KSBZ (103.1 FM, "Mix 103", formerly

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

"Rock 103"/alternatively known as "The Rock") is an American

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 radi ...

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 ...

to serve the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

of Sitka, Alaska. The station, established in 1990, is currently owned by Alaska Broadcast Communications, Inc.

Programming

KSBZ broadcasts a

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 ...

music format to the Metro Sitka area. Some programming on the station had derived from

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 8 ...

's "Classic Rock" radio network, in its "Rock 103" days. Since the station re-branded as "Mix 103," the syndicated programming and playlist have become identical to that of its Juneau counterpart

Mix 106 Mix, mixes or mixing may refer to: Persons & places * Mix (surname) ** Tom Mix (1880-1940), American film star * nickname of Mix Diskerud (born Mikkel, 1990), Norwegian-American soccer player * Mix camp, an informal settlement in Namibia * Mi ...

History

After applying in July 1989, this station received its original construction permit from 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 jurisdicti ...

on October 5,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

. The new station was assigned the KSBZ

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 assign ...

by the FCC on October 17, 1990. On October 18, 1990, KSBZ launched with a

and contemporary hit radio format. KSBZ received its license to cover from the FCC on October 21, 1991. In November 1994, license holder Sitka Broadcasting Company, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Alaska Broadcast Communications, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 7, 1994, and the transaction was consummated on December 31, 1994. In January 2000, KSBZ switched 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. In 2006, KSBZ switched formats again, this time to an active rock format, before finally settling on a

format a year later. In January 2020, KIFW transferred all its

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 ...

programming over to KSBZ which relaunched as a Hot AC radio station, rebranding as "Mix 103"; KIFW meanwhile inherited the former

Classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

programming once heard over on KSBZ during its "Rock 103"/"The Rock" days as

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...

, continuing to be known on-air as ''The Sound of Sitka''.KIFW's Webcast
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Former logo

File:KSBZ Logo.png, Former logo used from 2006 until January 2020

References

External links

* {{Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in Alaska SBZ Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1990 Sitka, Alaska