KHHT
Encyclopedia
KHHT is a radio station
licensed
to Los Angeles, California
, USA with a Rhythmic Oldies
musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications
.
classical music radio station in Los Angeles
, broadcasting for most of its life on 1330 kHz AM, and subsequently in both simulcast and separate programming on 92.3 MHz FM as well. "Only 41 of nearly 9,000 commercial radio stations in the United States play classical music" and KFAC was considered one of the best".
On September 20, 1989 at 2 p.m., new owners changed both its name and its format, depriving Southern California of a major cultural institution. During its heyday, the station was arguably the most important cultural organization in the Los Angeles area, having greater influence on lovers of classical music than even the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Please see KFAC(defunct)
the station was sold to Evergreen and renamed a rhythmic contemporary hits station KKBT, "92.3 The Beat". Initially September 1989, the station offered a blend of adult rock, dance music, and adult contemporary. The format failed miserably and by 1990 the adult rock cuts were gone. The station moved toward a rhythmic AC format playing a blend of disco, soft pop hits, current R&B and oldies. The station still did not do well and by summer 1990, it evolved to a strictly urban AC station. By 1991, rap and hip-hop were being mixed in and the station evolved to an Urban Contemporary
format.
As an urban contemporary station, "92.3 the Beat", hit #1 a few times in the ratings. It competed aggressively with a Hip Hop station on the 105.9 frequency, KPWR
(which evolved from dance/urban CHR). During the time the station featured many popular DJs and hosts including John London
and the House Party, a popular morning show which competed with other top local shows like Mark and Brian on KLOS
and Rick Dees
on KIIS-FM
, Theo Mizuhara, Eric Cubiche, and Nautica De La Cruz, along with Dr. Dre
and the World Class Wreckin' Crew and Kevin Nash. Other shows included Westside Radio, a weekly radio program dedicated to West Coast Hip-Hop, which now airs on KDAY
and Street Science, a weekly program dedicated to community issues and politics. The stations slogan was "No Color Lines," proudly championing the diversity of the region. It is believed that 92.3 the Beat was inspired by KDAY
, the first hip-hop station. During the 1990s, The Beat held a summer concert known as Summer Jam which featured major hip-hop and r&b stars who performed at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
.
In a group deal in 1997 Evergreen merged with Chancellor. Chancellor acquired stations from other groups that exited the market. In 1999 Chancellor merged with Capstar and the company became AMFM, Incorporated.
In the fall of 1999
, Clear Channel Communications and AMFM Inc. merged. This gave Clear Channel the five FM stations in LA and KIIS-FM which Clear Channel already owned. However, in order to get under the government-mandated market ownership limits, some stations were required to be spun off. One of the full powered FMs in Los Angeles had to go. KKBT's intellectual unit was the station chosen; it was sold off to Radio One. However, Clear Channel wanted to keep the best possible signal and gave Radio One 100.3 FM. Radio One then moved KKBT's format to 100.3. Leading up to the frequency swap, rumors swirled about whether 100.3's format would survive the move to 92.3 FM. Being 100.3 was going to an African American owned company known for urban formats it seemed that "The Beat" would likely move to 100.3 intact. Much speculation led to 92.3 going active rock
, possibly with the KMET calls.
and AMFM Inc. announced they would merge. However, in order to get under the government-mandated market ownership limits, some stations were required to be spun off. One of the full powered FMs in Los Angeles had to go. KKBT's intellectual unit began to seal its fate and 92.3 FM was chosen, and it was sold to Radio One. However, Clear Channel wanted to keep the best FM signals and gave Radio One the less desirable frequency of 100.3. Leading up to the frequency swap, rumors swirled about the fate of each station's format when the stations flipped frequencies. Some speculation had 92.3 FM going Active Rock, possibly with the KMET call letters. When the switch was made on June 30, 2000
, the formats did come along for the ride with 92.3 becoming "Mega 92.3" and 100.3 becoming "100.3 the Beat".
evolved to more of an urban oldies format and then to an urban AC format by 2002
. But KHHT is not a typical Urban AC station; this station was one of the first Urban AC's to play more old school/classic soul
, the more mainstream-level R&B currently out (barely-to-not playing Neo-soul at all) and some rhythmic and Latino pop/R&B songs to cater to the Hispanic and Asian audiences that listen to R&B music in particular. In this way, KHHT's playlist structure was the inspiration for other Urban AC markets in the western half of the U.S. such as sister stations in KISQ
98.1 KISS San Francisco, KSYU
"HOT 95.1" Albuquerque and KHYL
" V101 " Sacramento.
