KIOT (102.5 FM, "Coyote 102.5") is an American

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 radi ...

licensed to

Los Lunas, New Mexico Los Lunas is a village in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population is 14,835 inside the village limits due to the new housing developments at El Cerro de Los Lunas (Huning Ranch). It is the county ...

, and serving the

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

and Santa Fe radio markets broadcasting a

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

format with music from the late 1960s through the early 2000s. The station is owned by American General Media. Its studios are located in Northeast Albuquerque (a mile north of Central Avenue) 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

KIOT first launched in 1991 with an eclectic Triple-A format called "The Coyote". The callsign and format originated in late 1990 on 102.3 in Espanola after the station was purchased by KLSK founder Bill Sims and programmer Jack Kolkmeyer. The name "coyote" and KIOT callsign was selected to associate it as: "The coyote embodies the wild, free spirit that is the very soul and music of the world." KIOT used translators in Albuquerque before 102.5 signed on in 1994. The KIOT callsign moved to the Los Lunas station on August 5, 1994. In 1995 it was purchased by

Simmons Media Group Redrock Media is a media company based/their headquarters in St. George, Utah, in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental Unite ...

from Wizard Broadcasting for 1.6 million dollars. On September 1, 1995 the station switched to a classic rock format branded as " Arrow 102.5" but kept the KIOT callsign. In Fall 2002 it was sold to Hispanic Broadcasting (which later became Univision Radio in 2003) and renamed "Coyote" matching the callsign the original owners had given it but continued the classic rock format focused mostly on the 1960s and 1970s. By the late-2000s the station had added some rock tracks from the 1990s and early-2000s with a lot more 1980s rock putting it in more direct competition with

KZRR KZRR (94.1 FM, "94 Rock") is a commercial radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, broadcasting to the Albuquerque- Santa Fe, New Mexico, area. KZRR airs an mainstream rock radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studios and ...

"94 Rock". In 2010, the station gave former KZRR morning co-host Erica Viking her own morning show that later also featured "Big Benny" (now at KABG) until 2013 now co-hosted by "The Hoff". In previous years the station just featured a "music in the morning" approach. The station hosts some local live events including the annual "Rockalypse" featuring classic rock cover bands which began in 2013. On June 14, 2017, American General Media announced that it would acquire KIOT and sister stations KKSS and KKRG-FM from Univision, making them part of a cluster with KABG,

KLVO KLVO (97.7 MHz) is an FM radio station serving Central New Mexico. It is licensed to Belen, New Mexico, and is owned by American General Media. Its studios are located in Northeast Albuquerque, and its transmitter is located west of Los Lu ...

and KARS/K275AO. The sale price for the Univision cluster was $5 million, down from $22.5 million paid in 2002. The sale was approved on August 23, 2017, and consummated on September 1, 2017. The radio station was briefly referenced in the season four premiere episode of Breaking Bad During one scene in a vehicle, a traffic report is given and the announcer says "on The Coyote". The show is set and filmed in Albuquerque.

References

External links

{{Santa Fe Radio IOT Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1993 1993 establishments in New Mexico