KISS-FM (99.5

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 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 ...

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, 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 List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. It airs a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

and is owned by

Cox Media Group CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...

. The

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 are located on Datapoint Drive in Northwest San Antonio near the

South Texas Medical Center The South Texas Medical Center (STMC) or Bexar County, Texas, Bexar County Hospital District consists of of medical-related facilities on the northwest side of San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States. STMC, which directly serves 38 count ...

complex. 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 ...

site is in Elmendorf, amid the

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 ...

for several San Antonio TV and FM stations.

History

Early years

In December 1946, the station 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 ...

the air. It was owned by The Walmac Company, along with

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 ...

KMAC (now

KSLR KSLR (630 AM) is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Salem Media Group and airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format. The studios and offices are on McAllister Freeway in San Antonio. Current station s ...

). KMAC and KISS-FM

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) ...

their programming, mostly from the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

. The schedule included dramas, comedies, news, sports and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

broadcasts, during the "

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

." The simulcast ended in the late 1960s, as 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 ...

encouraged AM-FM combos to offer separate programming. KISS-FM began carrying a beautiful music format, including instrumental

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of popular songs as well as

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

show tunes.

Switch to rock

KISS-FM's format changed to free form

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 ...

in the mid 1970s. In the 1980s, the

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. ...

stressed hit albums as the station segued to

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 ...

. During the early years, KISS-FM DJs were mostly given a free rein; many brought in their own vinyl albums, producing their own shows within a looser rock ballad and heavy metal format. The most notable past KISS/KMAC DJs/personalities were Joe "The Godfather" Anthony and Lou Roney, who worked together for many years. With KISS-FM's hard-edged rock format, San Antonio became known as the "Heavy Metal Capital Of The World." Scores of bands can attribute their first and subsequent successes to airplay at KISS-FM. Co-owned KMAC broadcast show tunes, opera, as well as religious programs such as the

Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for o ...

until noon, when the AM station would simulcast the rock format heard on KISS-FM. At 6 p.m., KMAC would switch away from the simulcast and broadcast rock and progressive country till signing off at midnight. In those earlier years, KISS-FM signed off at midnight each night. "Spread The Word" was the popular window sticker slogan & on-air moniker during the 1970s and 1980s. On August 1, 1979, longtime station owner Howard W. Davis died, and eight months later, KMAC and KISS-FM were sold by his estate to

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

–based

Capitol Broadcasting Company The Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) is an American media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol owns three television stations and nine radio stations in the Raleigh–Durham and Wilmington, North Carolina, Wilmington areas o ...

for $4.65 million. Capitol president James F. Goodmon, upon announcing the sale, said that they were "excited about entering the dynamic San Antonio market and becoming a part of the community". In 1987, Adams Radio bought KISS-FM for $13 million after a previous sale to Noble Broadcast Group the year before failed to close.

Brief tenure with oldies

The rock format was set aside for a year and a half. On the morning of July 19, 1990, KISS-FM abruptly flipped to

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 ...

as "99.5 KISS Oldies." Adams corporate programming director B.J. Hunter stated that "very simply, this was a financial decision that we had to make". Station vice president Rick Joppie noted that the station had been underperforming since 1987, and that the parent company had success with the oldies format in other markets. Joppie added that "we are a company that needs to make money". Local outrage was fierce, with the station's phone lines jammed the day of the switch. Steve Coffman, operations manager of

KFAN-FM KFAN-FM (107.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an adult album alternative format. Licensed to Johnson City, Texas Johnson City is a city and the county seat of Blanco County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,627 at the 202 ...

, said that the format change was "one of the more stupid moves I've seen in corporate radio". While the new owners hoped the new format would increase the station's ratings, the opposite happened. In its last full book as a rock station, KISS held a 5.0 share, and by the summer 1990 book, the station's rating fell to a 3.0 share in the coveted 25-54 demographic. By contrast, competing oldies station

KSMG KSMG (105.3 FM, "Hits 105.3") is a commercial radio station serving the San Antonio area, licensed to Seguin. It is owned by Cox Media Group and broadcasts a contemporary hit radio format. Its transmitter is in near Elmendorf in far northwe ...

was the city's number one radio station and actually increased its audience despite KISS' flip to the format, jumping from a 7.7 share in the spring book to a 9.7 in the summer book. By Memorial Day 1991, the station had changed general managers twice. Two program directors had also come and gone, one staying less than two months, and the entire inaugural full-time airstaff was out. The Rusk Corporation, which owned

, began to lease KISS AM and FM from Adams in November 1991. Rusk began simulcasting KSMG on both 99.5 FM and 930 AM at 3 p.m. on November 8 as a stopgap measure while new formats were prepared for the two frequencies. KSMG general manager Caroline Devine remarked that "the new sounds will be anything but oldies".

Return to rock

On December 31, 1991, the rock music format returned to KISS-FM, this time with an

Active Rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format. In 1997, KISS-FM was acquired by

Cox Radio CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...

. As of 2012, the station's format was described as

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

, although it has gone back to

in recent years.http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1992/RR-1992-01-03.pdf Despite being considered a mainstream rock reporter by

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

, KISS-FM has typically been an active rock station, according to

Nielsen BDS Broadcast Data Systems (also known as Nielsen BDS, BDS or Luminate BDS) was a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts publishe ...

KISS-FM callsign

KISS-FM is the legal

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 ...

issued to this station by the

(FCC). It has had the call letters since its founding in 1946. The KISS-FM call sign is not related to the "KISS-FM" brand name used by iHeartMedia, Inc. iHeart uses the moniker "Kiss-FM" on many of its Top 40/CHR stations and a few using other formats. It originated with

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "102.7 KIIS FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by i ...

, which has called itself KIIS-FM since 1975. Despite San Antonio being the headquarters city of iHeartMedia, the company seems to have a

gentlemen's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding wikt:agreement, agreement between two or more parties. It is typically Oral contract, oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspok ...

not to have a KISS-FM-branded station in the city, while Cox has not attempted to claim rights on the branding despite holding the official KISS-FM call letters from the FCC.Nichols, Lee (Nov. 30, 2001)
Naked City
''The Austin Chronicle.'' Of note, Cox owns

WALR-FM WALR-FM (104.1 MHz ''Kiss 104.1'') is a commercial radio station licensed to Palmetto, Georgia and serving Metro Atlanta. It is owned by the Cox Media Group and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. The studios are co-located with ...

, an

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

station in its home city of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, which utilizes the "KISS-FM" branding. iHeart has KISS-FM stations in Los Angeles,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

(

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 ...

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 ...

(

KHKS KHKS (106.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a contemporary hit radio station city of license, licensed to Denton, Texas. Branded "KISS-FM (brand), KISS-FM" the station serves the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is owned by iHeartMedia. The station is ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

(

WXKS-FM WXKS-FM (107.9 MHz), branded ''Kiss 108'', is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to serve Medford, Massachusetts, and covering Greater Boston. Owned by iHeartMedia, the WXKS-FM studios are in Medford and the station transmits f ...

), and other cities.

References

External links

* {{COXMG ISS-FM Mainstream rock radio stations in the United States Cox Media Group Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Texas