KXXY-FM (96.1

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 ...

, "96.1 KXY") 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 ...

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It airs a classic country

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, ...

. In its

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

, the station omits one of the two Xs in 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 ...

, calling itself "KXY". KXXY-FM's

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and offices were located in the 50 Penn Place building on the Northwest side, in early 2022

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 ...

Oklahoma City moved KXXY-FM along with sister stations KGHM, KTOK, KJYO, KTST, KREF-FM, to new state of the art studios located at 6525 N Meridian Ave further up the road on the Northwest side just a few miles west from their former studio home in the 50 Penn Place building. 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 NE 122nd Street in Oklahoma City, near the John Kilpatrick Turnpike.

History

The station

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 ...

in October 1964 as the second KOCY-FM in Oklahoma City. For its first five years, it

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) ...

the middle of the road music programming of co-owned KOCY (1340 AM). In the late 1960s, 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 ...

began encouraging AM-FM combos to offer separate programming. In 1969, KOCY-FM switched to

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

, styled after stations such as

KMPX KFAA-TV (channel 29) is an independent television station licensed to Decatur, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside ABC affiliate WFAA (channel 8). The two stations are based at ...

San Francisco 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 ...

and

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. On October 24, 1972, the station changed its

to KXXY-FM to give it a separate identity from its AM

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 ...

. Over time, it moved from free form progressive rock to a more tightly-formatted

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 ...

format. After 13 years of rock music, management decided to make a change. On May 27, 1982, KXXY-FM flipped 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 ...

, stunting by playing the song " You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" for 24 hours. KXXY-FM became an aggressive country competitor to KEBC, which had been the leading FM country outlet since signing on in 1967. KXXY-FM edged ahead of KEBC in 1983 and would widen its lead to eight share points by the end of the decade. In 1992, it peaked at an 18.4 share, and it was the top-billing station in Oklahoma City every year from 1985 to 1998. However, the station slumped in the late 1990s and 2000s. KXXY 96

In 1996, KXXY-FM was acquired by

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

-based

Clear Channel Communications 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 ...

.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010 page D-443
/ref> Clear Channel later changed its name to the current iHeartMedia, Inc. in September 2014. KXXY, along with the other iHeart stations in Oklahoma City, simulcasts audio of KFOR-TV if a tornado warning is issued within the Oklahoma City metro area.

References

External links

KXXY official website
* {{coord, 35.597833, N, 97.48975, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title XXY-FM Classic country radio stations in the United States 1964 establishments in Oklahoma Radio stations established in 1964 IHeartMedia radio stations