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KBAY

January 01, 1970

KBAY (94.5 FM, "Bay Country 94.5") is a commercial radio station licensed to Gilroy, California, serving San Jose and the San Francisco Bay Area, and broadcasting a country music radio format. KBAY is owned by Alpha Media, along with sister station 106.5 KEZR. The radio studios and offices are located off U.S. Route 101 and Hellyer Ave in South San Jose.

KBAY
Broadcast areaSan Jose-San Francisco-Oakland
Frequency94.5 MHz
BrandingBay Country 94.5
Programming
FormatCountry
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
Ownership
Owner
KEZR
History
First air date
January 1, 1970; 54 years ago (1970-01-01) (as KPER-FM at 94.3)
Former call signs
  • KPER-FM (1970–1973)
  • KSND (1973–1975)
  • KFAT (1975–1983)
  • KWSS (1983–1991)
  • KUFX (1991–1997)
  • KBAY (1997–2003)
  • KBAA (2003–2004)
Former frequencies
94.3 MHz (1969–1975)
Call sign meaning
Bay Area
Technical information
Facility ID35401
ClassB
ERP44,000 watts
HAAT158 meters (518 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
37°12′32″N 121°46′27″W / 37.20889°N 121.77417°W / 37.20889; -121.77417
Repeater(s)92.1 KKDV (Walnut Creek)
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitekbaycountry.com

KBAY has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 44,000 watts. The transmitter is on a hill in Santa Teresa County Park, near Coyote Peak, south of San Jose.[1]

The station switched to the country format on April 5, 2022, five years after having served as a classic hit station and in various other formats previously since going on the air in 1970.

94.5 FM history edit

 
Logo used as KFAT from 1975 to January 16, 1983

The facility went on the air in 1970 as KPER-FM at 94.3. The station broadcast in Gilroy with 3,000 watts and was co-owned with KAZA 1290 AM. KAZA and KPER-FM were split in 1973; Entertainment Radio, Inc. bought the FM and changed the call letters to KSND. Entertainment Radio filed to move the station to 94.5 from Loma Prieta Peak, noting that KPFA's grandfathered signal caused interference problems.[2] The FCC agreed. When the new station reemerged in 1975, it became KFAT in a freeform country/rock format. In 1976, the station was sold to Wheatstone Bridge Engineering Company, and in 1980, KFAT-Levin Radio acquired the station. KFAT was co-founded by Laura Ellen Hopper, Jeremy Lansman, and Lorenzo Milam, who helped start many of community radio's pioneering stations in the United States.

Harvey Levin, the majority owner of KFAT-Levin Radio, died of cancer in May 1982 at the age of 38,[3] setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to KFAT's demise. Levin had instructed his estate to sell KUIC in Vacaville to pay down debts and fund the continuation of KFAT, but the requested down payment on the Vacaville station was simply too high, and KFAT was sold first. Western Cities Broadcasting paid $3.6 million for the station,[4] providing vastly improved economic results what KFAT was delivering on. On January 17, 1983, KFAT flipped to CHR as KWSS. (Santa Cruz-area station KPIG-FM was heavily inspired by the legacy of KFAT.) KWSS, which moved its studios from Gilroy to San Jose shortly after the sale, was a well-regarded hit music station in the South Bay area. Bill Kelly & Al Kline were morning hosts of the station before moving to KXXX in early 1989. Other known personalities were Steven Seaweed (KLRB, KFAT, KRQR, KSAN), Craig Hunt, John Mack Flanagan (of KFRC), Barry Beck, Larry Morgan (of KIIS-FM), Danny Miller, Tim Anthony, and Dr. Dave Lewis. In late 1986, it was acquired by Nationwide Communications.

On March 4, 1991, after stunting for three days with a loop of "Louie, Louie" by The Kingsmen, KWSS flipped to classic rock as KUFX.[5]

KBAY radio history edit

The KBAY call letters were originally assigned to a UHF television station (Channel 20), based in San Francisco. It ceased operation after a few years due to the scant number of Bay Area homes in the 1950s with UHF-capable television receivers. Channel 20 returned to the air as KEMO, eventually becoming today's KOFY-TV.

