KJQY
Encyclopedia
There have been three different stations in San Diego called KJQY or K-Joy. The original was an easy listening
music radio station based in San Diego
. The call letters first appeared on May 20, 1979 when the call letters of beautiful music
station KOZN-FM 103.7 were changed.
station that was owned by Westinghouse/Group W
on 103.7. Sometime in the early 1990s, Group W sold 103.7. The revolving sets of new owners continuously updated the format, first to New Adult Contemporary/Light Jazz
, and then eventually to Adult Contemporary. At some point, 103.7 ended up being owned by SFX, the same people who owned cross-town competitor KYXY
96.5 (which had better ratings). SFX promptly changed KJQY's format to Adult Rock, first changing the calls to KMKX and the name to "Rock Mix 103.7", and later to "Classic Hits 103.7 The Planet" and the call letters to KPLN, which is pretty much what it was until Howard Stern left CBS (including 103.7). CBS (the owners at that time and as of this writing) changed 103.7's call letters to KSCF, first as FM talk radio
Free FM, and in 2007 to Hot Adult Contemporary Sophie (which is what it is at the time of this writing).
), KSWV (yet another Soft AC/Light Jazz NAC station), KCLX (Classic Rock), and KKBH (All 70s Oldies
"The Beach", Soft AC (also as the Beach) and Mainstream AC (as Mix 102.9).
By the time the station had switched to Mix 102.9, ownership had passed from Gannet, to Citicasters. After another sale, the station was with Jacor. KJQY's Program Director
had research that showed that listeners still wrote KJQY in the ratings books. Realizing the potential, he changed the station's name to "KJoy 102.9" and call letters to KJQY in the fall of 1997. A few months later, Jacor was forced to spin off two frequencies, in return for two others they had purchased (along with most of NCI's frequencies). The decision was made to move KJQY to 94.1, while shutting down Hot Adult Contemporary Q106
and creating some form of Hot AC on 95.7. 102.9 and 106.5 were spun off to Heftel, (a primarily Spanish oriented broadcasting company), who turned 102.9 to Spanish language "KLQV
."
KJQY stayed with the call letters but moved in a more oldies based direction, after market Oldies
leader KBZT
"KBEST 95" began having problems of their own and changed formats. KJQY took advantage of this, even using Bill Drake
era styled jingles, similar to those KBEST had used for many years. In 2002, current owners Clear Channel
decided to drop Hot AC and 80s from "Mix 95.7" and move KJQY's format over to 95.7 as KOCL, "KOOL 95.7" (although the KJQY call letters were actually used on the station for a few days in the very beginning), so that they could use 94.1's powerful 100,000 ERP watt signal for a Hot AC station to compete with market leader KFMB FM (Star 100.7). 94.1 took over the "Star" name after getting KFMB-FM's Star 100.7's popular morning show Jeff and Jer over, along with several other former 100.7 staffers. KFMB FM has dropped the “Star” label and is Jack FM
”.
Another piece of irony is that while 102.9 had been KSDO twice, first in the 1980s and again for a short time in the early 90s, KSDO had actually been on 103.7 for a period in the 1970s, but few artifacts of this remain today.
, the KJQY call letters haven't been assigned to a radio station since 2002.
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music radio station based in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. The call letters first appeared on May 20, 1979 when the call letters of beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
station KOZN-FM 103.7 were changed.
The First K-Joy on 103.7
The original KJQY was a beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
station that was owned by Westinghouse/Group W
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
on 103.7. Sometime in the early 1990s, Group W sold 103.7. The revolving sets of new owners continuously updated the format, first to New Adult Contemporary/Light Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and then eventually to Adult Contemporary. At some point, 103.7 ended up being owned by SFX, the same people who owned cross-town competitor KYXY
KYXY
KYXY is a San Diego, California, radio station with an adult contemporary music format. Its name is pronounced Kicksy.KyXy 96.5 broadcasts in HD Radio...
96.5 (which had better ratings). SFX promptly changed KJQY's format to Adult Rock, first changing the calls to KMKX and the name to "Rock Mix 103.7", and later to "Classic Hits 103.7 The Planet" and the call letters to KPLN, which is pretty much what it was until Howard Stern left CBS (including 103.7). CBS (the owners at that time and as of this writing) changed 103.7's call letters to KSCF, first as FM talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
Free FM, and in 2007 to Hot Adult Contemporary Sophie (which is what it is at the time of this writing).
The Second K-Joy on 102.9, and later 94.1
In the late 1990s, there was a second "KJQY", on 102.9 FM on what had been KSDO FM ( Top 40 and later as Classic rockClassic 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...
), KSWV (yet another Soft AC/Light Jazz NAC station), KCLX (Classic Rock), and KKBH (All 70s 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....
"The Beach", Soft AC (also as the Beach) and Mainstream AC (as Mix 102.9).
By the time the station had switched to Mix 102.9, ownership had passed from Gannet, to Citicasters. After another sale, the station was with Jacor. KJQY's Program Director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
had research that showed that listeners still wrote KJQY in the ratings books. Realizing the potential, he changed the station's name to "KJoy 102.9" and call letters to KJQY in the fall of 1997. A few months later, Jacor was forced to spin off two frequencies, in return for two others they had purchased (along with most of NCI's frequencies). The decision was made to move KJQY to 94.1, while shutting down Hot Adult Contemporary Q106
KLNV
KLNV is a Spanish language radio station. It is owned, along with KLQV, by Univision. Its antenna is located at the same site of KSON and KOGO.-History:...
and creating some form of Hot AC on 95.7. 102.9 and 106.5 were spun off to Heftel, (a primarily Spanish oriented broadcasting company), who turned 102.9 to Spanish language "KLQV
KLQV
KLQV or Recuerdo 102.9 is a Spanish oldies radio station. Their antenna is located on top of Mount Soledad in La Jolla. They are owned by Univision along with KLNV. Formerly, they were known as VIVA 102.9, but because XHOCL became Spanish oldies, KLQV decided to convert to Spanish oldies. KLQV's...
."
KJQY stayed with the call letters but moved in a more oldies based direction, after market 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....
leader KBZT
KBZT
KBZT is a commercial modern rock music radio station in San Diego, California, broadcasting on 94.9 FM.-History:During the 1970s and '80s, KBZT was known as "KBest95" but in the 1980s morphed from oldies into soft rock, before being sold to Sandusky Radio and becoming "Y95" in 1987...
"KBEST 95" began having problems of their own and changed formats. KJQY took advantage of this, even using Bill Drake
Bill Drake
Bill Drake , born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.-Early career:...
era styled jingles, similar to those KBEST had used for many years. In 2002, current owners Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
decided to drop Hot AC and 80s from "Mix 95.7" and move KJQY's format over to 95.7 as KOCL, "KOOL 95.7" (although the KJQY call letters were actually used on the station for a few days in the very beginning), so that they could use 94.1's powerful 100,000 ERP watt signal for a Hot AC station to compete with market leader KFMB FM (Star 100.7). 94.1 took over the "Star" name after getting KFMB-FM's Star 100.7's popular morning show Jeff and Jer over, along with several other former 100.7 staffers. KFMB FM has dropped the “Star” label and is 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...
”.
Another piece of irony is that while 102.9 had been KSDO twice, first in the 1980s and again for a short time in the early 90s, KSDO had actually been on 103.7 for a period in the 1970s, but few artifacts of this remain today.
, the KJQY call letters haven't been assigned to a radio station since 2002.