KHHT was one of three urban ACs serving the Los Angeles market. The others were KRBV, (formerly KKBT, which flipped from R&B/hip-hop in May 2006 but was sold by Radio One to Bonneville International in April 2008) and KJLH
, whose signal is not full-power and barely penetrates the San Fernando Valley
. In July 2006, it was announced that Art Laboe
, a legendary oldies DJ in Los Angeles, would expand his syndicated show from weekend to weekdays, with KHHT as the flagship station. Laboe's move was interpreted as an attempt to expand the station's Hispanic
audience as it competeted with KRBV and KJLH, both of which were Black
owned, operated and targeting stations(Only KJLH remains black owned)
However, by 2008 it became apparent that the over-saturation of Adult R&B stations in Los Angeles has made it difficult for three outlets to compete for the same audience. As a result of this, KHHT began to shift directions from an Urban AC direction to Rhythmic Hot AC, allowing them to focus more on the Hispanic
and Asian audience. They also opened up their playlist to include current Rhythmic hits. This move also opens up a new battle in the Los Angeles radio war, which finds KHHT taking on another Rhythmic AC, KMVN, whose direction was more focused on recurrents from the 1970s and 1980s, which also explained KHHT's decision to add currents to its playlist. KHHT's sister station KBIG-FM
once had a Rhythmic AC direction before shifting back to Hot AC in September 2007. The recent sale/format change of KRBV would've resulted in further tweakings at KHHT, but due to Arbitron's implementation of the PPM
in the Los Angeles radio market and a move by its sister stations to adjust their formats to attract certain demos, KHHT has decided to continue concentrating on attracting their Hispanic demos, where they feel more comfortable.
As of April 2009, KHHT once again became the only Rhythmic Adult Contemporary in the market as KMVN made a format flip to Spanish. This move has prompted KHHT to further adjust its musical direction by adding more Disco and Freestyle tracks to its current format as a way to attract the displaced KMVN listeners, and by June 2009 it showed an increase in the PPM ratings after they began to further tweak its selection more to now slightly favor currents and less favor Old School tracks, but as of July 2009 stay within the R&B realm. These latest changes at KHHT have led to hints that they are moving towards adopting a current Upbeat (and Dance-leaning) formula patterned after sister stations WKTU
/New York City
, WMIA-FM/Miami
, and WISX
/Philadelphia
. All three stations has seen good rating numbers with this formula.
In November 2010, KHHT tweaked its direction again, shifting to a Gold-based Rhythmic AC approach and reducing the number of currents being played on the station. Although it may have elements of the former KCMG, KHHT had not tilted all the way back to Rhythmic Oldies or Urban AC as most of the music are in line with other soft-leaning Rhythmic Adult Contemporary outlets in nature. This makes KHHT the only Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
station in a top-10 American
market.
In April 2011, KHHT fired morning host Victor Zaragoza. On April 20, the station announced that it would hire Rick Dees
(who, ironically, used to do mornings at KIIS-FM and KMVN). At that time, the station dropped the "and R&B" from its slogan (to distance itself from playing current R&B or Adult R&B product), effectively making the radio station a full-blown Gold-based Rhythmic AC, with emphasis on Rhythmic, Disco, Freestyle and R&B hits from 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. This same approach is also being used at sister stations KHJZ
/Honolulu
, KFBT
/Fresno
and WMOV
/Norfolk
; the exception being that the latter 3 are targeting Gen-Xers and concentrate on the latter two decades and play some currents in their presentation. Shortly after Dees arrived, KHHT shifted their format to a hybrid of Rhythmic oldies
and Urban Oldies, focusing mostly on urban rhythmic hits from 1970 to the mid 1990s, with some soul hits from the 1960s sprinkled into the mix. The station is still label as an Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
radio format.