KBAY (then at 100.3 FM), which began broadcasting on 104.5 MHz in the 1950s, rose to become the market leader in San Jose and enjoyed a sizable listenership in both the San Jose and San Francisco markets throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Its easy listening format gave way to light jazz instrumentals, and by the early 1990s, pop music was introduced. The Snell family guided the station and its sister station KEEN Country 1370 AM through the decades as United Broadcasting.

The Snells sold their two properties in 1997, and KBAY became a part of the American Radio Systems group, which included KKSJ (the former KEEN), KUFX, and KSJO. Shortly thereafter, a three-way swap of frequencies landed KBAY at 94.5 FM. KBAY then became known as "The Bay" for a couple of years. American Radio Systems sold KBAY to Infinity/CBS in 1999. In the early 2000s, the KBAY identity was replaced by B-94.5, "The Bee". This was an attempt to distance the station from the perceived "stigma" of its earlier life as an "elevator music" station. In September 2003, KBAY's owner CBS-Infinity Radio removed its "World Music" format, called "The Wave", from its 93.3 MHz frequency in order for KBAY to simulcast on it. Infinity moved the KBAY studios to San Francisco and 94.5 became legally identified as KBAA. The simulcast experiment lasted only a year much to the relief of its staff, largely from the South Bay. 93.3 was sold and became KRZZ with a Regional Mexican music format, and the KBAY call letters returned to 94.5. CBS-Infinity Radio sold KBAY and its sister station KEZR to NextMedia Group in 2005. Effective February 10, 2014, KBAY, KEZR, and the 31 other NextMedia radio stations nationwide became part of a new broadcasting group headed by Dean Goodman called Digity LLC, an affiliate of Palm Beach Broadcasting, LLC, for a purchase price of $85 million. The company ran about 60 locally programmed stations.

Effective from February 25, 2016, Digity, LLC and its 124 radio stations were acquired by Alpha Media for $264 million.

On December 16, 2016, "Sam and Lissa in the Morning" ended its run on KBAY, as Sam Van Zandt retired, and Lissa Kreisler was let to go from the station. Van Zandt had worked in radio for 50 years, and Kreisler had worked at KBAY for 29 years. The dismissal of Kreisler was much to the disapproval of listeners, and she even stated that she "wanted a few more years." The year 2016 also saw Dana Jang, KBAY program director since 2005, depart, and Ronnie Stanton, who had last worked as program director at Vancouver's CFOX-FM, take over; evening host Nicci Ross also departed the station at the same time and moved to rival KISQ. The changes came as KBAY was facing increasing competition from KOIT and KISQ in the San Francisco market. The two San Francisco stations also appear in San Jose's ratings.

During December 2016, KBAY began running liners promoting "one last present" from the station, to come at 5 p.m. on Christmas Day. Alpha Media announced on December 21 that KBAY would end its adult contemporary format after over 20 years and flip to classic hits as 94.5 Bay FM at that time.[6][7]

In 2018, veteran programmer Dave Numme was appointed Program Director/Content Director for KBAY and its sister station KEZR. About the same time, the stations' studios were moved from downtown San Jose after 20 years to a South San Jose business park. Under Numme's leadership, ratings for "Bay FM" have consistently been number one in San Jose, as well as at the top of San Francisco's ratings for key demographics and dayparts. His on-air staff consists of Bruce Scott in mornings, longtime midday host Jona Denz-Hamilton, and Danny Miller in afternoons.[8] Miller is also a public address announcer for the San Jose Sharks, San Jose Earthquakes and San Francisco 49ers.

