KCHZ (95.7 FM), 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

Ottawa, Kansas Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 United ...

, and serving the

Kansas City Metropolitan Area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. It simulcasts a conservative talk

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, ...

with

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

KCMO (710 AM). They are owned by Cumulus Media, with studios located on Indian Creek Parkway in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

. KCHZ 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 98,000

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.FCC.gov/KCHZ
/REF> The

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 off 198th Street near Stranger Creek in Linwood, Kansas.Radio-Locator.com/KCHZ
/REF>

Programming

Weekdays on KCHZ and KCMO begin with a local news and information show hosted by Pete Mundo, followed by a local talk show with Kevin Keitzman. Nationally syndicated conservative talk shows make up the rest of the weekday schedule. Hosts include Vince Coglianese, Guy Benson, Mark Levin, Will Cain, Bill O'Reilly, Dave Ramsey and '' Red Eye Radio''. Weekends feature shows on money, health, religion, cooking, travel and the outdoors, some of which are brokered programming. Syndicated weekend hosts include Rich Valdes and Chris Plante. Most hours begin with an update from Fox News Radio. KCTV supplies weather forecasts.

History

Early years

The station first began broadcasting as KOFO-FM, an FM simulcast for sister station KOFO (1220 AM). The station signed on the air on . It was only powered at 6,700 watts, a fraction of its current output. It could only be heard in and around Ottawa, not in the larger Kansas City metropolitan area. In 1978, the station stopped simulcasting its AM sister station. It was automated, playing a mix of

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

and

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 ...

(AOR) as "96X", with the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

KKKX. In 1986, the station flipped to

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

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 ...

, branded as "96 HUM", and changed its call sign to KHUM. The station relocated its transmitter from its original site near Ottawa to a site near Overbrook. It upgraded its power to 100,000 watts, and relocated its studios, first to Lawrence, then to Topeka. In 1991, the station went silent. In 1993, the station signed back on as

KZTO, branded as "Z96". The studios were in Lawrence, near 25th and Iowa, with a transmitter located southeast of the city. In January 1994, the station went silent again.''Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995'' page B-158. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
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Channel Z/Z95.7

The 95.7 frequency signed back on under the control of Radio 2000, Inc. on January 21, 1997. The new call letters were KCHZ, the station was branded as "Channel Z95.7", and aired 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 ...

outlet. It resumed broadcasting initially by stunting with all-80's music and a heartbeat

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

for about a week. This was the frequency's first attempt to target the Kansas City area. During this time, the station used the slogan "Kansas City's Superstation". KCHZ would gain a competitor in September 1997, when KYYS flipped to modern AC. In early 1998, KCHZ relocated its transmitter to its current location near Linwood to improve coverage within the Kansas City metropolitan area, particularly in Missouri. By January 1998, KCHZ shifted to Top 40/CHR, then to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

by 1999. During this period, KCHZ called itself "Z95.7 - Kansas City's Hottest Hits." The station was sold to Syncom Radio in 1999, and Syncom continued to adjust the station's image. KCHZ shifted back to mainstream Top 40/CHR in 2000, back to rhythmic CHR by 2002, then back to a mainstream CHR by late 2003, when Cumulus Broadcasting bought the station.

The Vibe

By November 2005, after years of confusing listeners over what direction the station was taking, Cumulus decided that 95.7 needed a complete overhaul. To bring attention to the changeover, KCHZ began stunting with all-

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 ...

at noon on November 1, 2005, as "Jingle 95.7", jumping the gun a week before KUDL or KCKC would even start broadcasting Christmas music. However, by the next day, the station shifted its stunting to a loop of "Swans Splashdown" by

Jean-Jacques Perrey Jean Marcel Leroy (20 January 1929 – 4 November 2016), better known as Jean-Jacques Perrey (), was a French people, French electronic music performer, composer, producer, and promoter. He is considered a pioneer of pop electronica.Dean Elliot & His Big Band. At 5 p.m. on November 3, KCHZ shifted to rhythmic CHR for a third time as "95-7 The Vibe, The Beat of Kansas City", with

The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

' " My Humps" being the first song played. During its tenure as a Rhythmic station, KCHZ aired a few syndicated shows, including "The Weekend Top 30 Countdown" with Hollywood Hamilton, as well as "Sunday Night Slow Jams" with R.Dub. On January 27, 2009, KCHZ adjusted their format to feature more mainstream top 40 hits and dropped the majority of its old school and hip hop hits, but still maintained its rhythmic format somewhat. KCHZ continued to report to R&R/ Nielsen BDS Rhythmic Airplay panel. KCHZ 95

By October 2009, KCHZ fully shifted back to mainstream Top 40. This was part of Cumulus' plan to launch mainstream Top 40 stations in major markets across the country. With the change, morning hosts "Shorty & the Boyz", who had hosted mornings since 2005, were let go. In 2018, KCHZ began airing "The Bert Show" in mornings, syndicated from sister station WWWQ in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

KCMO simulcast

On October 6, 2023, at midnight, after playing "

Flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

" by

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

, Cumulus moved KCHZ's top 40/CHR format and "Vibe" branding to sister station

KMJK KMJK (107.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "107.3 The Vibe") is a contemporary hit radio radio station, station serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is city of license, licensed to North Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by Cumulus Media, with st ...

. This was part of a multi-station move among Cumulus' Kansas City stations; KMJK's urban format moved to

KCJK KCJK (105.1 FM, "Power 105.1") is radio station licensed to Garden City, Missouri. Owned by Cumulus Media, it broadcasts an urban contemporary music format serving the Kansas City area. The station's studios are located in Overland Park, K ...

the previous week. Both stations simulcasted until just after midnight on October 12, when, after playing " Greedy" by

Tate McRae Tate Rosner McRae (born July 1, 2003) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and dancer. She first gained prominence as the first Canadian finalist on the American reality television series ''So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series), So You Th ...

and a short commercial break, KCHZ flipped to a simulcast of news/talk-formatted KCMO. Putting KCMO's news/talk programming on FM helps it compete with Audacy-owned KMBZ-FM, the leading talk station in the Kansas City market.

References

External links

* {{Cumulus Media News and talk radio stations in the United States Franklin County, Kansas CHZ Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1962 1962 establishments in Kansas Conservative talk radio