KPAT (95.7 FM, "95.7 The Beat") is a commercial

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 ...

that is

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city near the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. It is approximately no ...

, United States and serves the Santa Maria—

Lompoc Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called ...

area. The station is owned by

American General Media American General Media is a media company specializing in radio. It was founded by Lawrence Brandon and is operated by sons Anthony and Rogers. American General Media is headquartered in Bakersfield, California. Lawrence Brandon owned and op ...

and broadcasts a

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

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 ...

History

The station first signed on in 1994 as KGDP-FM with a

rhythmic oldies Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic ...

format. By the end of the 1990s, KGDP-FM featured

Southern gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...

music. On March 24, 1999, KGDP-FM changed its

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 ...

to KPAT. (Previously, the KPAT call letters belonged to a station in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, now known as

KKRC-FM KKRC-FM (97.3 FM, "97.3 KKRC") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format, and serves the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media. Its studios are located on Tennis Lane in Sioux Falls, wh ...

, from 1973 to 1994.) In November, Radio Representatives Inc., based in

Los Osos, California Los Osos (Spanish for "the bears") is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, Los Osos had a population estimated to be 16,533 in 2019. Histo ...

, sold KPAT to

for $900,000. KPAT adopted a

format in 2004. On January 18, 2010 at 11:30 a.m., high winds in the Santa Maria area triggered a power outage that knocked KPAT off the air. The station resumed broadcasting one hour later under generator power.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 34.742, N, 120.447, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title PAT Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States American Basketball Association flagship radio stations Radio stations established in 1994 1994 establishments in California