KKND (FM)
KKND (106.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Port Sulphur, Louisiana, and serving the New Orleans metropolitan area. The Cumulus Media station airs a classic hits radio format. The studios and offices are located at the Place St. Charles building in Downtown New Orleans.
| City | Port Sulphur, Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | New Orleans metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 106.7 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 106.7 The Krewe |
| Slogan | New Orleans' Classic Hits |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic hits |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC) |
| Sister stations | KMEZ, WRKN, WZRH |
| History | |
| First air date | July 4, 1989 (as KQLD) |
| Former call signs | KQLD (September 27, 1989-September 10, 1993) KGTR (September 10, 1993-August 26, 1994) KLJZ (August 26, 1994-September 27, 96) KKND (September 27, 1996-May 29, 2008) KXOS (May 29-June 10, 2008) KMEZ (June 10, 2008-December 17, 2018) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 58395 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 98,000 watts 100,000 with beam tilt |
| HAAT | 299 meters (981 ft) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 1067thekrewe.com |
The transmitter site is on Delacroix Highway (Route 300) in St. Bernard, Louisiana.[1] The effective radiated power (ERP) is 98,000 watts (100,000 with beam tilt).[2]
History
On July 4, 1989, the station signed on the air as KQLD.[3] It was owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group and aired an oldies format. The station rarely stayed with the same format for more than a few years. Some of the other formats included urban gospel, country and smooth jazz.
It was modern rock KKND ("106.7 The End") from September 1996 to August 29, 2005.[4] On that day, Hurricane Katrina struck the area and took the station's transmitter off the air. Original disc jockeys on The End were Laura Jones, Rod Ryan (who went on to KTBZ-FM Houston) and Jason Ginty (who switched to WZRH LaPlace/New Orleans). Some other notable air personalities to work on the station throughout the years were Denver Crabb, Darren Gauthier, Matt West and Wolfgang Velasco.
On January 8, 2006, KKND returned to the air with its new format, "Rockin' Country 106.7," a move that upset fans of The End. The format combined country music and classic rock.[5] During this time, Scot Spinnato was an on-air personality during the day. He was a former member of the Rod Ryan morning show cast.
In early 2007, the station dropped the rock part of the format and became all-country, with the new slogan "New Country First." The station personalities were Trapper John, Darlas Rai, Chris Clare, Jim Patrick, Jason Peavy, and Chase Adams.
On December 26, 2007, KKND rebranded as "Fresh Country Favorites, 106-7 The Wolf." The last song as "106-7 KKND" was Kenny Chesney's "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems", while the first song as "The Wolf" was Shania Twain's "You're Still The One."
On May 20, 2008, at 2:50 p.m., the station dropped its country format, with the last song being Sara Evans' "Suds in the Bucket." It went silent for one minute and then began simulcasting sister station 102.9 KMEZ. The song "(Olivia) Lost and Turned Out" by The Whispers was the first song under the simulcast. When the simulcast began, the station changed monikers to "Old School 106.7." KMEZ moved full-time to the 106.7 signal from its former home at 102.9 on July 3, 2008, after nearly two months of simulcasting. 102.9 then became rhythmic contemporary "Power 102.9."
The station has had many call signs in its history including KQLD while airing an oldies format (1988-1993; the first FM oldies station in New Orleans), KGTR (under its first run as a country station as "106.7 the Gator"), KLJZ as "Smooth Jazz 106.7", KKND under both a Modern Rock format and a second run as a country station, a short 13-day run as KXOS and KMEZ broadcasting a gold-based Urban AC format as "Z 102.9".
In December 2013, KMEZ picked up the rights to carry the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show. Joyner had previously been heard on competitor 98.5 WYLD-FM.
On December 6, 2018, KMEZ moved from 106.7 back to its original frequency of 102.9, displacing hip-hop music station "Power 102.9" KKND. KMEZ simulcasted on both frequencies until a new format debuted on the 106.7 FM frequency. On December 17, 2018, KMEZ and KKND swapped call letters.[6]
On January 3, 2019, KKND split from its simulcast with KMEZ and launched a classic hits format, branded as "106.7 The Krewe."[7] That move put KKND in competition with long-time classic hits station WTIX-FM.
Previous logos
References
External links
- KKND in the FCC's FM station database
- KKND on Radio-Locator
- KKND in Nielsen Audio's FM station database