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KDRF (103.3
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
) is a
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 Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is owned by
Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...
and has an adult hits format as "Ed FM" and uses the slogan "playing stuff we like". Its studios are located in
Downtown Albuquerque Downtown Albuquerque is the central business district of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It is where a significant number of the city's highrise buildings are located, and is the center of government and business for the Greater Albuq ...
and the transmitter tower is located atop
Sandia Crest Sandia Crest, also known locally as Sandia Peak or simply as the Crest, is a mountain ridge that, at , is the highpoint of the Sandia–Manzano Mountains, and is located in the Sandia Mountains of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. ...
east of the city.


History

;Early history The 103.3 frequency signed on in 1987 as KIDI with a Spanish-language contemporary music format. In January 1992 the Guadalajara Chili Pepper Company sold KIDI to Ramar Communications for $1 million along with a construction permit for TV channel 50 (then identified as KBQE). By September 1992 it switched to a
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
format as KASY ("Y-103/Cat Country") to challenge
KRST KRST (92.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a country music radio format. The radio studios and offices are located in Downtown Albuquerque. KRST has an effective radiat ...
. In March 1996, Ramar Communications sold KASY-FM to
Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...
for five million dollars. The following month Citadel also acquired KRST and KRZY AM & FM from Crescent Communications for 23 million dollars and by October of that year Citadel divested both KRZY stations to a Spanish language broadcaster. KRST kept the new country format and 103.3 became KTBL ("K-Bull") which played
classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...
. This gave Citadel complete dominance over the popular country music radio market in Albuquerque until 2000, when
Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
launched KBQI-FM "Big I 107.9" to challenge KRST which had also hired morning personalities Tony Lynn and Miles Copeland. KRST saw its ratings slashed as a result. In 2001, Citadel then moved to challenge Clear Channel's hold on rock radio in Albuquerque by changing the formats on 103.3 and 96.3. ;103.3 The Zone In February 2001, 103.3 dropped its classic country format and moved the KTBL callsign and format over to
1050 Year 1050 (Roman numerals, ML) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Hedeby is sacked by King Harald Hardrada, Harald III (Hardrada) of Kingdom of ...
AM. After stunting from February 12–14 with all
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative ...
, U2 and
Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...
each day, 103.3 launched as "The Zone" at 10am on February 15 with
Running Up That Hill "Running Up That Hill", titled "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" on some releases, is a song by the British singer and songwriter Kate Bush. It was released in the United Kingdom as the lead single from Bush's album ''Hounds of Love'' on ...
by
Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...
as the first song played. The callsign was changed to KTZO on February 19. KTZO originally had an
adult alternative An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
music format, playing in 20 song sets as a "quality rock" station. The Zone was designed to challenge Clear Channel's KPEK-FM "The Peak", which was playing mostly "softer"
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
bands at the time, but still played a great deal of pop songs targeted at a mostly female audience. Like its eventual successor, KTZO attempted to run without DJs until late 2001, when it had added an airstaff which included former
KTEG KTEG (104.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "The Edge") is a radio station broadcasting an alternative rock radio format, format. Licensed to Santa Fe, New Mexico, it serves the Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico metropolitan area. The station ...
morning host, Micheal Moxey, in morning drive. Other personalities included Don Kelly, Leah Black, Scott Souhrada, and later Forrest, Brian and Kit Missile. The format shifted to
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 ...
in early 2003, adding hard rock acts such as
System of a Down System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...
and
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...
, but also keeping bands like
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
from its old format and also playing 1990s alternative bands such as
Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
and
Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...
as well as modern bands including
The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...
,
Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...
and
The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...
which were not heard on other local stations. It also held an annual "Battle of the Bands" competition for local bands. The winner received regular airplay on the station. Soular gained a local fanbase after winning the first competition in 2002. Feels Like Sunday and Hollis Wake won later contests. The format drew decent Arbitron ratings and was often well ahead of KTEG (which at the time skewed toward active rock). ;103.3 Fred FM/Ed FM KDRF was originally launched on December 30, 2004, as "Fred FM", but in March 2005,
XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...
claimed the name "
Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...
" to be a trademark of their classic alternative station. The name was then shortened to "Ed" to avoid fighting a costly legal battle. The station has no DJs and has a wide playlist of
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
hits from the early 1970s to the present. KDRF is also streamed online. Since 2015, eD FM does "80s Throwback" playing all hits from the 1980s about every other weekend. Joe Cipriano had been the station imaging voice for many years. In April 2007, eD-FM enlisted Tom Dickson of Blendtec to do a
Will It Blend? ''Will It Blend?'' is a viral marketing campaign consisting of a series of infomercials demonstrating the Blendtec line of blenders, particularly the ''Total Blender''. In the show, Blendtec founder Tom Dickson attempts to blend various unusual ...
version to promote the station. The three 30-second commercials show different styles of music CDs being blended, showcasing the station's variety format. The commercials aired on all Albuquerque TV stations over a four-week period. The commercials returned in late 2007 after the first campaign saw improved ratings for the station. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011. On December 2, 2021, KDRF added the Greg Beharrell show in which bits of the show air throughout the day. Beharrell also became the new imagining voice for the station. ;History of the KTZO call letters The KTZO call letters originated in San Francisco in the 1980s, when
James Gabbert James Gabbert (born 1936 in Chico, California) is a radio and television engineer and entrepreneur, California Broadcasters Association 1994 Broadcaster of the Year, and past president of the National Radio Broadcasters Association. He has owned ...
owned the TV station, which is now
KOFY-TV KOFY-TV (channel 20) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as an affiliate of the Grit network. It is owned by CNZ Communications, LLC, alongside Class A station KCNZ ...
.


References


External links


Ed FM websiteWill It Blend? YouTube video
{{Cumulus Media Adult hits radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations DRF Radio stations established in 1987