KDNN (98.5 FM, "Island 98.5") is a Hawaiian Contemporary hits formatted

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radio ...

based in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. The iHeartMedia, Inc. outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 51 kW. It also transmits on Oceanic Spectrum digital channel 851 for the entire state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Its studios are located in the Kalihi neighborhood of Honolulu, while its transmitter is located

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

History

98.5 signed on the air in 1988 as KHHH, "The Wave," boasting a new age (or "smooth jazz") format. Soon after, the station picked up the satellite format "Z-Rock," and for a time boasted that adrenaline-pumping, testosterone fueled format. When that didn't work, KHHH began simulcasting its all-news AM sibling KHVH. Soon after, the station flipped again, as KKLV with a

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...

format (which was launched in 1994), but by 1999 they would flip to the "Island Rhythm" format, which targeted young adults with a mix of Contemporary Hawaiian hits, Reggae and local fare. Launched as Island Rhythm 98-5, Mornings were anchored by Lanai & Augie, and popular disc jockeys Rodney Villanuewa, Wendy From Waianae, Eddie L, Jake, Pomai, John James, Makani, Big Steve and K Kamani made KDNN, Honolulu's most listened to station. Around 2005, the station name was shortened from Island Rhythm 98.5 to simply Island 98.5. KDNN is one of Honolulu's FM stations whose format is geared toward native Hawaiians. The stations KQMQ, KCCN, and

KINE Kine or KINE may refer to: Radio and TV stations * KINE-FM, a radio station (105.1 FM) licensed to Honolulu, Hawaii, United States * KINE (AM), a radio station (1330 AM) licensed to Kingsville, Texas, United States * KINE-LP, a defunct low-pow ...

also target local Hawaiians. In May 2009, after a very successful 19 year run at Rhythmic CHR KIKI-FM, Rory Wild & The Wake Up Crew moved to KDNN-FM bringing along popular features Wild Wahine Wednesday, Psychic Thursday, and Stupid Joke Friday. Island 98.5 immediately exploded in the ratings overtaking longtime rival KCCN-FM and closing in on sister station

KSSK-FM KSSK-FM (92.3 MHz) is an adult contemporary formatted commercial radio station serving the Honolulu media market. It is owned by and licensed to Waipahu, Hawaii. Studios are located in the Kalihi neighborhood of Honolulu, and the transmitter si ...

for the highest ratings in Honolulu. At around the same time, the iHeartRadio app took off, and Island 98.5 became available worldwide. In 2018, KDNN-FM started the Island Music Awards in order to honor the popular recording artists on their playlist

KDNN-HD2

KDNN previously offered Country Music on its HD-2 side channel. As of 2012, it offers Traditional Hawaiian Music branded as "Hawai’i No Ka’Oi" (translated as "Indeed the Best"). Previously, "Hawai’i No Ka’Oi" simulcasted on a translator with callsign K256AS on 99.1.

References

External links

KDNN official website
* DNN Hawaiian-music formatted radio stations Radio stations established in 1988 Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations 1988 establishments in Hawaii {{Honolulu-stub