The station, for a time, called itself "Hot 92 Jamz". It has since shifted back to "Hot 92.3"
92.3 in Los Angeles was mentioned in Tupac Shakur's song "To Live and Die in L.A.".
subcarrier. On December 29, 2007, the HD-2 shifted to an all Slow Jamz Urban AC format, playing quiet storm music from artists such as Anita Baker, Tank, Jaheim, and Boyz II Men. It is also staffed by many KHHT jocks including Lisa St Regis, Kevin Slow Jamming James, and Al B Sure.
. Winners were honored at the Radio Luncheon on April 17, 2007, during the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Nevada
.
mentions 92.3 in his song "To Live & Die In L.A."; however, at the time, 92.3 was home to KKBT
, a station which, before its demise, regularly played Shakur's records.
Hot 92.3 was featured on VH1 Soul
's show Soul Cities.
but as of lately they have changed back to Rhythmic Oldies
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...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to 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...
, USA with a Rhythmic Oldies
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...
musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
KFAC
92.3 became KFAC a commercialCommercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
classical music radio station 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...
, broadcasting for most of its life on 1330 kHz AM, and subsequently in both simulcast and separate programming on 92.3 MHz FM as well. "Only 41 of nearly 9,000 commercial radio stations in the United States play classical music" and KFAC was considered one of the best".
On September 20, 1989 at 2 p.m., new owners changed both its name and its format, depriving Southern California of a major cultural institution. During its heyday, the station was arguably the most important cultural organization in the Los Angeles area, having greater influence on lovers of classical music than even the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Please see KFAC(defunct)
KKBT 92.3 The Beat
In 19891989 in radio
The year 1989 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*KMEZ breaks away from its FM sister station to adopt a business-oriented news/talk format as KDBN.*ABC Radio has acquired Satellite Music Network...
the station was sold to Evergreen and renamed a rhythmic contemporary hits station KKBT, "92.3 The Beat". Initially September 1989, the station offered a blend of adult rock, dance music, and adult contemporary. The format failed miserably and by 1990 the adult rock cuts were gone. The station moved toward a rhythmic AC format playing a blend of disco, soft pop hits, current R&B and oldies. The station still did not do well and by summer 1990, it evolved to a strictly urban AC station. By 1991, rap and hip-hop were being mixed in and the station evolved to an Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
format.
As an urban contemporary station, "92.3 the Beat", hit #1 a few times in the ratings. It competed aggressively with a Hip Hop station on the 105.9 frequency, KPWR
KPWR
KPWR is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on an analog signal and in HD Radio...
(which evolved from dance/urban CHR). During the time the station featured many popular DJs and hosts including John London
John London
John Carl Kuehne , better known as John London, was an American musician and songwriter, and was involved in several Hollywood television and movie productions...
and the House Party, a popular morning show which competed with other top local shows like Mark and Brian on 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 Rick Dees
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...
on KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
, Theo Mizuhara, Eric Cubiche, and Nautica De La Cruz, along with Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and the World Class Wreckin' Crew and Kevin Nash. Other shows included Westside Radio, a weekly radio program dedicated to West Coast Hip-Hop, which now airs on KDAY
KDAY
KDAY in Redondo Beach and KDEY in Ontario are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs an Classic hip-hop format aimed at African Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting, LLC and broadcasts at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
and Street Science, a weekly program dedicated to community issues and politics. The stations slogan was "No Color Lines," proudly championing the diversity of the region. It is believed that 92.3 the Beat was inspired by KDAY
KDAY
KDAY in Redondo Beach and KDEY in Ontario are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs an Classic hip-hop format aimed at African Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting, LLC and broadcasts at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
, the first hip-hop station. During the 1990s, The Beat held a summer concert known as Summer Jam which featured major hip-hop and r&b stars who performed at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (Irvine)
Not to be confused with amphitheatres in Georgia, Missouri, or Virginia.Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Irvine is a 16,085-capacity amphitheater, located in Irvine, California...
