KATZ-FM (100.3
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
, "The Beat") is a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services
** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money
* a dose of advertising ...
radio station
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
licensed to
Bridgeton, Missouri
Bridgeton is a second-ring suburb of Greater St. Louis in northwestern St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. Bridgeton is located at the intersection of the St. Louis outer belt and I-70. Bridgeton serves as the primary transport hub wi ...
, and serving
Greater St. Louis
Greater St. Louis is
the 23rd-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the largest in Missouri, and the second-largest in Illinois. Its core city—St. Louis, Missouri—sits in the geographic center of the metro area, ...
. It broadcasts a
mainstream urban
Mainstream may refer to:
Film
* ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film
Literature
* ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine
* Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher
* ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso
* ' ...
radio format
A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
and is owned by
iHeartMedia, Inc. It airs two
nationally syndicated shows on weekdays: ''
The Breakfast Club'' in morning
drive time
Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
and ''
Way Up with Angela Yee'' in middays. KATZ-FM's studios are on Foundry Way at Forest Park Avenue, off
Interstate 64
Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...
in
downtown St. Louis.
KATZ-FM is a
Class C3 station. It has an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...
(ERP) of 17,000
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
s using a
directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...
. Its
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...
is on Kin-Arc Court off Meeks Boulevard in
Olivette. The station broadcasts using
HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
technology. Its HD2
digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
carries the
Black Information Network
Black Information Network (BIN) is a Broadcast network, radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting African American communities, carrying mostly important ...
, an
all-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news.
All-news radio is available in both local and radio syndication, syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news sta ...
service from iHeart which feeds
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...
W279AQ at 103.7 MHz.
History
The "Original" 100.3 The Beat
100.3 FM, which signed on in September 1961 as WOKZ-FM in
Alton, Illinois
Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...
, originally inherited the R&B format under the call letters WZEN, "Disco 100" (which began on April 18, 1979), which would later change call letters to KATZ-FM in 1988. But under its original owners, it was never successful and was always behind
KMJM in terms of ratings and audience, which dates back to their days as rival
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
outlets in the late 1970s. In 1980, the station flipped to
CHR, and then flipped to
urban AC the following year.
After KMJM's owners bought KATZ and became its sister station in the 1990s, they would go through a flux of formats, including jazz as "Jazz 100",
urban oldies,
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...
as KNJZ (which started on April 18, 1994, after a weekend
stunt
A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...
of all-
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...
music), and then back to
Urban AC (as "Kiss 100.3", which started on September 11, 1995). But that all came to an end on April 1, 1999, when it swapped formats with KMJM. KMJM picked up the
Urban AC format of KATZ; in return, KATZ picked up the
urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...
format from KMJM, and rebranded as "100.3 The Beat." For a while, it had performed successfully under Clear Channel ownership and had proven to be a good complement to Rhythmic-leaning Top 40 sister
KSLZ. Its competitors were Urban station
WHHL and
Urban AC station
WFUN-FM
WFUN-FM (96.3 Hertz, MHz) is a radio station in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The station airs an urban adult contemporary radio format branded as "96.3 The Lou". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station's studios are located on Olive Street in St ...
. (KATZ-AM is now an
Urban Gospel
Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genr ...
station.)
KATZ-FM had picked up the ''
Steve Harvey
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud'', '' ...
Morning Show'', a show syndicated through
Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American Mass media, media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original Radio broadcasting, radio content distribut ...
, owned by KATZ-FM parent Clear Channel Communications, on November 27, 2006. At first, it seemed that KMJM should have gotten the show because it plays music on an
Urban AC format due to Steve's history of not playing songs with "questionable" content – primarily rap. But KATZ was chosen because Clear Channel did not see it fit to replace Tony Scott, who was doing morning drive at KMJM.
However, after changes in programming at the Clear Channel St. Louis cluster, the Steve Harvey Morning Show began running on KMJM, with former morning host Tony Scott being displaced to PM Drive.
