KNEV (95.5 FM) is a commercial

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 radi ...

located in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. KNEV airs a

classic hip hop Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s. Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...

music format An audio format is a medium for sound recording and reproduction. The term is applied to both the physical recording media and the recording formats of the audio content—in computer science it is often limited to the audio file format, but its ...

branded as "95.5 The Vibe". The station rebroadcasts on translator K257AX at 99.3 FM in Battle Mountain, Nevada. It is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

. Its studios are located on Plumb Lane in South Reno, and its transmitter is located on McClellan Peak northeast of Carson City, Nevada.

History

KNEV is the longest continuously operating FM station in the state of Nevada, having signed on Christmas Day 1953. Since its original air date in 1953, KNEV has maintained its original call sign and frequency. KNEV was originally an easy listening station during the daytime and classical after 6 p.m. and all day on Sundays and remained that way for many years. In 1980, Everett Cobb sold the station to McClatchy Newspapers. In 1992, the station was relaunched as "Magic 95", with a

soft 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, quiet sto ...

format, and would compete with crosstown station

KRNO KRNO (106.9 FM, "Sunny 106.9") (formerly "More FM") is a commercial FM radio station, licensed to Incline Village, Nevada, and broadcasting to Reno, Carson City, and surrounding areas, including Lake Tahoe. It is owned by the Reno Media Grou ...

(Sunny 106.9). In 1995, the station shifted towards a

hot AC 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, quiet sto ...

format, while retaining the "Magic" branding. The 1970s songs were dropped from the playlist as the station focused on hits from the 1980s and 1990s. In 2001, KNEV rebranded as "Mix 95.5" and became an

adult top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

station. In November 2004, the station flipped to an all-Christmas format and brought back the "Magic" branding. On December 26, the station adopted a mainstream adult contemporary format. On October 7, 2015, at 5 p.m., KNEV flipped to classic hip hop as "95.5 The Vibe". The change came after a brief 15 minute stunt of Christmas music after "Magic" signed off with " Celebration" by

Kool and the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

.KNEV Brings the Vibe to Reno
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References

External links

Official Website
* * * NEV Classic hip hop radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1953 1953 establishments in Nevada {{Nevada-radio-station-stub