KIRO-FM

For the former KIRO-FM at 100.7 MHz, see KKWF.
KIRO-FM
City Tacoma, Washington
Broadcast area Puget Sound region, Washington
Branding KIRO Radio 97.3 FM
("KIRO" pronounced as "Cairo")
Slogan Seattle's News. Seattle's Talk.
Frequency 97.3 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) 97.3-2 FM: KIRO simulcast
97.3-3 FM: Mormon Channel
First air date 1960
Format News/Talk
ERP 55,000 watts
HAAT 729 meters
Class C
Facility ID 33682
Transmitter coordinates 47°30′14″N 121°58′29″W / 47.50389°N 121.97472°W / 47.50389; -121.97472 (KIRO-FM Tower)Coordinates: 47°30′14″N 121°58′29″W / 47.50389°N 121.97472°W / 47.50389; -121.97472 (KIRO-FM Tower)
Callsign meaning See KIRO (AM) for history and reasoning
Former callsigns KTNT (1960-1972)
KNBQ (1972-1988)
KBSG (1988-2008)
Affiliations CBS Radio, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders Radio Network
Owner Bonneville International
(Bonneville International Corporation)
Sister stations KTTH
KIRO (AM)
Webcast Listen Live
Website www.kiroradio.com

KIRO-FM (97.3 FM) is a radio station in Seattle, Washington, USA, with a news/talk radio format. The outlet is associated with the CBS Radio Network. The station's transmitter is on Tiger Mountain near Issaquah, while its studios are located in Seattle's Eastlake district.

KIRO-FM broadcasts in the HD (digital) radio format.[1]

History

For an earlier history of KIRO radio see KIRO (AM).

Early years

The station was founded as KTNT-FM and was owned by the Tacoma News Tribune. It began broadcasting October 26, 1948.[2] The station exclusively targeted Tacoma and South Puget Sound. In 1972, the call letters were changed to KNBQ, which were later used on 102.9 FM. At that time, the station carried a Top 40 format branded simply as "97.3 KNBQ". When the Tacoma News Tribune sold KNBQ to Viacom in 1987, the station enforced a policy of not talking over music, which did not help its dismal ratings. The station would move its transmitter to Tiger Mountain during this time to better target the Seattle market as a whole. On February 1, 1988, the station flipped to its long running oldies format as "K-Best 97.3" and picked up the KBSG call letters. On August 1, 2007, KBSG was rebranded from "KBSG 97.3" to "The New B97.3", and dropped the word 'oldies' from the station title.[3]

Exactly one year later, on August 1, 2008, the station's call letters were changed to KIRO-FM.[4]

KIRO (AM) to KIRO-FM transition

Logo for 97.3 KIRO-FM as used from 2008 to 2012.

On August 12, 2008 at 4:23 AM, KBSG's frequency began to simulcast sister news/talk radio station KIRO; the final song as a classic hits station, Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones, faded out as the FM station joined KIRO AM's Wall Street Journal This Morning in progress.[5][6][7]

On April 1, 2009, KIRO-FM became the primary station and the simulcasting on KIRO (AM) came to an end, marking the completion of the station's transition to the FM frequency that began in August 2008.[8] KIRO (AM) is now a sports talk station, branded as "710 ESPN Seattle."

Also moved from KIRO to KIRO-FM was the NFL broadcasting duties for the Seattle Seahawks Radio Network (now named the Bing Radio Network). KIRO will continue to simulcast the game and portions of the pre- and post-game shows as a member of the network. The Seahawks have been broadcasting on 710 AM in Seattle since the NFL franchise was launched in 1976.

Shows and hosts

(note: This section includes only live, local shows)

Former programs

Locations

Towers: 47°30′14″N 121°58′29″W / 47.50389°N 121.97472°W / 47.50389; -121.97472 (KIRO-FM Tower), on Tiger Mountain
Headquarters: 47°38′8″N 122°19′29″W / 47.63556°N 122.32472°W / 47.63556; -122.32472 (KIRO studios), Seattle, Washington on the shores of Lake Union

References

  1. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=11 HD Radio Guide for Seattle-Tacoma
  2. ↑ "Paper Heralds Opening of KTNT (FM) Tacoma" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 15, 1948. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Virgin, Bill (August 1, 2007). "KBSG-FM refocuses as B97.3". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved August 2, 2008.
  5. ↑ Bonneville International (July 30, 2008). "KIRO Radio to begin simulcast on 710 AM and 97.3 FM". Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ Gardner, Carl. "KIRO to simulcast on 97.3FM". Bonneville International. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ "The music died at 4:23am on 97.3". Radio-info.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Make the Switch". News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-23.

External links

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