1997 in radio

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Last updated July 17, 2022

The year 1997 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.

Events

January - Capstar buys Baltimore-based Benchmark Communications for $173 million.
7 January - Rádio Regina, a new regional station of Slovenský rozhlas (Slovak Radio) in Bratislava, starts broadcasting on 792 kHz.
24 January - Long-time St. Louis Top 40 WKBQ flips to Modern AC as "Alice 104.1."
15 February - After five years of Alternative Rock, WDRE flips to Urban as Philly 103.9
18 February - Evergreen Media announce they will merge with Chancellor Broadcasting as part of a US$1.075 billion deal. At the same time, the combined company announces they will acquire Viacom's 10 station group.
24 February - 98.5 Kiss (Kiss Again 103.3)/Houston debuts after stunting with a loop of "Kiss" by Prince.
23 May - KBKS/Seattle flips from gold-based Rhythmic AC to Modern AC-leaning Top 40, rebranding as "Kiss 106.1."
June - Florida-based Paxson Communications sells its entire 169 station group to Clear Channel Communications for $693 million. The deal closes in December.
22 June – V-103/Baltimore flips from its long-time urban contemporary format to Top 40, branded as "102.7 XYV."
11 July – KZQZ/San Francisco debuts its Top 40 format, branded as "Z95.7."
1 August - WDBZ/New York changes call letters to WNSR with plans to flip back to a Gold-based AC on 18 August. However, Chancellor Media begins an LMA with 105.1 three days prior and the format flip is called off. The station still quietly evolves to more of a Hot AC format by October, calling themselves "FM 105.1", with plans for a new format of some sort to come in 1998.
4 August - Hot AC-formatted WMTX/Tampa flips to Modern AC as "Star 95.7" WSSR.
2 September - KOAZ/Phoenix flips from smooth jazz to country as "Wild Country 103.5."
5 September – WFLN/Philadelphia ends 40 years of Classical music. At 6 PM this day, the station flips to Modern AC as "Max 95.7"
18 September - Kansas City's heritage rock station KYYS "KY 102" drops its 23-year-old AOR format to become modern AC "102.1 The Zone." The staff, several of whom have been with the station its entire run, is informed of the decision to change its format and their termination just 90 minutes in advance. The venerable KYYS call letters would be replaced by "KOZN" about a month later.
19 September - American Radio Systems announces they will merge with Westinghouse Broadcasting (which would be renamed CBS, Inc.), getting 98 stations and $2.6 billion as part of the deal.^[1]
October - Kansas City's WHB 710 and KCMO 810 swap frequencies.
1 October – Windy 100 (WPNT-FM, now WSHE-FM)/Chicago debuts with an adult contemporary format
20 October – KMJM-FM/St. Louis moves from 107.7 to 104.9 at midnight. After 12 hours of stunting, 107.7 relaunches as KSLZ "Z107.7." Also on this day, longtime easy listening station KLTH/Kansas City picks up the discarded AOR format of KYYS and much of the ex-KY 102 staff and becomes "99.7 KY."
19 November – KIBB in Los Angeles flips from Rhythmic AC to Urban Oldies, branded as "Mega 100". The station is a pioneer, becoming one of the first stations to adopt the format, and resulting in the launches of similar stations around the country over the next 3 years.
21 November – After 37 years of classical music, WQRS/Detroit flips to Modern Rock, branded as "105.1 The Edge."
26 November - WVTY/Pittsburgh shifts from adult top 40 to Modern AC as "96.1 The River." The move comes due to a sale from Hearst to SFX Broadcasting, which brings about a major restructuring move at both WVTY (who would later change call letters to WDRV) and sister WTAE (AM), resulting in a mass amount of layoffs, as well as a format change on WTAE from news/talk to sports.

Debuts

Ron and Ron Show disbands, and Ron Bennington teams up with Fez Whatley to create The Ron and Fez Show .
Dennis and Callahan debuts on WEEI in Boston

Deaths

8 January – Harman Grisewood, 90, English radio actor and administrator.
20 January – Dennis Main Wilson, 72, English broadcast comedy producer.
7 July – Jerry Doggett, 80, American sportscaster, play-by-play for Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball games from 1956 in radio to 1987.
30 September – Al "Jazzbo" Collins, 78, American disc jockey, radio personality and recording artist, briefly host of NBC television's Tonight show in 1957.
18 October – Nancy Dickerson, 60, pioneering American radio and television newswoman.^[2]
21 December – Roger Barkley, 60, Los Angeles radio personality, teamed with Al Lohman as part of The Lohman and Barkley Show on KFI.