.
In a group deal in 1997 Evergreen merged with Chancellor. Chancellor acquired stations from other groups that exited the market. In 1999 Chancellor merged with Capstar and the company became AMFM, Incorporated.
In the fall of 1999
1999 in radio
The year 1999 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - 102.1 The Zone stopped played at 6AM and 102.1 FM played a stunt of waves and announcement voice over of our newest radio station....
, Clear Channel Communications and AMFM Inc. merged. This gave Clear Channel the five FM stations in LA and KIIS-FM which Clear Channel already owned. However, in order to get under the government-mandated market ownership limits, some stations were required to be spun off. One of the full powered FMs in Los Angeles had to go. KKBT's intellectual unit was the station chosen; it was sold off to Radio One. However, Clear Channel wanted to keep the best possible signal and gave Radio One 100.3 FM. Radio One then moved KKBT's format to 100.3. Leading up to the frequency swap, rumors swirled about whether 100.3's format would survive the move to 92.3 FM. Being 100.3 was going to an African American owned company known for urban formats it seemed that "The Beat" would likely move to 100.3 intact. Much speculation led to 92.3 going active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
, possibly with the KMET calls.
The Beat Moving to 100.3
In the fall of 1999, Clear Channel CommunicationsClear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
and AMFM Inc. announced they would merge. However, in order to get under the government-mandated market ownership limits, some stations were required to be spun off. One of the full powered FMs in Los Angeles had to go. KKBT's intellectual unit began to seal its fate and 92.3 FM was chosen, and it was sold to Radio One. However, Clear Channel wanted to keep the best FM signals and gave Radio One the less desirable frequency of 100.3. Leading up to the frequency swap, rumors swirled about the fate of each station's format when the stations flipped frequencies. Some speculation had 92.3 FM going Active Rock, possibly with the KMET call letters. When the switch was made on June 30, 2000
2000 in radio
The year 2000 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*The Real Radio & Century Radio networks become active on - air, through the United Kingdom....
, the formats did come along for the ride with 92.3 becoming "Mega 92.3" and 100.3 becoming "100.3 the Beat".
KCMG becomes KHHT
Initially, the station, now called KHHT, played Rhythmic Oldies on 92.3 but by 20012001 in radio
The year 2001 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*12 January: Jammin 103.5 becomes Kiss 103.5 in Chicago.*29 January: The 80s Channel WXXY and WWYX becomes Viva! 103.1...
evolved to more of an urban oldies format and then to an urban AC format by 2002
2002 in radio
The year 2002 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 21 - A train derailment in Minot, North Dakota kills one person and knocks out power throughout the region, spilling 250,000 gallons of toxic anhydrous ammonia for fertilizer purposes. The designated primary station for the...
. But KHHT is not a typical Urban AC station; this station was one of the first Urban AC's to play more old school/classic soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, the more mainstream-level R&B currently out (barely-to-not playing Neo-soul at all) and some rhythmic and Latino pop/R&B songs to cater to the Hispanic and Asian audiences that listen to R&B music in particular. In this way, KHHT's playlist structure was the inspiration for other Urban AC markets in the western half of the U.S. such as sister stations in KISQ
KISQ
KISQ is a radio station licensed to San Francisco that features the Urban Oldies format on the 98.1 FM frequency. It is owned by Clear Channel.- History :As KABL...
98.1 KISS San Francisco, KSYU
KSYU
KLQT is a commercial radio station located in Corrales, New Mexico, United States, broadcasting to the Albuquerque area. KLQT airs an adult contemporary music format...
"HOT 95.1" Albuquerque and KHYL
KHYL
KHYL is a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary serving the Sacramento, California area and broadcasts at 101.1 FM. They are owned by Clear Channel Communications and is licensed to Auburn, California...
" V101 " Sacramento.
