KTLK-FM (104.9
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 ...
) 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 ...
FM 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 ...
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
Columbia, Illinois
Columbia is a city mainly in Monroe County with a small portion in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Illinois, about south of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 10,999 at the 2020 census.
History
Columbia was first incorporated in 1 ...
, and serving
Greater St. Louis
Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront on t ...
. Owned and operated by
iHeartMedia
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 ...
, the station airs a
conservative talk
Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...
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, ...
known as "104.9 The Patriot."
Studio
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 design ...
s and offices are on Highlands Plaza Drive in St. Louis just south of
Forest Park
A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment.
Examples Chile
* Forest Park, Santiago
China
*Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai
* Mufushan National Fores ...
.
KTLK-FM has an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
(ERP) of 8,400
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s. The
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is in the Resurrection Cemetery in
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, amid the
tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
s for other St. Louis FM and TV stations. KTLK-FM is licensed by the
FCC
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 jurisdictio ...
to broadcast using
HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
technology. The HD-2
digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
carries the
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
format previously heard on the main channel, known as "Majic 104.9."
After a local 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 ...
show hosted by Jamie Allman, the rest of the weekday schedule is made up of
nationally syndicated programs, mostly from co-owned
Premiere Networks
Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It ...
:
Glenn Beck
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
,
Clay Travis and Buck Sexton,
Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
and
Jesse Kelly
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' ( ...
, as well as
Dave Ramsey
David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman. An evangelical Christian, he hosts the nationally syndicated radio program ''The Ramsey Show''. Ramsey has ...
and "
Red Eye Radio
''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history through ...
." Most hours begin with world and national news from 24/7 News Source.
History
WCBW
On , the station first
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 ...
as WCBW. It broadcast from the basement of station owner Joseph Lepp in Columbia, and was a typical small town radio station. In 1980, the station was sold to Continental Broadcasting, becoming the first station in the St. Louis area playing
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 ...
, still with a weak 3,000-watt signal. The station was called "104.9 The Bridge" at the time.
In 1993, the station was granted a power upgrade, allowing it to move to the St. Louis Master antenna site in
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, and upgrade from 3,000 watts to 25,000 watts, making the 104.9 frequency a full market St. Louis signal. That made the station much more valuable, as did deregulation allowing operators to own several different FM stations in a market in 1996.
Majic 105/Majic 104.9
In 1997, the station was sold to Jacor Broadcasting, who also owned urban powerhouse KMJM, “Majic 108”, which was then at 107.7 FM. Instead of installing a new format on the 104.9 frequency, KMJM-FM was relocated to the weaker 104.9 MHz frequency on October 20 of that year to allow its new
CHR station
KSLZ
KSLZ (107.7 FM "Z107-7") is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The iHeartMedia (previously Clear Channel Communications) outlet broadcasts at 107.7 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. Its transmitter is located ...
a better signal into the suburbs on the full 100,000-watt class C 107.7 frequency. After the move, the station rebranded as "Majic 105", which later became "Majic 104.9."
By 1999, Jacor was merged into
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 ...
(now known as iHeartMedia as of September 16, 2014). Clear Channel also owned KATZ AM-FM. KATZ-FM aired an Urban Adult Contemporary format playing mostly adult R&B, while "Majic" played a format consisting mostly of
Hip Hop and current R&B hits. The formats on the two stations were swapped on April 1 of that year, with Majic adopting the Urban Adult Contemporary format from 100.3, while maintaining most of the same staff, and 100.3 was rechristened as "The Beat" with a
mainstream urban
Mainstream may refer to:
Film
* ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film
Literature
* ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine
* Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher
* ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso
Mu ...
format that would last until October 2009, when it flipped to
Modern AC
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 s ...
.
Wild 104.9
On November 7, 2012, at 9 a.m., KMJM-FM and its urban AC format moved to 100.3 FM (ironically, KATZ-FM's former frequency), replacing classic rock-formatted KBWX ("The Brew"). Simultaneously, the 104.9 frequency changed its format to
Rhythmic CHR Rhythmic may refer to:
* Related to rhythm
* Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics
* Rhythmic (chart)
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, a ...
, branded as "Wild 104.9." KMJM-FM and KBWX also swapped call letters, which were approved on November 15.
"Wild" never really caught on in the Nielsen ratings for the St. Louis market. It barely got above a 2.0 share during its nearly 4-year existence (the last ratings under the format had KBWX with a mere 1.6 in the September 2016 books).
