Kool 101 (formerly Kool FM and then Buletin FM, stylised as KOOL 101) is a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

private

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 ...

owned by

Media Prima Berhad Media Prima Berhad, doing business as Media Prima and stylised as media prima, is a Malaysian media company based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. It is Malaysia's largest media and entertainment conglomerate with business interests in television, pri ...

through its radio subsidiary, Media Prima Audio, which broadcasts in the

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...

. It was launched on 1 March 2016. It is the fourth radio station from Media Prima Audio after Eight FM,

Fly FM Fly FM is an English-language Malaysian private radio station owned by Media Prima Berhad. It was launched on 3 October 2005 and targets listeners aged between fifteen and thirty years old. Fly FM is the second most popular English radio stati ...

, Hot FM and before Molek FM. The radio station is based on the acquisition of Laureate Sdn. Bhd. in October 2015, which owns Ultra FM and Pi Mai FM. Kool 101 is the first Media Prima radio station to remove the " FM" suffix from its brand name.

History

2016-2019: Classic hits & adult contemporary format

Originally, Kool FM targeted listeners from the country's

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

, with songs being played mostly from the 1980s and 1990s, but it also included some songs from the 2000s and 2010s. Depending on what they were playing, the name was based on the band Kool and the Gang.

2020-2021: Shift to talk radio

On 3 January 2020, Kool FM rebranded with a new logo. It changed its radio format into

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 ...

from 6 January with the tagline ''Suara Semasa'', focusing on current affairs, social and community, and various talk and infotainment programmes. The announcers as well as the music playing on the station (80s, 90s and current songs) would remain. Beginning 4 May 2021, the station broadcast simultaneously on TV9, every day from 3:30 - 4:30 am.

2021-2023: Rebrand to Buletin FM

On 2 August 2021, Kool FM was renamed as Buletin FM and rebranded as the most focused and credible news radio station, with Ally and Hawa (from ''Malaysia Hari Ini'' and ''Buletin Utama''

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

respectively) as the new announcers. Buletin FM will complement

's news and current affairs programming and compete with

Bernama Radio The Malaysian National News Agency ( ms, Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia), is a news agency of the government of Malaysia. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia. Bernama (usually stylized in all caps) ...

. The live audio simulcast of ''Buletin Utama'' from TV3 began on air from 2 August 2021 to 31 May 2022 every weekday. On 29 November 2021, Buletin FM broadcasts in

Kuala Terengganu , image_seal = Seal of Kuala Terengganu City Council.png , image_flag = Flag of Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu.svg , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right:The Crystal Mosq ...

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

and Kota Bharu,

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in the ...

were discontinued. It was replaced by Molek FM on 9 January 2022. On 14 March 2022, Buletin FM changed its tagline again from "Info Terkini & Muzik Sepanjang Zaman" to "Isu Semasa dan Info Terkini". From March 28, 2022, Buletin FM no longer broadcast temporarily through the MYTV platform.

2023-now: Rebrand to Kool 101

According to the GfK Radio Audience Measurement Wave 1 2023, Buletin FM recorded 133,000 weekly listeners, the lowest number of weekly listeners recorded on any Media Prima owned stations (compared to the previous Kool FM branding which recorded 701,000 weekly listeners in late 2020). Because such a large number of weekly listeners were lost and its previous role as an all-news radio didn't work well, Buletin FM ceased using the brand on 17 June 2023. The station was later rebranded as Kool 101 on 3 July 2023. The name "Kool 101" was chosen as it is more relevant to the current situation where most listeners are familiar with the original Kool FM name. The number "

101 101 may refer to: * 101 (number), the number * AD 101, a year in the 2nd century AD * 101 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''101'' (album), a live album and documentary by Depeche Mode * "101" (song), a ...

" on the station name refers to giving basic knowledge of the topic, as well as being the frequency used for the Klang Valley, dating back to the early broadcast as Ultra FM. The music playlist has changed to play more Malaysian adult contemporary based music from the 90s to now. Indonesian and English songs were occasionally played with Malay ''rock jiwang'' music rarely featured on Kool 101. In December 2023, TV9 temporarily stopped simulcasting Kool 101 due to low listenership. It was replaced by Hot FM simulcast on the same TV channel from Tuesday - Saturday 3:30am – 4:30 am and Monday 3:40am – 4:40am but Kool 101 bring back simulcast on same TV channel on January 2024 from Tuesday - Saturday 3:30am – 4:30 am and Monday 3:40am – 4:40am.

Notable announcers

Current

* Haiza * Muaz Mohamed * Hanif Miswan * Jamal Jamaluddin

Frequency

Radio

Television

Similar radios

Sonora FM Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

References

External links

* * {{coord missing, Malaysia 2016 establishments in Malaysia Radio stations in Malaysia Malay-language radio stations Radio stations established in 2016 Media Prima Adult contemporary radio stations Talk radio stations