"Beat" Ends; "Sound" Debuts
In September 2009, the station's ratings began to slide. Clear Channel would announce that they would end "The Beat" and go with a new format, with "The Beat" being relocated to the station's secondary
HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
subchannel. At 12 p.m. on October 30, 2009, after playing
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
's ''
End of the Road'', KATZ-FM began stunting with
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
music as "Halloween 100.3". On November 1, the station shifted their stunt to
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...
under the name "Christmas 100.3". Finally, at 12:01 a.m. on December 26, 2009, "100.3 The Sound" debuted with a
Modern Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
/
Modern Rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
...
hybrid format and new call letters WSDD. The first song played on "The Sound" was
Owl City
Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young (American musician), Adam Young, who created the project while exp ...
's "
Fireflies
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
". On October 2, 2010, WSDD moved its transmitter to
Overland, Missouri
Overland is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,955 at the 2020 census.
History
The area south of the King's Road to St. Charles, Missouri, St. Charles was first settled in the ea ...
and its city of license to
Bridgeton, Missouri
Bridgeton is a second-ring suburb of Greater St. Louis in northwestern St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. Bridgeton is located at the intersection of the St. Louis outer belt and I-70. Bridgeton serves as the primary transport hub wi ...
. Despite an overall decrease in power, the new signal now covers a greater portion of the population core of the St. Louis area.
Gen X Radio
On December 26, 2010, exactly one year after its debut, WSDD flipped to an all-90s hits format and adopted the "Gen X Radio" moniker. The first song on "Gen X Radio" was "
Get Ready For This" by
2 Unlimited. Although the format emphasized songs from the 1990s, they also played hits from the 1980s, 2000s, and some remaining currents from the previous format. On January 3, 2011, WSDD changed their call letters to WSGX to go with the "Gen X" branding.
The Brew
On May 23, 2012, at Noon, WSGX changed their format to
classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
, branded as "100.3 The Brew". The final song on "Gen X" was "
No Rain
"No Rain" is a song by American rock band Blind Melon. It was released in 1993 as the second single from the band's debut album ''Blind Melon''. The song is well known for its accompanying music video, which features the "Bee Girl" character. Th ...
" by
Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer Glen Graham, vocalist Travis Warren and bassist Nathan Towne. They are best known ...
, while the first song on "The Brew" was "
I Wanna Rock" by
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...
. On July 10, 2012, WSGX changed its call letters to KBWX. During its run as "The Brew", the station aired the
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
-based
Bob & Tom Show in morning drive.
Majic 100.3
On November 7, 2012, at 9 a.m., just five months after The Brew's debut, KBWX ended the classic rock format, and became the new home of KMJM's
urban adult contemporary
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
format, and rebranded as "Majic 100.3" (their former frequency, 104.9 FM, flipped to
Rhythmic CHR and took the KBWX calls, while 100.3 received the KMJM-FM call letters a few days later on November 15). In March 2013, the station shifted its playlist to include more current and recurrent hip hop music, similar to KMJM's former wide-ranging urban contemporary format before altering to Urban AC in 1999. Due to low ratings, the station dropped most hip hop music in early 2014.
"Beat" returns
On November 18, 2014, at Noon, the station returned to the "100.3 The Beat" moniker, and flipped to a
Classic hip hop
Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s.
Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...
format. On September 30, 2016, at Noon, the format was shifted back to urban contemporary, returning the format to the frequency after 7 years and 5 other formats. The move comes along with the addition of the syndicated
Breakfast Club for mornings.
On December 12, 2017, the station changed call letters back to KATZ-FM.
FCC Document
fcc.gov
References
External links
{{coord, 38.685, N, 90.382, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
Radio stations established in 1961
1961 establishments in Missouri
Mainstream urban radio stations in the United States
IHeartMedia radio stations
ATZ-FM