KXRK

KOVO, Inc., received the construction permit for a radio station on 96.1 MHz in Provo on May 9, 1966. The new FM outlet took the call letters KFMC and signed on February 14, 1968.[1] KOVO and KFMC were placed in receivership in 1973,[2] after Glenn C. Shaw sued co-owner Ashley J. Robison asking for a financial accounting of KOVO, Inc.'s operations; when the case could not be settled, the stations were ordered into receivership and bids were accepted to buy the company. Both owners placed bids, but they were beaten out by First Media Corporation of Washington, D.C., whose principal was a former Utah resident[3] and which also had J.W. Marriott Jr. as an investor.[4] However, First Media did not become the owner of KOVO-KFMC until 1976 because the other parties appealed the district court's decision all the way to the Utah Supreme Court.[4]

First Media immediately made a mark on the operations of both stations, changing the call letters of KFMC to KAYK-FM on June 1, 1976. KAYK-AM-FM simulcast as adult contemporary outlet "K-96".[5] The stations remained a simulcast until 1980, when 960 AM broke off as KDOT.[6] The call letters were changed to KFMY in 1981, but the station moved in a contemporary hit radio direction.[7] K-96 was Glenn Beck's first job out of high school; Beck worked at the station for six months in 1983 before leaving Provo.[8]

In 1987, First Media announced it would sell its 11 radio stations, including KFMY-AM-FM, to a partnership of Alaskan Eskimos and New York investors, known as Cook Inlet; this gave First Media a tax break under policies that promoted minority ownership of radio stations.[9]

Under Cook Inlet, KFMY-FM flipped to oldies in 1988 as KZOL.[10] The Great Stock Company of Vast International Import acquired KFMY-KZOL in 1990 from Cook Inlet for $972,000.[11]

The slumping KZOL, however, went through a major change in 1992, precipitated as much by events at another Salt Lake City-area station as by its own poor performance. In late 1991, 23 of the 25 disc jockeys at alternative outlet KJQN-FM (95.5), known as "KJQ", quit after the station hired a new general manager, making them question the ownership's commitment to its "modern music" format.[12] The result was that on February 13, 1992, with the financial backing of concert promoter J. C. McNeil, many of the former KJQ airstaff, organizing as the Acme Broadcasting Company, started a new alternative rocker on the former KZOL as KXRK "X96".[13] The Great Stock Company said that because of KZOL's unsatisfactory ratings performance as an adult contemporary outlet, it was willing to entertain brokering the station to Acme, which retained KZOL's sales and office staff but none of its air personalities.[13]

The result was an unusual[12] format war between "new rock outlets" which ended when KJQN-FM flipped to CHR in October.[14] Ex-KJQ DJs on the new X96 included Bill Allred (mornings), Dom Casual (mornings), Andrea Gappmayer (mid-day), Mike Summers (afternoon), Todd Nuke'em (evening) and Chet Tapp (overnight).[15] Acme acquired the station from Great Stock in 1993 for $925,000; the application included a copy of a lawsuit filed by the former KJQN-FM, alleging that its former employees took equipment, including a live truck known as the "Milk Beast", when they defected, and that the ex-KJQ staffers used KJQN-owned trademarks and made defamatory remarks about their former station.[16]

Since fall 1995, X96 has hosted an annual all-day music festival called the Big Ass Show (BASh) featuring nationally touring alternative and punk bands, as well as providing a stage for local bands. In 1996, X96 underwent a major technical overhaul, moving to 96.3 MHz[17] from a transmitter on Farnsworth Peak, increasing its coverage area (particularly in Utah County).

In April 1998, Acme sold KXRK to Simmons Media Group.[18] Simmons moved X96 to studios located on the corner of Broadway and 2nd West in Salt Lake City. In its 2006 summer double issue, Rolling Stone named KXRK one of five "awesome rock outlets" that were thriving in their markets despite a recent contraction in rock radio stations across the United States.[19]

In 2014, Broadway Media acquired Simmons Media Group for $11 million after having taken over operations the previous year.[20] Broadway moved X96 and its sister stations to new studios on 50 W. Broadway (300 S.) in downtown Salt Lake City; the company currently houses seven stations at this location.