KZON
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| KZON | |
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| City of license | Phoenix, Arizona |
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| Broadcast area | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Branding | 101.5 JAMZ |
| Slogan | Blazin The Valley's Hitz and Hip-Hop |
| Frequency | 101.5 (MHz) (Also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | June 22, 2007 |
| Format | Rhythmic Contemporary |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 530 meters |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 63913 |
| Callsign meaning | K ariZONa (although previously ZON stood for the "Zone" format) |
| Owner | CBS Radio |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.1015jams.com |
KZON is a commercial radio station located in Phoenix, Arizona, broadcasting on 101.5 FM. KZON airs a Rhythmic CHR format branded as "101.5 Jamz".
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[edit] History
In the 1980s the station was better known as KMXX (Mix 101.5). By 1992 it switched to Triple-A as "The Zone", a moniker it would carry throughout its incarnations of modern rock, modern Adult Top 40, Adult Top 40 and back to modern rock in 2000. From January 3, 2006 to June 21, 2007, it carried the Free FM Hot talk format, which proved to be a failure in the market, especially when talk radio station KTAR moved to FM in January 2007.
Rumors of a format change came true on June 22, 2007, when the station stopped its normal broadcasts and began playing music by Paris Hilton exclusively, while starting a petition on its website to free Hilton, who was in prison at the time [1]. The move was seen by many as a form of stunting to generate attention before a formal switch in formats. Eventually, KZON switched to a Rhythmic CHR format. The first song played after the initial announcement was "Party Like a Rockstar" by the Shop Boyz.
KZON's flip to Rhythmic also sent a message to KKFR, telling them that the "Power" has been turned off (in reference to KKFR's frequency switch from 92.3 to 98.3) and "Where Hip Hop USED to Live". To add insult to injury, KZON also boast on air as playing "100,000 watts of 'Static-Free' Hip-Hop" and borrowed the "Mac Vs. PC" ad campaign in which KZON billed itself as the "Mac" to KKFR's "PC." In addition, they are also poised to take on Top 40 rival KZZP and to a lesser extent, multi-formatted KNRJ and Rhythmic AC KMVA. In response to KZON's debut and full-powered signal range, KKFR PD Bruce St. James isn't worried, and in a statement with the Arizona Republic, "What are they going to do?" he asks. "Play more hip-hop than us? Really, I think we'll be OK."[2]
[edit] Airstaff
The station added DJs to its lineup on August 6, 2007, when Krazy Kid & Ruben S. took over the morning slot.
The Airshifts are as follows:
- 6:00am - 10:00am Kid and Ruben In The Morning
- 10:00am - 2:00pm Jackie Morales
- 2:00pm - 6:00pm Strawberry On The Radio
- 6:00pm - 10:00pm Nessa @ Night
- 10:00pm - 1:00am The Vibe w/ Sugabear
[edit] As 101.5 Free FM
On December 23, 2005, it was announced that KZON would adopt CBS Radio's Free FM format, featuring mostly nationally-syndicated hot talk shows like Adam Carolla and The Tom Leykis Show. The station switched from Modern Rock to the male-targeted format, with rock music played during overnights and weekends. On January 3, 2006, KZON reduced the music content and began to add more talk shows to the weekend lineup, and a taped Tom Leykis episode airing overnights.
At first, CBS Radio had high hopes that this format would do well in Phoenix, even with a promotional campaign that came along with it. But after it debuted with the Free FM concept, KZON became a ratings liability for CBS Radio and was a failure in the market, thus sparking rumors of a format flip to "Hitz and Hip Hop" modeled after CBS' high rated WBBM-FM/Chicago (B96). The switch occurred on June 21, 2007, preceded by 24 hours of music by Paris Hilton while she was serving jail-time during this tenure.
KZON was the fourth station to drop the Free FM format, following KSCF in San Diego, California, which flipped to Adult Top 40, sister station and former Free FM flagship WFNY/New York City, who returned to Active rock and its original call letters WXRK (K-Rock 92.3), and KIFR/San Francisco, who picked up the KFRC-FM calls and Classic Hits format from their sister station (which is now KMVQ) after it dropped the aforementioned format several months earlier.
As with many format changes in radio, there has been a backlash from fans of Free FM who would like to see the station and its personalities return. [3] [4] The former Free FM website now links to the stream of KLSX "97.1 Free FM" in Los Angeles (where Carolla and Leykis originate)[5].
[edit] Former logo
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Announcement of changeover to Free FM
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KZON
- Radio Locator information on KZON
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for KZON
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