![]() | |
| |
---|---|
Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
Frequency | 98.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | 98.1 The Breeze |
Programming | |
Format | Soft adult contemporary |
Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
KIOI, KKSF, KMEL, KNEW, KOSF, KYLD | |
History | |
First air date | July 17, 1958 (as KAFE) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Sounds like "Kiss" (former branding) |
Technical information [1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 59964 |
Class | B |
ERP | 75,000 watts |
HAAT | 309.6 meters (1,016 ft) |
Repeater(s) | See § Boosters |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | 981thebreeze.iheart.com |
KISQ (98.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco. It broadcasts a soft adult contemporary radio format, known as "The Breeze," and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studios and offices are in the SoMa district of San Francisco.
KISQ has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 75,000 watts. The transmitter is on Wolfback Ridge Road in Sausalito, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. [2] KISQ broadcasts using HD Radio technology. The station also has booster stations on 98.1 MHz in Concord and Pleasanton.
The station first signed on the air on July 17, 1958, as KAFE, with a classical music format. KAFE was owned and built by engineer Dan Solo, who had previously worked at KRE (1400 AM, now KVTO). Saying that automation made operating a station cheaper, he applied for a license in 1957.
Solo's first proposed transmitter site, a 50 ft (15 m) tower at his home, wound up violating a zoning ordinance, and KAFE signed on from a site atop Grizzly Peak. [3] Solo sold his station to Hal Cox in 1959; Cox relocated the tower to Sausalito.
In 1965, the McLendon-Pacific Corporation acquired KAFE and paired it with its existing station, KABL (960 AM, now KNEW). KABL-FM featured a beautiful music/easy listening format. It played quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental cover versions of popular songs, as well as Broadway and Hollywood show tunes. The call sign KABL stood for "cable cars," a San Francisco attraction. The station often played the sound effect of the bell from a cable card when identifying itself.
By the early 1990s, the format had given way to soft adult contemporary, and competed directly with KOIT, which had successfully made the same transition a few years earlier. The format was a modest success, although it was unable to overcome KOIT's dominance in the ratings. On March 15, 1993, KABL-FM re-branded as "B98", and transitioned to a mainstream AC format focused on hit songs from the 1980s and 1990s, placing the station between soft AC KOIT and hot AC KIOI. [4] The move did little to improve the station's ratings.
On February 14, 1994, KABL-FM switched to a 1970s-based classic hits format, branded as "K-Big 98.1". Jay Peterson was music director during this time. [5] The call letters were changed to KBGG on January 2, 1995. Later that year, Shamrock Broadcasting of Burbank, California, reached a deal to sell KBGG, as well as KNEW (910 AM), KABL, and KSAN-FM (94.9), to Chancellor Media.
The format was a moderate success. The station later expanded its playlist to include songs from the late 1960s and early 1980s.
On July 22, 1997, after playing "No Matter What" by Badfinger, KBGG began stunting with sounds of radio tuning and ground control transmissions, while promoting a new format to come. At 1 p.m. the next day, Chancellor Media (later to become AMFM, Inc. then Clear Channel Communications, and later iHeartMedia) flipped KBGG to urban AC as KISQ, "98.1 Kiss FM". The first song on "Kiss FM" was "Let's Groove" by Earth, Wind & Fire. [6] [7]
KISQ leaned heavily on a format similar to classic soul/urban oldies, with a playlist of more old school R&B music with occasionally few new R&B songs (mostly mainstream with no neo-soul). This may have helped garner a diverse audience of blacks, Latinos, whites and Asians. The station's owners may have also formatted the playlist this way not only to protect longtime urban contemporary-sister station KMEL, which plays some old school in addition to current Hip Hop/R&B, but to differentiate itself from competitor KBLX, which plays new and old R&B. By 2008, rhythmic AC competitor KMVQ took on the Top 40 format at the time the "MOViN' " format declined in popularity, allowing KISQ to evolve its format to a more rhythmic AC direction.
By 2011, the station was described as having a gold-based rhythmic oldies format, with no currents. It also began playing a few new wave hits from the 1980s from artists such as The Police and Human League. At the same time as the format adjustment, the station changed its logo to one bearing resemblance to a logo most urban oldies/rhythmic oldies used during the peak time of the format in the late 1990s to early 2000s.
In June 2015, the station added "Throwback" to its slogan while adding some classic hip hop in its playlist, removing the new wave and disco tracks from the station (most of which moved over to sister KOSF), in order to better compete with new competitor KRBQ. The next month, the station reduced most of the classic hip hop tracks in favor of more familiar upbeat R&B and dance tracks, as well as ballads.
On April 13, 2016, at 2 p.m., after playing "Kiss and Say Goodbye" by The Manhattans and "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men, KISQ flipped back to Soft Adult Contemporary as "98.1 The Breeze." The first song on "The Breeze" was "Easy" by The Commodores. [8] [9] Core artists of the format include Adele, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Billy Joel, Madonna, Lionel Richie, Elton John and George Michael.
Due to KISQ's success, iHeart launched "The Breeze" in several other cities. There are now stations branded as "The Breeze" (or a variant thereof) in a number of radio markets in the U.S. and Canada, some owned by iHeartMedia and a few with other owners. iHeartRadio also has a soft AC channel called "The Breeze" on its app. About 30 iHeartMedia FM stations around the U.S. air the service on one of their HD Radio digital subchannels.
