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KESZ (99.9 FM) 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 ...
licensed to
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, featuring 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 known as "99.9 KEZ". Owned and operated by
iHeartMedia 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 ...
the station serves the
Phoenix metropolitan area The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the c ...
. For much of November and December, the station flips to 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 ...
, and 99.9 KEZ's normal format is heard on 95.5 the Mountain during the Christmas music period. KESZ's studios are located in Phoenix near Sky Harbor International Airport while the station transmitter resides in
South Mountain Park South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona, is the largest municipal park in the United States, and one of the largest urban parks in North America and in the world. It has been designated as a Phoenix Points of Pride, Phoenix Point of Pride. Geog ...
. In addition to a standard
analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...
, KESZ is available online via
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...
and broadcasts over three
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 ...
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 ...
s using the
in-band on-channel In-band on-channel (IBOC) is a hybrid method of transmitting digital radio and analog radio broadcast signals simultaneously on the same frequency. The name refers to the new digital signals being broadcast in the same AM or FM band (in-band), ...
standard.


History


Early years

Three applicants filed in 1976 for one of the last Class C FM allotments in Phoenix: American International Development, owned by Julia Zozaya; Herbert Owens, owner of Turf Paradise; and KXIV (1400 AM). In June 1979, the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
issued an initial decision awarding the frequency to Zozaya. However, KXIV challenged the initial decision, alleging that the signatures on Zozaya's applications did not match; the commission's review board agreed, overturning the initial decision and finding in favor of KXIV. Zozaya, who was
legally blind Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...
, appealed the review board's finding, claiming that her disability resulted in the mismatched signatures, and on May 7, 1981, the FCC issued a final ruling awarding the 99.9 frequency to Zozaya. The station signed on the air July 4, 1982, as Spanish-language station KNNN, Phoenix's first Spanish-language station on FM and at the time the only one operating in Arizona. It operated from a converted home at 4548 W. Osborn Road on Phoenix's west side. Technical difficulties that developed on the first day of operation prompted KNNN to go silent again until July 12. In late 1983, Zozaya sold the station for nearly $4 million to TransCom Communications, owned by Robert G. Herpe and former
KDKB KDKB (93.3 FM "Alt AZ 93-3") is a commercial radio station broadcasting to the Phoenix metropolitan area with its city of license in Mesa, Arizona. It is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. with the license held by Phoenix FCC License Sub, LLC ...
owner Eric Hauenstein. By January 1984, it was apparent that a format change was likely coming as the new owners engaged former KDKB morning man Bill Andres. KNNN ceased broadcasting on February 28 to make way for TransCom's adult contemporary outlet, KLZI, which began broadcasting in March. The new outlet, doing battle with KKLT (98.7 FM), made a dent in its competitor's ratings in the first survey. Meanwhile, the Phoenix market would not get another Spanish-language station on FM until the creation of
KVVA-FM KVVA-FM (107.1 MHz, "La Suavecita 107.1") is a commercial radio station licensed to Sun Lakes, Arizona, serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. The station is owned by Entravision Communications, with studios near Sky Harbor Airport. KVVA-FM h ...
in 1987. KLZI—along with KSUN, which TransCom was in the process of buying—was sold in 1986 to Duffy Broadcasting of
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
in a $15 million transaction. It was announced the same day as the sale of KOOL-AM- FM for the same price, with both tying as records for the Phoenix market.


Relaunch as KESZ

On January 15, 1988, KLZI gave way to KESZ "EZ-Rock 99.9", remaining in the adult contemporary format. Also introduced was a new airstaff, which included Barry Chase and Beth McDonald in mornings, as well as Marty Manning. Success was not immediate: with the station languishing at 15th in the ratings that summer, Chase was fired and Manning moved to mornings opposite McDonald. After the Arizona Television Company, owner of
KTVK KTVK (channel 3) is an independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is owned by Gray Media alongside CBS affiliate KPHO-TV (channel 5) and low-power station KPHE-LD (channel 44), a grouping known as "Arizona's Fam ...
(channel 3), acquired the station in 1990,
KPNX KPNX (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Mesa, Arizona, United States, serving the Phoenix area as an affiliate of NBC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios at the Republic Media building on Van Buren Stree ...
meteorologist Bill Austin joined the morning show, which became known as "Beth and Bill". In the span of a year, Arizona Television purchased KESZ, '' Phoenix Magazine'', and a TV production studio. The station's share remained steady, but
cume In the practice of measuring the size of US commercial broadcasting and newspaper audiences, cume, short for "cumulative audience", is a measure of the total number of unique consumers over a specified period. The technical definition of cume is r ...
increased throughout the 1990s to a top-5 position. In 1997, Arizona Television—by then known as MAC America Communications—announced that it was forming a joint venture with
Buck Owens Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was the frontman for The Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' country music chart. He pioneered what came ...
, owner of KNIX; the venture, known as OwensMAC, would operate KESZ and MAC America's struggling station at 103.5 FM. In 1999, KESZ became the market's top-billing station for the first time.


KESZ under Clear Channel/iHeartMedia

In 1999,
Jacor Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many radio stations in the United States. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion. Jacor Communicat ...
, which was already in the process of merging with Clear Channel Communications, acquired KNIX from Owens and KESZ from OwensMAC for $84 million and $58 million, respectively, marking the end of one of the market's last large independent owners. "Beth and Bill" continued in morning drive until Austin retired in February 2010 as a result of
bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...
, when the show was renamed "Beth and Friends"; he died four months later at the age of 55.


Christmas Music

Every year beginning in early November, KESZ flips 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 ...
. KESZ was one of the earliest FM stations to adopt the format, which had originated in Phoenix, first on KMEO, then on KOY after KMEO's demise; KESZ, noting that many of its listeners were migrating to the adult standards-formatted KOY during the Christmas season, began programming its own Christmas music in 1996. When Jacor/Clear Channel purchased the station in 1999, it noted KESZ's success with the format and, in 2000, began introducing the all-Christmas format in
test market A test market, in the field of business and marketing, is a geographic region or demographic group used to gauge the viability of a product or service in the mass market prior to a wide scale rollout. The criteria used to judge the acceptability ...
s, then in 2001 rolled the format out nationwide. KESZ has continued to see success with Christmas music and is typically one of the top-rated stations in the United States during the holiday season. In the Holiday 2019
Nielsen Audio Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
survey, KESZ earned a station-record 19.2 rating, up from the prior two years.


HD Radio

KESZ's
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 ...
signal is multiplexed. The main signal is a simulcast of KESZ's adult contemporary programming. The second channel initially carried KEZ's Classic Channel programmed by iHeartMedia's Format Lab classic hits format consisting of songs from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. As of April 2017, this changed to iHeart 70s. On October 1, 2017, KESZ-HD2 switched to a Christmas music format and continued to do so until November 14, 2018, when the primary station went Christmas (as planned) for the holiday season, and the HD2 moved to
soft 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 ...
as "99.9 HD2 The Breeze." The move gave iHeart the right to use the "Breeze" name in the state of Arizona, preventing any other station group to use the name in the case of another station flipping to soft AC, which saw a renewed interest in late 2018. In September 2019, KESZ added a simulcast of
KGME KGME (910 AM) is a commercial radio station in Phoenix, Arizona, featuring a sports format known as "Fox Sports 910." Owned by iHeartMedia, the station's studios are located in Phoenix near Sky Harbor International Airport, and broadcasts with ...
“Fox Sports 910” to its HD2 stream, bumping The Breeze format to HD3.


References


External links


Station website
* {{IHeartMedia Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States ESZ Radio stations established in 1982 1982 establishments in Arizona IHeartMedia radio stations