KBAY
Encyclopedia
KBAY is a radio station
licensed to Gilroy, California
, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area
. Its current format is Soft Rock It is owned by NextMedia Group
along with sister station, "Mix-106.5" KEZR-FM. Its studios are located in the heart of downtown San Jose at 190 Park Center Plaza #200, San Jose, CA 95113.
country
/rock
format. KFAT left the air in 1983 when the station flipped to CHR
. Santa Cruz
-area station KPIG
was heavily inspired by the legacy of KFAT.
KWSS, the successor of KFAT, was a well-regarded hit music station. They flipped to classic rock
as KUFX in the early 1990s.
. It ceased operation after a few years due to the scant number, in the 1950s, of Bay Area homes with UHF-capable television sets. Channel 20 returned to the air as KEMO, eventually becoming today's KOFY-TV.
Originally at 104.5 in the 1950s, KBAY 100.3 FM, became the market leader in San Jose and had a very strong listening audience in both the San Jose and San Francisco markets throughout the 1970s and '80s. Its easy listening format gave way to light jazz instrumentals and by the early 1990s, pop music was introduced. The Snell family guided the station and its sister, KEEN Country 1370 AM through the decades as United Broadcasting.
The Snells sold their 2 properties in 1997, and KBAY became a part of the American Radio Systems group which included KKSJ (the former KEEN), KUFX, and KSJO. Shortly thereafter, a 3-way swap of frequencies landed KBAY at 94.5 FM. KBAY then became known as "The Bay" for a couple of years. American Radio Systems sold KBAY to Infinity/CBS in 1999. In the early 2000s, the KBAY identity was replaced by B-94.5 "The Bee". This was an attempt to distance the station from the perceived "stigma" of its earlier life as an "elevator music
" station. In September of 2003, KBAY's owner CBS-Infinity Radio removed its "World Music" format called "The Wave" from its 93.3 frequency in order for KBAY to simulcast on it. Infinity moved the KBAY studios to San Francisco and 94.5 became legally identified as KBAA. The simulcast experiment lasted only a year much to the relief of its staff, largely from the South Bay. 93.3 was sold and became KRZZ with a Regional Mexican music format, and the KBAY call letters returned to 94.5. CBS-Infinity Radio sold KBAY and its sister Mix 106.5 KEZR FM to NextMedia Group in 2005.
KBAY maintains top ratings in the overall 6+ demographic, and in Persons 25 to 54 as well as the Persons 35 to 64 demographics. Its "listen-at-work" positioning and South Bay orientation are to its credit. Since 2005, Dana Jang has been its Program Director. Dana had significant success at legendary San Jose rock stations, KOME and KSJO, and most recently as the Chicago area Station Operations Manager for Next Media. Program Directors over the years include: Bob Kohtz 1970s-2001, Jim Murphy 2001-2005, Dana Jang 2005-present.
Some of the memorable voices from KBAY over the years have been Bob Kohtz (mornings or afternoons 1977-2006) (Bob also held the positions of Program Director and Music Director for many years, and was the Imaging Voice For The Famed "Good Morning Vietnam" Show), Dave Young (evenings 1975-1986), Hugo Schneider (weekends 1970s "Music from Germany and Around the World"), Lissa Kreisler (morning news and morning co-host since 1988), Bud Kelly (middays 1980s, began broadcasting in 1948 and was most recently on KLIV in San Jose), Brian Christian (middays mid-1990s), Don Potter (mornings mid-1990s, now on KUIC in Vacaville, CA), Kirk Patrick (mornings 2000-2005 now Program Director of WWWM-FM in Toledo, OH and the familiar voice of "Fry's Electronics" ads), Jona Denz-Hamilton (longtime South Bay announcer, KBAY middays 1996-2002 also from 2006-present), Sam Van Zandt (longtime San Francisco radio personality & host of TV's Candid Camera, now morning host 2005-present), Kim Vestal (longtime KARA morning host, KBAY middays 2002-2006, now doing Saturdays at KRTY in San Jose And Sundays on Livermore's 101.7 KKIQ), and Steve Fox (2003-2008). Lovesong specialist, Delilah, has garnered top ratings in her daypart with her internationally syndicated show on KBAY from 7pm until midnight.
This station's call letters were used in the Dean Koontz book "Fear Nothing" as a fictional radio station that employs one of the main characters. KBAY was used because the fictional setting is a small California beach town called Moonlight Bay.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Gilroy, California
Gilroy, California
Gilroy is the southernmost city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 48,821 at the 2010 census. Gilroy is well-known for its garlic crop and for the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, featuring various garlicky foods, including garlic ice cream. Gilroy also produces...
, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Its current format is Soft Rock It is owned by NextMedia Group
NextMedia Group
NextMedia Group is an out-of-home media company headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. NextMedia owns and operates 33 AM and FM stations , 5,700 outdoor advertising display across several regions and markets , as well as an interactive division ....
along with sister station, "Mix-106.5" KEZR-FM. Its studios are located in the heart of downtown San Jose at 190 Park Center Plaza #200, San Jose, CA 95113.
