KSCS
 | |
 TheWBAP/KSCS shared facility inArlington, Texas | |
| Broadcast area | Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 96.3MHz(HD Radio) |
| Branding | New Country 96.3 |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format | Country radio |
| Subchannels | HD2:News/talk(KLIFsimulcast) |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KLIF,KPLX,KTCK,KTCK-FM,WBAP,WBAP-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1949 |
Former call signs | WBAP-FM (1949–1973) |
Former frequencies | 100.5 MHz (1949–1955) |
Call signmeaning | "Silver Country Stereo" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 71201 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 478 meters (1,568 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 32°35′15″N97°57′59″W/ 32.58750°N 97.96639°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | |
| Website | newcountry963 |
KSCS(96.3FM) is acommercialradio stationlicensedtoFort Worth, Texas,and serving theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex.The station is owned byCumulus Mediaand broadcasts ahot countrymusicradio format.Thestudiosare in theVictory Parkdistrict inDallasjust north ofdowntown.KSCS andsister stationWBAPare responsible for activation of theNorth TexasEmergency Alert Systemwhenhazardous weather alerts,disaster areadeclarations, andAMBER Alertsfor child abductions are issued.[2]
KSCS has aneffective radiated power(ERP) of 100,000watts.Thetransmitteris off Mansfield Road inCedar Hill, Texas,amid thetowersfor other FM and TV stations.[3]KSCS usesHD Radiotechnology; its HD2digital subchannelcarries thenews/talkprogramming ofKLIF(570 AM).
Programming
[edit]KSCS is the home ofHawkeye In The Morning,currently the longest-running morning radio show in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The show features Mark "Hawkeye" Louis and Michelle Rodriguez, who previously hosted Middays since 2011. Formerly known as "The Dorsey Gang", the morning show featured Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame member Terry Dorsey. Dorsey and Louis won numerous awards includingBillboard's Major Market Air Personalities of 1998 and the Academy of Country Music's 2008 Personalities of the Year. Dorsey and Louis teamed up in July 1988, a partnership that would last until Dorsey's retirement in December 2014.
KSCS was named "2009 Major Market Radio Station of the Year" by theAcademy of Country Music,"2020 Major Market Radio Station of the Year" by theCountry Music Associationand the 2022 National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for Country Station of the Year. Afternoons have been hosted by Al Farb since 2018. "Nights with Elaina" is heard weekday evenings. Sundays feature the "American Country CountdownwithKix Brooks".
History
[edit]Classical WBAP-FM
[edit]The station firstsigned onthe air on March 8, 1949, as WBAP-FM.[4]It originally broadcast on 100.5 FM and was under the control ofAmon G. Carter,as part of his Carter Publications Company. The station moved to 96.3 FM in 1955.
At first, it largelysimulcastedco-ownedWBAP(820 AM), with some separateclassical musicshows at night. In the 1960s, WBAP-FM switched to all-classical music, which had been a popular format in the early days of FM radio. The classical format benefited fromFM stereo,which improved the quality of music broadcasts.
Country KSCS
[edit]WBAP had much success broadcasting aclassic countryformat known as "Country Gold", beginning in 1970. Management decided to extend the country music brand to FM. On January 15, 1973, WBAP-FM switched to a country format known as "Silver Country Stereo". The call letters changed to KSCS to match the slogan. The initial design behind KSCS was to play country music but withbeautiful music-style FM formatics, featuring three or four songs in a row without talking, as well as using low-key announcers and carrying a lighter commercial load compared to AM stations. A year later, Carter Publications sold KSCS toCapital Cities.Capital Cities acquired theAmerican Broadcasting Company(ABC) in 1985, using that company's name.
As more people began acquiring FM radios and listening to FM for music, KSCS benefited from being the only country station on the FM dial. The rise in popularity of country music in the late 1970s led to KSCS becoming a dominant station in the ratings. It also brought competition in the form ofKPLX,which entered the country music market in 1980.
The Terry Dorsey era
[edit]KSCS was the number-one radio station overall in Dallas/Fort Worth from 1980 to 1982. The station's ratings started to sag after theUrban Cowboyera faded, and with tough competition from KPLX. In 1988, KSCS hired away KPLX's star morning host Terry Dorsey. With Dorsey's arrival, the ratings started to improve again, just as country music's popularity started to rise again. KSCS returned to the number one spot in the Dallas/Fort WorthArbitron ratingsin 1990, and stayed there for 14 consecutive ratings periods. To this day, that is still the longest winning streak in Dallas/Fort Worth ratings history.[5]
KSCS, along with ABC's other non-Radio DisneyandESPN Radiostations, was sold toCitadel Broadcastingin 2007. In January 2008, KSCS was re-branded as "The Big 96.3". However, in November 2009, it reverted to its legacy branding in use since the 1980s.
New Country 96-3
[edit]On January 4, 2011, at 5 p.m., the station re-branded as "New Country 96.3 KSCS, Texas' Most Country Guaranteed". Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[6]This made KSCS asister stationto its longtime rival, KPLX.
In March 2015, KSCS, along with a few other Hot Country stations across Cumulus' portfolio tried an experiment, addingpop crossover songsbyRihanna,Kanye West,Paul McCartney,Avicii,Ed Sheeran,Ellie Gouldingand a few othertop 40artists with no ties to the "New Country" format.[7]By Fall 2015, KSCS eliminated the pop crossover songs and returned to its core "New Country" artists.
In mid-July 2019, KSCS rebranded as "New Country 96.3" without the KSCS call letters in the branding.[8]
KSCS-HD2
[edit]KSCS launched its HD2digital subchannelin 2008 to broadcast "The Texas Twister", carrying allTexas country music.The format was previously on KTYS (96.7 FM, nowKTCK-FM). After the Cumulus takeover in 2011, the HD broadcasts were temporarily discontinued.
The HD2 subchannel was dormant until February 2013, when it began simulcasting thenews/talkformat of co-ownedKLIF.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for KSCS".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"Dallas Fort Worth Local Plan"(PDF).Texas Association of Broadcasters.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 4, 2008.RetrievedMay 5,2008.
- ^"KSCS-FM 96.3 MHz - Fort Worth, TX".radio-locator.
- ^"Directory of AM, FM, and TV Stations of the United States"(PDF).Broadcasting Yearbook.1950. p. 292 – via worldradiohistory.
- ^"Highest Shares Recorded By Frequency".Archived fromthe originalon June 25, 2008.RetrievedJuly 2,2008.
- ^"Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting".Atlanta Business Journal.September 16, 2011.RetrievedSeptember 16,2011.
- ^Interesting Playlist Tweaks At KSCS & WNSHRadio Insight(published March 23, 2015)
- ^KSCS Rebrands as New Country 96.3Radioinsight - July 24, 2019
External links
[edit]- New Country 96.3 official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 71201 (KSCS)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- KSCSinNielsen Audio's FM station database
- DFW Radio Archives
- DFW Radio/TV History
- Terry Dorsey Announces Retirement
- Longtime country radio host Terry Dorsey dies just months into his retirement