KSFO (810 AM) 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

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, featuring 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, ...

. Owned by

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 ...

, KSFO's studios are on Battery Street in the SoMa portion of San Francisco's

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

. KSFO used the call sign KGO from 1924 to 2024. KSFO's

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 ...

site is in Fremont, near the Dumbarton Bridge, where its prominent

towers A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

are used by pilots as a landmark when navigating. KSFO broadcasts with 50,000

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, the highest power permitted for AM stations by 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 ...

(FCC). It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

with a three-

tower array A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower ...

. Most of its signal is sent north and south to avoid interfering with the other Class A station on

810 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 810 kHz: 810 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. KSFO San Francisco and WGY (AM), WGY Schenectady share list of broadcast station classes#A ...

, WGY in

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

. Most nights, using a good radio, KSFO can be heard throughout the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

and

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

. Due to its extensive groundwave signal, its daytime coverage extends into many areas of

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

History

1920s and 1930s

After several late-night test broadcasts, using the experimental

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 ...

6XG, the station signed on, as KGO, on January 8, 1924. It broadcast from

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

's (GE)

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

manufacturing plant. (The original two-story brick building, constructed specifically for the station on East 14th Street, was demolished sometime in the 1980s.) The station was authorized for a then-impressive transmitting power of 1,000 watts. KGO was part of GE's three-station holdings, in addition to WGY in Schenectady, New York and KOA in Denver, Colorado. At its debut it was known as the "Sunset Station", because it was GE's West Coast outlet. As was the custom with early radio stations, the programming consisted of performances by local talent, including the KGO Orchestra. which provided some of the music, and a dramatic group known as the KGO Players, which performed weekly plays and short skits, often under the direction of Bay Area drama instructor Wilda Wilson Church. The station's music, which was also performed by other local orchestras and vocalists, included classical selections as well as popular dance music the next night. Due to GE's association with the

Radio Corporation of America RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

(RCA), and RCA's 1927 launch of the

NBC Red Network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

, KGO was soon operated by NBC management out of studio facilities in San Francisco. Federal Radio Commission General Order 40 Map

The March 28, 1928, reauthorization of the

Radio Act of 1927 The Radio Act of 1927 (United States Public Law 632, 69th Congress) was signed into law on February 23, 1927. It replaced the Radio Act of 1912, increasing the federal government's regulatory powers over radio communication, with oversight vested ...

included a provision, known as the

Davis Amendment The Davis Amendment was a provision attached to the March 28, 1928 reauthorization of the Radio Act of 1927, which mandated an "equality of radio broadcasting service" within the United States. It specified an "equitable allocation" among five re ...

, which mandated an "equality of radio broadcasting service" within the United States. This specified an "equitable allocation" among five regional zones. On November 11, 1928, the

Federal Radio Commission The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by ...

(FRC) implemented a major broadcasting station reallocation, based on its General Order 40. Included in this band plan was the designation of what became known as "clear channel" stations, which were high powered stations with extensive nighttime coverage. This plan designated 40 U.S. clear channels, divided eight to each region, with KGO, on 790 kHz, included as one of the Region 5 assignments. The only other station assigned to 790 kHz was WGY. KGO and WGY were both owned by GE, with WGY considered the company's showcase station. GE was able to effectively transfer KGO's clear channel assignment from Region 5 to WGY's Region 1, by increasing the power of WGY to 50,000 watts, while limiting KGO to 7,500 watts. (Directional antennas were not developed until the early 1930s, so both stations operated with non-directional antennas.) Any question about the propriety of this action became moot after the Davis Amendment was repealed on June 5, 1936.

1940s and 1950s

In 1941, stations on 790, including WGY and KGO, were moved to 810 as part of the implementation of the

North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, ; ) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreements also addressed how frequency assignments were d ...

