Radio;it carries two additional formats on digital subchannels, including thereggae-formattedBob Radio,and an all-comedy channel.

History[edit]

MOR (1960–1978)[edit]

94.9 FM began as KLRO-FM in 1960 with amiddle-of-the-roadformat.

Adult Contemporary/Oldies (1978–1987)[edit]

On September 14, 1978, KLRO-FM flipped to gold-basedadult contemporary,changed call letters to KBZT and changed monikers to "K-Best 95." In the mid-1980s, the station flipped tooldies.

Soft Rock (1987–1992)[edit]

In 1987, after the station was sold to Sandusky Radio, the station adopted new call letters KWLT, flipped tosoft rock,and changed monikers to "K-Lite 95", before changing again to "Y95" and the KKYY calls in 1989. As KWLT, the station launched the local careers of morning show hosts, Jeff Elliot and Jerry St. James, better known as Jeff and Jer (most recently onKYXY).

In 1991, Jeff and Jer moved to rivalB100,with KKYY changing its name to "Mix 94.9", adopted new call letters KRMX, and added more gold based music.

KWLTis now aclassic rockstation inCrossett, Arkansas;KKYYis now aclassic countrystation inWhiting, Iowa;andKRMXis acountry musicstation serving theWaco, Texasradio market.

Oldies (1992–2000)[edit]

The station reverted to back tooldies,again as "K-Best 95" on January 16, 1992, though with the call letters KBZS.[2](The KBZT call letters and "K-Best" logo were featured on a station inPalm Springs,where it was briefly the number one station in that market. The call letters reverted to San Diego in 1994 after the Palm Springs station changed format toSpanish;as of 2003, theKBZScalls are assigned to amainstream rockstation inWichita Falls, Texas.)

In the mid-1990s, Sandusky sold the station to Anaheim Broadcasting, which in turn sold 94.9 toJefferson-Pilot,making KBZT asister stationtocountry-formattedKSON-FM.

80s Hits (2000–2002)[edit]

On November 10, 2000, due to low ratings, KBZT switched to an "'80s Hits"format, just a day beforeKMSXdroppedhot ACand adopted the same format.[3]

Alternative (2002–present)[edit]

On November 11, 2002, KBZT flipped toalternative rock,branded as "FM 94/9".[4]In 2006,Lincoln Financial Mediabought KBZT and all the others that were owned by J-P, includingKIFMandKSON.[5] In April 2006, theLincoln Financial Groupcompleted a merger between themselves and theJefferson-Pilot Corporation.[6]The media assets of the new merged company (including severalSan Diegoarea radio stations) are now calledLincoln Financial Media. On December 8, 2014,Entercomannounced it was purchasingLincoln Financial Group's entire 15-station lineup (including KBZT) in a $106.5 million deal, and would operate the outlets under an LMA deal until the sale was approved by the FCC.[7]The sale to Entercom was consummated on July 17, 2015.

On February 1, 2018, KBZT rebranded as "Alt 94-9", aligning itself with Entercom's similarly branded stations across the country. The rebranding also solidified its continued operation as a music station; Entercom's hiring of formerXEPRSjockDan Sileoled to speculation that either KBZT orKEGYwould be flipped to asports talkformat to accompany Sileo, as well as Entercom's rights to theSan Diego Padres(a deal which began on KBZT for the 2017 season).[8]The team announced later that month that Padres broadcasts would move to KEGY,[9][10][11][12]which flipped fromTop 40/CHRto thehot talk-drivenThe Machineon March 2, 2018 (but subsequently flipped again to the conventional sports talk formatThe Fanin April, in response to controversies surrounding the station's planned morning host Kevin Klein, who was coming from KBZT's San Francisco sister stationKITS).[13][14][15]

Past programming[edit]

In 2007, FM 94/9 was one of at least five stations in the San Diego market playingmodern rockmusic. However, on its website, FM 94/9 strived to be different from other radio stations by playing diverse music, broadcasting locally produced music and using a live and local airstaff.

During theOctober 2007 wildfiresin the San Diego area, KBZT became the temporary home of local public radio stationKPBS-FM89.5 after power to the KPBS-FM/TVtransmitter onMount San Miguelwas interrupted on the morning of October 23.[16]Within three hours KBZT had agreed to air KPBS' wildfire coverage until a backup transmitter could be established from the station'sstudio toweron theSan Diego State Universitycampus, which occurred the next day.[17]

In January 2010, "The Mikey Show" moved fromKIOZto KBZT. This program had been controversial while in syndication and was taken off air in March 2012 as a result.

