KCMO-FM

KCMO-FM (94.9 MHz, "94-9 KCMO") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Shawnee, Kansas and serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. The station is owned by Cumulus Broadcasting and airs a classic hits radio format, switching to all-Christmas music from mid-November to December 25. KCMO-FM's studios and offices are located in the Corporate Woods area in Overland Park, Kansas. The transmitter is off Menown Avenue in Independence, Missouri.[1]

KCMO-FM
CityShawnee, Kansas
Broadcast areaKansas City Metropolitan Area
Frequency94.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding94-9 KCMO
SloganKansas City's Greatest Hits
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatClassic hits
HD2: Adult hits "102.5 Jack FM"
HD3: Talk (KCMO simulcast)
Ownership
OwnerCumulus Media
(CMP Houston-KC, LLC)
Sister stationsKCFX, KCHZ, KCJK, KCMO, KMJK, K279BI
History
First air dateFebruary 1948 (as KCFM)
Former call signsKCFM (1948-1950)
KCMO-FM (1950-1968)
KFMU (1968-1974
KCEZ (1974-1983)
KCMO-FM (1983-1985)
KBKC (1985-1986)
KCPW (1986-1989)
Call sign meaningKansas City, MissOuri
Technical information
Facility ID6385
ClassC0
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT341.1 meters (1,119 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°05′26″N 94°28′18″W
Translator(s)102.5 K273BZ (Kansas City, relays HD2)
Links
WebcastListen live
Listen Live iHeart
HD2: Listen live
Website949kcmo.com
HD2: 1025JackFM.com

KCMO-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio format, with its HD2 signal airing an adult hits format, known as "102.5 Jack FM," which is simulcast on 250 watt translator K273BZ at 102.5 MHz.[2] The talk radio format of AM sister station KCMO is carried on KCMO-FM's HD3 subchannel.

History

Early Years

One of the first FM stations in Kansas City, KCMO-FM signed on as KCFM in February 1948.[3] It simulcast 810 AM, at the time the frequency of KCMO (AM). During the "Golden Age of Radio," the stations aired ABC Radio Network dramas, comedies, news, sports, game shows, soap operas and big band broadcasts. The KCMO-FM call sign was granted in 1950, the first of several times the station would go by that call sign.

The Meredith Corporation bought KCMO-AM-FM in 1953. On July 23, 1959, as the days of network programming ended, KCMO-AM-FM adopted a full service, middle of the road (MOR) personality format.

Beautiful Music

On March 16, 1968, KCMO-FM separated its programming from 810 AM, and began airing a mostly instrumental beautiful music format as KCMU. In 1974, the station began adding a few vocals to the format and switched its call letters to KCEZ, "EZ 95".

In 1983, The Meredith Corporation, which had owned KCMO-AM-FM since 1953, sold both stations to Richard Fairbanks, a one-time owner of what is now WXIA-TV in Atlanta, Georgia, and the head of Fairbanks Broadcasting.[4]

Country Music and Top 40

On October 10, 1983, the station adopted a country music format as "KC 95."[5] The KCMO-FM call letters returned in 1984. The station gained attention when one of its billboards appeared in a Psychedelic Furs music video. Fairbanks sold both stations in 1985 to the Summit Communications Group. Summit changed KCMO-FM to a dance-leaning Top 40 format as KBKC, "B95", on July 26, 1985.[6][7]

The Gannett Company bought the station in 1986, shifting to a more adult-friendly mainstream Top 40 format as "Power 95 KCPW," on August 25 of that year.[8][9][10]

Switch to Oldies

On July 28, 1989, at 5 p.m., after playing "Don't Wanna Lose You" by Gloria Estefan, KCPW flipped to an oldies format as "Oldies 95," with the third use of the KCMO-FM call sign, acquired days before the switch. The first song on "Oldies 95" was "Kansas City" by Wilbert Harrison.[11][12]

Another oldies station serving Kansas City, 710 WHB, saw most of its listeners switch over to KCMO-FM in a matter of months, prompting that station's conversion to farm radio.

