KKPK (92.9
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 ...
"92.9 Peak FM") is a commercial
FM 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
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
and serving the Colorado Springs and
Pueblo
Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...
metropolitan areas. It is 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 ...
and airs an
adult contemporary music
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, sou ...
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 a variety hits element. Peak FM is known for its community involvement, assisting charitable organizations with such promotions as the "Peak FM Pantry Raid." It carries the
syndicated "
John Tesh
John Frank Tesh Jr. (born July 9, 1952) is an American musician and radio and television presenter. He wrote the '' NBA on NBC'' basketball theme " Roundball Rock", and hosts the ''Intelligence for Your Life'' radio show. In addition, since 20 ...
Intelligence for Your Life" program at night.
KKPK's studios and offices are in the Cumulus Colorado Springs complex on Corporate Drive. Its
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 located southwest of Colorado Springs, near
Cheyenne Mountain State Park.
History of 92.9
On February 1, 1960, KVOR-FM first
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 ...
,
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) ...
ing its
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 ...
,
KVOR
KVOR (740 AM, "AM 740 KVOR") is a commercial radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving Colorado Springs and Pueblo. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a news/talk radio format.
KVOR is powered at 3,300 watts by day. But ...
(then at 1300 AM). The two stations aired a
middle of the road format of popular music, news and sports, as a
CBS Radio News
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 ...
network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
.
In 1974, the station changed its
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 ...
to KSPZ and adopted the moniker Z93, broadcasting a Contemporary Hits Format (CHR) on FM using Century 21's ''Z Format'', but dropped the service in 1978 in favor of a live and local approach. Z93 later evolved into an adult contemporary format (AC) using programming provided by Transtar Radio Networks which was based in Colorado Springs at the time.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT6Kx3QYyrE Audio from the Transtar demo, which included Z93 bumpers] In early 1990, KSPZ 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 and took on the moniker "Oldies 92.9." KSPZ's oldies format evolved to
classic hits in the fall of 2005, concentrating on hits from the 1970s and 1980s, while dropping most 1950s and early 1960s titles. KKPK has modified its playlist in recent years to playlist focused on gold titles from the 80's, 90's, and recent hits that have tested well in the overall AC format.
In June 2006, locally owned Pikes Peak Broadcasting sold KRDO-FM ("The Peak”), to
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company founded and developed by Larry Wilson. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the count ...
, which changed the station to "Cat Country 95.1" (
KATC-FM
KATC-FM (95.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The station has been broadcasting a country music format since 2006 and its on-air moniker is "Cat Country 95.1". The station is owned and operated by Cumulus Media ...
). Citadel Broadcasting moved "The Peak" moniker and AC format to the 92.9 frequency soon thereafter. On October 5, 2006, KSPZ became "The New Peak FM," adopting the call letters KKPK.
The new format combined the classic hits of the 1970s and 1980s with current and recent adult titles. The announcement of the new station was made by the morning show hosts at 9:29 a.m. (for its 92.9 dial position) on the top of
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, ...
.
Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
History of 95.1
The station that today is KKPK has some history with the 95.1 frequency. That station began in 1969 as
beautiful music outlet KRDO-FM (but not related to today's news/talk station
KRDO-FM on 105.5 MHz). As many
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 ...
stations, KRDO-FM evolved into an adult contemporary format but tried to salvage the Easy Listening format up until 1994 while other stations embraced AC in the 1980's. The station began using the moniker "95.1 The Peak." When Citadel Broadcasting switched 95.1 to
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
outlet KATC-FM in 2006, it moved the AC format and "Peak" moniker to 92.9, taking the call letters KKPK. For additional history of 95.1, see
KATC-FM
KATC-FM (95.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The station has been broadcasting a country music format since 2006 and its on-air moniker is "Cat Country 95.1". The station is owned and operated by Cumulus Media ...
.
References
External links
92.9 Peak FM KKPK official website
{{coord, 38.746, N, 104.862, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
KPK
Cumulus Media radio stations
Radio stations established in 1994
1994 establishments in Colorado