KZCH (96.3 FM), also known as "Channel 963," is a

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

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 ...

serving the Wichita area. The

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 ...

outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 50 kW and is licensed to

Derby, Kansas Derby is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States and the largest suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 25,625. History For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by Nativ ...

. Its studios are located on East Douglas Avenue in Downtown Wichita, and the transmitter is just north of downtown.

History

KZCH signed on in 1978 at 95.9 MHz, and initially aired a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

format as KDRB, "K-96", which had studios located in its city of license (Derby), and a transmitter near Haysville. In 1980, KDRB flipped to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

as KGCS. In 1983, KGCS flipped to a country/

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 ...

hybrid as KYMG-FM, "Magic 96", which would then change calls to KAKZ. A year later, the station flipped to an automated

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

format, but would revert to AC the following year as KRZZ. The station flipped to its long-running

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

format in the summer of 1986. To improve their coverage area, in 1987, KRZZ relocated its transmitter to a location near I-235 and South Broadway in south Wichita, which would then be changed to another location near

I-135 Interstate 135 (I-135) is an approximately auxiliary Interstate Highway in central and south-central Kansas, United States. I-135, which is signed as north–south, runs between I-35 and the Kansas Turnpike in Wichita north to I-70, U ...

and 21st Street in north Wichita. The station would also increase its signal strength to 50,000 watts, and relocate to 96.3 MHz, in early 1991. On June 15, 2004, at Midnight, KRZZ dropped its 18-year-old format and began stunting with a loop redirecting KRZZ listeners to 107.3 FM, and to listen for the debut of a new format on 96.3 at 3 p.m. on June 17. At that time, 96.3 adopted KKRD's heritage

/ CHR format, and rebranded as "Channel 963". The current KZCH calls were adopted on June 28. When the station began, the station leaned heavily on rhythmic material. In 2006, the station readjusted towards a more mainstream direction. In 2009, the station would lean rhythmic again, and also mixed in old school. The move was to counter Rhythmic Top 40 rival

KDGS KDGS (93.5 FM "Power 93.5") is an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary radio station serving the Wichita, Kansas market. The station is licensed to Andover, Kansas, is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts with an ERP of 15 kW. The station's ...

, who is the lone

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, and ...

station in the market. As of Summer 2022, the station would again lean rhythmic. KZCH, along with other iHeartRadio stations, partner with

KSNW KSNW (channel 3) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with NBC and Telemundo. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios on North Main Street in northwest Wichita (near downtown); its tran ...

when tornado warnings are issued in the Wichita area and simulcast KSN's severe weather coverage.

HD Radio

In 2006, KZCH signed on HD Radio operations. On their HD 2 channel, the station carried

Club Phusion Club Phusion was a radio station on Clear Channel HD2's across the country that plays commercial free Dance music 24/7 from 2006 to 2013. History Club Phusion was launched on March 31, 2006, over the subcarrier channel of Top 40 Mainstream KZCH/Wi ...

. In 2011, it was replaced with

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

, filling the void KANR left open when that station flipped to Spanish in 2006. In November 2012, 96.3 HD2 flipped back to

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, branded as "Evolution." As of November 2022, 96.3 HD2 is now "Club Jam Christmas."

Notable Past & Present Personalities

*Elvis Duran *Bobby Bones *Mat Mitchell in the Mornings *Big Head Ted *PJ *JoJo Collins *Brett Andrews *Spoon

References

External links

Station website
* {{coord, 37.718, N, 97.318, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title ZCH Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1978 IHeartMedia radio stations