(NARBA). When the

(FCC) required NBC to sell one of its two networks (and that network's

owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an network af ...

s), KGO's license switched from Radio Corporation of America to the Blue Network, Inc., effective January 23, 1942. The

NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Co ...

initially simply dropped "NBC" from its name to become the "Blue Network", then in June 1945 became the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

. KGO became one of the founding stations of the ABC Radio Network as a result. In the post World War 2 period, KGO produced many live music programs, including that of

Western Swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

bandleader

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

, whose music was a staple of the time. KGO was instrumental in bringing the first exercise show to broadcasting, hosted by

Jack LaLanne Francois Henri LaLanne (; September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011), the "Godfather of Fitness", was an American fitness and nutrition guru and motivational speaker. He described himself as being a "sugarholic" and a "junk food junkie" until he ...

, a fitness instructor and gym operator in nearby Oakland. LaLanne conducted his radio fitness show for many years on KGO, moving in the late 1950s to

KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been owned and operated by the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network through its ABC Owne ...

and a successful TV syndication career. On December 1, 1947, KGO's power was increased to 50,000 watts, as it switched to a

that limited its signal toward WGY in the west, while WGY continued to operate with a non-directional antenna. It was reported at the time that KGO's upgrade "retired the nation's oldest regularly operating transmitter-a 7,500-watter... in use since Jan. 8, 1924". By the late 1950s, KGO suffered from poor ratings. In 1962, ABC installed new management, including program director Jim Dunbar from Chicago sister station WLS. Dunbar revamped the station into one of the country's first news/talk stations. While the new format was initially unsuccessful, Dunbar stressed the "live and local" aspect of the programming by running the talk shows every day from locations such as

Johnny Kan Johnny Kan (1906–1972) was a Chinese American restaurateur in Chinatown, San Francisco, ca 1950–1970. He was the owner of Johnny Kan's restaurant, which opened in 1953, and published a book on Cantonese cuisine, ''Eight Immortal Flavors'', whi ...

's Chinese restaurant, Señor Pico's Restaurant, and the hungry i nightclub. This higher profile caused KGO's ratings to begin a steady climb. Among KGO's personalities during this period was future Radio Hall of Fame member J.P. McCarthy, the station's morning host in the early 1960s.

1960s–1980s

After trying various formats, KGO eventually shifted to news and talk programming, relying heavily on the ABC radio network for its news programs. KGO started carrying

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

's twice-daily programs but also began to develop a strong local news staff that produced extended morning and afternoon newscasts. The local talk show hosts included Les Crane, Owen Spann and

Jim Eason Jim Eason was a conservative talk radio personality who hosted broadcasts from 1966 to 2000 in the San Francisco Bay Area. He always ended his talk shows with the catchphrase "Do what you can, but behave yourself". His early 1970s theme was "H ...

, who often interviewed visiting celebrities in the KGO studios. Owen Spann also originated special broadcasts from Europe and Africa, interviewing government officials from those countries. Local director-actor Jack Brooks hosted a Saturday-morning entertainment program until his sudden death in June 1984, after directing a production of '' Kismet'' for the Capuchino Community Theatre that featured Jim Eason as the poet

Omar Khayyám Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) ( Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar Khayyam (), was ...

. Dr. Dean Edell began his regular medical programs at KGO, leading to nationally syndicated broadcasts Two of KGO's three towers partially collapsed during the

Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) ...

on October 17, 1989. All three were replaced.

1990s–2010s

In March 2008,

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

s were installed at KGO's transmitter site in

Fremont, California Fremont () is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San F ...

, to offset some of its power consumption during daytime hours. The installation was a test bed for

Pacific Gas and Electric Company The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered at Kaiser Center, in Oakland, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 million households in the norther ...

and is located near the Dumbarton Bridge. The solar system uses both CPV (SolFocus) and PV (Premier Power) arrays and provides about 17 Kilowatts, or 33% (one third), of the radio frequency (RF) power output from the 50KW transmitter (or about one-tenth of the total power consumption of their transmitter site over a 24-hour period). United States Speaker of the House Rep.

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

turned the system on during an on-air ceremony. For over 30 years, from July 1978 to January 2009, KGO was the number-one station in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

in the

Arbitron ratings 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 ...

