KSEQ 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 ...

located in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, broadcasting to the

and

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

, areas on 97.1 FM. KSEQ airs a

rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

music format branded as Q97-1 (pronounced "Q-Ninety Seven One"). Its studios are located just north of downtown Fresno in the Tower District, and the transmitter tower is on Eshom Point.

History

KSEQ dropped their

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 ...

music format in favor of a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

music format in 1997, only to evolve to

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

in 1998. KSEQ broadcasts out of downtown Fresno, CA and has dominated the Fresno, CA Market for over a decade. KSEQ's main competitor is KBOS, which has been the heritage CHR station in the market for almost 30 years. Musically, KSEQ has always shifted and capitalized on the current state of the CHR format each year. In January 2009, KSEQ began heavily separating itself from KBOS with artists like Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Beyoncé, and Mariah Carey. This musical shift has helped KSEQ maintain its competitive edge and has also been more 'client friendly' in the market. In May 2012, KSEQ/Q97.1 welcomed Big Boy's Neighborhood to the morning show and added market veteran Erik "Danny" Salas to the Afternoon Drive. On September 9, 2013, KSEQ/Q97.1 welcomed former program director for KBOS Greg Hoffman and Comedian Andre Covington (also formerly of KBOS) to the morning show time slot that replaced Big Boy's Neighborhood. The morning show is called the "Greg and Dre Morning Show". On March 10, 2014,

Buckley Broadcasting Buckley Broadcasting (or Buckley Radio) was an American broadcasting company that previously held radio stations in the states of New York, Rhode Island, California and Connecticut. History Buckley Broadcasting Radio was founded in 1954 as Buckl ...

announced that it would sell KSEQ to

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 ...

. The transaction, at a purchase price of $2.4 million, was consummated on July 11, 2014. In December 2014, KSEQ/Q97.1 welcomed DJ Erb, a 12-year veteran at KBOS, who now mixes the Drive at 5 Mix and is the current Music/Imaging Director.

References

External links

Official Website
* SEQ Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1984 Lotus Communications stations {{California-radio-station-stub