KVVF (Latino Mix 105.7 FM) 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 ...
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
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
, and is
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 ...
on 100.7
KVVZ
KVVZ (100.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to San Rafael, California, and serving the San Francisco area. The station is owned by TelevisaUnivision, through licensee Univision Radio Bay Area, Inc. It simulcasts a Spanish Contem ...
San Rafael. They are owned by
Univision Communications
TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American media company headquartered in New York and Mexico City, which owns the American Spanish language broadcast network Univision. 45% of the company is held by the ...
, with
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 at 1940 Zanker Road in
San Jose. They serve the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
with a
Spanish CHR 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, ...
, using the slogan "Reggaeton y más." KVVF and KVVZ are the San Jose
affiliates for the
Uforia Audio Network
Uforia Audio Network () is the radio broadcasting and music events division of TelevisaUnivision USA. Formerly known as Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation and Univision Radio, it is the eighth-largest radio broadcaster in the United States, and ...
.
KVVF 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 50,000
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 off
California State Route 130
State Route 130 (SR 130) is a state highway that connects U.S. Route 101 in San Jose, California with the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton. The segment in San Jose runs along Alum Rock Avenue, while the remainder of SR 130 follows Mount Ham ...
in San Jose, near
Mount Hamilton. KVVF broadcasts 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.
History
Early years (1964–2002)
On September 25, 1964, the station
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 KREP, owned by Robert E. Podesta and his wife Marcella. In 1972, Bob Kieve and Santa Clara Broadcasters bought KREP for $470,000 and changed 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 ...
to KARA, with an
English-language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
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 ...
format.
From 1997 to 2000, KARA was the
flagship station for the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
hockey team before
KUFX
KUFX (98.5 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensed to San Jose, California. Its studios are located along Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City, and the transmitter is located on Blackberry Hill above Los Gatos.
KUFX is owned by Salt Lake ...
took over in 2000.
Regional Mexican (2002–2014)
Kieve sold KARA in 2002 to Hispanic Broadcasting of
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. It became KEMR with a
Regional Mexican
Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...
music format at midnight on April 1 that year.
Between 2003 and June 27, 2005, KVVF was a ''"pop, rock y reggaeton"'' station, ''Viva 105.7'', also owned by Univision.
On October 13, 2011, the station changed its former station branding "La Kalle" to "Latino Mix."
Hot 105.7 (2014–2019)
On March 14, 2014, the station started repeatedly playing
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
's "
Hot in Herre
"Hot in Herre" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the first single from his second studio album ''Nellyville'' (2002). It was released on May 7, 2002, by Universal Records. It was written by Nelly, Charles Brown, and the producers ...
" uninterrupted. It was a
stunting event to promote a branding change to "Hot 105.7."
On March 17, 2014, Hot 105.7 FM started broadcasting at 5:05pm, beginning with a "history lesson"
about the first "Hot" station that covered the San Jose area from 1988 to 1995, followed by the return of former
KMEL
KMEL (106.1 FM) is an urban contemporary radio station that is licensed to San Francisco, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia.
KMEL has studios located in the SoMa district, and broadcasts ...
personality Chuy Gomez, and aired a Mix Show. Programmed as a
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...
station with a focus on hit-driven
hip hop music and
R&B, KVVF's target was a bilingual and younger Hispanic audience (mostly around the Southern portion of the Bay Area surrounding
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
), patterned after sister station
KBBT
KBBT (98.5 FM, "98.5 The Beat") is a rhythmic contemporary radio station serving the San Antonio, Texas area, but is licensed to Schertz. This station is owned by Uforia Audio Network under licensee Univision Radio Illinois, Inc. The station's ...
in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
. In a statement from Station Content Director Mark Arias, “We just feel like The Bay Area has been asking for something new and fresh. It’s a format they call Top 40/Rhythmic with a little bit of hip-hop, R&B and Top 40 crossed-over.”
In March 2016, after two years of modest ratings (it barely registered in Nielsen's San Francisco ratings) and difficulty competing with KMEL and
KRBQ
KRBQ (102.1 FM) is a classic hip hop radio station in San Francisco, California and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station transmits its signal from Mount Beacon atop the Marin Headlands above Sausalito, California, while studios are located in t ...
, KVVF de-emphasized its hip hop and R&B direction and added more rhythmic friendly pop hits. Due to 105.7's strong signal over the South Bay, it also changed focus on the whole Bay Area region to concentrate on mostly San Jose and South Bay listeners as well as listeners in nearby
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by a ...
to the south. Univision has opted to retain its simulcast on KVVZ in the process. In November 2017, they further adjusted their playlist by adding Latin hits and adopting what is essentially a three way hybrid of Rhythmic, Mainstream and Spanish CHR.
In March 2019, KVVF became the San Jose affiliate for the
Uforia Audio Network
Uforia Audio Network () is the radio broadcasting and music events division of TelevisaUnivision USA. Formerly known as Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation and Univision Radio, it is the eighth-largest radio broadcaster in the United States, and ...
, and is one of only two Rhythmic CHR affiliates in the network.
Return of "Latino Mix"
On August 30, 2019, the station started repeatedly playing
J Balvin
José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He has been referred to as the " Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-sell ...
's "Reggaeton" followed by
Vicente Fernández
Vicente Fernández Gómez (17 February 1940 – 12 December 2021) was a Mexican singer, songwriter, actor, and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente" (short for Vicente), "El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), "El Ídolo de México ...
"Volver Volver" uninterrupted, reportedly an act of stunting to promote their branding and format comeback to "Latino Mix 105.7."
On September 2, 2019, Latino Mix 105.7 started broadcasting at 12:03pm, the first song played under the return to
Spanish CHR format was
J Balvin
José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He has been referred to as the " Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-sell ...
's "Mi Gente".
References
External links
*
FCC History Cards for KVVF
{{Univision Communications
VVF
Univision Radio Network stations
Radio stations established in 1964
Mass media in San Jose, California
VVF
Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States
Latin rhythmic radio stations