, a feat unmatched by any other station in the United States. According to the 2010 Arbitron ratings, however, KGO had lost its lead to KCBS, with

KOIT-FM KOIT (96.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial adult contemporary radio station city of license, licensed to San Francisco, California. The station has studios along Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City, California, Daly Ci ...

as a close second, and KGO listing at third. When KGO switched to all-news in December 2011, it fell further behind in the local ratings. As of Spring 2013, KGO placed 16th in the market, with approximately half of their listenership when they were number one. Until December 5, 2011, KGO created nearly all of its own local programming, with very limited syndicated content. The majority of its programs were hosted by San Francisco Bay Area broadcasters. The daily schedule included many issues-oriented talk shows, with weekday hosts that included Gene Burns, Gil Gross, Ronn Owens, John Rothmann and lawyer

Len Tillem Leonard M. Tillem (June 9, 1944 – January 13, 2022) was an American attorney and radio broadcaster. He hosted "The Len Tillem Show," which is considered to be one of the first legal affairs radio show in the U.S. Early life Tillem was born o ...

. The station also carried a variety of specialty programs, particularly on weekends, with John Hamilton discussing travel and leisure, Gene Burns covering fine food and dining (on a show separate from his weekday program), Joanie Greggains hosting a health-and-fitness program, and Brent Walters, who teaches "Comparative Religions" at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

, hosting the early Sunday morning show, ''God Talk.'' In 2014, KGO brought in John Batchelor at midnight. News/talk weekend hosts now include Brian Copeland, "Karel"

Charles Karel Bouley Charles Karel Bouley, known on-the-air as Karel, is an American talk radio host, singer, TV personality, and author. He began his career as a comedian and singer. Karel released one album and multiple singles in the 1990s, including the album ''Da ...

, and Pat Thurston. Up to 2011, the weekday morning news (from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.) was co-anchored by Jon Bristow and Jennifer Jones-Lee. The afternoon news (from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.) featured veteran reporter Chris Brecher and award-winning reporter/anchor Bret Burkhart. Until the format change in December 2011, KGO hosted an annual

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

called the "KGO Cure-a-Thon" to help raise money for The

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1949, is a voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer world-wide. LLS funds blood cancer research on cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin ...

with all of the station's regular programming pre-empted for an entire day during the event. Listeners were encouraged to call in and donate money to help in the fight against these kinds of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. An auction was also held to help raise money. Notable items up for auction have included a trip with Gene Burns on a private jet to various destinations, such as

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, for a gourmet dinner. Cumulus Media has announced that it will not be continuing the KGO Cure-a-Thon charity event despite the fact it has raised millions of dollars for charity in the past. On December 2, 2011, new owner Cumulus Media announced that KGO was rebranding itself as "news and information", moving to an

all-news All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and radio syndication, syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news sta ...

format from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. (in addition to the existing morning-drive, noon-hour and afternoon-drive news blocks). The change was scheduled for December 5. This had resulted in the abrupt termination, on December 1, of most of the talk hosts (including Gene Burns, Gil Gross, John Rothmann, Ray Taliaferro,

, and Dr. Bill Wattenburg). Ronn Owens's morning show, as well as weekend talk programming remained, although some of the weekend hosts (including Joanie Greggains, and

) were also terminated on December 1, 2011. Bob Brinker's syndicated "Moneytalk" was moved to KSFO (560 AM), a politically conservative talk radio sister station which arguably better reflected Brinker's conservative politico-economic views. KGO also dropped

Leo Laporte Leo Laporte (; born November 29, 1956) is the former host of ''The Tech Guy'' weekly radio show and founder of TWiT.tv, an Internet podcast network focusing on technology. He is also a former TechTV technology host (1998–2008) and a technology a ...

's weekend syndicated tech talk program in the format change. Gil Gross, Len Tillem and Leo Laporte would all move to competitor

KKSF KKSF (910 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Oakland, California and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and has an all-news radio format, with programming from the co-owned Black Informati ...

