KAWO (104.3 FM, "Wow Country 104.3") is a commercial

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 ...

located in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. KAWO airs a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format branded as "Wow Country 104.3". Until 2007, the station was called "My Country 104.3" and its call letters were KTMY.

History

The station started operating on July 15, 1979, with the first

Album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

station in the Boise

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

as ''Q-104'' (KIDQ). In 1985, the station was switched to an

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 ...

format with the KUUB as the call letters branding as ''K-Lite 104 FM''. However, the call letters were short-lived and changed the call letters to KLTB to match the branding. The shift almost left Boise without an AOR station until

KJOT KJOT (105.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Boise, Idaho. It is owned by Lotus Communications and carries an adult hits radio format known as Jack FM. KJOT plays a wide variety of hits from the 1960s until today, concentrating mostly ...

(''J-105'') debuted less than a month later. KLTB was switched to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

as ''Kool 104'' (later known as ''Kool Oldies 104.3'') until January 2006 when then-owner

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

switched from oldies to a country format. The new format brought new call letters, KTMY, and new positioning as ''My Country 104.3''. On November 16, 2006,

planned to sell 448 of its radio stations outside the top 100 markets including KTMY, along with Boise's sister stations including

KSAS-FM KSAS-FM (103.5 MHz, "Kiss-FM") is a commercial radio station located in Caldwell, Idaho, broadcasting to the Boise, Idaho area. KSAS-FM airs a Top 40 (CHR) music format. The station made headlines in April 2008 when its afternoon disc jockey, ...

, KCIX, KXLT-FM,

KIDO Kido or KIDO may refer to: * Kido (surname) * KIDO, an American radio station * Kidō, a form of magic used by characters in the manga and anime ''Bleach'' * Conficker Conficker, also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, is a computer worm tar ...

, and KFXD, making Boise the largest radio market in the United States for Clear Channel to sell the stations. In March 2007, Peak Broadcasting LLC bought the former Clear Channel-owned stations. The station's ratings continued to decline, however, and in late May 2007 KTMY shed its "My Country" imaging to become "WOW Country 104.3"."My Country to get a jolt of WOW!"
, ''Idaho Radio News'', April 24, 2007 While this involved a change to the on-air talent lineup, imaging, nickname, jingle package, and call letters the station maintained a country music format. One notable programming feature of the station became 104-minute music sets, a nod to the station's broadcast frequency, which was abandoned upon Lisa Adams taking over the Programming duties.Deeds, Michael

''Idaho Statesman'', May 31, 2007. On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

would purchase Peak Broadcasting's stations, including KAWO. The deal was part of

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

's acquisition of

Dial Global Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The c ...

; Townsquare swapped Peak's

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

stations to Cumulus for its stations in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

and

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

, and Peak, Townsquare, and Dial Global were all controlled by

Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management, Inc. is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of September 30, 2024, the company managed $205 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a ...

. The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.

References

Previous logos

External links

KAWO official websiteRanger Rick's Web Site
{{Townsquare Media AWO Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1979 1979 establishments in Idaho Townsquare Media radio stations