History
Early years
The first station on the frequency, WHB-FM, signed on the air in 1948, as a simulcast of WHB. [3] Cook Paint and Varnish Company owned the station. This would only last for about two years, as few people in that era owned an FM receiver. Seeing little opportunity to make WHB-FM profitable, Cook turned in the license in 1950.
The frequency stayed silent for 11 years. Transcontinent Television signed on WDAF-FM on March 5, 1961;63 years ago (March 5, 1961). It was a simulcast partner to WDAF 610 AM. WDAF-FM was an NBC Radio Network affiliate, with 36,000 watts of power. Taft Broadcasting purchased the WDAF stations in 1964.
In 1967, WDAF-FM departed from the AM simulcast in afternoons and evenings with an automated Top 40 format. The FM then moved to middle of the road (MOR) on January 15, 1968, as "Popular 102". The station upgraded to 100,000 watts on New Year's Day, 1971. Also that year, WDAF-FM flipped to oldies, the first time an FM station in Kansas City aired the format. It began with Drake-Chenault's syndicated "History of Rock and Roll". Drake didn't actually call it oldies. The automated programming was called "Vintage Top 40". WDAF-FM returned to Top 40 hits just four months later in May 1971. By 1974, WDAF-FM was leaning to MOR music again, and completely automated.
KY 102
On July 1, 1974, WDAF-FM flipped to album-oriented rock (AOR), becoming one of Kansas City's iconic FM stations. It was branded as "KY 102", and changed its call sign to KYYS. The "KY" refers to the first and last letters in "Kansas City". The first (and ultimately, last) song on "KY 102" was "Too Many People" by Paul McCartney. KYYS became the most successful AOR station in Kansas City. It hit #1 in the ratings in 1979 when acts like Bad Company, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Bob Seger, KISS and Journey were popular, along with legendary personality Max Floyd's anti-disco speeches under the name "The Rock and Roll Army."
KYYS expanded and contracted the playlist over the years as the music dictated, sometimes leaning heavily on gold material, and sometimes being more adventurous with new music. For many years, the station went without significant competition. Many of its personalities spent a long time at the station, including Max Floyd, who was on the air the day the format started in 1974, and the day it ended in 1997. Great American Broadcasting (later Citicasters) bought the station in 1987.
KYYS, for a time, competed with KSAS, KKCI and KXXR (all located on 106.5 FM, now the current incarnation of WDAF-FM). In April 1992, KRVK flipped from adult contemporary to active rock as KQRC. This began the end of KY's long dominance in the ratings, as KQRC took away many listeners with newer hard-edged and modern rock that KYYS generally ignored. When KY finally started playing acts such as Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers, it was too late, and the ratings never recovered. The station also tended to avoid playing Metallica and similar heavy metal bands. By 1997, KYYS leaned extensively on new music, playing artists like Dave Matthews Band, The Wallflowers, Sheryl Crow, and Collective Soul.
The Zone
In September 1996, after the passage of the sweeping Telecommunications Act of 1996, Citicasters merged with Jacor Communications. [4] [5] [6] In June 1997, KYYS was sold off to American Radio Systems, and then to Westinghouse Broadcasting/CBS in September. KYYS's AM sister station, 610 WDAF, was sold to Entercom in October. [7] [8]
On September 19, 1997, at 12:01 a.m., KYYS flipped to modern adult contemporary, branded as "102.1 The Zone". [9] [10] [11] The first song on "The Zone" was "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow. KYYS' staff didn't have a chance to say goodbye to listeners. They was let go barely an hour before the change. (In fact, the official goodbye came a week after the format change, when KYYS staff members held a midday interview simulcast on competing stations KQRC and KCFX, which were then owned by the same company). [12] [13]
On January 16, 1998, the station's call sign changed to KOZN. The station's ratings plummeted even further. The station's playlist sounded similar to sister station KMXV, which airs a Top 40/CHR format that, at the time, leaned heavily on modern rock. In addition, KYYS was revived on former adult contemporary station KLTH about a month after 102.1's flip, this time as a classic rock station featuring many of KY's earlier personalities. (Since June 2020, KYSJ in St. Joseph has broadcast a classic rock format using the "KY 102" branding). [14]
In June 1998, CBS split off the radio division under the revived Infinity Broadcasting name. Infinity would be renamed CBS Radio in December 2005.
