KING-FM
KING-FM (98.1 MHz; "Classical King FM") is a non-commercial classical music radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is owned by Classic Radio, a nonprofit organization.[1] The studios and offices are on Harrison Street in Seattle.[2] KING-FM holds periodic on-air fundraisers to help support the station through listener contributions.
City | Seattle, Washington |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Seattle-Tacoma - Puget Sound area |
Frequency | 98.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | Classical KING-FM |
Programming | |
Format | FM/HD1: Classical music HD2: Evergreen Channel |
Ownership | |
Owner | Beethoven, a Nonprofit Corporation (Classic Radio, Inc.) |
History | |
First air date | December 1947 |
Call sign meaning | King County |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 11755 |
Class | C |
ERP | 66,000 watts 68,000 with beam tilt |
HAAT | 707 meters (2320 ft) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | king.org |
KING-FM's transmitter is located in Issaquah on Tiger Mountain.[3] Its effective radiated power (ERP) is 66,000 watts (68,000 with beam tilt). KING-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio format, using two subchannels for alternate classical programming.[4]
History
Early Years
The station that today is KING-FM first signed on the air in December 1947, originally at FM 94.9.[5] It was owned by King Broadcasting, whose co-owner and president was Dorothy Bullitt. The year before, Bullitt had purchased AM 1090 KEVR and changed it to KING (now KFNQ).[6][7] (Seattle is located in King County, for which its call letters were chosen.)
In 1949, King Broadcasting bought 98.1 KRSC-FM, which had gone on the air in February 1947 under different ownership.[6] KING-FM moved from 94.9 to 98.1 MHz in 1958, replacing KRSC-FM. The 94.9 transmitter was donated to Edison Vocational School, which used it to broadcast educational programming on that frequency. 94.9 eventually became KUOW-FM, owned by the University of Washington, and now a public news-talk station affiliated with NPR.
Also in 1949, King Broadcasting bought Channel 5 KRSC-TV, which had signed on the previous year. The call letters were changed to KING-TV.[8] The three stations, KING-AM-FM-TV, had their studios and offices at 320 Aurora Avenue North in Seattle.
Classical KING-FM
At first, KING-FM simulcast its AM counterpart. But over time, it began airing classical programs separate from the AM station, and by the late 1960s, it was exclusively a classical outlet, a format that has continued to be broadcast on the station since.
During the late 1970s, KING-FM carried syndicated concert broadcasts by the Philadelphia Orchestra, usually under direction of Eugene Ormandy, the New York Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony. Many of the syndicated concert programs featured well-known instrumentalists and conductors performing works which they never recorded commercially - e.g. Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic in a highly memorable 1976 reading of Bruckner's Sixth Symphony in A major.
In the mid-1970s, KING-FM's schedule also included specialized programs showcasing Quadraphonic LP recordings and historical recordings. In 1983, KING-FM was the first station in the Seattle area to utilize compact disc (CD) technology for its recordings.
Sale to Non-Profit Group
In 1992, King Broadcasting was acquired by the parent company of The Providence Journal, a Rhode Island publishing and broadcasting company. While the new owner wanted the TV station, the radio stations were sold to Classic Radio for $9.75 million.[9] The AM station was, in turn, sold to EZ Communications. KING-FM was run by a non-profit partnership, consisting of the Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony, and the Arts Fund. Although KING-FM was owned by a non-profit entity, the station continued to operate for a time on a commercial basis, selling advertising as before. Even after the sale, the radio station was co-located with KING-TV Channel 5 for several more years. KING-FM moved to an office building several blocks away in 1999.
In 1993, KING-FM relocated its transmitter from Seattle's Queen Anne Hill to Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. This higher-elevation transmitter location provided a significant improvement in KING-FM's reception quality throughout the Seattle-Tacoma radio market, and sections of Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains. KING-FM also began broadcasting its programming online, becoming one of the first internet radio stations.
Switch to Public Radio
On March 23, 2010, KING-FM announced that it would transition to a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station in July 2011, citing reduced advertising revenue.[10] Several other commercial classical radio stations have made similar transitions to public radio status, including WQXR-FM New York City, WCRB Boston and KDFC San Francisco. Successful fundraising efforts led KING-FM to announce on April 7, 2011, that the transition would instead take place on May 2, two months ahead of schedule.[11]
In 2011, Classical KING FM 98.1 made the successful transition from a commercial to a non-commercial public radio station. As a listener-supported station, Classical KING FM 98.1 has added new programming and added two additional channels of classical music using HD Radio technology. KING-FM is one a handful of non-commercial FM radio stations to broadcast outside the standard band for FM stations of its type (88-92 MHz).
References
- FCC.gov/KING-FM
- KING.org/contact-us
- Radio-Locator.com/KING-FM
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-05-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) HD Radio Guide for Seattle-Tacoma
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1949 page 315
- Blecha, Peter (March 6, 2010). "KRSC: Seattle's Radio and TV Pioneers". HistoryLink. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
- Duncan, Don (August 22, 1990). "Pioneers In Broadcasting". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 314
- Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994 page B-399
- "Classic-music KING FM to rely on listeners". Puget Sound Business Journal. American City Business Journals. March 23, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
- Rolph, Amy (April 7, 2011). "KING FM will become listener-supported sooner than thought". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
External links
- Official website
- KING-FM in the FCC's FM station database
- KING-FM on Radio-Locator
- KING-FM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- Classical KING FM 98.1 Listen Live