KDFG is a non-commercial

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

in Seaside, California, broadcasting to the Santa Cruz-

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...

, area on 103.9 FM. Owned by the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, the station broadcasts a

format as a full-time simulcast of KDFC in San Francisco.

History

The station's studio was originally in Monterey while its transmitter was located on Mount Toro, south of Salinas. In 2002,

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

station KMBY-FM moved from

104.3 FM The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 104.3 MHz: Argentina * La Hormiga in Rosario, Santa Fe * Liverpool in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires * LRM424 Platino in Las Rosas, Santa Fe * LRP759 Ciudad in San Javier, Santa Fe * LRS341 ...

to 103.9 FM. Its format eventually evolved into a hybrid of

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, and hip hop, and it was branded as ''X103.9''. On February 9, 2008, the

programming of KBOQ (branded as ''K-Bach'') moved from 95.5 FM to 103.9 FM, displacing KMBY's programming. On February 14, 2008, the station temporarily changed its call sign to

KKHK KKHK (95.5 FM, "Bob FM") is a commercial radio station in Carmel, California, broadcasting to the Santa Cruz-Monterey-Salinas, California area on 95.5 FM. Owned by Stephens Media Group, through licensee SMG-Monterey, LLC, it broadcasts an Alte ...

. It then swapped its call sign with 95.5 FM, gaining the KBOQ call sign, on February 26, 2008. On October 17, 2011, KBOQ changed its format from classical to soft

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

without warning, branded as ''B103.9''. In May 2014, Mapleton Communications agreed to sell KBOQ to Saul Levine's

Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc. Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc., a subsidiary of Mt. Wilson Broadcasting Inc., is a Los Angeles-based radio broadcasting company owned by Saul Levine. The company was founded in 1959, and Levine is the only independent operator of an FM commer ...

for $200,000. Mapleton had to divest one station after buying

KWAV KWAV (96.9 MHz "K-Wave 96.9") is a commercial FM radio station in Monterey, California, broadcasting to the Salinas - Monterey - Santa Cruz region of Central California. It is owned by Stephens Media Group and it broadcasts an adult contempor ...

from Buckley Broadcasting. That July, the website ''q1039thehits.com'' was registered, leading to reports of a format change to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

as ''Q103.9''. On September 5, 2014, upon officially being bought by Mount Wilson FM, the station's branding did change to Q103.9 but flipped to

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

instead of contemporary hits. In June 2016, the

purchased KBOQ for $475,000. The 103.9 frequency became part of USC's classical music radio network, while Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters retained the KBOQ call letters. The station changed its call letters to KDFG on August 26, 2016; on August 31, the station changed its format to back to classical, simulcasting the programming of KDFC.

Additional frequencies

In addition to KDFG, the programming of KDFC is transmitted by these stations and translators to widen its broadcast area. * KDFC — 90.3 FM, licensed to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

* KXSC — 104.9 FM, licensed to

Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...

KOSC KOSC (89.9 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Angwin, California, United States, and serving the Santa Rosa area. The station broadcasts a classical music format as a full-time simulcast of KDFC in San Francisco. It is owned by t ...

— 89.9 FM, licensed to

Angwin, California Angwin is a census-designated place (CDP) in Napa County, California, best known as the site of Pacific Union College. It is part of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 3,051 at the 2010 census. Its area code is 707. Its two zi ...

K212AA K, or k, is the eleventh letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''kay'' (pronounced ), plural ''kays''. The letter K u ...

— 90.3 FM, licensed to

Los Gatos, California Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of the ...

K223AJ K, or k, is the eleventh letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''kay'' (pronounced ), plural ''kays''. The letter K u ...

— 92.5 FM, licensed to Lakeport, California

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References

External links

* {{Santa Cruz Radio DFG Radio stations established in 1995 1995 establishments in California University of Southern California Classical music radio stations in the United States