KION (1460
kHz) 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 ...
AM 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 region of 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
talk 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 was compelle ...
and owned by
iHeartMedia, Inc.
The studios are shared with
KION-TV
KION-TV (channel 46) is a television station licensed to Monterey, California, United States, affiliated with CBS, Fox, and Telemundo. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company, it serves the Monterey Bay area from studios located on Moffett St ...
in Salinas.
KION transmits with 10,000
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. To protect other stations from interference, it uses a
directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performanc ...
with a four-
tower array
A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower ...
. 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 Natividad Road at Old Stage Road in
Natividad, California
Natividad (Spanish for "Nativity") is an unincorporated community in Monterey County
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, it ...
. Programming is also heard on 99-watt
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...
101.1 K266BD in
Carmel Valley.
Programming
On weekdays, most of KION's schedule is made up of
nationally syndicated
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
talk shows: ''
Armstrong and Getty,
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
''The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show'' is an American radio program hosted by former Fox Sports Radio personality Clay Travis and former '' America Now/The Buck Sexton Show'' host Buck Sexton. It is broadcast on over 400 talk radio stations ...
,
The Sean Hannity Show,
The Glenn Beck Program,
The Mark Levin Show'' and ''
Coast to Coast AM
''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 1 ...
with
George Noory
George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in ...
''. Most hours begin with an update from
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
History
In 2003, ...
.
Weekends feature special interest shows on money, health, home repair, wine and movies. Weekend shows include ''
Sunday Night with Bill Cunningham,
At Home with Gary Sullivan ''At Home with Gary Sullivan'' is a weekly home improvement talk radio program hosted by Gary Sullivan. The program is distributed by Premiere Networks
Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American medi ...
'' and ''
Brian Kilmeade and Friends''. Some weekend shows are paid
brokered programming
Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...
.
KION carries sporting events including
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
,
San Jose State Spartans,
Cal State Monterey Bay Otters,
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...
,
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
and local
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...
and basketball.
History
In , the station first
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 ...
the air as KDON. It was co-owned with ''
The Salinas Californian
''The Salinas Californian'', sometimes referred to as ''The Californian'', is a digital and print newspaper published in Salinas, California, covering mainly the Salinas Valley. Founded in 1871 as ''The Salinas City Index'', it went through sever ...
'' daily newspaper. It used the KDON
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 ass ...
because it was an
affiliate of the
Don Lee Network and also carried programs from the
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. ra ...
.
In the 1960s and 70s, KDON was a
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...
-formatted
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 ...
station, playing the hits for young listeners. But by the 1980s, most listening to contemporary music was shifting to the FM band. KDON, moved to an
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 ...
format.
The station was assigned the call letters KHTX on December 28, 1991. On January 10, 1992, the station changed 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 ass ...
to KRQC. In January 1995, the station reverted to KHTX. On May 1, 1997, the station returned to the call sign KDON, and on October 12, 1998, KTXX. In August 2002, the call letters became the current KION.
However, on October 19, 2004, the station switched to an
adult standards sound, using the call letters KABL, originally used on 960 KABL
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
(now
KNEW
KNEW may refer to:
* The ICAO code for New Orleans Lakefront Airport, located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
* KNEW (AM), a radio station on 960 kHz, licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, that carries the KNEW call s ...
). On December 31, 2006, the station dropped the Adult Standards music, reverting to a News/Talk format and changing its call sign back to KION.
In 2011, KION added an
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...
at 101.1 MHz. In 2016, the translator was relicensed to transmit the
HD2 digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compres ...
of
KOCN
KOCN (105.1 FM) is an urban-leaning rhythmic adult contemporary station licensed to Salinas, California. It has been owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Media and Entertainment) since 1997. Its studios are in Salinas, and the tr ...
Pacific Grove at 105.1 MHz. The HD2 signal usually
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, simul ...
s KION's AM signal, but it separates programming at various times to originate play-by-play sports when the AM station is airing a
brokered program or a different live sports event.
References
External links
FCC History Cards for KION
ION
News and talk radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1949
IHeartMedia radio stations
1949 establishments in California
{{California-radio-station-stub