In June 2012, "Brunch withBoband Friends "ended an eight-year run at the station, moving toKOPA.

On October 19, 2015, Chris Cantore became co-host of the morning show with Steve Woods. Cantore had previously hosted mornings atKPRIbut lost his job in September 2015 when that station became part of the contemporary Christian K-Love network.[18]Cantore left in early 2017, and later joinedKFMB-FM;the morning slot was replaced with Dana and Jayson. Dana and Jayson, in turn, left KBZT on January 22, 2020, due to budget cuts at Entercom.[19]Both personalities along with producer Brett Finn had made the transcontinental move fromLong Island, New York[,[Denver]] to host and produce the morning drive program at KBZT.

In September 2020, Entercom (now Audacy) made many changes to its alternative stations, including KBZT, in order to cut costs amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.All local hosts besides afternoon DJ Jeremy Pritchard were dismissed and replaced with out-of-town hosts. The station's specialty programs (like "Local 94/9" and "Legends of Alternative" ) also ended at this time.

HD Radio[edit]

KBZT carries itsalternative rockformat on the standard analog and HD1 channels.

On their HD2 sub-channel, KBZT carried areggaeformat as "Bob Radio", which is named afterBob Marley.

On September 17, 2014, KBZT launched a Dance/EDM format, branded as "Glow", on its HD3 sub-channel. The station stream was also available online as well.[20]

In October 2021, the "Glow" format was dropped and replaced with the all-comedy format that formerly aired on KWFN-HD3.

In 2023, "Bob Radio" was dropped.

References[edit]

  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for KBZT".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^http:// americanradiohistory /Archive-RandR/1990s/1992/RR-1992-01-24.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  3. ^http:// americanradiohistory /Archive-RandR/2000s/2000/RR-2000-11-17.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  4. ^http:// americanradiohistory /Archive-RandR/2000s/2002/RR-2002-11-15.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  5. ^"Lincoln Financial Media"[1],December 15, 2009
  6. ^April 2006news releaseof the completed merger between Lincoln Financial Group and Jefferson-Pilot Corporation]
  7. ^"Entercom Acquires Lincoln Financial Media"from Radio Insight (December 8, 2014)
  8. ^KBZT FM 949 becomes the new home of the San Diego PadresArchivedAugust 29, 2016, at theWayback MachineAugust 18, 2016
  9. ^"As Padres Move To KEGY, Format Flip Expected".Inside Radio.RetrievedFebruary 21,2018.
  10. ^Acee, Kevin."Padres announce new radio home, spring broadcast schedule".San Diego Union-Tribune.RetrievedFebruary 21,2018.
  11. ^"San Diego Padres Make 97.3 KEGY Its New Home Ahead of Flip".RadioInsight.RetrievedFebruary 21,2018.
  12. ^Lin, Dennis (January 12, 2018)."Controversial radio host Dan Sileo will not be involved with Padres".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedFebruary 18,2018.
  13. ^"Former ALT 105 hosts of morning show Kevin Klein Live relocate to revive program in San Diego".SFGate.RetrievedMarch 3,2018.
  14. ^"KEGY (Energy 97.3)/San Diego Turns Off The Top 40, Rocks Out In Prep For New Format".All Access.RetrievedMarch 2,2018.
  15. ^Kenney, Kirk."Padres flagship radio station goes all-sports and rebrands as 97.3 The Fan".San Diego Union-Tribune.RetrievedApril 12,2018.
  16. ^SignOnSanDiego > News > Features – KPBS-FM stays on air, with help
  17. ^"KPBS > About Us > KPBS Pressroom".Archived fromthe originalon January 10, 2008.RetrievedOctober 27,2007.
  18. ^http:// radioinfo /October 15, 2015
  19. ^Venta, Lance (January 22, 2020)."Entercom San Diego Parts Ways With Morning Shows At Alt 94.9 And Sunny 98.1".Radio Insight.RetrievedJanuary 25,2020.
  20. ^"Lincoln Financial Media/San Diego Debuts Dance 'Glow' On HD, Internet"from All Access (September 17, 2014)

External links[edit]

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