KOIT-FM
Encyclopedia
KOIT-FM is an Lite Rock-formatted radio station
in the San Francisco Bay Area
of the United States. Its slogan is "Lite Rock, Less Talk". The station's programming was also simulcast for many years on 1260 AM. KSFB, a station carrying Roman Catholic programming, now operates on the latter frequency.
KOIT-FM is owned by Entercom Communications
which also operates San Francisco radio stations KUFX
/KUZX
and KGMZ
. The station transmits from Sutro Tower
in San Francisco, with a power output of 24,000 watts effective radiated power
. The signal can be received throughout the Bay Area with relative ease. There is also a booster station in Martinez, California called KOIT-3 that improves the coverage in the Diablo Valley
area.
96.5 KOIT airs a "Lite Rock, Less Talk" format featuring artists like Kelly Clarkson, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Journey and the Eagles plus today's hottest Lite Rock artists including Maroon 5, Adele, John Mayer and Pink.
Since 2002, KOIT has been playing all holiday music beginning the week before Thanksgiving through Christmas Day, December 25th. KOIT is known as "The Bay Area's Official Christmas Music
Station." This highly-popular programming significantly increases the station's audience during the holiday season. In 2011, the station switched to its all-Christmas format at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 18.
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 the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
of the United States. Its slogan is "Lite Rock, Less Talk". The station's programming was also simulcast for many years on 1260 AM. KSFB, a station carrying Roman Catholic programming, now operates on the latter frequency.
KOIT-FM is owned by Entercom Communications
Entercom Communications
Entercom Communications Corporation is the fourth-largest broadcasting company in the United States. As of November 2009, Entercom operates 110 radio stations in 23 markets across the United States....
which also operates San Francisco radio stations KUFX
KUFX
KUFX is a classic rock-formatted radio station in San Jose, California. It is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is referred to on-air as K-FOX.On January 24, 2011, KUFX began simulcasting on KUZX 102.1 MHz in San Francisco....
/KUZX
KUZX
KUZX is a classic rock-formatted radio station in San Francisco, California. It is owned by Entercom Communications. As of noon January 24, 2011, the station is simulcasting the programming of sister station KUFX in San Jose...
and KGMZ
KGMZ
KKOL-FM is an oldies music formatted radio station serving Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. The Salem Communications outlet broadcasts at 107.9 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW and is licensed to Aiea, Hawaii.-History:...
. The station transmits from Sutro Tower
Sutro Tower
Sutro Tower is a three-pronged antenna tower near Clarendon Heights in San Francisco, California. Rising from a hill between Twin Peaks and Mount Sutro, it is a prominent part of the city skyline and a landmark for city residents and visitors...
in San Francisco, with a power output of 24,000 watts effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
. The signal can be received throughout the Bay Area with relative ease. There is also a booster station in Martinez, California called KOIT-3 that improves the coverage in the Diablo Valley
Diablo Valley
The Diablo Valley refers to a valley in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, to the west/northwest of Mount Diablo. The valley contains the cities of Clayton, Concord, Martinez, the unincorporated area of Pacheco, and Pleasant Hill , and most of Walnut Creek. The southern end of Walnut...
area.
96.5 KOIT airs a "Lite Rock, Less Talk" format featuring artists like Kelly Clarkson, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Journey and the Eagles plus today's hottest Lite Rock artists including Maroon 5, Adele, John Mayer and Pink.
Since 2002, KOIT has been playing all holiday music beginning the week before Thanksgiving through Christmas Day, December 25th. KOIT is known as "The Bay Area's Official Christmas Music
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
Station." This highly-popular programming significantly increases the station's audience during the holiday season. In 2011, the station switched to its all-Christmas format at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 18.
History
- July 1947 - December 31, 1954: 96.5 frequency signs on as KRON-FM, co-owned with KRON-TVKRON-TVKRON-TV, virtual channel 4 , is a television station in San Francisco, California, serving as the Bay Area affiliate of the MyNetworkTV programming service; the station is owned by Young Broadcasting...
and the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
newspaper. - 1957: KRON-FM returns to the air with evening-only programming devoted to classical music. During the 1960s, KRON-FM devotes a full hour (7 to 8 p.m.) to a complete Broadway show album. The station has no commercials, no underwriters, and no fund drives, but is operated by the Chronicle as a public service.
- 1975: Chronicle Publishing CompanyChronicle Publishing CompanyThe Chronicle Publishing Company was a print and broadcast media corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California that was in operation from 1865 until 2000...
, parent of the Chronicle, sells KRON-FM to Bonneville InternationalBonneville InternationalBonneville International Corporation is a broadcasting company wholly owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation...
which relaunches it as KOIT. - December 13, 1983: Bonneville Broadcasting Co. purchases KYA from KING BroadcastingKing Broadcasting CompanyKing Broadcasting Company is a Seattle, Washington media conglmerate founded by Dorothy Stimson Bullitt. It began with one AM radio station and later an FM radio station, and grew to include a large group of broadcast television and radio stations, as well as a cable television network.-History:In...
, changing the call letters to KOIT with 96.5 going to KOIT-FM per FCC convention. The KYA call letters remained in service at KYA-FM (93.3, now KRZZLa Raza (radio)La Raza meaning "Belonging to the people" is the name of a radio network which broadcasts regional Mexican music in the U.S. state of California. La Raza has two stations, with one operating as 97.9 in Los Angeles and another one as 93.3 in San Francisco....
) and went into retirement in 1993. - January 18, 2007: Bonneville announces station swap with Entercom CommunicationsEntercom CommunicationsEntercom Communications Corporation is the fourth-largest broadcasting company in the United States. As of November 2009, Entercom operates 110 radio stations in 23 markets across the United States....
, with KOIT and the other Bonneville FM radio holdings in San Francisco going to Entercom in return for three of Entercom's stations in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
and Entercom's entire radio cluster in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, subject to regulatory approval. http://www.seattlepi.com/business/300350_radioswap19.html This trade would mark Entercom's re-entry into the country's fourth largest radio market. - February 26, 2007: Entercom officially takes over via LMALocal marketing agreementIn U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
. - March 14, 2008: Entercom and Bonneville officially close on the deal, with KOIT and the other San Francisco FM stations formerly owned by Bonneville becoming owned by Entercom outright.