ALT 104-9
On October 11, 2016, KBWX began running liners in between songs redirecting "Wild" listeners to
KSLZ
KSLZ (107.7 FM "Z107-7") is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The iHeartMedia (previously Clear Channel Communications) outlet broadcasts at 107.7 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. Its transmitter is located ...
. On October 18, at Noon, after playing "
2 On" by
Tinashe
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notab ...
, KBWX flipped to alternative rock as "ALT 104-9." The first song on "ALT" was "
Everlong
"Everlong" is a song by American rock group Foo Fighters. It was released in August 1997 as the second single from their second studio album, ''The Colour and the Shape'' (1997). The song reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Alternativ ...
" by the
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
. The flip gave St. Louis its second Alternative outlet, as the station competed against
KPNT
KPNT (105.7 FM, "105-7 The Point") is a commercial radio station licensed to Collinsville, Illinois, and broadcasting to Greater St. Louis. It mainly airs an alternative rock radio format, with some elements of active rock. It is owned by Hubba ...
. The flip also occurred in order to eliminate the format overlap with KMJM, which flipped from
classic hip hop
Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s.
Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...
back to urban a little over two weeks prior.
With the move, KBWX added "The Woody Show" syndicated from sister station
KYSR
KYSR (98.7 FM) is a commercial alternative radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving the Greater Los Angeles area. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., KYSR is the flagship station of syndicated morning drive program ''The Woody Show''. T ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
for morning drive, marking a return to the market for the show's host, who was on KPNT from 2009 to 2014. On October 25, 2016, KBWX changed call letters to KLLT to match the "ALT" branding.
Return of Majic
On July 17, 2020, at 10 a.m., KLLT dropped the alternative format and brought the
Urban AC
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
format and “Majic” branding (which was airing on translator W279AQ (103.7 FM)) back to the 104.9 FM frequency. This is the fifth incarnation for the "Majic" branding in St. Louis, as it originated in 1979 on
107.7 FM, then moved to 104.9 FM in 1997, and then to 100.3 FM in 2012 before being dropped two years later. The format and “Majic” moniker was revived in May 2017 on W279AQ.
The flip came after KLLT registered a 1.0 share in the June 2020 PPM ratings for the market, well behind KPNT’s 5.6 share. KLLT and W279AQ were simulcast until July 27 at Midnight, when the latter flipped to the
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
All-News
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news.
All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...
Black Information Network
Black Information Network (BIN) is a radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting the African American community, carrying mostly important national news hea ...
. The KMJM-FM call letters returned on July 27.
Switch to talk
On August 15, 2021, iHeart announced that KMJM-FM would flip to
conservative talk
Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...
as "The Patriot" on August 16 at midnight. Subsequently, the station's former urban AC format and "Majic" branding shifted to KMJM-FM’s HD2 subchannel. The station gave a St. Louis home to a number of
Premiere Networks
Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It ...
talk shows, whose parent company is iHeartMedia.
"The Patriot" competes against several St. Louis
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
outlets, including local powerhouses
KMOX
KMOX (1120 AM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it is a 50,000 watt Class A clear-channel station with a non-directional signal. The KMOX studios and offices are on Olive Street at Tucker Bouleva ...
and
KFTK-FM
KFTK-FM (97.1 MHz) is a commercial talk radio station licensed to Florissant, Missouri. Owned by Audacy, Inc., KFTK-FM services the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area, and is the local affiliate for several nationally syndicted programs: '' T ...
(both owned by
Audacy
Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform owned by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a music recommender system and is the national um ...
), along with
KTRS (partially owned by the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
), the "NewsTalkSTL" network originated by
KNBS
KNBS is a radio station in Bowling Green, Missouri and serves the western (Westplex) suburbs of St. Louis. KNBS simulcasts K270BW (101.9 FM) and KLJY-HD3 (99.1 FM), airing a Conservative talk format known as "NewsTalkSTL". The station is owned ...
, and
KRTK/
KVMO
KVMO (104.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station serving Northeast Missouri and parts of Western Illinois, including the Hannibal, Missouri/Quincy, Illinois micropolitan area as a carrier for conservative talk radio formatted ‘RealTalk 93.3 ...
.
KMJM-FM St. Louis to Flip to Conservative Talk Monday
/ref> On August 23, 2021, KMJM-FM changed call letters to KTLK-FM to match the new format.
References
External links
Official website of "104.9 The Patriot"
Official Website of "Majic 104.9"
(HD2)
{{coord, 38.573, N, 90.325, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
*KTLK-FM
Conservative talk radio
Radio stations established in 1964
IHeartMedia radio stations
1964 establishments in Illinois
Talk radio stations in the United States
News and talk radio stations in the United States