KYCH-FM (97.1
MHz) is a
commercial radio station in
Portland, Oregon. It is owned by
Audacy, Inc. and airs an
adult hits radio format branded as "97.1 Charlie FM." KYCH-FM plays a fairly wide mix of music, mostly from the rock and pop genres, from the 1960s to today; much of the
playlist
A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sever ...
is made up of
modern rock and
classic rock from the
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
music video era of the 1980s and 1990s. From mid-November through December 25 Charlie plays exclusively Christmas music. The station does not have
disc jockeys, instead playing amusing or ironic messages after every three or four songs.
KYCH-FM's studios and offices are on SW Bancroft Street in
Downtown Portland. The
transmitter is atop
Portland's West Hills, off SW Fairmount Court. The
effective radiated power is 97,000
watts (100,000 with
beam tilt
Beam tilt is used in radio to aim the main lobe of the vertical plane radiation pattern of an antenna below (or above) the horizontal plane.
The simplest way is mechanical beam tilt, where the antenna is physically mounted in such a manner a ...
).
History
On September 3, 1946, KPFM
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 ...
the air at 94.9 MHz. KPFM was owned by Broadcasters Oregon, Ltd., and was powered at 1,530 watts. It was a stand-alone FM station, not affiliated with an AM station, and never had any connection to local television station
KPTV. KPFM moved to 97.1 MHz on July 31, 1947, broadcasting a
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
format.
In 1960, KPFM was bought by Chem-Air, Inc., a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of
Boeing. Chem-Air supplied stores and restaurants with background music, via a subscription radio service not available on regular FM radios. KPFM's transmitter was used for the service. Chem-Air also put an AM station on the air, named
KPAM, at 1410
kHz
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 on ...
. KPAM was originally a
daytimer, required to
sign off at sunset; for the first several decades, the two stations
simulcast their programming. On December 16, 1961, KPFM became the first station in Oregon to broadcast in
stereo
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 ...
. KPAM and KPFM were acquired by Romito, Inc. in 1965.
On February 27, 1970, KPFM changed its
call sign to KPAM-FM. KPAM-AM-FM ran a
Top 40 format as "K-Pam." In 1980, Duffy Broadcasting acquired KPAM-AM-FM. In September of that year, KPAM-AM-FM changed to KCNR and KCNR-FM, as the "Center" of the FM dial. The two stations aired an
adult contemporary format.
Even though most FM stations in larger cities could not fully simulcast after 1968, because AM 1410 was a daytimer, the two were permitted to air the same programming most of the time. In 1985, the two stations were sold to different owners, with KCNR-FM being acquired by Fort Vancouver Broadcasting. On November 14, 1985, KCNR-FM changed call letters to KKLI and rebranded as "K-Lite 97 FM," with a
soft adult contemporary format.
In 1988, Heritage Media acquired KKLI, the owners of
KKSN in suburban
Vancouver, Washington. On February 5 of that year, KKLI switched its call sign to KKSN-FM, and the following day, changed its format to
oldies, simulcasting with the AM, which had been carrying
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
. The two stations called themselves "KISN" as in "Kissin'."
In April 1998,
Entercom Communications acquired KKSN-AM-FM. On April 21, 2005, at 2 p.m., after playing "
American Pie" by
Don McLean, KKSN-FM flipped to the current
adult hits format as "Charlie FM" (the oldies format moved to exclusively to the AM). The first song on "Charlie" was "
Start Me Up
"Start Me Up" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album ''Tattoo You''. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number one on Australian Kent Music Report, number two in Canada, number two on the ''Bi ...
" by
The Rolling Stones. The call letters were changed to KYCH on April 29, 2005.
HD Radio
KYCH broadcasts in the
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 ...
format. KYCH-HD2 airs a
dance music and classic
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
format branded as "Funkytown".
[http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=24 HD Radio Guide for Portland]
See also
*
List of radio stations in Washington List of radio stations in Washington may refer to:
* List of radio stations in Washington (state)
Radio stations in Washington (state),
Lists of radio stations in the United States, Washington
Washington (state)-related lists, Radio stations .. ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Entercom
YCH-FM
Adult hits radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1946
1946 establishments in Oregon
Audacy, Inc. radio stations