KCMO-FM Logo 1989-2005

In 1993, Gannett sold KCMO-AM-FM to Bonneville International, which also owned KMBZ and KLTH (now KZPT). Four years later, Bonneville sold all four of its Kansas City stations together with three radio stations in Seattle to Entercom Communications.

Cumulus Ownership

Susquehanna Radio bought KCMO-AM-FM from Entercom in 2000, as Entercom was forced to sell the KCMO stations after its purchase of Sinclair Broadcast Group's radio stations KQRC-FM, KXTR-FM and KCIY. That left Entercom with two stations over the Federal Communications Commission's single-market ownership limit. Susquehanna subsequently merged with Cumulus Media in mid-2006.

KCMO-FM enjoyed strong ratings throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, but in 2005 it became concerned that the name "oldies" appealed to older listeners, less attractive to advertisers. Ratings weren't an issue, as the station was often in the Top 10. The station dropped its "oldies" moniker in April 2005 and began calling its music "Greatest Hits", playing only mid-'60s to early-'80s music.

In the mid-2010s, KCMO began playing hits from the early 1990s, and scaled back music recorded before the 1970s.

KCMO-FM HD2

On February 14, 2011, the station turned on its HD2 sub-channel and launched an all-comedy format branded as "Funny 102.5." It is also heard on translator station K273BZ (102.5 FM), hence the 102.5 in the moniker. On January 2, 2013, 102.5 FM flipped to sports talk, branded as "102.5 The Fan."

On August 15, 2014, at 3 p.m., the station abruptly dropped the sports format in the middle of a sports update, and began a 7-minute countdown. After the countdown, 102.5/94.9-HD2 became one of the first network affiliates of the new Cumulus-owned "Nash Icon" format as 102.5 Nash Icon, playing country hits from the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s. "Nash Icon" began with "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker.

On November 2, 2015, at midnight, after playing "You Ain't Much Fun" by Toby Keith, 102.5/94.9-HD2 changed its format to alternative rock, branded as "102.5 The Underground", beginning with "Kansas City" by The New Basement Tapes. With the change, 102.5/94.9-HD2 became the first Nash/Nash Icon station to drop the format.[13]

On June 15, 2016, at 7:30 a.m., after playing "Up & Up" by Coldplay, 102.5/94.9-HD2 swapped formats with co-owned KCJK, adopting that station's adult hits format, and rebranded as "102.5 Jack FM", while the alternative format moved to KCJK. The first song after the move was "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones.[14]

KCMO-FM HD3

KCMO-FM's HD3 subchannel is a simulcast of talk-formatted KCMO 710 AM.

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gollark: Yes, that's possible, except you can put in someone else's.
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gollark: Yes, but people are unlikely to do that.
gollark: Trouble is that my system doesn't actually know what scroll an egg is from.

References
  1. "Predicted Coverage Area for KCMO 94.9 FM". radio-locator.com. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  2. "K273BZ-FM 102.5 MHz - Bonner Springs, Kansas". radio-locator.com. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  3. "Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 189" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  4. "Broadcasting Yearbook 1985 page B-157" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. "Goodbye, beautiful music; howdy, country at KCEZ", The Kansas City Star, October 11, 1983.
  6. "R&R Magazine - 07-19-1985 - Page 8" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. 19 July 1985. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  7. Barry Garron, "KCMO-FM dropping country", The Kansas City Star, July 11, 1985.
  8. "R&R Magazine 09-05-1986 Page 15" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. 5 September 1986. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  9. "KBKC-FM tries on new call letters", The Kansas City Star, August 28, 1986.
  10. Barry Garron, "KBKC-FM looks for mass appeal", The Kansas City Star, August 5, 1986.
  11. "R&R Magazine 08-04-1989 Page 4" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. 4 August 1989. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  12. Barry Garron, "Power-95 switches to an oldies format", The Kansas City Star, July 31, 1989.
  13. "Alternative Underground Comes To Kansas City". radioinsight.com. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  14. "X105.1 Debuts In Kansas City; Jack Moves To 102.5". radioinsight.com. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2019.

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