. The format change and termination of many popular talk show hosts sparked outrage among long-time listeners, many of whom called for sponsors to drop their advertising on the station. Ratings declined substantially following the change, with competitors KCBS and

KQED-FM KQED-FM (88.5 MHz) is a listener-supported, non-commercial public radio station in San Francisco, California. It is simulcast on KQEI-FM (89.3 MHz) in the Sacramento metropolitan area. The parent organization is KQED Inc., which also owns tw ...

continuing to lead the market, and in December 2014, KGO reintroduced talk programming on weekdays. In December 2014, KGO added Chip Franklin to the noon to 3 pm lineup. In January 2015, KGO announced they had hired Chicago/San Antonio radio personality Kevin "DreX" Buchar, best known for his successful morning show on Chicago's

WKSC-FM WKSC-FM (103.5 MHz) – branded "103.5 Kiss FM" – is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex on Michigan Avenue in Downtown Ch ...

, which ran for more than a decade, from 7PM to 10PM.

John Batchelor John Calvin Batchelor (born April 29, 1948) is an American author and the host of ''Eye on the World'' on the CBS Audio Network. His flagship station is WOR in New York City. The show is a hard-news-analysis radio program on current events, wo ...

's syndicated show aired overnights, returning KGO to the same level of news programming as before 2011. Both KGO and

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 ...

-based sister station KLIF shared similar visual "News/Information" identities after KLIF's parent Cumulus acquired Citadel, until 2014, when talk programming was reintroduced. At noon on March 31, 2016, KGO dropped its previous programming and began stunting with recordings of speeches from influential figures and people talking about San Francisco, as well as songs about the city, while promoting "The Next Generation of KGO" to launch on April 5 (though with a break during the weekend for paid programming). At least 20 people, including the entire news staff, as well as some staffers from sister station KFOG, were laid off with the change.KGO Announces New Lineup With Ronn Owens Staying After All
- ''RadioInsight'' (published March 31, 2016) Originally, long-time KGO host Ronn Owens announced that he would be moving to sister station KSFO in the afternoon slot beginning April 4. However, due to what was advertised as a "listener reaction" against the move (in reality, Owens contested the move of his show off KGO as against the terms of his contract), Owens stayed with KGO. KGO kept its news/talk format, but relaunched it with a new live and local lineup, which included Owens and '' Armstrong & Getty'' in mornings; ''Armstrong & Getty'', a regionally syndicated program based at KSTE in Sacramento, had previously aired in the Bay Area on KKSF. Owens left the station in 2018, and ''Armstrong & Getty'' moved to KSFO in 2020 to be replaced by Nikki Medoro, previously an afternoon news anchor.

2022–2024: Sports betting as "The Spread"

On October 6, 2022, at approximately 10:16 a.m., KGO abruptly ended the news/talk format in the middle of midday host Mark Thompson's show. Thompson later said he had been informed just before going on-air that a format change would be implemented shortly, but was asked not to use the opportunity to say goodbye to listeners. Instead, mid-show, Thompson was signaled to give a final

station identification Station identification (ident, network ID, channel ID or bumper (broadcasting), bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand na ...

. The station then began a stunt loop featuring songs and promotional announcements referring to betting, money, and winning. The promotions stated that a new format, billed as "the most unique radio station in the Bay Area", would launch on October 10, assuring listeners that they "can bet on it". On that day, KGO launched a

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

format emphasizing

sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. Sports bettors place their wagers either legally, through a sportsbook or bookmaker (colloquially known as "bookies"), or illegally through priva ...

, branded as "810 The Spread". The new format had no local programming, and the station's schedule was primarily sourced from the BetQL and Infinity Sports (formerly CBS Sports Radio) networks, serving as a complement to sister sports stations KNBR- FM and KTCT. Some hours on weekends were money-related paid

brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot com ...

2024–2025: Move of KSFO to 810 kHz

On November 15, 2024, Cumulus announced that KSFO would move to 810 kHz on November 18. Most KSFO programming was simulcast on both 810 AM and 560 AM beginning that date under the "810 KSFO" brand, except for Golden Bears sports events airing only on 810. The KGO call sign was retired on January 1, 2025, in favor of KSFO; on the same day, 560 AM, formerly KSFO, became KZAC, but retained the simulcast with the new KSFO. On March 3, 2025, KZAC went off the air.

