KFXX (AM)

Last updated
KFXX
KFXX 1080the fan logo.png
Broadcast area Portland metropolitan area
Frequency 1080 kHz
Branding1080 The FAN
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Sports radio
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Audacy, Inc.
  • (Audacy License, LLC, as Debtor-in-Possession)
History
First air date
October 12, 1925 (1925-10-12)
Former call signs
  • KFWV (1925–27)
  • KWJJ (1927–97)
  • KOTK (1997–2004)
Former frequencies
  • 1410 kHz (1925–27)
  • 1310 kHz (1927–28)
  • 1200 kHz (1928)
  • 1060 kHz (1928–34)
  • 1040 kHz (1934–41)
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 57830
Class B
Power 50,000  watts day
9,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
45°33′26″N122°29′8″W / 45.55722°N 122.48556°W / 45.55722; -122.48556
Repeater(s) 99.5  KWJJ-HD2 (Portland)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live (via  Audacy)
Website www.audacy.com/1080thefan

KFXX (1080 kHz "1080 The FAN") is a commercial AM radio station in Portland, Oregon. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and runs a sports radio format. [3] The studios and offices are on SW Bancroft Street in Portland. [4]

Contents

KFXX is one of four sports stations in the Portland radio market, the others being co-owned KMTT, KPOJ (owned by iHeartMedia) and KXTG (owned by Alpha Media).

Signal

The transmitter site is on NE Marine Drive in the northeast side of Portland along the Columbia River. [5] KFXX is a Class B radio station. By day, it runs the maximum power for commercial AM stations in the U.S., 50,000 watts, audible around much of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. At night, because AM 1080 is a clear channel frequency, KFXX must reduce power to 9,000 watts, so it does not interfere with co-owned KRLD in Dallas and WTIC in Hartford, the two dominant Class A stations on the frequency. KFXX uses a directional antenna at all times.

Programming

KFXX is a network affiliate of ESPN Radio but mostly runs its own local shows on weekdays. Its sister station, 910 KMTT, carries the ESPN Radio lineup around the clock. As of March 1, 2021, KFXX starts the day at 6 a.m. with "Dirt and Sprague" in morning drive time. At 9, it carries Colin Cowherd from the Fox Sports Radio Network. At noon, KFXX airs "Danny and Dusty". Followed by "Primetime with Isaac Ropp and Jason 'Big Suke' Scukanec" is heard on weekday afternoons from 3 to 7 pm.Primetime from 3-6 is mostly sports related. The last hour of the show is funny stories from mostly current events or news happening around the world. [6] The first three hours of "Primetime" were simulcast on the Comcast SportsNet Northwest cable TV network. Nights and weekends, KFXX runs programming from ESPN Radio when it isn't airing a live sports event.

History

Early years

This station was first licensed as KFWV, which signed on the air on October 12, 1925. In 1927, the call sign was changed to KWJJ, incorporating the initials of the station's founder, Wilbur J. Jerman. In the 1930s, KWJJ was powered at 500 watts, heard on 1060 kilocycles in the daytime, 1040 kilocycles at night. [7]

After the enactment of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) in 1941, KWJJ moved to its current position on the dial, at 1080 kHz. [8] The power was boosted to 1,000 watts. By the late 1940s, the power increased to 10,000 watts.

In 1946, KWJJ added an FM station, KWJJ-FM at 95.5 MHz. [9] It was only powered at 3,400 watts and it mostly simulcasted the AM station. However, in the 1940s and 1950s, few radios could receive FM signals and management saw little opportunity to make it profitable. In the mid 1950s, KWJJ silenced the FM station, giving up the license. Another station signed on at 95.5 in 1959, which is today KBFF.

Switch to Country

KWJJ was acquired by Rodney F. Johnson in 1952. Johnson served as president and general manager as well. KWJJ became Portland's ABC Radio Network affiliate in 1959 and adopted a country music format on March 1, 1965. [10] In the 1970s, the station's daytime power was increased to 50,000 watts, while it continues to operate at 10,000 watts at night.

In 1973, KWJJ was acquired by Park Communications. [11] A year later, Park acquired KJIB, an FM station airing a beautiful music format. For the first years of Park ownership, KJIB remained easy listening and KWJJ remained country. In the late 1970s, Park moved KJIB from mainstream easy listening to a new format known as "Beautiful Country." [12] The sound was soft, but used instrumental cover versions of country songs, rather than pop songs. With KWJJ as Portland's top country music station, management thought a beautiful country format on the FM station would be attractive to the AM station's advertisers.

