KDON-FM (102.5
MHz "K-Don") 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 ...
FM 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 to
Salinas, California
Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area l ...
, and serving the
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...
- Salinas -
Santa Cruz radio market and the
Central California Coast
The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undevelope ...
. It broadcasts 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 ...
format
Format may refer to:
Printing and visual media
* Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements
* Paper formats, or paper size standards
* Newspaper format, the size of the paper page
Computing
* File format, particular way that informatio ...
and is owned by
iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios are on Moffett Street in Salinas.
KDON-FM 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 h ...
of 15,000
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 ...
s. The
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
is on San Juan Grade Road, atop
Fremont Peak in
Prunedale, California
Prunedale is a census-designated place in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located north of Salinas at an elevation of . The population was 18,885 as of the 2020 census, up from 17,560 in 2010. Plum trees were grown in Prunedal ...
.
History
KSBW-FM
The station
signed on
Signing may refer to:
* Using sign language
* Signature, placing one's name on a document
* Signature (disambiguation)
* Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice
* Digital signature
A digi ...
in .
Broadcasting Yearbook"> Broadcasting Yearbook
1961-1962 page B-23/ref> Its original _was_KSBW-FM.__It_was_the_counterpart_to_KSBW_1380_AM_(now_dark_(broadcasting)">off_the_air)_and_KSBW-TV.html" ;"title="dark_(broadcasting).html" ;"title="call sign was KSBW-FM. It was the counterpart to KSBW 1380 AM (now dark (broadcasting)">off the air) and KSBW-TV">dark_(broadcasting).html" ;"title="call sign was KSBW-FM. It was the counterpart to KSBW 1380 AM (now dark (broadcasting)">off the air) and KSBW-TV Channel 8 (now owned by Hearst Television).
KSBW-FM at first simulcast the programming on KSBW 1380 AM. But by the late 1960s, it was broadcasting an broadcast automation, automated beautiful music format. It featured quarter-hour sweeps of soft instrumental cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...
s of adult pop music, with limited talk and commercials.
Top 40 and Rhythmic Contemporary
KSBW-FM became a Top 40/CHR station as KDON-FM in the early 1980s. The KDON call sign has 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 "cont ...
heritage in the Monterey-Salinas market going back to the mid-1960s, when it was used on 1460 AM
The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1460 kHz: 1460 AM is a Regional broadcast frequency.
Argentina
* LT29 in Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe
* LU30 in Maipu, Buenos Aires
* LU34 Pigüé, Buenos Aires
* LRK204 in Yerba Buena, T ...
. The AM station on 1460 kHz gave up those call letters and its Top 40 format to become a 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 featu ...
station. KDON-FM began as an automated Top 40 station with no disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...
s. This was not uncommon for FM Top 40 stations in those days, when most radios only received AM stations. As the years progressed and more listeners switched to the FM band, on-air personalities were added.
The format evolved into 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 ...
by 1988 and since then has remained one of the highest rated stations in the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz radio market.
In the early nineties, Mancow Muller hosted a local morning show on KDON. (He would later go onto success as a morning host in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
and syndicated around the country.) Other talent that has come out of KDON-FM include MTV's
Lucious Liz
and others who have gone on to bigger radio markets working the early part of their careers at KDON.
Station activities
KDON-FM currently plays mainly Pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ( ...
, 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 repertoire ...
, and Hip Hop, with some R&B and Old School influence. Its signature yearly concert "The Freestyle Explosion" is a big event in Salinas each year. The station is known for its strong signal which has been heard as far north as Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose.
Santa Rosa may also refer to:
Places Argentina
* Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city
* Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca
* Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca
*Santa Rosa, La Pampa
* S ...
, as far east as Santa Nella and as far south as King City. It puts a city-grade signal into San Jose, and can be heard in other parts of 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 G ...
. (It can sometimes cause interference with Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
station KSFM
KSFM (102.5 FM) is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Woodland, California and serves the Sacramento metropolitan area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a rhythmic contemporary format. KSFM's studios and office ...
, which has the same format and same frequency, as their signals collide midway in the Bay Area).
Some of the staff previously worked at 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 ...
94.9 KYLD
KYLD (94.9 FM) is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area and owned by San Antonio–based iHeartMedia. The station airs a top 40 format on its analog primary signal. The station has studios ...
San Francisco, bringing a major market "feel" to the medium-sized Monterey market. KDON features a morning bit known as "Phone Jack at the 50." The personalities prank-call people using different character voices. The station has an active promotions team, and Mixshow roster, which features DJs from local clubs. Each year KDON is involved in several community events, including food drives, raising money for the Relay For Life Foundation, and christmas tree deliveries.
References
External links
102.5 KDON's website
*
{{coord, 36.756, N, 121.502, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
DON
Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1960
IHeartMedia radio stations
1960 establishments in California