KJMH (107.5 FM, branded as "107 Jamz") 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 ...

broadcasting an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

format. Licensed to

Lake Arthur, Louisiana Lake Arthur is a town in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,738 at the 2010 census, down from 3,007 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jennings Micropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor is Sherry ...

, United States, the station serves Lake Charles and the surrounding

Southwest Louisiana Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) is a five-parish area intersecting the Acadiana and Central Louisiana regions in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is composed of the following parishes (counties): Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Dav ...

area. The station is currently owned by

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

and licensed to Townsquare Media Lake Charles License, LLC. The station's studios are located on North Lakeshore Drive, just northwest of downtown Lake Charles, and its transmitter is located southeast of

Iowa, Louisiana Iowa () is a town in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,436 in 2020. It is part of the Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lake Charles Lake Charles metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area. ...

History

In 1997,

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

's KRXZ now

KHXT KHXT (107.9 FM, "HOT 107.9") is a Rhythmic Top 40 radio station serving the Lafayette area. The Townsquare Media outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 97 kW and is licensed to Erath, Louisiana. Its studios are located on Bertrand Road in La ...

switched frequencies from 107.7 to 107.9, opening up the door for a new station in Lake Charles to be operated at 107.5 MHz without any interference. Progressive Communications, Inc. filed for a full power station at 107.5 and was granted one by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) within weeks. After months of construction, the station finally signed on the air on October 10, 1997, as "Krawfish 107" with the callsigns KRAW. Sometime in 2000, Krawfish 107, along with sister stations LA99 (now Gator 99.5), KJEF 92.9 (now 92-9 The Lake) and KJEF 1290 AM were sold to Apex Broadcasting, Inc., a small radio station company based in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. On August 1, 2000, Apex Broadcasting flipped 107.5 from Country to Urban Contemporary as ''"V107.5"'' with the callsigns changed to KVEE. There are many reasons why the format was switched. Krawfish 107 was likely put on the air only to cut into Kicks 96's ratings. It was basically all just to cover for LA99; Krawfish 107's sister station. LA99 was always the popular AC station in Lake Charles, beating out B104 (now Rhythmic Top 40 Hot 103.3) but never Kicks 96. And for Progressive Communications, Inc. to put Country on 107.5 would be a win-win situation to keep those ratings going to LA99. On February 26, 2004, the format was changed again, as "107 Jamz" with the callsigns changed to KJMH and expanding the format to include Hip Hop. In 2008, Apex Broadcasting sold the station, along with sister stations KHLA, KJEF,

KLCL KLCL (1470 AM) is a radio station licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media ...

KNGT KNGT (99.5 FM, "Gator 99.5") is a radio station licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, broadcasting a country music format. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media. The station is home to Mike Soileau and Chad Austin in th ...

, and KTSR to Gap Broadcasting, LLC. What eventually became Gap Central Broadcasting (following the formation of

GapWest Broadcasting Gap Broadcasting Group was a group of companies that owned around 116 broadcast stations (including 1 low-power television station and 5 low-power stations) in 23 radio markets in northwestern and central southern United States in the late 2000s. ...

) was folded into

on August 13, 2010.

References

External links

JMH Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States Townsquare Media radio stations {{Louisiana-radio-station-stub