Star 102
On January 4, 1999, at 5 p.m., after playing "Ants Marching" by Dave Matthews Band, KOZN began stunting with ocean sounds, as well as liners redirecting listeners to KMXV. Listeners were asked to tune in at 9 a.m. the following day for something new on 102.1. At the promised time, KOZN flipped to adult contemporary, branded as "Star 102”, under new Program Director Jon Zellner (who continued to program KMXV). The first song on "Star" was "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship. [15] [16] On February 1, KOZN changed its call sign to KSRC. "Star" primarily competed with 98.1 KUDL and 106.5 KCIY. Star also aired Christmas music during the holiday season to compete with KUDL, a tradition that began in November 1999. (A few times, the two stations would flip to Christmas music within hours of each other. On occasion, 102.1 FM would be the first station to go all-Christmas in the United States.) Within a year, KSRC beat KUDL in the ratings. Zellner left the station in 2004. In 2005, KSRC changed to a more upbeat image, dropping most soft-sounding music, with John Tesh's syndicated "Intelligence For Your Life" show added to the evening schedule in the later part of the year.
On January 24, 2006, the station changed its call sign to KCKC as CBS anticipated success with its post-Howard Stern formatted hot talk stations under the "Free FM" branding. Management intended to convert KCKC to hot talk like many CBS FM stations. The plan was quickly nixed as Free FM became one of the most notorious format flops of the 2000s. KCKC retained its AC format, though Tesh's show was temporarily set aside as CBS Radio figured out what to do with the station. [17] In November 2006, CBS sold the station to Wilks Broadcasting, as it focused on larger markets. John Tesh's show returned to nights, and eventually, replays from the previous night aired in afternoons.
While popular for many years, both KUDL and KCKC began to decline in the Arbitron ratings after the introduction of the Portable People Meter in early 2009. KUDL, though, usually had the upper hand compared to KCKC, most likely due to that station's heritage in the market. KUDL had been in the AC format since 1977. In addition, most adult contemporary stations across the country were declining in ratings during this time period, due to challenges while attempting to attract a younger audience.
Alice 102
During the station's annual Christmas music run on December 22, 2010, KCKC began promoting "a new sound coming" on January 3, 2011. In addition, the station's website displayed a countdown clock to the announcement, which would take place that day at Noon. At that time, after playing "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg, KCKC flipped to adult album alternative (AAA), branded as "Alice 102". The first song on "Alice" was "The One I Love" by R.E.M. [18] [19] [20]
Initially, the format had a gold lean to it, mostly concentrating on rock music from the 1980s. It had a wide library, with less of a focus on personalities. As the year progressed, with several music festivals hosted in the city throughout the year (especially the popular "Kanrocksas" festival at Kansas Speedway), the station added more current music. "Alice" competed with Entercom's modern rock KRBZ, Cumulus Media's classic rocker KCFX, and non-commercial AAA-formatted KTBG. During the station’s tenure as “Alice", KCKC's ratings would hang around the 2.5 share range (#15-16) of the market.
KC 102.1
On January 27, 2014, Wilks registered the domain "KC1021.com", possibly signaling another format change or altering for the second time in three years. Three days later, Wilks registered "Alt102.com." On February 4, at 6 p.m., after playing Semisonic's "Closing Time", KCKC began stunting with a countdown to 3 p.m. the following afternoon, when the station flipped back to adult contemporary, branded as "KC 102.1". The first song on "KC" was "Get The Party Started" by P!nk. [21] [22] [23] When the station relaunched its AC format, it featured the "More Music, More Variety, More Fun" slogan, as well as an emphasis on songs from the 1980s, including "Totally ‘80s Weekends" airing every weekend. The station also began to air all-Christmas music again, replacing sister station KFKF, who continued the tradition after the demise of "Star 102" three years prior.
On June 12, 2014, Wilks announced that it would sell its Kansas City cluster (including KCKC) to Pittsburgh-based Steel City Media. [24] The sale was approved on September 26, 2014, and was consummated on September 30. Shortly after the sale was approved, KCKC dropped the all-80s weekends, and began including more currents/recurrents in their playlist. In addition, KCKC changed their slogan to "Today's Best Variety." Since then, KCKC has broadened their library to include hits from the 1970s to the present day.
102.1 Bob FM
During the station's annual Christmas music run in December 2024, KCKC began teasing a change to come December 26. On that day, at 9 a.m., after playing "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, KCKC flipped to adult hits, branded as "102.1 Bob FM".
The move mirrors a national network of the format. Its playlist is similar to co-owned WRRK in Pittsburgh, operated by Steel City. The first song on "Bob" was "Girl You Know It's True" by Milli Vanilli. While the format launched with no live DJs, Steel City said the entire airstaff would retain their positions under the new format. Live DJs returned on January 13, 2025. [25]
