KIRO-FM (97.3

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) 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 licensed to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, and serving the Seattle-Tacoma radio market. It airs a

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...

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, ...

and is owned by

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–based

Bonneville International Bonneville International Corporation is a media and broadcasting company, wholly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation. It began as a radio and TV networ ...

, a broadcasting company owned by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. The studios and offices are located on Eastlake Avenue East in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

's Eastlake district. KIRO-FM starts weekdays with Seattle's Morning News, hosted by Charlie Harger and Manda Factor. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up of local talk hosts. At night, nationally syndicated shows are heard, '' Prime Time with John Dickerson, CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor,

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...

with

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American talk radio, radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is radio syndication, syndicated to ...

'' and '' This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal''. Weekends feature shows on money, health, food, travel, home repair and veterans, some of which are 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 ...

. Nights and weekends, an update from

CBS News Radio CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

begins most hours. KIRO-FM'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 ...

is on Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. Its

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) is 55,000 watts. KIRO-FM broadcasts in the HD (digital) radio format. The HD-2

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 ...

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

s co-owned KIRO (710 AM)'s

sports radio 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. The HD-3 signal airs KTTH (770 AM)'s

conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...

format.

History

KTNT-FM (1948–1976)

The station was founded as KTNT-FM and was owned by '' The Tacoma News Tribune''. It

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air on October 26, 1948. The station was powered at 10,000 watts, a fraction of its current output, and exclusively targeted Tacoma and South

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

. ''The Tacoma News Tribune'' added an AM station in 1952, KTNT (1400 kHz, now KITZ); and in 1953, KTNT-TV (channel 11, now

KSTW KSTW (channel 11), branded on-air as Seattle 11, is an independent television station licensed to Tacoma, Washington, United States, serving the Seattle area. Owned by the CBS News and Stations group, the station maintains its transmitter on ...

). 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 ...

s for the three stations were derived from the newspaper's initials.

KNBQ (1976–1988)

In 1976, the call letters were changed to KNBQ. While the AM station carried a personality

adult top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

sound, the FM station switched to an

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...

adult contemporary format ("Mellow sounds in contemporary music") branded as "97 KNBQ". In early 1977, that format evolved to an automated music-intensive

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 ...

format as "Q-97 FM". That automated Top 40 format shifted over time from using syndicated programming tapes (such as from Drake-Chenault's XT-40 format) to a locally programmed approach, and eventually added live DJs. By 1980, the station was live and local with a full DJ staff and a personality intensive approach. (The KNBQ call letters later were found on FM 102.9 and currently on FM 98.5.) In the 1980s, the Tacoma News Tribune boosted KNBQ's power to 100,000 watts. 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 ...

granted a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to increase the

antenna height Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...

to 1,480 feet, moving the transmitter to Tiger Mountain. That greatly increased the station's value, now able to compete in the entire Seattle-Tacoma media market. In 1987, KNBQ was sold to the original iteration of Viacom. Viacom kept the Top 40 format but used a "no talking over the music" policy to differentiate KNBQ from other Seattle Top 40 outlets.

KBSG (1988–2008)

On February 1, 1988, the station flipped to an

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 ...

format as "K-Best 97.3". It picked up the KBSG-FM call letters. "K-Best" initially concentrated on the biggest hits of the 1960s, with some 1970s songs and a few late 1950s hits. As the station moved into the 1990s, the 1970s titles were increased and the 1950s songs were removed.

Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...

bought the station in 1996. For many years, KBSG-FM was

on co-owned KBSG in Auburn (1210 AM, now KMIA). This lasted until 2002, when KBSG flipped to

all-news radio 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 ...

(KBSG would later be sold to Bustos Media, which specializes in Spanish language formats). On August 1, 2007, after Entercom traded KBSG, KIRO and KTTH to Bonneville as part of a multi-market station swap, KBSG was rebranded from "KBSG 97.3" to "The New B97.3", and dropped the word "oldies" from the station's title. The station's

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

was moved to more 1970s and 80s music, with fewer 60s titles. The format moved from oldies to classic hits. Exactly one year later, on August 1, 2008, the station's call letters were switched to KIRO-FM.

KIRO-FM (2008–present)

On August 12, 2008, at 4:23 a.m., the 97.3 frequency began to simulcast co-owned news/talk radio station

AM 710 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 710 kHz: 710 AM is a United States clear channel frequency. KIRO Seattle and WOR New York City share Class A status of 710 kHz. In Argentina * LRL202 in Buenos Aires. * LRA17 ...

KIRO. The final song on 97.3 as a classic hits station, " Start Me Up" by the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, faded out as the FM station joined KIRO AM's '' Wall Street Journal This Morning'' in progress. On April 1, 2009, KIRO-FM became the primary station as the simulcasting on KIRO (AM) came to an end. It marked the completion of the station's transition to the FM frequency that began in August 2008. KIRO (AM) is now 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 ...

station, branded as "710 ESPN Seattle". Also moved from KIRO to KIRO-FM were the NFL broadcasts of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Radio Network (later named the

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Radio Network and the

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Radio Network, currently the

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Seahawks Radio Network). KIRO-FM is now the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...

for the team's play-by-play and the pre- and post-game shows. The Seahawks had been heard on KIRO (AM) since the NFL franchise was launched in 1976.

KIRO-FM programming

Sports

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

hosted by Steve Raible and Dave Wyman. *Seahawks Pre-Game and Seahawks Post Game hosted by Steve Raible and Dave Wyman with Michael Bumpus, Jordan Babineaux, Paul Moyer, and Ray Roberts. The pregame show was hosted by controversial KIRO-FM talk show host Dori Monson until October 2020, when he was suspended indefinitely following accusations of transphobic tweets. After that, Monson was replaced by Dave Wyman, who also hosts the afternoon drive show Wyman and Bob with Bob Stelton on KIRO (AM).

Syndicated shows

*''

with

'' *'' This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal'' *'' Prime Time with John Dickerson'' *'' CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor''

Past programs

* The Ron and Don Show, hosted by Ron Upshaw and Don O'Neill *The Jason and Burns Show, hosted by Jason Rantz and Zak Burns *KIRO Morning News, hosted by Bill Radke and Linda Thomas *Northwest Nights, hosted by Frank Shiers *Mike Webb Show, hosted by Mike Webb *John Procaccino, hosted by John Procaccino *Alan Prell, hosted by Alan Prell *Northwest Sports, hosted by New York Vinnie *Horses' Ass Radio, hosted by David Goldstein *Bryan Styble Show, hosted by Bryan Styble *My Northwest Weekend, hosted by Larry Rice, later hosted by Josh Kerns *The John Curley Show, hosted by John Curley. Dan Mitchinson News Anchor *The Bill Radke Treatment, hosted by Bill Radke *The News Chick Show, hosted by Linda Thomas *The Andrew Walsh Show, hosted by Andrew Walsh *The Dave Ross Show, hosted by Dave Ross *The Ross and Burbank Show, hosted by Dave Ross and Luke Burbank * Too Beautiful to Live, hosted by Luke Burbank (continues as a podcast) *On The Water hosted by Captain Bob McLaughlin. *Geekwire hosted by Todd Bishop and John Cook. *Seattle Sounds hosted by Josh Kerns. *The mixtape hosted by Sean De Tore * Dori Monson Show airs weekdays from 12:00pm – 3:00pm *Seattle's Morning News, hosted by Dave Ross and Colleen O'Brien

Locations

Towers: , on Tiger Mountain
Headquarters: ,

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, on the shores of Lake Union

References

External links

KIRO official website
{{Bonneville International IRO-FM News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1948 Bonneville International 1948 establishments in Washington (state)