KISQ is rebroadcast on the following FM boosters:
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | FCC info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KISQ-FM2 | 98.1 FM | Pleasanton, California | 59993 | 10,000 (Vert.) | −55 m (−180 ft) | D | LMS |
KISQ-FM3 | 98.1 FM | Concord, California | 59973 | 1,000 (Vert.) | 884 m (2,900 ft) | D | LMS |
KNBR-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Owned by Cumulus Media, KNBR-FM features a sports radio format in a simulcast with co-owned KNBR. Both stations are the San Francisco affiliates for CBS Sports Radio, the flagship stations for the San Francisco Giants Radio Network and co-flagship stations for the San Francisco 49ers Radio Network. KNBR-AM-FM are the radio home of Greg Papa and Tom Tolbert.
KSAN is a commercial FM radio station licensed to San Mateo, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by Cumulus Media and it airs a mainstream rock radio format. It also serves as the FM flagship station for the San Francisco 49ers Radio Network. KSAN's studios and offices are located on Battery Street in San Francisco's SoMa district.
KYSR is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and owned by iHeartMedia KYSR broadcasts an alternative rock format and is the flagship station of syndicated morning drive time program The Woody Show. The KYSR studios are on West Olive Avenue in Burbank.
WBEN-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and broadcasts an adult hits radio format. The studios and offices are in Bala Cynwyd and the broadcast tower is on Wigard Avenue in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia at.
KQKS is a Rhythmic Top 40 radio station, licensed to Lakewood, Colorado. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and serves the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area. KQKS features a musical mix of R&B, hip hop and rhythmic pop hits.
KMYI is a commercial radio station in San Diego, California, airing a hot adult contemporary music format. It is owned by iHeartMedia. Its studios are located in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood on the northeast side, and the transmitter is located in La Jolla. It broadcasts from the KGTV Tower, shared with several other San Diego FM stations and KGTV. KMYI is the oldest continuously operating FM station in the San Diego metropolitan area.
KRZZ is a commercial radio station located in San Francisco, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KRZZ airs a regional Mexican music format branded as "La Raza". The station's studios are located in San Jose just north of downtown, and the transmitter is located in the San Bruno Mountains.
CIDR-FM is a commercial radio station in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, targeting the Detroit–Windsor metropolitan area, with fringe reception into Toledo and Cedar Point/Sandusky in Ohio. It is owned and operated by Bell Media and airs a Top 40/CHR format. The studios and offices are located on Ouellette Avenue in Windsor.
KVDU is a commercial radio station licensed to Houma, Louisiana; it plans to change the city of license to Gonzales. It airs an adult hits radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., the station serves the Baton Rouge metropolitan area. Its studios are on Howard Avenue in the Central Business District of New Orleans.
KHKS is a Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex radio station broadcasting a top 40 (CHR) format, and calling itself "KISS-FM." It is licensed to Denton, Texas, and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It is the home of the nationally syndicated Kidd Kraddick Morning Show. The studios are on Dallas Parkway in Farmers Branch.
WHBT-FM is a classic hip hop/urban adult contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Moyock, North Carolina, serving Hampton Roads and Northeastern North Carolina. WHBT-FM is owned and operated by iHeartMedia.
WTSS is a commercial radio station in Buffalo, New York, calling itself The New 96.1. WTSS has an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. It is owned by Townsquare Media and has its radio studios in the Rand Building on Lafayette Square in downtown Buffalo.
KFMK is an Austin, Texas radio station operating a contemporary Christian format as an affiliate of the K-Love radio network. It is licensed to Round Rock, Texas with an ERP of 4,500 watts from a transmitter site near West Lake Hills, and is currently owned by Educational Media Foundation.
KTKX is a commercial radio station, licensed to Terrell Hills, Texas, and serving the San Antonio metropolitan area. KTKX is owned by Cox Radio, positioned between two other Cox stations. KTKX has a pop-leaning classic rock radio format, while sister stations KISS-FM airs an active rock format with some harder-edged classic rock titles, and KONO-FM plays classic hits, including some classic rock songs that also scored on the Top 40 charts.
Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic audiences. It is also referred to as "Jammin' Oldies" or "Music From Back in the Day" by various radio stations. Since the late 2000s, much of the library in the "rhythmic oldies" format has been adopted by the classic hits format. A variation on the format is urban oldies.
KOKO-FM is a radio station licensed to Kerman, California. Owned by Art Laboe's Big Broadcasting, it broadcasts a rhythmic oldies format targeting Fresno.
KTJM is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Port Arthur, Texas. It is owned by Estrella Media and airs a Regional Mexican radio format. The studios and offices are located at 3000 Bering Drive in Southwest Houston. Programming is simulcast with sister station 101.7 KNTE Bay City, Texas.
KMJK is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. Licensed to North Kansas City, Missouri, the Cumulus Media, Inc. outlet operates with an ERP of 100 kW from a transmitter in Napoleon, Missouri. KMJK's studios are located in Overland Park, Kansas.
KRBQ is a classic hip hop radio station in San Francisco, California and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station transmits its signal from Mount Beacon atop the Marin Headlands above Sausalito, California, while studios are located in the KPIX-TV building in the North Beach district of San Francisco.
KSSX is a commercial radio station located in San Diego, California, although the station is legally licensed to serve Carlsbad, in nearby North County. The station airs a rhythmic contemporary format, and is one of seven stations in the market owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood on the northeast side, and the transmitter is atop Mt. Soledad, located in La Jolla.