KJIB switched to a conventional country format in the early 1980s. The FM station played mostly contemporary country hits with only a small amount of DJ chatter, while the AM station continued as a personality country outlet, going back several decades for its playlist of country tunes. On August 19, 1985, KJIB changed its call sign to the current KWJJ-FM. The two stations simulcasted the morning show and some other segments during the day.

KWJJ dropped its simulcast of KWJJ-FM in 1995, becoming a network affiliate for ABC's "Real Country," a classic country service. [13]

Hot Talk KOTK

In 1996, Seattle-based Fisher Communications bought KWJJ-AM-FM for $35 million. [14] Fisher continued the country format on KWJJ-FM, while making plans to change the AM station.

On October 27, 1997, KWJJ's call sign was switched to KOTK, and flipped to a "hot talk" format as "Hot Talk 1080 KOTK." [15] Fisher added several sports play-by-play broadcasts to the station, including Washington Huskies football and basketball, Portland Pilots basketball and Portland Forest Dragons football.

KFXX

The KFXX call letters were first used in the Portland market on "The X", an active rock station on 1520 AM. KFXX flipped to its current sports format on September 1, 1990. [16] KFXX and its sports format moved to AM 910 on March 29, 1998, swapping frequencies with adult standards-formatted KKSN. The station again swapped frequencies, this time with hot talk-formatted KOTK on March 19, 2004. [17]

In its early days as a sports station, one of KFXX's hosts was Neil Lomax, a former quarterback at Portland State University and the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals.

In 2003, Fisher Communications sold KOTK and KWJJ-FM to Entercom for $44 million. [18]

Related Research Articles

WBOB is a commercial AM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned by Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. Weekdays begin with a local news and information show, followed by mostly syndicated programming, including shows from Mark Levin, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Jay Sekulow and Red Eye Radio. Most hours begin with Townhall News. Some hours are paid brokered programming. The station calls itself "Talkradio AM 600 & FM 101.1 WBOB".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KGON</span> Radio station in Portland, Oregon

KGON is a commercial radio station in Portland, Oregon. The station airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. KGON broadcasts in the HD Radio format. Its HD2 subchannel formerly carried a blues format, known as "Waterfront Blues Radio."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KXNT (AM)</span> Radio station in Nevada, United States

KXNT is a commercial AM radio station licensed to North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. and carries a news/talk format. The radio studios are located in the unincorporated Clark County area of Spring Valley, while KXNT's transmitter is located on U.S. Route 93 at Great Valley Parkway in North Las Vegas.

KBFF is a commercial radio station licensed to Portland, Oregon, and serving the Portland metropolitan area, including parts of Oregon and Washington. The station airs a Top 40 (CHR) radio format and is owned by Alpha Media. It carries the syndicated morning drive time show "Brooke & Jeffrey" from KQMV in Seattle.

KCRO is a commercial AM radio station in Omaha, Nebraska. KCRO is owned by Hickory Radio and airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format. The studios are located on Burt Street, while the transmitter is located behind Roncalli Catholic High School near Sorensen Parkway in Northwest Omaha.

WWL-FM is a commercial radio radio station licensed to Kenner, Louisiana, and serving the New Orleans metropolitan area. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. WWL-FM and sister station WWL 870 AM simulcast a News - Talk - Sports radio format. The studios and offices are in the 400 Poydras Tower in the New Orleans Central Business District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRXL</span> Radio station in Virginia, United States

WRXL is a commercial radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, and serving Central Virginia. WRXL is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. WRXL airs an alternative rock radio format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCSP (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Kansas City, Missouri

KCSP is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Kansas City, Missouri. The Audacy, Inc.-owned station broadcasts a sports radio format. Its studios and offices are located on Squibb Road in Mission, Kansas. KCSP is one of the oldest radio stations in the Kansas City metropolitan area, going on the air in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KHTP</span> Radio station in Tacoma, Washington

KHTP, is a commercial radio station licensed to Tacoma, Washington, and serving the Seattle metropolitan area. It is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc., and it airs a classic hip-hop radio format. The studios and offices are on Fifth Avenue in Downtown Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRVQ</span> Contemporary hit radio station in Richmond, Virginia

WRVQ is a commercial radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, and serving Central Virginia. WRVQ is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. It airs a top 40 (CHR) radio format. The syndicated Elvis Duran show from former sister station WHTZ in New York City is heard in morning drive time. The studios and offices are located just north of Richmond city limits on Basie Road in unincorporated Henrico County, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWJJ-FM</span> Radio station in Portland, Oregon

