KCCN-FM (100.3
FM, "KCCN FM100") is a commercial
Hawaiian contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
station. The
SummitMedia
SummitMedia, LLC is an American radio broadcasting company based in Birmingham, Alabama. The company formed to purchase mid-market radio stations being divested by Cox Radio in 2013.
On November 1, 2018, SummitMedia acquired 19 stations in ...
outlet broadcasts with ERP of 100 kW. The station's studios are located in
Downtown Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the n ...
and its transmitter is located near
Akupu. It also transmits on
Oceanic Spectrum digital channel 852 for the entire state of Hawaii.
History
KCCN FM100, whose first broadcast day was May 21, 1990, under general manager Michael Kelly, Program Director Honolulu Skylark and Music Director William Van Osdol (Billy V). It was the sister station to the original KCCN 1420 AM, whose focus would always be on a traditional Hawaiian music format. They are also Honolulu's first FM station in this genre to target young adults of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander descent with a hit format that consists of upbeat contemporary Hawaiian music from Hawaiian acts like Kapena, The Mana'o Company, Bruddah Waltah & Island Afternoon, and Butch Helemano; along with tracks from other unique national genres, like reggae, dancehall and contemporary artists whose music fit those descriptions, like
UB40
UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...
,
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
,
Maxi Priest
Max Alfred Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an Contemporary R&B, R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. ...
,
Big Mountain,
Magic!
Magic! (stylized in all uppercase) is a Canadian reggae fusion band from Toronto. Based in Los Angeles, the band comprises lead vocalist, guitarist/producer Nasri Atweh, guitarist/keyboardist Mark "Pelli" Pellizzer, and bassist Ben Spivak. Ac ...
and others. With those ingredients, KCCN has become one of Honolulu's top-rated radio stations.
Concerts and events
KCCN FM100, in its first year, put together an annual concert that would celebrate the birthday of the station, and would eventually become a standard in concerts for every summer. It was always scheduled for the last Saturday in July at the
Waikiki Shell, and would highlight the best bands in Contemporary Hawaiian music, with special guests from either contemporary Top 40 radio or traditional Hawaiian music, with emphasis on the latter. It came to be known as the KCCN FM 100 Birthday Bash.
The KCCN FM100 Birthday Bash in 2000, went to a two-night event, being the last Friday and Saturday in the month of July. It has sold out almost every year in its existence since 1990, and continues to be an annual staple for the station. 2012, was the Last Birthday Bash event at the Waikiki Shell.
Ownership
In the mid 1990s, KCCN-FM would be joined by Hawaiian
105 KINE, broadcasting out of the 4th floor of the Pioneer Plaza Building in downtown Honolulu. After the two were paired up KINE shifted to a Traditional Hawaiian format targeting 25-54s, which was KCCN (AM)'s former format. In 1999,
Cox Radio
CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...
bought the stations from Howard Anderson (Los Angeles, California) and combined the assets that they already had to become Cox Radio Hawai'i, pairing it with
KRTR 96 FM,
KPHW (Power 104.3) and later stations
KORL 1460 AM and
KKNE
KKNE (940 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station city of license, licensed to Waipahu, Hawaii and located in the Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii radio market, broadcasting with a power of 10,000 watts. The station's format was last a hybrid of Music ...
940 AM. They would all later move together to occupy the 7th floor of the Pioneer Plaza Building.
On July 20, 2012, Cox Radio, Inc. announced the sale of KCCN-FM and 22 other stations to Summit Media LLC for $66.25 million. The sale was consummated on May 3, 2013.
References
External links
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{{Coord, 21.394, N, 158.098, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
1990 establishments in Hawaii
Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States
Hawaiian-music formatted radio stations
Radio stations established in 1990
CCN-FM