In the spring of 2021, KBAY changed its slogan to "The '80s and More" and began to add more '90s songs back to its playlist. New voice imaging was introduced along with the change. KBAY brought back Christmas music for the Holiday season after a 3-year hiatus, in December 2021, dubbing it "94.5 K-Sleigh" for the season, then returned to its Classic Hits format at 9 p.m. on December 25, with the first song being "Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart. The music was updated to focus on '80s and '90s hits, with a decreased emphasis on 1970s era songs.[9]

On April 5, 2022, at 3 p.m., after playing "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears, KBAY flipped to a country format as Bay Country, dropping live local personalities Bruce Scott mornings and Jona Denz-Hamilton, double-decade midday host. The move came ahead of the sale of KRTY to the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), which resulted in the replacement of its long-time country format with one of its Christian radio networks. The station has been simulcasting on KKDV to cover the Oakland and Berkeley areas since April 6, 2022.[10] The first song on "Bay Country" was "What's Your Country Song" by Thomas Rhett.

From July 28–30, 2023, the station stunted with all-Taylor Swift music as "Tay Bay", in honor of the local dates on The Eras Tour at Levi's Stadium.[11][12][13]

References edit

  1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/KBAY
  2. ^ "FM Broadcast Stations, Table of Assignments, Gilroy, Ca" (PDF). Federal Register. April 9, 1974. p. 12872. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  3. ^ Beitiks, Edvins (January 9, 1983). "KFAT gets the KWSS of death". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  4. ^ Beitiks, Edvins (January 18, 1983). "Is there life after KFAT? Time will tell". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  5. ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1991/RR-1991-03-08.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ KBAY San Jose To Flip To Classic Hits
  7. ^ KBAY Becomes 94.5 Bay FM
  8. ^ "Danny Miller Rises to Afternoon Host at KBAY". 20 May 2021.
  9. ^ KBAY Returns to San Jose
  10. ^ "Country To Remain In Bay Area As KBAY And KKDV Become Bay Country". RadioInsight. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  11. ^ "KBAY To Go All Taylor Swift This Weekend". RadioInsight. 2023-07-19. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  12. ^ "KSON Is Now 'George-FM'". All Access. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  13. ^ "KBAY/KKDV (Bay Country 94.5/92.1)/San Jose To Transform Into 'Tay Bay' For Taylor Swift Shows". All Access. Retrieved 2023-07-28.

External links edit

KFAT information edit

  • Radio Museum
  • KHIP
  • Gilbert Kleins webpage
  • 1977 documentary on Gordy West (Gordon Broshear) on YouTube