KHHT was one of three urban ACs serving the Los Angeles market. The others were KRBV, (formerly KKBT, which flipped from R&B/hip-hop in May 2006 but was sold by Radio One to Bonneville International in April 2008) and KJLH
KJLH
KJLH is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station serving the Los Angeles area and offers More of a variety of Today's R&B & Classic Soul with a taste of Hip-Hop, Gospel and sometimes Smooth Jazz. The station, which is owned by Stevie Wonder's Taxi Productions, operates at 102.3 MHz with an...
, whose signal is not full-power and barely penetrates the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
. In July 2006, it was announced that Art Laboe
Art Laboe
Art Laboe is an American pioneering disc jockey, songwriter, record producer, and radio station owner who is generally credited with coining the term "Oldies But Goodies."....
, a legendary oldies DJ in Los Angeles, would expand his syndicated show from weekend to weekdays, with KHHT as the flagship station. Laboe's move was interpreted as an attempt to expand the station's Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
audience as it competeted with KRBV and KJLH, both of which were Black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
owned, operated and targeting stations(Only KJLH remains black owned)
However, by 2008 it became apparent that the over-saturation of Adult R&B stations in Los Angeles has made it difficult for three outlets to compete for the same audience. As a result of this, KHHT began to shift directions from an Urban AC direction to Rhythmic Hot AC, allowing them to focus more on the Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
and Asian audience. They also opened up their playlist to include current Rhythmic hits. This move also opens up a new battle in the Los Angeles radio war, which finds KHHT taking on another Rhythmic AC, KMVN, whose direction was more focused on recurrents from the 1970s and 1980s, which also explained KHHT's decision to add currents to its playlist. KHHT's sister station KBIG-FM
KBIG-FM
KBIG-FM is an FM radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned by Clear Channel. The station plays a Hot Adult Contemporary format heavy on music from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.-Early years:...
once had a Rhythmic AC direction before shifting back to Hot AC in September 2007. The recent sale/format change of KRBV would've resulted in further tweakings at KHHT, but due to Arbitron's implementation of the PPM
Portable People Meter
The Portable People Meter is a system developed by Arbitron to measure how many people are listening to individual radio stations and television stations, including cable TV. The PPM is worn like a pager, and detects hidden audio tones within a station or network's audio stream, logging each...
in the Los Angeles radio market and a move by its sister stations to adjust their formats to attract certain demos, KHHT has decided to continue concentrating on attracting their Hispanic demos, where they feel more comfortable.
As of April 2009, KHHT once again became the only Rhythmic Adult Contemporary in the market as KMVN made a format flip to Spanish. This move has prompted KHHT to further adjust its musical direction by adding more Disco and Freestyle tracks to its current format as a way to attract the displaced KMVN listeners, and by June 2009 it showed an increase in the PPM ratings after they began to further tweak its selection more to now slightly favor currents and less favor Old School tracks, but as of July 2009 stay within the R&B realm. These latest changes at KHHT have led to hints that they are moving towards adopting a current Upbeat (and Dance-leaning) formula patterned after sister stations WKTU
WKTU
WKTU is a radio station based in New York City that plays an upbeat, gold-based CHR format. The station's broadcast transmitter is located on the top of the Empire State Building and its city of license is Lake Success, New York, with offices formerly in the "Newport" section of Jersey City, New...
/New York City
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...
, WMIA-FM/Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, and WISX
WISX
WISX is a Hot adult contemporary radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are owned by Clear Channel Communications.-Beautiful Music Era: WQAL/WWSH:...
/Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. All three stations has seen good rating numbers with this formula.
In November 2010, KHHT tweaked its direction again, shifting to a Gold-based Rhythmic AC approach and reducing the number of currents being played on the station. Although it may have elements of the former KCMG, KHHT had not tilted all the way back to Rhythmic Oldies or Urban AC as most of the music are in line with other soft-leaning Rhythmic Adult Contemporary outlets in nature. This makes KHHT the only Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic adult contemporary is a format used on stations in the United States and Canada. It usually gears toward an older audience, ages 25 to 54. Stations using this format play disco from the 1970s and early 1980s, dance/pop music, adult-friendly hip hop/old school tracks, R&B, dance/freestyle...
station in a top-10 American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
market.
