Previous Format: Alternative “X103.9”
New Format: Variety Hits “My 103.9”
Date & Time Of Change: January 12, 2012 at 5:30am
More Info: RadioInsight, Wikipedia

Related Changes: The Edge Moves To 103.9

Previous Format: Smooth Jazz “95.5 The Coyote”
New Format: Rhythmic AC “Eva 95.5″
Date & Time Of Change: August 31, 2011 at 5:00pm
More Info: RadioInsight, Wikipedia

Previous Format: Rhythmic AC (Stunting with Christmas Music)
New Format: Adult CHR
Date & Time Of Change: December 26, 2010 at 12:00am
More Info: RadioInsight

With the Memorial Day weekend flip of WFNY New York back to Rock and the relaunch of KFRC in San Francisco, the new management of CBS Radio made it clear that the “Free-FM” network of talk stations would not be long for the world. While many of the stations simply drop the Free-FM branding, speculation built that others would drop the format altogether.

At 5:00pm on June 21, 2007 the Tom Leykis show was “taken over” by intern Renaldo proclaiming the station as “Free Paris” playing Paris Hilton’s music with attempts to get her released from jail early. The stunt lasted until 5:00pm the next day when Renaldo’s major announcement was the launch of “101.5 Jamz”. The Rhythmic CHR format was positioned between Clear Channel’s 104.7 Kiss-FM and Riviera’s Power 98.3, which Bonneville had spun-off of its full-powered 92.3 slot to the 98.3 rimshot signal the previous September.

Previous Format: Rhythmic CHR “Power 92″ KKFR
New Format: News/Talk KTAR-FM
Date & Time Of Change: September 18, 2006
More Info: Wikipedia

Related Changes: KZGL Becomes Power 98.3

Previous Format: Alternative “98.3 The Z”
New Format: Rhythmic CHR “Power 98.3″
Date & Time Of Change: September 18, 2006
More Info: Wikipedia

Related Changes: Power 92 KKFR Becomes KTAR-FM

In 1999, the company now known as Sierra H Broadcasting signed on KESP 101.1 FM in Payson, AZ. The format was Classic Hits (a.k.a. a lighter version of Classic Rock) under the name “Loop 101″ (which, probably not coincidentally, is also the name of a then-being-constructed freeway in the Phoenix area.) The call letters changed to KAZL in early 2000, and at some point, K224CJ 92.7 FM (a 10-watt translator broadcasting from South Mountain in Phoenix) and K292DF 106.3 FM (a 10-watt translator located in Flagstaff, AZ) began simulcasting KAZL. The idea was to provide an alternative to Sandusky’s Classic Rock KSLX 100.7 FM. However, Loop 101 rarely made an appearance in the Phoenix ratings.

On June 18, 2002, at 5pm, “Loop 101″ came to an end. It was replaced by a stunt format known as “Commercial 101.1 & 92.7 — All Commercials, All the Time”. It featured a 30-minute loop of classic and current commercials. The “rationale” communicated to listeners (via an “announcement” from PD Steve Szalay) is that because the most successful stations play lots of commercials, a station playing non-stop commercials would skyrocket to the top of the ratings in no time at all.

Then, on Friday, June 21, 2002 (the first day of summer — but of course that doesn’t mean much in Phoenix), at 5pm, “Energy 92-7 & 101-1″ (also called “Energy-Arizona”, which allows the name to include 106.3 FM in Flagstaff) made its debut. Energy offers what is being called a “pure dance” format. It is essentially a clone of Big City Radio’s “Energy 92-7 & 5″ in suburban Chicago, which is not a surprise considering that Chris Shebel (PD of Energy-Chicago) is consulting Energy-Arizona.

Previous Format: Modern Rock “Edge 106.3” KEDJ
New Format: Spanish AC “Amor 106.3” KOMR
Date & Time Of Change: October 30, 2001 at 12:00pm
More Info: Wikipedia, Phoenix New Times

Related Changes: KEDJ Moves To 103.9

Previous Format: Rhythmic CHR “Party 103.9″ KPTY
New Format: Modern Rock “103.9 The Edge” KEDJ
Date & Time Of Change: October 30, 2001 at 12:00pm
More Info: Wikipedia, Phoenix New Times

Related Changes: KEDJ Becomes Amor 106.3

Previous Format: CHR “104-7 ZZP”
New Format: Rhythmic CHR “104.7 Kiss-FM”
Date & Time Of Change: April 23, 2001 at 12:00pm
More Info: Wikipedia

Related Changes: 104-7 ZZP Ends

September 4, 1998 can be looked back upon as the beginning of the end of the second incarnation of KZZP. The irony here is that nothing was changed at KZZP on that Friday-before-Labor-Day-Weekend. Rather, the new owners of KZZP and crosstown KGLQ 96.9 (later KMXP), Jacor, decided to flip KGLQ from Classic Hits “Eagle 96.9″ to a Rock-oriented Hot AC format as “Mix 96.9″. (See above for details and audio from that debut.) Why was this bad for KZZP? It’s because the new Mix 96.9 became one of (Modern AC-formatted) KZZP’s strongest competitors. It is no coincidence that KZZP, as a Modern AC, saw its 12+ ratings tumble from the 5.5-6.0 range into the 4-share range in the first ratings book that included Mix 96.9.

This seemed like the perfect excuse to flip KZZP from Modern AC to CHR/Pop, and that’s exactly what began happening on February 19, 1999. From that point, and through the next 6 weeks, KZZP began to slowly phase in more Rhythmic titles alongside the existing Modern AC-ish selections already on the playlist. On April 2, 1999, the change to CHR/Pop was complete.

Two months later, amid sliding ratings, Marc Summers (whose credentials included success at WZYP in Huntsville, AL and KZHT in Salt Lake City) replaced Dan Persigehl as program director at KZZP. At this time, the station’s moniker and slogan changed from “104.7 KZZP, Your Hit Music Station” to “104-7 ZZP, Arizona’s Hit Music Channel.”

However, “104-7 ZZP” never really caught on, and there have been many theories trying to explain why. Poor decisions and inconsistencies regarding air talent and the rather generic “plain vanilla” playlist were two of the more common rationales provided.

But the biggest problem may have been the “ZZP” name itself. When KZZP returned in 1996, it used the heritage KZZP call letters to its advantage. The audience that, in its youth, listened to KZZP in the 80′s (as a CHR/Pop outlet), was, for the most part, no longer listening to CHR/Pop. That’s probably why KZZP chose to return as a Modern AC — because the Modern AC format targeted the adult$ that listened to CHR/Pop in the 80′s. It was a brilliant move.

But in 1999, Jacor (now Clear Channel) tried to use that same heritage factor to make “104-7 ZZP” succeed. Common sense dictates that it wouldn’t work, and such was the case. How much of today’s CHR/Pop audience listened to, remembers, or even was old enough to remember the original KZZP?

Perhaps the best move would have been to start a brand new CHR/Pop from scratch on 104.7, with little or no links to the past. That move eventually did come, but not for two more years. After bringing aboard Rick Dees in August 2000 (as a replacement for the low-rated, but live-and-local “Ron and Don” morning show), 104-7 ZZP’s overall ratings fell into the mid-2 to low-3 share range — lower than what they had with Ron and Don doing mornings, and certainly lower than what the Modern AC KZZP achieved for most of its 3-year life.

On April 20, 2001, at 6:00 pm, 104-7 ZZP began playing “Kiss” by Prince repeatedly. On April 23, 2001, the stunting ended. Phoenix became one of the many markets to be “Kissed” by Clear Channel, as “104-7 Kiss-FM” was born.