94.5 FM history
Prior to becoming KBAY, the station had undergone various incarnations. They are perhaps most notable as the former home of KFAT and its freeformFreeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
/rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
format. KFAT left the air in 1983 when the station flipped to CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
. Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
-area station KPIG
KPIG
KPIG-FM is a radio station located near the city of Santa Cruz, California, USA. Founded in 1988, the studio is based in Watsonville, California, and broadcasts to the counties of Santa Cruz and Monterey. It also has a radio repeater on 94.9 MHz FM in San Luis Obispo County as KPYG...
was heavily inspired by the legacy of KFAT.
KWSS, the successor of KFAT, was a well-regarded hit music station. They flipped to classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
as KUFX in the early 1990s.
KBAY Radio history
The KBAY call letters were originally assigned to a UHF television station (Channel 20), based in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. It ceased operation after a few years due to the scant number, in the 1950s, of Bay Area homes with UHF-capable television sets. Channel 20 returned to the air as KEMO, eventually becoming today's KOFY-TV.
Originally at 104.5 in the 1950s, KBAY 100.3 FM, became the market leader in San Jose and had a very strong listening audience in both the San Jose and San Francisco markets throughout the 1970s and '80s. Its easy listening format gave way to light jazz instrumentals and by the early 1990s, pop music was introduced. The Snell family guided the station and its sister, KEEN Country 1370 AM through the decades as United Broadcasting.
The Snells sold their 2 properties in 1997, and KBAY became a part of the American Radio Systems group which included KKSJ (the former KEEN), KUFX, and KSJO. Shortly thereafter, a 3-way swap of frequencies landed KBAY at 94.5 FM. KBAY then became known as "The Bay" for a couple of years. American Radio Systems sold KBAY to Infinity/CBS in 1999. In the early 2000s, the KBAY identity was replaced by B-94.5 "The Bee". This was an attempt to distance the station from the perceived "stigma" of its earlier life as an "elevator music
Elevator music
Elevator music refers to instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for playing in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, telephone systems , cruise ships, airports, doctors' and dentists' offices, and elevators...
" station. In September of 2003, KBAY's owner CBS-Infinity Radio removed its "World Music" format called "The Wave" from its 93.3 frequency in order for KBAY to simulcast on it. Infinity moved the KBAY studios to San Francisco and 94.5 became legally identified as KBAA. The simulcast experiment lasted only a year much to the relief of its staff, largely from the South Bay. 93.3 was sold and became KRZZ with a Regional Mexican music format, and the KBAY call letters returned to 94.5. CBS-Infinity Radio sold KBAY and its sister Mix 106.5 KEZR FM to NextMedia Group in 2005.
KBAY maintains top ratings in the overall 6+ demographic, and in Persons 25 to 54 as well as the Persons 35 to 64 demographics. Its "listen-at-work" positioning and South Bay orientation are to its credit. Since 2005, Dana Jang has been its Program Director. Dana had significant success at legendary San Jose rock stations, KOME and KSJO, and most recently as the Chicago area Station Operations Manager for Next Media. Program Directors over the years include: Bob Kohtz 1970s-2001, Jim Murphy 2001-2005, Dana Jang 2005-present.
Some of the memorable voices from KBAY over the years have been Bob Kohtz (mornings or afternoons 1977-2006) (Bob also held the positions of Program Director and Music Director for many years, and was the Imaging Voice For The Famed "Good Morning Vietnam" Show), Dave Young (evenings 1975-1986), Hugo Schneider (weekends 1970s "Music from Germany and Around the World"), Lissa Kreisler (morning news and morning co-host since 1988), Bud Kelly (middays 1980s, began broadcasting in 1948 and was most recently on KLIV in San Jose), Brian Christian (middays mid-1990s), Don Potter (mornings mid-1990s, now on KUIC in Vacaville, CA), Kirk Patrick (mornings 2000-2005 now Program Director of WWWM-FM in Toledo, OH and the familiar voice of "Fry's Electronics" ads), Jona Denz-Hamilton (longtime South Bay announcer, KBAY middays 1996-2002 also from 2006-present), Sam Van Zandt (longtime San Francisco radio personality & host of TV's Candid Camera, now morning host 2005-present), Kim Vestal (longtime KARA morning host, KBAY middays 2002-2006, now doing Saturdays at KRTY in San Jose And Sundays on Livermore's 101.7 KKIQ), and Steve Fox (2003-2008). Lovesong specialist, Delilah, has garnered top ratings in her daypart with her internationally syndicated show on KBAY from 7pm until midnight.
This station's call letters were used in the Dean Koontz book "Fear Nothing" as a fictional radio station that employs one of the main characters. KBAY was used because the fictional setting is a small California beach town called Moonlight Bay.