KJAQ

KJAQ

City Seattle, Washington
Broadcast area Seattle metropolitan area
Branding 96.5 Jack FM
Slogan Playing What We Want
Frequency 96.5 MHz FM (also on HD Radio)
96.5-2 FM-"Alt 96.5 HD2" (Alternative rock)
96.5-3 FM-KFNQ simulcast
First air date 1959 (as KLSN)
Format Adult hits
ERP 52,000 watts
HAAT 696 meters
Class C
Facility ID 1091
Transmitter coordinates 47°30′18″N 121°58′08″W / 47.505°N 121.969°W / 47.505; -121.969Coordinates: 47°30′18″N 121°58′08″W / 47.505°N 121.969°W / 47.505; -121.969
Callsign meaning Play-on letters for Jack
Former callsigns KLSN (1959-1972)[1]
KYAC (1972-1977)[1]
KYYX (1977[1]-1984)
KKMI (1984-1985)
KQKT (1985-1987)
KXRX (1987-1994)[2]
KYCW (1994-1999)[2]
KYPT (1999-2003)[2]
KRQI (2003-2004)[2]
KRQI-FM (2004-2005)[2]
Owner iHeartMedia
(Capstar TX, LLC)
Sister stations KBKS-FM, KFNQ, KHHO, KJR, KJR-FM, KUBE, KZOK-FM
Webcast Listen Live (via iHeartRadio)
Listen Live (HD2)
Website jackseattle.iheart.com
alt965.iheart.com (HD2)

KJAQ (96.5 FM) is a commercial radio station located in Seattle, Washington. KJAQ airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack FM". KJAQ broadcasts on a frequency of 96.5 MHz with an ERP of 52,000 watts through a transmitter near Issaquah, Washington on Tiger Mountain, and operates from studios in the Belltown neighborhood northwest of Downtown Seattle.

History

What is now KJAQ signed on the air in 1959 as KLSN, a classical music station broadcasting from the University Village shopping center. From 1973 (employing the quadraphonic sound for a short time) until 1977, the station's format was R&B as KYAC with the tagline "The Soul of the Sound." In February 1977, after O'Day Broadcasting bought the station, the call letters switched to KYYX[1] and ran as a Top 40 station until late 1982, when the station shifted to new wave and added an emphasis on newer music. The station was called "96.5 The Wave" and featured radio personalities Mike "Beaver" Bell, Damien, Stephen Rabow, John Langan, and Van Johnson. The station's moniker was "The Rock of The 80s".[3] On March 26, 1984, Madison Park Broadcasting (which bought the station from O'Day the previous December) announced that the station would change formats within a few months due to poor ratings and revenue; on May 13, the station flipped to soft AC as KKMI.[4][5][6] By December of that year, Madison Park sold the station to Behan, who shifted the format to "Quality Rock KQ-96", KQKT, in May 1985. Shamrock Broadcasting bought the station in the Fall of 1986. On January 5, 1987, 96.5 flipped to KXRX, a personality-driven album rock station featuring Robin & Maynard in morning drive, Larry Snyder mid-days, Crow & West in afternoon drive, Beau Roberts in evenings, and Scott Vanderpool in overnights.[7][8]

Alliance Broadcasting bought the station from Shamrock in May 1994. On June 25, KXRX began stunting with comedy routines; on June 29 at 5:30 p.m., the station began a robotic countdown that started at 40,000 and ended at 1; however, instead of ending the countdown at 1, it counted up to 40,000, then back to 1. On July 1, at 3 p.m., Alliance flipped the station to the popular (at the time) Country format as "Young Country 96.5" with the call letters KYCW-FM and competed against KMPS-FM and KCIN.[9][10] Alliance would merge with Infinity Broadcasting in September 1995; shortly afterwards, Infinity sold KYCW to EZ Communications in February 1996, with KYCW joining KMPS and KCIN under common ownership, which prompted EZ to flip KCIN to Rhythmic AC the following month. EZ Communications would be bought out by American Radio Systems in July 1997. In September, ARS would be bought out by Infinity, which effectively returned the station under Infinity ownership, which itself merged with CBS' radio division that same year and retained the "Infinity" name. (Infinity would be renamed CBS Radio in December 2005).

