KMKI
Encyclopedia
KMKI AM 620 is a Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
AM radio station
licensed in Plano, Texas
. Although most of the ABC Radio stations were merged with Citadel Broadcasting
, Disney retains this station.
, as KWFT. KWFT radio existed from 1939 to 1994 on an AM frequency of 620 kilohertz. It was the first radio station to continuously operate in the city and was a regional channel that could be heard across a large geographical area of Texas
and Oklahoma
, as well as some bordering states during the daytime. The station was a CBS
affiliate.
In 1953, KWFT joined other radio stations in the United States
by plunging into the new medium of television
. KWFT-TV signed on the air onto channel 6 on March 1 and was the first television station in the city. It was an affiliate of the CBS television network. KWFT later sold the TV station in 1956 at which time channel 6 became KSYD-TV and later KAUZ-TV
in 1963, continuing as the CBS affiliate for the Wichita Falls-Lawton market.
KWFT Radio continued for many years after the divesture of the TV station as a radio station emphasizing local and national news, weather, farm reports and middle-of-the-road music format. However, the emergence of a preponderance of FM stations in Wichita Falls offering country and rock music formats during the 1970s and 1980s greatly cut into KWFT's audience and advertising dollars, leading to the sale of the station in the mid-1990s to a new owner who signed off KWFT's last broadcast at 11:59 p.m. on December 24, 1994. About two years later, the 620 frequency formerly assigned to Wichita Falls returned to the airwaves in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as KAAM
. Eventually the station was sold to Disney and renamed KMKI with the Radio Disney
format.
The KWFT calls were later reassigned to a MyNetworkTV
affiliate (KWFT
) in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
; that station has since switched its calls to KBBL-TV, though they still use KWFT-LP for a repeater.
Up until Radio Disney's move from Dallas to Burbank, California
, KMKI was the network's flagship station
.
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
AM 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...
licensed in Plano, Texas
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
. Although most of the ABC Radio stations were merged with Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
, Disney retains this station.
History
KMKI originally had its start in Wichita Falls, TexasWichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
, as KWFT. KWFT radio existed from 1939 to 1994 on an AM frequency of 620 kilohertz. It was the first radio station to continuously operate in the city and was a regional channel that could be heard across a large geographical area of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, as well as some bordering states during the daytime. The station was a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate.
In 1953, KWFT joined other radio stations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by plunging into the new medium of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. KWFT-TV signed on the air onto channel 6 on March 1 and was the first television station in the city. It was an affiliate of the CBS television network. KWFT later sold the TV station in 1956 at which time channel 6 became KSYD-TV and later KAUZ-TV
KAUZ-TV
KAUZ-TV, digital channel 22 , is the CBS affiliate television station located in Wichita Falls, Texas. It also serves Lawton, Oklahoma. Its transmitter is located at the studio in Wichita Falls and has a low-power translator in Bowie...
in 1963, continuing as the CBS affiliate for the Wichita Falls-Lawton market.
KWFT Radio continued for many years after the divesture of the TV station as a radio station emphasizing local and national news, weather, farm reports and middle-of-the-road music format. However, the emergence of a preponderance of FM stations in Wichita Falls offering country and rock music formats during the 1970s and 1980s greatly cut into KWFT's audience and advertising dollars, leading to the sale of the station in the mid-1990s to a new owner who signed off KWFT's last broadcast at 11:59 p.m. on December 24, 1994. About two years later, the 620 frequency formerly assigned to Wichita Falls returned to the airwaves in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as KAAM
KAAM
KAAM, known as "K-Double-A-M", is an AM radio station broadcasting in the Dallas/Fort Worth "Metroplex" with a format of oldies/standards, and program length commercials...
. Eventually the station was sold to Disney and renamed KMKI with the Radio Disney
Radio Disney
Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California and headquartered out of the Disney Channel headquarters on West Alameda Ave., from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas...
format.
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate (KWFT
KBBL-TV
- History :Channel 34 began operations in 2000 as KWBS-TV, which stood for WB Springfield; however, original station owner Equity Broadcasting decided to make another new station, KWBM the WB affiliate for Springfield, and KWBS insteed affiliated with Pax...
) in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States. Along with Berryville, it is one of the two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 2,350...
; that station has since switched its calls to KBBL-TV, though they still use KWFT-LP for a repeater.
Up until Radio Disney's move from Dallas to Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, KMKI was the network's flagship station
Flagship station
In broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast which originates a television network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls...
.