Programming

Most of KSFO's schedule is nationally syndicated conservative talk shows. Weekdays begin with '' Armstrong & Getty''. They are followed by ''The Vince Coglianese Show,

The Sean Hannity Show ''The Sean Hannity Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity. The program is broadcast live every weekday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The show is produced in the New York City studios of radio station WOR and is transmitt ...

, The Mark Levin Show, The Ramsey Show with

Dave Ramsey David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American radio personality who offers financial advice. He is the founder and CEO of Ramsey Solutions and a co-host of '' The Ramsey Show'', a nationally syndicated radio program. He ...

, Fix California with John Phillips,

Red Eye Radio ''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history throug ...

'' and '' This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal''. Some hours begin with an update from

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...

. KSFO is one of four AM stations owned by Cumulus Media in the

, along with KZAC, KNBR, and KTCT. From 1962 until 2022, KGO carried

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

and talk programming. In October 2022, the station switched to a

format, with an emphasis on

. It carried the

BetQL Network The BetMGM Network (known on air as The Bet) is a radio network owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. that focuses on the world of sports betting. It is heard on the Audacy app as well as Audacy's portfolio of sports stations. The network was laun ...

most of the day, with some shows from the

Infinity Sports Network Infinity Sports Network is an American sports radio network. It debuted as CBS Sports Radio with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. Infinity Sports Network is programmed by Audacy, In ...

at night. KGO was the radio home for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

football team from 1987 to 2005. It has been broadcasting

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Golden Bears Football games since 1974. Since 2013, it also broadcasts select

California Golden Bears men's basketball The California Golden Bears men's basketball team is the men's college basketball team representing the University of California, Berkeley, in NCAA Division I, currently playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The program has seen succes ...

games. The station began to air

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

games in 2023.

Former staff

* James AbbeSies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . * Robert J. Ackerly * Ken Bastida *

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is a retired American politician, lobbyist, and former reporter who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United St ...

* Ira Blue * Jon Bristow * Gene Burns * Christine Craft * Les Crane * Mark Curtis * Jim Dunbar *

* Dean Edell *

Art Finley Art Finley (born Arthur Finger; 1926 – August 7, 2015) was an American television and radio personality, mostly in San Francisco and Vancouver, until his retirement in 1995. His broadcasting career began at KXYZ Houston in 1943. He enlisted ...

* Michael Finney * Chip Franklin * James Gabbert * Duane Garrett * Joanie Greggains * Gil Gross * Orral Humphrey * Greg Jarrett * Michael Krasny *

* David Lazarus * Dick Leonard * J. P. McCarthy * Larry Mendte * Melanie Morgan * Ronn Owens * Kevin Radich * John Rothmann *

Michael Savage Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942) known by his professional name Michael Savage, is an American author, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Nation'', a nationally ...

* Lon Simmons * Barbara Simpson * Joe Starkey *

Monty Stickles Montford Anthony Stickles (August 16, 1938 – September 3, 2006) was an American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints. A first round draft pick in the 1960 NFL draft, S ...

* Ray Taliaferro * Robert Trebor * Mark Thompson *

* Wayne Walker * Bernie Ward * Bill Wattenburg *

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise), ''Dragnet'' franchise ...

* Jim Wieder * Dennis Willis *

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

* Lloyd Lindsay Young

Former logos

References

External links

810 KSFO
(official website) * ( Guide to reading History Cards)
"History of KGO Radio"
by John Schneider, 2006 (bayarearadio.org)
"Pacific Coast Station KGO"
by R.C. Koernig, Engineer, KGO, ''Radio'', March 1924 (bayarearadio.org)
"The Complete KGO Collection"
(bayarearadio.org) {{Authority control GO (AM) Clear-channel radio stations Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1924 1924 establishments in California California Golden Bears men's basketball Sports radio stations in the United States Infinity Sports Network stations