On December 17, 1999, Infinity flipped KYCW-FM to all-80's hits, branded as "96.5 The Point".[11] The call letters became KYPT as well. While initially popular, the station would soon decline in the ratings. In 2001, much of the on-air staff was fired, leading to rumors of a format change to adult contemporary. However, the station continued with its all-80's format and brought in a new air staff. Despite this, ratings continued to slip.[12]

On December 19, 2003, at 5:00 p.m., after playing "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads, KYPT flipped to Classic Alternative Rock as "96-5 K-Rock".[13][14] The station changed call letters to KRQI on New Year's Day, 2004. The station played songs from classic alternative artists such as Foo Fighters, Kid Rock, Iggy Pop, Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., U2, and Depeche Mode, as well as capitalizing on Seattle grunge acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. It competed with KNDD, which changed 29 hours earlier to a gold-based Alternative format. It also competed with, to a lesser extent, KFNK. The station brought in former KNDD personalities Andy Savage and Bill Reid for morning and afternoon drive. Ratings for the station under this format were poor.

On April 22, 2005, at 10:00 a.m., after playing "Black" by Seattle band Pearl Jam, KRQI flipped to its current Adult Hits format as "96-5 Jack FM". The first song on "Jack" was "Get the Party Started" by P!nk.[15] The call letters were changed to KJAQ on May 7, 2005. Since its debut, the station has never featured any on-air personalities.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom (which locally owns KHTP, KISW, KKWF, and KNDD).[16] On October 10, CBS Radio announced that as part of the process of obtaining regulatory approval of the merger, KJAQ would be one of sixteen stations that would be divested by Entercom, along with sister stations KZOK and KFNQ (KMPS-FM will be retained by Entercom).[17] On November 1, iHeartMedia announced that they would acquire KJAQ, KZOK and KFNQ. To meet ownership limits set by the FCC, KFOO and KUBE will be divested to the Ocean Stations Trust in order to be sold to a different owner.[18] Until the completion of the divestment of KFOO and KUBE to the trust, CBS placed KJAQ, KZOK and KFNQ into the Entercom Divestiture Trust. The merger of CBS and Entercom was approved on November 9,[19] and was consummated on the 17th.[20] The sale to iHeart was completed on December 19.[21][22]

HD radio

  • 96.5-HD1 carries the analog format ("96-5 Jack FM") from the standard 96.5 FM frequency.
  • 96.5-HD2 carries an alternative rock format known as "Alt 96.5 HD2", transferred from former sister station KFOO.
  • 96.5-HD3 carries a simulcast of sports-formatted KFNQ 1090 AM.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 History Cards for KJAQ, fcc.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoDrocXG1LE
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E_t8qnSDmk
  5. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1984/RR-1984-03-23.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1984/RR-1984-06-01.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1987/RR-1987-01-09.pdf
  8. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Mediatrix/Mediatrix-Seattle-1986.pdf
  9. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1994/RR-1994-07-08.pdf
  10. ↑ http://web.kitsapsun.com/archive/1994/07-21/296697_bravo__local_country_radio_stat.html
  11. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1999/RR-1999-12-31.pdf
  12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_9mUhxkHGQ
  13. ↑ http://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/tv/article/Radio-Beat-KYPT-hops-the-alternative-train-1132844.php
  14. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2004/RR-2004-01-02.pdf
  15. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2005/RR-2005-04-29.pdf
  16. ↑ CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom
  17. ↑ Venta, Lance (October 10, 2017). "Entercom Narrows Down 16 Stations To Be Divested To Complete CBS Radio Merger". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  18. ↑ Entercom Trades Boston/Seattle Spin-Offs to iHeartMedia for Richmond/Chattanooga
  19. ↑ "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  20. ↑ Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  21. ↑ iHeart Begins Operating Remainder of Boston & Seattle Acquisitions
  22. ↑ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-05-31. HD Radio Guide for Seattle-Tacoma
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