January 01, 1970
kbay, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2008, learn, when, re. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources KBAY news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2008 Learn how and when to remove this message KBAY 94 5 FM Bay Country 94 5 is a commercial radio station licensed to Gilroy California serving San Jose and the San Francisco Bay Area and broadcasting a country music radio format KBAY is owned by Alpha Media along with sister station 106 5 KEZR The radio studios and offices are located off U S Route 101 and Hellyer Ave in South San Jose KBAYGilroy CaliforniaBroadcast areaSan Jose San Francisco OaklandFrequency94 5 MHzBrandingBay Country 94 5ProgrammingFormatCountryAffiliationsPremiere NetworksOwnershipOwnerAlpha Media Alpha Media Licensee LLC Sister stationsKEZRHistoryFirst air dateJanuary 1 1970 54 years ago 1970 01 01 as KPER FM at 94 3 Former call signsKPER FM 1970 1973 KSND 1973 1975 KFAT 1975 1983 KWSS 1983 1991 KUFX 1991 1997 KBAY 1997 2003 KBAA 2003 2004 Former frequencies94 3 MHz 1969 1975 Call sign meaningBay AreaTechnical informationFacility ID35401ClassBERP44 000 wattsHAAT158 meters 518 ft Transmitter coordinates37 12 32 N 121 46 27 W 37 20889 N 121 77417 W 37 20889 121 77417Repeater s 92 1 KKDV Walnut Creek LinksWebcastListen liveWebsitekbaycountry com KBAY has an effective radiated power ERP of 44 000 watts The transmitter is on a hill in Santa Teresa County Park near Coyote Peak south of San Jose 1 The station switched to the country format on April 5 2022 five years after having served as a classic hit station and in various other formats previously since going on the air in 1970 Contents 1 94 5 FM history 2 KBAY radio history 3 References 4 External links 4 1 KFAT information94 5 FM history edit nbsp Logo used as KFAT from 1975 to January 16 1983 The facility went on the air in 1970 as KPER FM at 94 3 The station broadcast in Gilroy with 3 000 watts and was co owned with KAZA 1290 AM KAZA and KPER FM were split in 1973 Entertainment Radio Inc bought the FM and changed the call letters to KSND Entertainment Radio filed to move the station to 94 5 from Loma Prieta Peak noting that KPFA s grandfathered signal caused interference problems 2 The FCC agreed When the new station reemerged in 1975 it became KFAT in a freeform country rock format In 1976 the station was sold to Wheatstone Bridge Engineering Company and in 1980 KFAT Levin Radio acquired the station KFAT was co founded by Laura Ellen Hopper Jeremy Lansman and Lorenzo Milam who helped start many of community radio s pioneering stations in the United States Harvey Levin the majority owner of KFAT Levin Radio died of cancer in May 1982 at the age of 38 3 setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to KFAT s demise Levin had instructed his estate to sell KUIC in Vacaville to pay down debts and fund the continuation of KFAT but the requested down payment on the Vacaville station was simply too high and KFAT was sold first Western Cities Broadcasting paid 3 6 million for the station 4 providing vastly improved economic results what KFAT was delivering on On January 17 1983 KFAT flipped to CHR as KWSS Santa Cruz area station KPIG FM was heavily inspired by the legacy of KFAT KWSS which moved its studios from Gilroy to San Jose shortly after the sale was a well regarded hit music station in the South Bay area Bill Kelly amp Al Kline were morning hosts of the station before moving to KXXX in early 1989 Other known personalities were Steven Seaweed KLRB KFAT KRQR KSAN Craig Hunt John Mack Flanagan of KFRC Barry Beck Larry Morgan of KIIS FM Danny Miller Tim Anthony and Dr Dave Lewis In late 1986 it was acquired by Nationwide Communications On March 4 1991 after stunting for three days with a loop of Louie Louie by The Kingsmen KWSS flipped to classic rock as KUFX 5 KBAY radio history editThe KBAY call letters were originally assigned to a UHF television station Channel 20 based in San Francisco It ceased operation after a few years due to the scant number of Bay Area homes in the 1950s with UHF capable television receivers Channel 20 returned to the air as KEMO eventually becoming today s KOFY TV KBAY then at 100 3 FM which began broadcasting on 104 5 MHz in the 1950s rose to become the market leader in San Jose and enjoyed a sizable listenership in both the San Jose and San Francisco markets throughout the 1970s and 1980s Its easy listening format gave way to light jazz instrumentals and by the early 1990s pop music was introduced The Snell family guided the station and its sister station KEEN Country 1370 AM through the decades as United Broadcasting The Snells sold their two properties in 1997 and KBAY became a part of the American Radio Systems group which included KKSJ the former KEEN KUFX and KSJO Shortly thereafter a three way swap of frequencies landed KBAY at 94 5 FM KBAY then became known as The Bay for a couple of years American Radio Systems sold KBAY to Infinity CBS in 1999 In the early 2000s the KBAY identity was replaced by B 94 5 The Bee This was an attempt to distance the station from the perceived stigma of its earlier life as an elevator music station In September 2003 KBAY s owner CBS Infinity Radio removed its World Music format called The Wave from its 93 3 MHz frequency in