KCBS-FM
Encyclopedia
KCBS-FM is a radio station
in Los Angeles, California
broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles
area on 93.1 FM
. KCBS-FM airs an adult hits
music format branded as "Jack-FM".
Like other radio stations of similar format, the Jack FM
playlist runs the gamut from classic rock
to dance music
to hard rock
. Currently, the station has no air staff save for Tami Heide
with her "Jacktivities" (events and whatever announcements deemed worthy by "jack"). Unlike most other stations in this format, the call sign
no longer includes any form of the word "Jack," opting instead to hold over calls from a previous format. This is similar to its FM sister station in New York
, WCBS-FM
, which had maintained its WCBS calls during its run as "Jack FM."
Although Jack proclaims that the station is run "in a dumpy little building in beautiful downtown Culver City
", KCBS-FM was actually at the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue
in Los Angeles
, about ½ mile north of Culver City.
of sister station KNX
until the mid 1960s. The radio station
, along with other CBS
-owned FM
radio stations aired a beautiful music
format branded as "The Young Sound".
In 1971, KNX-FM aired a mellow rock music format, featuring rock
artists deemed too "soft" for album rock rivals KLOS
and KMET.
In 1983, long after other CBS-owned radio stations moved on to other formats, KNX-FM adopted a Top 40 music format - again similar to the other CBS Radio stations branded as "93.1 KKHR". A change of the heritage KNX-FM call letters followed to KKHR. KKHR was not a traditional Top 40 music format of the time as the playlist was more stringent limited to 30 songs.
In 1986, the Top 40 format ran its course likely due to its lackluster ratings. The mellow rock music format and heritage KNX-FM call letters were returned under the new branding "Quality Rock".
In March 1989, an oldies
music format was introduced and the heritage KNX-FM call letters were dropped yet again in favor of KODJ
to complement the change in branding to "Oldies 93.1". KODJ competed with crosstown rival KRTH, which is ironically now a CBS Radio
station. KODJ focused more on the 1950s and the early 1960s era of oldies music than rival KRTH. The DJ's featured were The Real Don Steele, Charlie Tuna and Machine Gun Kelly In response, KRTH gradually reduced the amount of newer songs from the playlist and received higher ratings. The Real Don Steele later joined KRTH in 1993 and Charlie Tuna in 2008.
On July 12, 1991 at 2:00pm KODJ changed to its present call letters, KCBS-FM. These call letters had previously been used by two CBS-affiliated stations (now KSOL and KLLC
) in San Francisco.
On September 1, 1993 KCBS-FM dumped the oldies music format in favor of classic hits
music, focusing primarily on the 1970s; branded as "Arrow 93" using the slogan, "All Rock and Roll Oldies".
Infinity Broadcasting (as CBS Radio was known at the time) won the licensing rights to brand their adult hits
music formatted radio stations as "Jack FM
". Many Infinity/CBS Radio stations adopted the adult hits format and "Jack-FM" branding which led to yet another format change for KCBS-FM. On March 17, 2005, the classic hits music format was dropped in favor of its present music format of adult hits branded as "Jack-FM". The JACK-FM format was a break from the heavily niched formats that had developed beginning in the 1970s. JACK played 70s and 80s hits from pop, rock, and alternative genres, despite the fact that these were usually not played on the same station at the time they were originally hits. JACK was also unusual in that it eschewed DJs, and had a much larger playlist than the typical "oldies" or classic rock radio station.
The Los Angeles incarnation of JACK includes much more modern rock than most JACK outlets, reflecting the local influence of KROQ during its alternative heyday. The station debuted with a blend of pop and rock from the late 60s to late 80s, with a sprinkling of newer, sometimes almost current, tunes. Eventually the newer songs and pop songs were phased out in favor of mostly classic rock and classic alternative.
Though the station has no DJs and is automated, they will occasionally respond to current events, such as playing all Michael Jackson following his death, or spinning a celebratory tune or two following a local sports victory.
The "voice" of JACK-FM is indeed a real person named Howard Cogan. His quips that air between songs are created by a team of writers. As JACK became popular, Cogan moved to Los Angeles to record his comments more easily. He also does the "JACK voice" for other stations around the country.
In October 2008
, CBS Radio did not move the KCBS-FM calls to its sister 106.9 San Francisco of which is now KFRC-FM
after that station flipped from classic hits
to all-news to simulcast KCBS
.
discover. Former sister station KFWB ((980) was broadcasting on its HD-3 signal, but due to that station's divesture to a trust under the name Clark Radio, LLC, that signal is no longer available.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
area on 93.1 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
. KCBS-FM airs an adult hits
Adult hits
Adult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...
music format branded as "Jack-FM".
Like other radio stations of similar format, the Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
playlist runs the gamut from classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
to dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
to hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
. Currently, the station has no air staff save for Tami Heide
Tami Heide
Tami Heide, "The girl with two first names," is an American radio personality. Heide started out as a disc jockey on WBCN-FM in Boston, Massachusetts in 1977. She was a popular afternoon disc jockey on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, California from 1991 to 2004...
with her "Jacktivities" (events and whatever announcements deemed worthy by "jack"). Unlike most other stations in this format, the call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
no longer includes any form of the word "Jack," opting instead to hold over calls from a previous format. This is similar to its FM sister station in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM is a CBS-owned radio station in New York City. The station's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan, and its transmitter is located on the Empire State Building....
