KZFS (1280 AM, "Hooptown 101.5") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radi ...

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

. It broadcasts a

classic hip hop Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s. Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...

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 was compelle ...

and is owned by

iHeartMedia, Inc. iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly 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 fou ...

Its branding originates from its 250

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of 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 quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

K268DL at 101.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one h ...

. By day, KZFS's AM signal is powered at 5,000 watts. But to protect other stations on

1280 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1280 kHz: 1280 AM is a regional North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to t ...

, it reduces power at night to only 125 watts. It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performan ...

at all times. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...

is on South Palouse Highway in Southeast Spokane.

History

The station was first

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A dig ...

in 1965. It used KUDY as 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 assig ...

and it broadcast a

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk pro ...

format until 2002. That year, the station swapped signals with

KQNT KQNT (590 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Spokane, Washington. It is one of the oldest radio stations in Washington, going on the air in 1922 in Seattle. KQNT offers a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The stud ...

(590 AM); the 1280 AM frequency took on the latter's adult standards format as KAQQ. In 2005, the station changed its call sign to KPTQ and flipped to a

progressive talk Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independe ...

format. KPTQ served as the Spokane affiliate of

Air America Radio Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010. The network was founded as a left wing alternative to counte ...

until Air America went off the air in January 2010. On March 26, 2012, the station switched to

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on inn ...

after sister

KIXZ KIXZ (940 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Amarillo, Texas, United States, the station serves the Amarillo area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media and is licensed to Gap Broadcasti ...

switched to

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 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. "Top 40" or "conte ...

. On April 11, 2013, KPTQ flipped to

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 comedy ...

as a

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 ...

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent company ...

, changing its call letters to KZFS. On April 10, 2015, KZFS adopted a

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and ...

format, branded "Up 99.3" (relayed on translator K257FX, 99.3 FM). In March 2018, KZFS flipped to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

as "Kix 99.3", inheriting the format and branding of KIIX-FM (which switched to

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

on March 5). The previous Christian format was moved to KISC-HD2 and rebranded as "UP! 98.1 HD2". In March 2020, KZFS flipped to

Classic hip hop Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s. Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...

, branded as "Hooptown 101.5", and began simulcasting on translator K268DL (101.5 FM). Subsequently, the simulcast of the country format (which remains on K257FX) was moved to

KISC KISC (98.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Spokane, Washington. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. The station has local DJs during the d ...

's HD2 subchannel. The Hooptown branding is derived from Spokane's unofficial nickname of " Hooptown USA", referring to the success of the city's college and high school basketball teams.

References

External links

* * * * * {{IHeartMedia

ZFS ZFS (previously: Zettabyte File System) is a file system with volume management capabilities. It began as part of the Sun Microsystems Solaris operating system in 2001. Large parts of Solaris – including ZFS – were published under an ope ...

Radio stations established in 1965 1965 establishments in Washington (state) Classic hip hop radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations