So, i have a question about a station, IMO, that could've lasted a bit longer. After all, the music did compliment KUBE's current stuff. And I know urban oldies was on the decline in '01. So, why didn't The Beat "go on" after October 2001? Was Seattle not racially diverse to support the format?
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95.7 The Beat
- Thread starter ksradiogeek
- Start date
Some of it has to do with "instant gratitifcation". Much like TV shows get about 8 seconds to "prove themselves" or they are tossed, same thing was happening at Cheap Channel with that frequency. Between the need for each person (whether local or regional) who needed to pee-on-the-hydrant to leave their mark on the format vs. the fact that nothing seemed to be on the air long enough to gain any following, it just kept changing.
History is FULL of shows that are considered icons today but nearly got canceled by trigger-happy executives who just wanted to "move on". M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore are two of them. I have always been grateful that we didn't chuck those aside so we could have been treated to "Too Close for Comfort" a few years earlier.
Same thing with formats.
It WAS a good format and fun to listen to.
History is FULL of shows that are considered icons today but nearly got canceled by trigger-happy executives who just wanted to "move on". M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore are two of them. I have always been grateful that we didn't chuck those aside so we could have been treated to "Too Close for Comfort" a few years earlier.
Same thing with formats.
It WAS a good format and fun to listen to.
Now that you ask the question, I can't remember who had 95.7 when it was the Beat? My MEMORY (not a substitute for fact, of course) is that I remember thinking CC would "tweak" the format and take it backward -- but that may have also been the case after it had migrated back to the KJR legacy Classic Hits (before CC took the KJR legacy out of it). Bob Case was running the format -- that much I remember. Just don't remember who was on the other end of his phone calls!
I believe Ackerley had 95.7, as well as 93.3, 104.9, AMs 950, and 850 during that time.
Does anyone remember the day that it signed on?
S
searadiofreak
Guest
LITTLEBOYBLUE said:
Don't forget "Cheers". It was 77th of 77 tv shows in the ratings at times during its first season. Then went on to be a Top10 show for most of its life.
As for The Beat, well it was a gamble for sure. However, there are only a few FM frequencies in Seattle that still maintain a strong identity over the decades. 99.9, 101.5, 102.5, and I would include 95.7 as a classic rock and/or oldies format. (OK, yes, 94.9 and 98.1, but they are in different categories).
gr229 said:
Tom Reddick and Bob Case were behind KKBY "The Y" down at the Eatonville station, 104.9. It was an Urban Oldies (Soul) format.
KUBE started out on the water down at Leschi because that station was the former KBLE-FM, a religious station. I know, I took a studio tour of KBLE and it was a beautiful venue for a radio studio. I wish KUBE was still there, what a cool location.
95.7 was Soft Rock K-light KLTX, and before that it was KIXI-FM---a simulcast of KIXI AM.
Here's what Wiki has on KJR: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KJR-FM
KIXI-FM ran a good mainstream (though a tad on the softer end) AC format from 1982 to 1986. KIXI AM/FM were split up and sold, KIXI-AM went to Noble (owners of then-KMGI), and KIXI-FM went to Thunder Bay (something, can't remember, before being sold off to Ackerley.) Calls were changed to KLTX. The format got tighter (and even softer, with more oldies.) and the once personality focused "KIXI Light" moved to the more "liner card" sound of "K-Lite". I hated it.
After the Ackerley takeover, the playlist got more a little more contemporary, but not much else. They flirted with Smooth Jazz ("City Lights", which tried to capture the Smooth Jazz crowd in those few years 1992-1994, after KKNW-FM gave up the ghost and 98.9 was pretty much adrift, still trying to figure out what it was, A B/EZ? Or a Smooth Jazzer? Before Carol Handley's return, they were a mess.)
The spring/summer of 1994 will always be remembered as a turning point in Puget Sound radio because:
1. KXRX became Young Country
2. K-Lite stunted as '80s formatted "The Northwest's New 95.7 FM" before launching as all '70s KJR-FM.
3. KUBE had dropped gangsta rap and went (almost) full blown alternative rock
4. KPLZ dropped CHR for AC "Star 101.5"
5. KISM flipped from CHR to AAA "Independent Rock"
6. KIRO-FM became separately programmed from AM (which would become "The Buzz" later that year.)
You don't normally find this many format changes and upheavals in one decade, let alone within six months of a single year. It was one CRAZY ride.
But back to 95.7. Over time up until 1999, KJR-FM gradually began including more '80s, then some '90s before revamping as "Mix 95.7" (KMBX). Then flipped to "95.7 The Beat" (KBTB) LOVED that station. But once Clear Channel finally took over 95.7, the station reverted to KJR-FM.....
After the Ackerley takeover, the playlist got more a little more contemporary, but not much else. They flirted with Smooth Jazz ("City Lights", which tried to capture the Smooth Jazz crowd in those few years 1992-1994, after KKNW-FM gave up the ghost and 98.9 was pretty much adrift, still trying to figure out what it was, A B/EZ? Or a Smooth Jazzer? Before Carol Handley's return, they were a mess.)
The spring/summer of 1994 will always be remembered as a turning point in Puget Sound radio because:
1. KXRX became Young Country
2. K-Lite stunted as '80s formatted "The Northwest's New 95.7 FM" before launching as all '70s KJR-FM.
3. KUBE had dropped gangsta rap and went (almost) full blown alternative rock
4. KPLZ dropped CHR for AC "Star 101.5"
5. KISM flipped from CHR to AAA "Independent Rock"
6. KIRO-FM became separately programmed from AM (which would become "The Buzz" later that year.)
You don't normally find this many format changes and upheavals in one decade, let alone within six months of a single year. It was one CRAZY ride.
But back to 95.7. Over time up until 1999, KJR-FM gradually began including more '80s, then some '90s before revamping as "Mix 95.7" (KMBX). Then flipped to "95.7 The Beat" (KBTB) LOVED that station. But once Clear Channel finally took over 95.7, the station reverted to KJR-FM.....
S
searadiofreak
Guest
FMSteve said:
Actually KIXI-FM was NOT a simulcast of KIXI-AM in the 80's. KIXI-FM had a unique AC format from 1981-1986, that was completely seperate from its AM sister.
...and that is true. I had on my 5 channel FM presets in 1983 1) 93.3 2) 95.7 3) 96.5 4) 99.9 and 5) 107.7 (Weird and unreliable, I listened to KRAB on 107.7 a LOT more than sometimes humanly tolerable.)
On AM, 1) 770 (KXA Until they went Religious) 2) 950 3) 1250 4) 1150 and 5) 1590 (KJET....How I STILL MISS this station) With occasional drop-ins on 1540, 1380, 880, 1510, 1400 (still in Tacoma), as well as the legendary CKLG 73O AM.
I floundered in between the presets (AM/FM) a lot. But I knew when things changed for the better.....or worse...
On AM, 1) 770 (KXA Until they went Religious) 2) 950 3) 1250 4) 1150 and 5) 1590 (KJET....How I STILL MISS this station) With occasional drop-ins on 1540, 1380, 880, 1510, 1400 (still in Tacoma), as well as the legendary CKLG 73O AM.
I floundered in between the presets (AM/FM) a lot. But I knew when things changed for the better.....or worse...
Does anyone remember the "Disco 95.7" April Fools stunt in the 90's?
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