Related Research Articles

WDHT, "Hot 102.9", is a Rhythmic contemporary radio station in Urbana, Ohio serving the Dayton/Springfield area that broadcasts on the 102.9 frequency. WDHT is currently owned by Alpha Media, which also owns WING, WROU-FM, WCLI-FM and WGTZ. Its transmitter site on Miller Road in Springfield is shared with that of WULM as this was previously the transmitting site of the former WBLY/WAZU. WUFM based in Columbus also operates a Springfield translator from the same tower site. Its studios are in Kettering, Ohio.

WKST-FM Radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

WKST-FM - branded as 96.1 KISS - is a Top 40 (CHR) outlet based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station broadcasts at 96.1 MHz, with an ERP of 44 kW. Its transmitter is located in Baldwin.

KQMQ-FM Radio station in Honolulu, Hawaii

KQMQ-FM is a radio station based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Pacific Media Group outlet broadcasts at 93.1 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. The station also transmits on Spectrum digital channel 868 for the entire state of Hawaii. It offers a proprietary blend of Hawaiian/Island Reggae and traditional Reggae music format branded as "HI93". The programming is led by local radio vet Kelsey Yogi. The station's studios are located in Downtown Honolulu and its transmitter is located near Akupu.

KZPT Radio station in Kansas City, Missouri

KZPT is a hot adult contemporary radio station licensed to and serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1962 under the call sign KMBC-FM. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its transmitter is located in east Kansas City, and studios are located in Mission, Kansas.

KCKC is an adult contemporary radio station based in Kansas City, Missouri that operates with an ERP of 100 kW. The station is licensed to and operated by Steel City Media. The station's studios are located at Westport Center in Midtown Kansas City, and its transmitter is located in Independence, Missouri.

KISS-FM is the brand name of a Top 40 music format heard on FM radio stations in many cities in the United States and overseas. iHeartMedia claims ownership of the KISS-FM brand in the United States and operates most KISS-FM formatted stations there, though not KISS-FM in San Antonio, Texas, or KISS-FM America on TuneIn.

WKZV is a non-commercial Christian FM radio station licensed to Tybee Island, Georgia. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation, and serves the Savannah metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located west of the city in unincorporated Chatham County.

KYSJ is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format, licensed to St. Joseph, Missouri, United States. The station is currently owned by Eagle Communications, Inc.

WDAF-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Liberty, Missouri, and serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station airs a country music radio format, branded as "106.5 The Wolf." Studios and offices are located on Squibb Road in Mission, Kansas.

KSAS-FM is a commercial radio station located in Caldwell, Idaho, broadcasting to the Boise, Idaho area. KSAS-FM airs a Top 40 (CHR) music format.

WHZZ is a radio station licensed to Lansing, Michigan with a variety hits format.

WQKS-FM, also known as Kiss-FM 96.1, is an adult contemporary formatted radio station that serves the Montgomery Metropolitan Area, broadcasting on the FM band at a frequency of 96.1 MHz and licensed to Montgomery, Alabama. The station is locally owned and operated by Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC. The station's transmitter is located in Montgomery. The station's studios are located on Wall St. in Midtown Montgomery.

The year 2000 in radio involved some significant events.

The year 1999 in radio involved some significant events.

The year 1998 in radio involved some significant events.

The year 1993 in radio involved some significant events.

The year 1996 in radio involved some significant events.

WEZI is a commercial FM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. It airs an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Atlanta-based Cox Media Group.

KBIU Radio station in Lake Charles, Louisiana

KBIU is a radio station Broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR). licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on Broad Street in downtown Lake Charles and its transmitter is in Sulphur, Louisiana.

WKXJ is a radio station licensed to Walden, Tennessee, United States, and serving the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area. The station operates a Top 40 (CHR) music format and is branded as "103.7 KISS FM." It is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios are located on Old Lee Road in Chattanooga, and its transmitter is located in Red Bank.

References

↑ Yorke, Jeffrey (26 September 1997). "'Major-Market Mel' Changes Course With $2.6 Bil. ARS Deal" (PDF). R&R. p. 1. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
↑ Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3848-8.

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[1] Yorke, Jeffrey (26 September 1997). "'Major-Market Mel' Changes Course With $2.6 Bil. ARS Deal" (PDF). R&R. p. 1. Retrieved 6 August 2017.

[coxotd-2] Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3848-8.

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