KSLY (96.1 FM, "K-Love") is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

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 ...

San Luis Obispo, California San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

. Owned by

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest ...

, the station carries a

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

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 ...

from the nationally syndicated K-Love network as of October 16, 2016.

History

Early years

The station first signed on in December 1959 as KATY-FM,

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 ...

ing then-sister station KATY. It adopted the

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 ...

KUNA in 1973. In January 1976, KSLY Broadcasting Company sold KUNA and AM counterpart

KSLY KSLY (96.1 FM, "K-Love") is a non-commercial radio station that is licensed to San Luis Obispo, California. Owned by Educational Media Foundation, the station carries a contemporary Christian music format from the nationally syndicated K-Love n ...

to a Chicago-based group for $535,000. KUNA, which aired a

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, changed its call letters to KUNA-FM on January 15, 1979, then back to KUNA the following year.

KSLY-FM

In February 1984, KUNA switched call signs and formats with KSLY, which aired 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 ...

format. The FM station, using new call letters KSLY-FM, adopted the branding "SLY 96-FM". In September 2000, Mondosphere Broadcasting Inc. sold 11 stations throughout Central California, including KSLY-FM, plus a

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

for a twelfth station, to

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

for $45 million. KSLY-FM dropped its longtime top 40 format in October 2005, flipping to

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, ...

and rebranding as "Cat Country 96.1". In July 2007, KSLY-FM was one of 16 stations in California and Arizona that Clear Channel sold to El Dorado Broadcasters for $40 million. On April 20, 2012, KSLY-FM dropped its Cat Country moniker and began simulcasting sister station

KSNI-FM KSNI-FM (102.5 FM, "Sunny Country 102.5") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Santa Maria, California, United States and serves the Santa Maria—Lompoc, California area. The station is owned by American General Media and broadcasts ...

in Santa Maria. Both stations co-branded as "Sunny Country 102.5 & 96.1". In May 2016, upon closing of KSNI-FM's sale to

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 ...

, KSLY-FM dropped its simulcast of Sunny Country and rebranded as "96.1 SLO Country". This format lasted only two months as the station went silent at the end of June. On July 15, 2016, El Dorado Broadcasters sold KSLY-FM to

for $350,000; the transaction closed in October. EMF then flipped the station to its

Christian adult contemporary Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a radio format. In the United States, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that ...

-formatted network. KSLY-FM changed its callsign to simply KSLY on December 15, 2016.

References

External links

* {{coord, 35.360, N, 120.656, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title SLY Mass media in San Luis Obispo County, California Radio stations established in 1959 1959 establishments in California K-Love radio stations Educational Media Foundation radio stations SLY