KQFC (97.9

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 ...

, "Magic 97.9") 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 ...

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 ...

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

. It airs a

soft 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 sto ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

and is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

Studios 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 d ...

and offices are on West Bannock Street in Boise. The

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is off North Bogus Basin Road, amid other TV and FM

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, north of Boise.

History

KBOI-FM (1960-1985)

On , 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 as KBOI-FM. It was the FM counterpart to KBOI, owned by Boise Valley Broadcasters. The company was a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. At first, KBOI-FM mostly

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 ...

the

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * F ...

, middle of the road format on KBOI, consisting of popular music, news and sports. By the late 1960s, KBOI-FM broke away with its own

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

format. It played quarter hour sweeps of 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 songs, as well as

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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.

KBOI-TV KBOI-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Boise, Idaho, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside low-power CW+ affiliate KYUU-LD (channel 35). Both stations share studios on North 16th Street in ...

was also co-owned with KBOI-AM-FM, although the TV station today is owned by the

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...

Country (1985-2017)

In 1985, the station switched its

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to KQFC, flipping to a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format. Cory Mchals and Debi McCallister, longtime radio veterans, joined KQFC in August 2002 from the

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

to host morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

. Other announcers include Spencer Burke (middays), Tommy Collins (PM drive), Scott Cruize (evenings), and Ron O'Brian (weekends). In October 2011, Cumulus took over the ownership of Citadel's Boise operations, placing KQFC under the same ownership as

KIZN KIZN is a commercial radio station located in Boise, Idaho, broadcasting on 92.3 FM. KIZN airs a country music format branded as ''Kissin 92.3''. History Early years (1967-1978) The station was launched in December 1967 as KATN-FM. On August ...

, one of its country music rivals. The change in ownership meant cuts in KQFC's air staff, as McCallister and Burke were let go from their contracts as part of a reduction in workforce throughout the company. It was also speculated that with Cumulus having two Country outlets in Boise, either KIZN or KQFC would be poised for a possible format flip in the future. On May 24, 2013, KQFC rebranded as ''

Nash FM Nash or NASH may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Nash, Buckinghamshire * Nash, London, a hamlet near Keston in the London Borough of Bromley *Nash, Newport, Wales *Nash, south Shropshire, a small village and parish in southern Shropshire * Nash, ...

97.9'', using Cumulus' national branding for many of its country stations. In February 2014, the nationally syndicated ''America's Morning Show'' replaced the local ''Q Waking Crew with Cory Mchals'' after more than 10 years. Mikhals was relocated to co-owned KIZN.

Classic country (2017-2019)

On April 3, 2017, KQFC dropped the "Nash FM" branding and flipped to a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

format as "97.9 KQFC." On April 3, 2017, Steve Shannon became the morning DJ after hosting afternoons on sister station KIZN.

Soft adult contemporary (2019-present)

On October 11, 2019, KQFC began

ing KIZN. Three days later, KQFC dropped its longtime country format and flipped to

as "Magic 97.9". The Soft AC format had scored sizable ratings in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, leading Cumulus to try it in Boise.

Previous logo

References

External links

Official Website
* {{coord, 43.756, N, 116.099, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title QFC Cumulus Media radio stations QFC Radio stations established in 1960 Soft adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Adult hits radio stations in the United States