In April 2011, KHHT fired morning host Victor Zaragoza. On April 20, the station announced that it would hire Rick Dees
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...
(who, ironically, used to do mornings at KIIS-FM and KMVN). At that time, the station dropped the "and R&B" from its slogan (to distance itself from playing current R&B or Adult R&B product), effectively making the radio station a full-blown Gold-based Rhythmic AC, with emphasis on Rhythmic, Disco, Freestyle and R&B hits from 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. This same approach is also being used at sister stations KHJZ
KHJZ
KHJZ-FM, also known as "93.9 Jamz", is a rhythmic adult contemporary outlet based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The station, whose slogan is "Hawaii's Ol' Skool 4 UR Generation," broadcasts at 93.9 FM and operates at 100 kW, is owned by Clear Channel Communications. It is also transmitting on Oceanic...
/Honolulu
Honolulu County, Hawaii
The City and County of Honolulu is a consolidated city–county located in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The municipality and county includes both the urban district of Honolulu and the rest of the island of Oahu, as well as several minor outlying islands, including all of the Northwestern Hawaiian...
, KFBT
KFBT (FM)
KFBT is a radio station broadcasting a Rhythmic adult contemporary format. Licensed to Hanford, California, USA, the station serves the Visalia-Tulare-Hanford, Fresno area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications. The station is also broadcast on HD radio.-History:The...
/Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
and WMOV
WMOV-FM
WMOV-FM is a Rhythmic AC formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WMOV-FM is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-Simulcast:The station used to simulcast the format on WKSA...
/Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
; the exception being that the latter 3 are targeting Gen-Xers and concentrate on the latter two decades and play some currents in their presentation. Shortly after Dees arrived, KHHT shifted their format to a hybrid of Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...
and Urban Oldies, focusing mostly on urban rhythmic hits from 1970 to the mid 1990s, with some soul hits from the 1960s sprinkled into the mix. The station is still label as an Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic adult contemporary is a format used on stations in the United States and Canada. It usually gears toward an older audience, ages 25 to 54. Stations using this format play disco from the 1970s and early 1980s, dance/pop music, adult-friendly hip hop/old school tracks, R&B, dance/freestyle...
radio format.
The station, for a time, called itself "Hot 92 Jamz". It has since shifted back to "Hot 92.3"
92.3 in Los Angeles was mentioned in Tupac Shakur's song "To Live and Die in L.A.".
KHHT-HD2
On January 23, 2006, KHHT relaunched its former Rhythmic Oldies format on its HD2HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
subcarrier. On December 29, 2007, the HD-2 shifted to an all Slow Jamz Urban AC format, playing quiet storm music from artists such as Anita Baker, Tank, Jaheim, and Boyz II Men. It is also staffed by many KHHT jocks including Lisa St Regis, Kevin Slow Jamming James, and Al B Sure.
Awards
The station was one of 10 stations awarded the 2007 Crystal Radio Award for public service awarded by the National Association of BroadcastersNational Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
. Winners were honored at the Radio Luncheon on April 17, 2007, during the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
In popular culture
Tupac ShakurTupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
mentions 92.3 in his song "To Live & Die In L.A."; however, at the time, 92.3 was home to KKBT
KKBT
KSWD is a Bonneville International-owned radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. The station currently broadcasts a wide-ranging classic rock format...
, a station which, before its demise, regularly played Shakur's records.
Hot 92.3 was featured on VH1 Soul
VH1 Soul
VH1 Soul is a digital cable and satellite television channel and is the sister network to VH1. It showcases R&B, funk, soul, and Motown music from various periods....
's show Soul Cities.
Changes
Hot 92.3 at one time use to be Rhythmic Adult ContemporaryRhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic adult contemporary is a format used on stations in the United States and Canada. It usually gears toward an older audience, ages 25 to 54. Stations using this format play disco from the 1970s and early 1980s, dance/pop music, adult-friendly hip hop/old school tracks, R&B, dance/freestyle...
but as of lately they have changed back to Rhythmic Oldies
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...