KWJJ-FM is a commercial radio station in Portland, Oregon. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a country music radio format. The studio is on SW Bancroft Street, near downtown Portland. The station transmitter is atop Portland's West Hills, off SW Fairmount Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWPN (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Oklahoma City

KWPN is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Moore, Oklahoma, and serving the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a sports format. While Cumulus owns three sports stations in Oklahoma City, WWLS-FM and WKY have mostly local shows on weekdays, while KWPN carries mostly syndicated programming from ESPN Radio. The studios and offices are on NW 64th Street in Northwest Oklahoma City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KLVP</span> Radio station in Aloha, Oregon

KLVP is a non-profit radio station licensed to Aloha, Oregon, and serving the Portland metropolitan area. The station is owned, and the broadcast license held, by the Educational Media Foundation. It airs the national contemporary Christian radio format known as "K-Love."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KJFK (AM)</span> Radio station in Austin, Texas

KJFK and KJFK-FM (96.3 MHz) are a pair of terrestrial radio stations, which serve Austin, Texas, and Llano, Texas, United States respectively. Both facilities are owned by Township Media and broadcast an adult hits format as "96.3 Jack FM", using the nationally syndicated Jack FM licensing. KJFK can also be heard in Austin proper on translator K242DE and in Giddings, Texas on KGID, both of which also operate on 96.3 FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHLL</span> Radio station in Springfield, Massachusetts

WHLL – branded as Nueva 98.1 – is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Spanish-language latin pop format licensed to Springfield, Massachusetts. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the Springfield metropolitan area; and the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. The WHLL studios are located at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, alongside sister stations WMAS-FM and WWEI, while the station transmitter, shared with WMAS-FM, resides in Springfield's Brightwood neighborhood. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WHLL simulcasts over low-power analog Springfield translator W251CT (98.1 FM) and on the second HD Radio channel of WMAS-FM, and streams online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMTT</span> ESPN Radio affiliate in Vancouver, Washington, United States

KMTT is a commercial radio station licensed to Vancouver, Washington, broadcasting to the Portland, Oregon and Clark County, Washington. KMTT is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a sports format with programming from ESPN Radio. The studios are located south of downtown Portland, and the transmitter site is in the city's northeast side along the Columbia River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFH (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Wichita, Kansas

KFH is a commercial AM radio station in Wichita, Kansas. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on East Douglas Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKGK</span> Fox Sports Radio affiliate in Las Vegas

KKGK is a commercial AM radio station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, serving the Las Vegas area. Owned by Lotus Communications, its studios and offices are located on West Flamingo Road in the unincorporated community of Spring Valley in Clark County. The transmitter is located off North Martin Luther King Boulevard in North Las Vegas. KKGK airs a sports radio format, mostly carrying the Fox Sports Radio Network. The syndicated "Dan Patrick Show" is heard on weekday mornings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGGA</span> Radio station in Gainesville, Georgia

WGGA is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary radio format. Licensed to Gainesville, Georgia, United States, the station serves the northern section of the Atlanta metropolitan area. It is currently owned by Jwj Properties, Inc. and features programming from Westwood One.

KZGD is an American radio station licensed to serve Salem, Oregon, United States. The station, founded in 1934 as KSLM, is currently owned by Iglesia Pentecostal Vispera del Fin. KZGD broadcasts a Regional Mexican format.

References

  1. "FCCInfo Facility Search Results: Entercom Portland License, LLC". Manassas, Virginia: Cavell Mertz & Associates, Inc. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  2. "Facility Technical Data for KFXX". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. Day, James (May 4, 2009). "Area radio stations alter programming; Some of the talk shows on KFXX will be tough to receive for area listeners". Statesman Journal.
  4. 1080TheFan.com/contact-us
  5. Radio-Locator.com/KFXX
  6. 1080 The Fan Portland Revamps Daily Lineup Radioinsight - March 1, 2021
  7. Broadcasting Yearbook 1935 page 50
  8. Broadcasting Yearbook 1943 page 132
  9. Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 250
  10. KWJJ
  11. Broadcasting Yearbook 1975 page C-157
  12. Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 page C-189
  13. Stark, Phyllis (May 27, 1995). "Vox Jox". Billboard . Vol. 107, no. 21. p. 106.
  14. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-371
  15. "Agler Appointed PD At KOTK/Portland" (PDF). R&R . November 28, 1997. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  16. "Birth of a station". www.portlandtribune.com. Archived from the original on 2006-11-14.
  17. "KFXX AM 1080". pdxradio.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  18. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2006 page D-416