KMXZ-FM (94.9
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 ...
, "94.9 MIXfm") is a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
FM 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
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
. It is owned by
Lotus Communications
Lotus Communications Corporation is a media company that owns numerous radio stations and a few TV stations, and is one of the largest privately owned radio station groups in the United States. Headquarters are located in Los Angeles, and the comp ...
and broadcasts an
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 ...
format
Format may refer to:
Printing and visual media
* Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements
* Paper formats, or paper size standards
* Newspaper format, the size of the paper page
Computing
* File format, particular way that informatio ...
, switching to
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
for much of November and December. The
studio
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
s and offices are on East Rosewood Drive.
KMXZ has an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
(ERP) of 96,500
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s. The
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
site is on West Hidden Canyon Drive in
Tuscon Estates, atop Tower Peak in the
Tucson Mountains
The Tucson Mountains (O'odham: Cuk Doʼag) are a minor mountain range west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains, including Wasson Peak, are one of four notable mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson Basin. The Santa Catalina Mountains lie ...
.
Radio-Locator.com/KMXZ
/REF> KMXZ broadcasts using HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
technology. Its digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
s carry several formats: HD2 is 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 ...
, HD3 is Regional Mexican
Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...
and HD4 is Sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
as a simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
of co-owned KFFN
KFFN (1490 AM) is a commercial radio station in Tucson, Arizona. It is owned by Lotus Communications and it broadcasts a sports radio format. KFFN airs syndicated programming from ESPN Radio.
KFFN is powered at 1,000 watts non-directional. ...
.
History
Stereo 95 (1972)
The station signed on
Signing may refer to:
* Using sign language
* Signature
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
the air on in February 1972. It was licensed to the Graham Broadcasting Company, owned by Norman and Eva Graham. The original call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
was KAYN. "Stereo 95", however, only lasted three months.
KAIR-FM (1972-1978)
It went silent in May, and that fall, it was sold to Number One Radio, the Frank Kalil-owned company that also operated KAIR
''Capparis decidua'', commonly known as karira, is a useful plant in its marginal habitat.
Description
It is a small much-branched tree or shrub. It bears a mass of slender, gray-green leafless branches, the small caducous leaves being found ...
1490 AM The new station signed back on the air on April 1, 1973 and became KAIR-FM. The two stations aired an easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
format, featuring mostly instrumental cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of popular adult songs, Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
show tunes.
K-Joy 95 (1978-1988)
The Surrey Broadcasting Company bought KAIR-AM-FM in 1978 and changed the FM callsign to KJYK as ''"K-Joy FM 95"'', continuing with an easy listening format. It was one of the stations that carried Chuck Cecil's "Swinging Years" for many years in Tucson. In 1984, KJYK was acquired by 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 ...
, which later sold it to Duchossois Communications.
Cloud 95 (1988-1995)
In 1988, KJYK became ''"Cloud 95"'' and then years later as ''"Cloud 94.9"''. It changed its call sign to KKLD in 1989 to match the branding. During this period, the station cycled through several owners. Behan Broadcasting bought it in 1992, only for it to be sold to Apogee Radio in 1994 and then to Journal Communications
Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communications) was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based newspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, the ''Milwaukee Journal'', and expanded into br ...
a year later. In the 1990s, the instrumental music was gradually scaled back and replaced by soft vocals.
94.9 Mix FM (1995-present)
In May 1995, the call sign changed to KMXZ-FM and the format was flipped to Hot 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, quiet ...
as "Mix FM". Over the years, the Hot AC sound was scaled back toward mainstream adult contemporary music
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, quiet ...
.
In December 2007, KMXZ and Brad Behan of the Bobby and Brad Morning Show parted way
with former KZPT afternoon drive personality Greg Curtis joining the morning show.
In July 2014, Journal announced that it had agreed to sell its broadcasting assets to the E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
, and that both companies would spin off their publishing assets into a new company known as Journal Media Group
Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communications) was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based newspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, the ''Milwaukee Journal'', and expanded into br ...
. The transaction was completed in April 2015.
In January 2018, Scripps announced that it would sell all of its radio stations. In August 2018, Lotus Communications
Lotus Communications Corporation is a media company that owns numerous radio stations and a few TV stations, and is one of the largest privately owned radio station groups in the United States. Headquarters are located in Los Angeles, and the comp ...
announced that it would acquire Scripps' Tucson and Boise clusters for $8 million. The deal closed on December 12 of that year.
See also
* List of radio stations in Arizona
The following is a list of FCC-licensed radio stations in the U.S. state of Arizona, which can be sorted by their call signs, frequencies, cities of license, licensees, and programming formats.
List of radio stations
Defunct
* KAKA
* KCKY ...
References
External links
*
{{Lotus Communications
MXZ-FM
Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1972
Lotus Communications stations