The station was first signed on in 1960 as by James M. Hagerman and John I. Groom. It simulcast 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 ...
format of its AM sister station KSMA (1240 AM), airing a mix of news, sports, and
middle of the road music
Middle of the road (also known by its acronym MOR) is a commercial radio format and popular music genre. Music associated with this term is strongly melodic and uses techniques of vocal harmony and light orchestral arrangements. The format was even ...
.
Stereophonic sound
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
broadcasts began in 1970.
In January 1980, Hagerman and Nona M. Groom sold KSMA-AM-FM to Bayliss Broadcasting Company for $1.4 million. The company was owned by John Bayliss, who resigned from his position as president of
Gannett Company
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the sale on May 12.
KSNI-FM
Upon the change in ownership, Bayliss ended KSMA-FM's simulcast of KSMA after two decades and programmed it separately as a beautiful music outlet. The FM station changed its call sign to KSNI-FM in August 1980. The format lasted only three years as the station flipped to country music in 1983, adopting the branding "Sunny Country".
On March 1, 1989, the transmitters for KSNI-FM and three other stations in Santa Maria were knocked off the air due to acts of vandalism. Around 1 a.m., two males, ages 18 and 15, broke into the transmitters' circuit breakers and switched them off; the signals were restored within an hour. That same day at 9:14 p.m., the towers fell as guy wires supporting the structures had been severed. Total damage was estimated to be $100,000.
In August 1999, Bayliss Broadcasting sold KSNI-FM and KSMA to Fresno, California-based Mondosphere Broadcasting for $3.75 million. The new owner took possession of the combo on September 30.
KSNI-FM changed hands twice in the 2000s. In September 2000, Mondosphere sold 11 stations throughout Central California, including , 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. In July 2007, KSNI-FM was one of 16 stations in California and Arizona which Clear Channel sold to El Dorado Broadcasters for $40 million.
During the week of January 18, 2010, a storm in the Santa Maria area triggered a power outage that knocked KSNI-FM and several other stations off the air. The station resumed broadcasting under generator power after two hours of silence.
From April 2012 to April 2016, KSNI-FM was simulcast on sister station KSLY-FM (96.1 FM) in the adjacent San Luis Obispo market. The two stations co-branded as "Sunny Country 102.5 & 96.1".
In early 2016, El Dorado began selling off its stations on the
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undeveloped ...
. KSNI-FM and KSMA constituted the first of these divestments as, on February 26, American General Media purchased the pair for $1.5 million. The close of the transaction in April ended the simulcast of Sunny Country on KSLY-FM, which remained with El Dorado and launched a competing country format.