KKWD

KKWD (104.9 FM, "Alice 104.9") is an adult hits radio station serving the Oklahoma City area. The Cumulus Media outlet broadcasts at 104.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 6 kW and is licensed to Bethany, Oklahoma. Its studios are in Northwest Oklahoma City, and the transmitter is on the Westside.

History

Early years

The station was on the air as Top 40 KNBQ in 1965 from the Coronado Shopping Center at 39th and MacArthur (NE Corner). In 1971 the station flipped to gospel and changed its call sign to KGOY (K-JOY). In 1978 the station was broadcasting inspirational music, then switched to a Christian Adult Contemporary format with the call sign KJIL ("Jesus Is Lord"). Shortly after being bought by Broadcast Equities, the station call sign was changed to KNTL ("News Talk Leader") on March 19, 1990. On April 20, 1991, KNTL became "The Light 105" and began broadcasting a contemporary Christian music format. Bott Radio Network acquired the station in November 1994, and kept the format until 1996, when it became Christian Teaching.

Citadel Broadcasting purchased the station, along with "SportsRadio 640" WWLS-AM and "Sports Talk 1340" KEBC, in 1998. The purchase was finalized May 4, 1998, but the format was changed in advance (January 17, 1998) to Sports–Talk. The station was known as WWLS-FM ("The Sports Animal”), a mirror of WWLS-AM, but on April 11, 2002, the Sports Animal moved to 105.3 FM. WWLS-FM then became "K-Bull" with the calls KQBL and adopted a country format. The country format did not last long; on December 26, 2002, the station returned to sports-talk “WWLS The Sports Animal." The station still operated under the KQBL calls until the WWLS-FM calls returned on March 6, 2003.

WILD 104.9

On October 23, 2006, KKWD swapped frequencies with sister station WWLS-FM and moved to the 104.9 frequency from 97.9 FM in order to have a new high definition signal. Under its rhythmic contemporary format, KKWD primarily competed with Top 40 rival KJYO, as well as rimshot urban contemporary rival KVSP.

KKWD has been known for its outlandish stunts since its January 2000 launch, such as the April Fools' Day stunts where the on-air announcers from sister KINB performed all shifts in Spanish and where the station ran a continuous loop of the song " Wild Thing" by Tone Lōc for two consecutive weeks. Most recently, after a change in on-air presentation, the station was "quarantined" by a fictional government agency due to the possibility of an "epidemic" among the station's staff; at the end of the stunt it was revealed that the station in fact had "Spring Fever" in reference to an upcoming station concert.

Citadel Broadcasting relinquished 11 of its radio stations including KKWD to The Last Bastion Station Trust, LLC upon merger of many ABC Radio stations. However, as of June 19, 2008, Arbitron has expanded Oklahoma City's market definition allowing Citadel to own 5 FM stations in the said area, at which time Citadel Broadcasting applied to re-acquire KKWD from The Last Bastion Station Trust, LLC with the FCC. According to FCC documents, KKWD was re-absorbed into Citadel's station portfolio on July 9, 2009.

Following the purchase of Citadel Broadcasting by Cumulus Media in September 2011, KKWD's format was tweaked to focus heavier on older, more familiar hits from the past fifteen years with a de-emphasis on newer music and only adding currents by high-profile artists and/or are chart-toppers. In early 2016, the station was tweaked back to its original current-focused format.

Alice 104.9

At approximately 3:10 p.m. on May 23, 2022, after playing " Freaky Deaky" by Tyga and Doja Cat, KKWD began stunting with construction sounds. At 5 p.m., KKWD flipped to adult hits, branded as "Alice 104.9". The flip brings the format and "Alice" moniker back to the market for the first time since KQOB dropped it nearly six months prior as part of Cumulus ending a local marketing agreement with that station's owners (KQOB now airs a news/talk format simulcasting KZLS). The first song on the revived "Alice" was "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey.Alice Returns to Oklahoma City as Wild 104.9 Departs
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References

External links

KKWD website

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KWD
Adult hits radio stations in the United States
Cumulus Media radio stations
Radio stations established in 1965