order for KBAY to simulcast on it Infinity moved the KBAY studios to San Francisco and 94 5 became legally identified as KBAA The simulcast experiment lasted only a year much to the relief of its staff largely from the South Bay 93 3 was sold and became KRZZ with a Regional Mexican music format and the KBAY call letters returned to 94 5 CBS Infinity Radio sold KBAY and its sister station KEZR to NextMedia Group in 2005 Effective February 10 2014 KBAY KEZR and the 31 other NextMedia radio stations nationwide became part of a new broadcasting group headed by Dean Goodman called Digity LLC an affiliate of Palm Beach Broadcasting LLC for a purchase price of 85 million The company ran about 60 locally programmed stations Effective from February 25 2016 Digity LLC and its 124 radio stations were acquired by Alpha Media for 264 million On December 16 2016 Sam and Lissa in the Morning ended its run on KBAY as Sam Van Zandt retired and Lissa Kreisler was let to go from the station Van Zandt had worked in radio for 50 years and Kreisler had worked at KBAY for 29 years The dismissal of Kreisler was much to the disapproval of listeners and she even stated that she wanted a few more years The year 2016 also saw Dana Jang KBAY program director since 2005 depart and Ronnie Stanton who had last worked as program director at Vancouver s CFOX FM take over evening host Nicci Ross also departed the station at the same time and moved to rival KISQ The changes came as KBAY was facing increasing competition from KOIT and KISQ in the San Francisco market The two San Francisco stations also appear in San Jose s ratings During December 2016 KBAY began running liners promoting one last present from the station to come at 5 p m on Christmas Day Alpha Media announced on December 21 that KBAY would end its adult contemporary format after over 20 years and flip to classic hits as 94 5 Bay FM at that time 6 7 In 2018 veteran programmer Dave Numme was appointed Program Director Content Director for KBAY and its sister station KEZR About the same time the stations studios were moved from downtown San Jose after 20 years to a South San Jose business park Under Numme s leadership ratings for Bay FM have consistently been number one in San Jose as well as at the top of San Francisco s ratings for key demographics and dayparts His on air staff consists of Bruce Scott in mornings longtime midday host Jona Denz Hamilton and Danny Miller in afternoons 8 Miller is also a public address announcer for the San Jose Sharks San Jose Earthquakes and San Francisco 49ers In the spring of 2021 KBAY changed its slogan to The 80s and More and began to add more 90s songs back to its playlist New voice imaging was introduced along with the change KBAY brought back Christmas music for the Holiday season after a 3 year hiatus in December 2021 dubbing it 94 5 K Sleigh for the season then returned to its Classic Hits format at 9 p m on December 25 with the first song being Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart The music was updated to focus on 80s and 90s hits with a decreased emphasis on 1970s era songs 9 On April 5 2022 at 3 p m after playing Baby One More Time by Britney Spears KBAY flipped to a country format as Bay Country dropping live local personalities Bruce Scott mornings and Jona Denz Hamilton double decade midday host The move came ahead of the sale of KRTY to the Educational Media Foundation EMF which resulted in the replacement of its long time country format with one of its Christian radio networks The station has been simulcasting on KKDV to cover the Oakland and Berkeley areas since April 6 2022 10 The first song on Bay Country was What s Your Country Song by Thomas Rhett From July 28 30 2023 the station stunted with all Taylor Swift music as Tay Bay in honor of the local dates on The Eras Tour at Levi s Stadium 11 12 13 References edit Radio Locator com KBAY FM Broadcast Stations Table of Assignments Gilroy Ca PDF Federal Register April 9 1974 p 12872 Retrieved April 27 2019 Beitiks Edvins January 9 1983 KFAT gets the KWSS of death San Francisco Examiner Retrieved April 27 2019 Beitiks Edvins January 18 1983 Is there life after KFAT Time will tell San Francisco Examiner Retrieved April 27 2019 http www americanradiohistory com Archive RandR 1990s 1991 RR 1991 03 08 pdf bare URL PDF KBAY San Jose To Flip To Classic Hits KBAY Becomes 94 5 Bay FM Danny Miller Rises to Afternoon Host at KBAY 20 May 2021 KBAY Returns to San Jose Country To Remain In Bay Area As KBAY And KKDV Become Bay Country RadioInsight 5 April 2022 Retrieved 2022 04 05 KBAY To Go All Taylor Swift This Weekend RadioInsight 2023 07 19 Retrieved 2023 07 28 KSON Is Now George FM All Access Retrieved 2018 02 28 KBAY KKDV Bay Country 94 5 92 1 San Jose To Transform Into Tay Bay For Taylor Swift Shows All Access Retrieved 2023 07 28 External links editBay Country 94 5 website The template FMQ is being considered for deletion KBAY in the FCC FM station database KBAY in Nielsen Audio s FM station database KFAT information edit Radio Museum KHIP Gilbert Kleins webpage 1977 documentary on Gordy West Gordon Broshear on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title KBAY amp oldid 1221038699, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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