History
The station went on the air in January 1958 with a classical music format, using the call sign KSFM. In 1960, the station went dark and then resurfaced with an automated beautiful music format as KPSD, only to sign-off again by the end of the year. Century Broadcasting purchased the dark KPSD in 1962 and returned it to the air as KMAP, "The Sound of Success", featuring classical music and later, Broadway show tunes. In 1968, Century sold KMAP to Dawson Communications, which changed the call letters to KXXK and the format to MOR music.
KXXK became KOAX ("Coax") in 1971, returning to the beautiful music format. Through the 1970s and into the early 1980s, KOAX was one of the most popular FM stations in Dallas/Fort Worth, consistently scoring top 10 ratings. But by 1985, its ratings were falling, and KOAX changed its call sign to KQZY ("Cozy 105.3") that year, evolving the format from beautiful music to soft adult contemporary. KQZY changed format to hot AC as "Star 105.3" in September 1989, taking the new call sign KRSR the following summer. "Star" featured such personalities as Bob Nelson, John McCarty, Teri Richardson, Mike Sheppard, Stoobie Doak and Scott Carpenter, who also served as program director. Ratings remained low, and on January 27, 1992, following a 2-day electronic countdown, Alliance Broadcasting (based in Walnut Creek, California) launched the first "Young Country" station on 105.3 FM with the station temporarily taking the call sign KRRM before becoming KYNG in February. [2] [3] The format featured current-heavy country music aimed toward a younger audience, and created "morning shows" all day that highlighted listener calls, frequent requests and fun disc jockey talk. It was all a part of owner Alliance's "Young Country" concept, repeated in other media markets around the country. Throughout the country format's tenure, its marketing brand was "Young Country 105.3, FM 105".
KYNG was one of four stations (the others being KXTX-TV, and sister stations KOAI and KRBV) that fell victim to the Cedar Hill tower collapse on October 12, 1996. Three workers were killed, and one worker was injured when a gust of wind caught the gin pole being used for construction of a new antenna for KXTX. After the collapse, the stations scrambled to get back on air and later ended up using an auxiliary site for many months, though at a much reduced power output. Because of this, KYNG's ratings plummeted.
After being acquired by Infinity Broadcasting (the forerunner to CBS Radio), KYNG changed format from country music to a combination of hot talk and active rock music on April 3, 2000. The final song on "Young Country" was "The Dance" by Garth Brooks. [4] [5] [6] [7] The station's first moniker under the new format was "105.3 The Talk That Rocks". KYNG became the Dallas network affiliate for The Howard Stern Show ; other personalities and programs during its initial launch included Ed Tyll, A.W. Pantoja, Jim Verdi, Martha Martinez, Russ Martin, Tom Leykis, Loveline, and John & Jeff. Three years later, in March 2003, the station took the new call sign KLLI, with "Live 105.3" as the new name and the slogan "The Alternative Talk Station". In late 2005, as part of the station's change in morning shows (due to Stern leaving CBS Radio to go to Sirius Satellite Radio in early 2006), KLLI dropped the "Alternative Talk Station" slogan and started using the CBS Radio nationwide slogan for FM talk, "Free FM". In May 2007, as part of CBS Radio's phasing out of the Free FM name and slogan, KLLI dropped the "Free FM" slogan and was again simply known as "Live 105.3". By this time, the weekday lineup consisted of Chris Jagger, Pugs Moran & Kelly Mohr, Russ Martin, Tom Leykis, "Big" Dick Hunter, and Loveline.
On December 8, 2008, at 3 p.m., KLLI switched to a sports talk format, branded as "105.3 The Fan". This change was not a complete overhaul as some hosts, notably morning host Jagger and some of his morning crew, survived the shift, while others, including Russ Martin, were not retained. [8] On December 12, 2008, the call sign was changed to KRLD-FM to match sister station 1080 KRLD (AM). Eventually, the programming became all sports. Some of the early shows included The Josh and Elf Show (hosted by Josh Lewin and Mark Elfenbein), RAGE (Richie and Greggo Extravaganza hosted by Richie Whitt and Greg Williams), and The Arnie Spanier Show.
On May 21, 2012, CBS Radio hinted at a possible format flip for either KRLD-FM or KMVK to "AMP Radio", much like its co-owned Los Angeles contemporary hit radio station KAMP-FM, as CBS registered three web domains, but neither station changed to that format. [9]
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom (now known as Audacy). [10] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17. [11] [12]
Months after on April 26, 2018, Entercom struck a new content deal with NBCUniversal-owned-and-operated stations KXAS-TV (NBC) and KXTX-TV (Telemundo). The former will be partnered with this station to bring enhanced local sports news and scores to its audience. [13] [14]
