KXXY-FM (96.1

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 ...

, "96.1 KXY") 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 ...

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

and is owned by

iHeartMedia, Inc. 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 ...

It airs a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

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, ...

. In its

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

, the station omits one of the two Xs in its

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 ...

, calling itself "KXY". KXXY-FM's

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 located at the

50 Penn Place 50 Penn Place is an upscale mixed-use complex in the inner Northwest part of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The galleria-style shopping mall and tower is located at 1900 Northwest Expressway in the Penn Square trade area immediately at I-44 and Northwe ...

Building on the northwest side of Oklahoma City. 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 NE 122nd Street in Oklahoma City, near the

John Kilpatrick Turnpike The John Kilpatrick Turnpike is a toll road in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The turnpike forms a partial loop that runs from State Highway 152 (SH-152) in the west to an interchange with Interstate 35 (I-35) and I-44 in the east. At the eastern term ...

History

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 ...

in October 1964 as the second KOCY-FM in Oklahoma City. For its first five years, it

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 ...

the middle of the road music programming of co-owned KOCY (1340 AM). In the late 1960s, the

Federal Communications Commission 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 jurisdiction ...

began encouraging AM-FM combos to offer separate programming. In 1969, KOCY-FM switched to

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

, styled after stations such as

KMPX KMPX (channel 29) is a television station licensed to Decatur, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of the Spanish-language Estrella TV network. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Dallas-licensed ABC ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manha ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. On October 24, 1972, the station changed its

to KXXY-FM to give it a separate identity from its AM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

. Over time, it moved from free form progressive rock to a more tightly-formatted

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

format. After 13 years of rock music, management decided to make a change. On May 27, 1982, KXXY-FM flipped 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, ...

, stunting by playing the song " You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" for 24 hours. KXXY-FM became an aggressive country competitor to

KEBC KEBC (1560 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Del City, Oklahoma, and serving the Oklahoma City Metroplex. It is owned by the Tyler Media Group and airs a sports format. The station's studios are on East Britton Road in Northeas ...

, which had been the leading FM country outlet since signing on in 1967. KXXY-FM edged ahead of KEBC in 1983 and would widen its lead to eight share points by the end of the decade. In 1992, it peaked at an 18.4 share, and it was the top-billing station in Oklahoma City every year from 1985 to 1998. However, the station slumped in the late 1990s and 2000s. In 1996, KXXY-FM was acquired by

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , 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 ...

-based

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 ...

.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010 page D-443
/ref> Clear Channel later changed its name to the current iHeartMedia, Inc. in September 2014.

References

External links

KXXY official website
* XXY-FM Classic country radio stations in the United States 1964 establishments in Oklahoma Radio stations established in 1964 IHeartMedia radio stations {{OklahomaCity-stub