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This article is about Kansas City radio station. For other stations that had this call sign in the past, see KZZR and KQTH.
KZPT
Broadcast areaKansas City, MO-KS
Frequency99.7 MHz
Branding99–7 The Point
Programming
FormatHot AC
Ownership
Owner
KCSP, KMBZ, KMBZ-FM, KRBZ, KQRC, KWOD, WDAF-FM
History
First air date
October 1962 (1962-10)
Former call signs
KMBC-FM (1962–1967)
KMBR (1967–1991)
KLTH (1991–1998)
KYYS (1998–2008)
KBLV (2008–2009)
KKSN (2009–2010)
KGEX (2010–2011)
Call sign meaning
KanZas (uses Z instead of S) PoinT
Technical information
Facility ID6379
ClassC0
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT335 meters
Transmitter coordinates
39°01′20.00″N 94°30′49.00″W / 39.0222222°N 94.5136111°W / 39.0222222; -94.5136111
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.997thepoint.com

KZPT (99.7 FM) is an American radio station broadcasting a Hot AC format under the slogan "99-7 The Point". It is licensed to and serves the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1962 under the call sign KMBC-FM. The station is currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in east Kansas City, and studios are located in Mission, Kansas.

History

Early years

99.7 FM's historic roots go back to an experimental station, W9XER, which began as an "Apex" high-frequency station owned by the Midland Broadcasting Company in Kansas City. In 1937, it was operating on 31.6 MHz,[1] and by 1940 was transmitting on 42.46 MHz.[2] In late 1941, W9XER was converted into one of the earliest FM stations, now transmitting on 46.5 MHz.[3] In 1944 the station received a commercial license as KMBC-FM, and began daily broadcasts that June.[4] In 1946, it moved to 97.9 FM. For two more years, KMBC-FM broadcast on 100.5 FM, until the station was deleted in December 1949.[5]

Metromedia later revived the KMBC-FM call letters, when the station signed on at its permanent 99.7 FM location on October 15, 1962 with middle of the road music. KMBC-FM broadcast at 4,300 watts, but upgraded to 98,000 watts in 1966. Bonneville bought the station in 1967 and requested new call letters to separate the station from its original AM and TV counterparts. That became reality on July 18, 1966, when the station changed call letters to KMBR, and began airing an easy listening format. KMBR was a steady presence in the market, lasting for around 25 years. In May 1991, KMBR altered its format to soft AC, and rebranded as "Lite 99.7". The station also changed their call letters to KLTH (the calls were adopted on October 16, 1991). KLTH and KUDL competed strongly against one another for the dominant "at-work station" throughout the mid-1990s. However, KUDL's parent company Entercom bought KLTH in 1997, putting an end to the competition.

Revival of KY

KYYS logo from 1997 to 2006.
KYYS logo from 2006 to 2008.

On October 20, 1997, at 6 AM, after playing "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg, KLTH flipped to classic rock, branded as "99-7 KY", picking up the former "KY" moniker, most of their former airstaff, and, on January 23, 1998, the KYYS call letters, all from the original KYYS on 102.1 FM. The first song on the revived "KY" was "Back in Black" by AC/DC.[6] KYYS started airing the syndicated "Nights with Alice Cooper" in 2006. At the same time, the station shifted to a harder classic rock format. However, this format altering led to a decline in ratings, resulting in many listeners jumping ship to KCFX.

Death of KY; subsequent formats

With ratings on the decline, and failing to effectively compete against KCFX, KYYS was ended for a second time. On January 18, 2008, at 1 PM, after playing "In the Dark" by Billy Squier, KYYS flipped to AAA, branded as "99-7 The Boulevard". The first song on "The Boulevard" was "The Boulevard" by Jackson Browne. In addition, KYYS changed call letters to KBLV. The station was mostly automated during this time. Ratings for the station sunk even further.

99-7 Kiss FM logo from 2009 to 2010.

367 days later, on January 13, 2009, at 3 PM, after playing "Touch Me" by The Doors, KBLV began stunting with music from past "American Idol" contestants. One hour later, KBLV flipped to Hot AC, branded as "99-7 Kiss FM." The first song on "Kiss" was "Light On" by David Cook. On January 20, 2009, KBLV changed its call letters to KKSN. Almost all of the station's programming was syndicated: Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, On-Air with Ryan Seacrest in afternoons, and Kim Iverson at night. With the exception of Michelle Nichols in middays from March to June, middays were jockless. Kelly Urich, longtime personality at rival KMXV, joined the station in afternoons on November 9 of that year as the station's only local talent, moving Seacrest to middays. Ratings improved slightly when the station flipped to "Kiss", but still remained near the middle or bottom of Kansas City Arbitron ratings reports.

KKSN Logo During Transition from "Kiss" to "Gen X."

On April 16, 2010, at 10 AM, after playing "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga, KKSN flipped to 80s/90s Hits, rebranded as "Gen X Radio 99-7 Kiss FM".[7] The first song on "Gen X" was "To Be With You" by Mr. Big. KKSN dropped Kraddick and Iverson from the lineup at this time, with Seacrest remaining as the lone syndicated holdover from the previous format. On May 27, the station dropped "Kiss FM" from their branding, now being named "Gen X Radio 99-7." The station changed call letters to KGEX on June 1. During its time as "Gen X", the station added a full-time local airstaff. Throughout its time as "Gen X", ratings for the station remained anemic.

99-7 The Point

On March 23, 2011, at Noon, the station flipped back to Hot AC, this time as "99-7 The Point." The last few songs on Gen X Radio were Closer to Free by BoDeans, Closing Time by Semisonic, 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New) by Coolio, A Change Would Do You Good by Sheryl Crow, Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC, and Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day. The first song on "The Point" was Get the Party Started by Pink. The new format was designed to combine the audience split between KGEX, KUDL and KCKC. On March 28, KUDL began simulcasting KGEX as part of a transition period to shift KUDL's audience over to the new format, as KUDL announced that they would be ending their adult contemporary format after 34 years in favor of a simulcast of KMBZ. On March 30, 2011, the simulcast between the two stations ended; on the same day, KGEX changed their call letters to the current KZPT. KZPT's staff, in the beginning, included Urich (moved from afternoons) in morning drive, Tony Lorino in middays (Seacrest's show was dropped with the flip to "The Point"), Tanna Guthrie (formerly of KYYS and KUDL) in afternoons, and Matt Gapske at night.

In the spring of 2017, The Point made some on-air line-up changes. Taylor & Brady in the Morning are live 5 AM – 9:00 AM, Leigh McNabb is on-air midday 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM, and Aaron Carreno 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Weekends include Brian "The Intern" Sieminski, Mike Foster, Anthony "Cojo" Cojokari and Joe Dearing.

99.7 The Point won "Station of the Year" from the Missouri Broadcasters Association (MBA) in June of 2017. They, also, won 1st place "Station Sponsored Community Event."

References

  1. ^ "Shortwave Stations by Frequencies", Radio Index, May 1937, page 70.
  2. ^ "High Frequency Broadcasting Stations in the United States", Broadcasting Yearbook (1940), page 374.
  3. ^ "Experimental FM Stations Currently Operating", FM, December 1941, page 40.
  4. ^ "KMBC-FM Power Plea" (PDF). October 13, 1947. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  5. ^ "History of KMBZ" by Richie Kennedy (route56.com)
  6. ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1997/RR-1997-10-24.pdf
  7. ^ Rebrands to Gen X 99.7 Kiss FM
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