, which had maintained its WCBS calls during its run as "Jack FM."
Although Jack proclaims that the station is run "in a dumpy little building in beautiful downtown Culver City
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
", KCBS-FM was actually at the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue is a street on north central Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard with Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end.Fairfax Avenue forms the western boundary of Hancock Park as well as Park La Brea, an 160 acre ,...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, about ½ mile north of Culver City.
History
The station signed on in 1948 as KNX-FM. KNX-FM was a simulcastSimulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
of sister station KNX
KNX (AM)
KNX is an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, California, USA. The station operates on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio. KNX broadcasts from facilities shared with sister stations KFWB, KCBS-FM, KTWV, and KAMP on Los Angeles' Miracle Mile...
until the mid 1960s. The radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, along with other CBS
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
-owned FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio stations aired a beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format branded as "The Young Sound".
In 1971, KNX-FM aired a mellow rock music format, featuring rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
artists deemed too "soft" for album rock rivals KLOS
KLOS
KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:...
and KMET.
In 1983, long after other CBS-owned radio stations moved on to other formats, KNX-FM adopted a Top 40 music format - again similar to the other CBS Radio stations branded as "93.1 KKHR". A change of the heritage KNX-FM call letters followed to KKHR. KKHR was not a traditional Top 40 music format of the time as the playlist was more stringent limited to 30 songs.
In 1986, the Top 40 format ran its course likely due to its lackluster ratings. The mellow rock music format and heritage KNX-FM call letters were returned under the new branding "Quality Rock".
In March 1989, an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music format was introduced and the heritage KNX-FM call letters were dropped yet again in favor of KODJ
KODJ
KODJ is a radio station broadcasting an classic hits format. Licensed to Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, the station serves the Salt Lake City area.-History:...
to complement the change in branding to "Oldies 93.1". KODJ competed with crosstown rival KRTH, which is ironically now a CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
station. KODJ focused more on the 1950s and the early 1960s era of oldies music than rival KRTH. The DJ's featured were The Real Don Steele, Charlie Tuna and Machine Gun Kelly In response, KRTH gradually reduced the amount of newer songs from the playlist and received higher ratings. The Real Don Steele later joined KRTH in 1993 and Charlie Tuna in 2008.
On July 12, 1991 at 2:00pm KODJ changed to its present call letters, KCBS-FM. These call letters had previously been used by two CBS-affiliated stations (now KSOL and KLLC
KLLC
KLLC is a commercial radio station located in San Francisco, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KLLC airs an Adult Top 40 music format same as KZZO in Sacramento and on 97.3 HD-2 is Chill With Alice, a Chill format channel...
) in San Francisco.
On September 1, 1993 KCBS-FM dumped the oldies music format in favor of classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
music, focusing primarily on the 1970s; branded as "Arrow 93" using the slogan, "All Rock and Roll Oldies".
Infinity Broadcasting (as CBS Radio was known at the time) won the licensing rights to brand their adult hits
Adult hits
Adult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...
music formatted radio stations as "Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
". Many Infinity/CBS Radio stations adopted the adult hits format and "Jack-FM" branding which led to yet another format change for KCBS-FM. On March 17, 2005, the classic hits music format was dropped in favor of its present music format of adult hits branded as "Jack-FM". The JACK-FM format was a break from the heavily niched formats that had developed beginning in the 1970s. JACK played 70s and 80s hits from pop, rock, and alternative genres, despite the fact that these were usually not played on the same station at the time they were originally hits. JACK was also unusual in that it eschewed DJs, and had a much larger playlist than the typical "oldies" or classic rock radio station.
The Los Angeles incarnation of JACK includes much more modern rock than most JACK outlets, reflecting the local influence of KROQ during its alternative heyday. The station debuted with a blend of pop and rock from the late 60s to late 80s, with a sprinkling of newer, sometimes almost current, tunes. Eventually the newer songs and pop songs were phased out in favor of mostly classic rock and classic alternative.
Though the station has no DJs and is automated, they will occasionally respond to current events, such as playing all Michael Jackson following his death, or spinning a celebratory tune or two following a local sports victory.
The "voice" of JACK-FM is indeed a real person named Howard Cogan. His quips that air between songs are created by a team of writers. As JACK became popular, Cogan moved to Los Angeles to record his comments more easily. He also does the "JACK voice" for other stations around the country.
In October 2008
2008 in radio
Several events occurred in radio in 2008.- Events :* January 2: WWFT finished Christmas music stunting, rolling out the red carpet for Adult contemporary music branded as "Warm."...
, CBS Radio did not move the KCBS-FM calls to its sister 106.9 San Francisco of which is now KFRC-FM
KFRC-FM
KFRC-FM is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It simulcasts sister station KCBS, which carries an all-news format...
after that station flipped from classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
to all-news to simulcast KCBS
KCBS (AM)
KCBS is an all-news radio station in San Francisco, California, that is a key West Coast flagship radio station of the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One. Its transmitter is located in Novato, California. KCBS currently has studios on Battery Street, where it shares the location with co-owned KPIX...
.
KCBS-HD
In addition to the Main Jack FM program on HD-1, HD-2 broadcasts last.fmLast.fm
Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
discover. Former sister station KFWB ((980) was broadcasting on its HD-3 signal, but due to that station's divesture to a trust under the name Clark Radio, LLC, that signal is no longer available.