History
KMOX-FM
The station signed on the air on February 12, 1962;63 years ago (February 12, 1962). [3] The original call sign was KMOX-FM, sister station to AM powerhouse KMOX 1120, owned by CBS. In the early 1960s, the two stations mostly simulcast their programming.
By the late 60s, KMOX-FM had a separate format, playing easy listening music and was partially automated in its early years. The focus then shifted to an adult contemporary and soft rock style of music by the 1970s, which was also used at other FM stations owned by CBS Radio.
Hitradio 103 KHTR
In the summer of 1981, KMOX-FM began gradually evolving its format toward Top 40/CHR by adding more current hits to its playlist. By August 1982, the transition was complete, and the station's call letters were changed to KHTR on December 20, 1982. They stood for "Hit Radio." The first (and ultimately, last) song under the Top 40 format was "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. [4]
"Hitradio 103", like co-owned WHTT in Boston and KKHR in Los Angeles, was modeled after programmer Mike Joseph's successful Hot Hits format, although unlike early Hot Hits stations, KHTR also played recurrent hits and library titles from the past decade. KHTR was an almost immediate success, quickly becoming the #2 station in the demographic group 12 years old and over in the market, behind only sister KMOX 1120. (1) The "Hot Hits" format led to the station sometimes being referred derisively as "Keep Hearing Those Repeats", a play on the KHTR call letters.
Oldies KLOU
Over time, the Top 40 format saw its ratings slip. The station flipped to oldies on November 5, 1988 at midnight. KHTR changed to its current call letters of KLOU, with the station playing hits from the 1950s, 1960s and early-mid-1970s. The move was signaled on-air by the playing of two different versions of "Don't Be Cruel", beginning with Cheap Trick's cover and switching midway through to the original Elvis Presley version to mark the change.
The first song played on “Oldies 103” was “Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay” by Danny and the Juniors. The station was originally known as “Oldies 103”. As digital tuners became more popular on FM radios, KLOU changed its branding to “Oldies 103.3”. [5] [6] [7]
Gradually, the 1950s hits were deleted from the station's playlist, and more hits from the late 1970s and 1980s soon followed. The Oldies name was eventually dropped from the branding. The station is now known as just 103.3 KLOU. KLOU was the flagship radio station for the NFL's St. Louis Rams from 2000 until it was replaced by sports radio 101.1 WXOS in 2009. (The Rams were included in the station's logo from 2000–2007.)
Classic Hits
On June 18, 2007, KLOU dropped its "103.3 KLOU" branding and oldies format for a more classic hits approach as "My 103.3". The new sound was launched with Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care of Business". [8] The station later dropped the "My" branding and return to using just the call letters.
On April 29, 2010, the station rebranded as "Rewind 103.3." [9] On May 31, 2011, KLOU shifted the format back to 1960s, 70s and 80s classic hits, and rebranded as "103.3 KLOU". During the mid to late 2010s, KLOU’s playlist was updated to some 90s hits and fewer 70s titles, with a core focus on music from the 1980s. [10]
Changes in ownership
The station had been owned by CBS Radio since its founding in 1962. But in the mid-1990s, a merger with American Radio Systems brought CBS Radio over the ownership limit in several markets, including St. Louis. KLOU was purchased by Entercom in 1997, and then San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications in 1999. Clear Channel changed its name to iHeartMedia in 2014.
KLOU now airs American Top 40 with Casey Kasem 1970s' and 1980s' rebroadcasts on the weekends. Ironically, as KHTR, the station aired AT40 for most of the 1980s when these songs were current hits.
All Rams Radio on HD2
Unlike most of Clear Channel's FM radio stations, KLOU's HD Radio digital subchannel did not originally carry a direct feed from the Format Lab. Instead, the station, until 2009, aired a format called All Rams Radio, a year-round rebroadcast of complete St. Louis Rams games. During the offseason, games from as far back as the 1990s often aired on the subchannel. Even though iHeartMedia owns several flagship stations of NFL teams, St. Louis was the only market in which Clear Channel used this concept.
As with other Clear Channel and iHeart HD subchannels, "All Rams Radio" was available for free streaming on the iHeartRadio app. While the NFL has been fairly strict regarding its prohibition of broadcasting live games, no comment was made about this arrangement. KLOU lost the rights to the Rams to Bonneville Broadcasting-owned WXOS in 2009, which brought an end to "All Rams Radio." Bonneville has since sold WXOS to Twin Cities-based Hubbard Broadcasting.
"All Rams Radio" on KLOU-HD2 was replaced at first with 1950s/1960s hits. The subchannel later ran iHeartRadio's soft adult contemporary format known as "The Breeze" for several years. Many HD2 music formats on iHeart stations have been turned off recently.
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