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KXRK (96.3 FM, branded as X96) 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 radio ...
located in
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, broadcasting an
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
music format to the Provo,
Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...
and
Salt Lake City metropolitan area The Salt Lake City metropolitan area is the metropolitan area centered on the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau currently define the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical ...
s. Owned by
Broadway Media Broadway Media is a radio and digital media company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Broadway Media was founded by Former Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen. Stephen Johnson was named CEO/GM of Broadway Media in 2014, and former S ...
, the station's studios are located in
Downtown Salt Lake City Downtown (also called City Center) is the oldest district in Salt Lake City, Utah. The grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple. Location Downtown Salt Lake City is usually def ...
and its transmitter site is located southwest of the city on
Farnsworth Peak Farnsworth Peak is a peak located on the northern end of the Oquirrh Mountain range, approximately south west of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The mountain is named for Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the first completely electronic t ...
in the
Oquirrh Mountains The Oquirrh Mountains is a mountain range that runs north-south for approximately 30 miles (50 km) to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range runs from northwestern Utah County–centr ...
.


History


KFMC (1966-1976)

KOVO KOVO (960 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Provo, Utah, United States, the station serves the Provo area. The station is currently owned by Dell Loy Hansen, through licensee Broadway Media LS, LLC. It is an ...
, Inc., received the construction permit for a radio station on 96.1 MHz in Provo on May 9, 1966. The new FM outlet took the call letters KFMC and signed on February 14, 1968. KOVO and KFMC were placed in receivership in 1973, after Glenn C. Shaw sued co-owner Ashley J. Robison asking for a financial accounting of KOVO, Inc.'s operations; when the case could not be settled, the stations were ordered into receivership and bids were accepted to buy the company. Both owners placed bids, but they were beaten out by First Media Corporation of
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, whose principal was a former Utah resident and which also had J.W. Marriott Jr. as an investor. However, First Media did not become the owner of KOVO-KFMC until 1976 because the other parties appealed the district court's decision all the way to the
Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice, ...
.


Adult contemporary (1976-1981)

First Media immediately made a mark on the operations of both stations, changing the call letters of KFMC to KAYK-FM on June 1, 1976. KAYK-AM-FM simulcasted as adult contemporary outlet "K-96". The stations remained a simulcast until 1980, when 960 AM broke off as KDOT.


Top 40 (1981-1988)

The call letters were changed to KFMY in 1981 and the station moved in a
contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
direction. In 1987, First Media announced it would sell its 11 radio stations, including KFMY-AM-FM, to a partnership of Alaskan Eskimos and New York investors, known as Cook Inlet; this gave First Media a tax break under policies that promoted minority ownership of radio stations.


Oldies (1988-1992)

Under Cook Inlet, KFMY-FM flipped to oldies in 1988 as KZOL. The Great Stock Company of Vast International Import acquired KFMY-KZOL in 1990 from Cook Inlet for $972,000.


Alternative (1992-present)

The slumping KZOL, however, went through a major change in 1992, precipitated as much by events at another Salt Lake City-area station as by its own poor performance. In late 1991, 23 of the 25 disc jockeys at alternative outlet KJQN-FM (95.5), known as "KJQ", quit after the station hired a new general manager, making them question the ownership's commitment to its "modern music" format. The result was that on February 13, 1992, with the financial backing of concert promoter J. C. McNeil, many of the former KJQ airstaff, organizing as the Acme Broadcasting Company, started a new alternative rocker on the former KZOL as KXRK "X96". The Great Stock Company said that because of KZOL's unsatisfactory ratings performance as an adult contemporary outlet, it was willing to entertain brokering the station to Acme, which retained KZOL's sales and office staff but none of its air personalities. The result was an unusual format war between "new rock outlets" which ended when KJQN-FM flipped to CHR in October. Ex-KJQ DJs on the new X96 included Bill Allred (mornings), Dom Casual (mornings), Andrea Gappmayer (mid-day), Mike Summers (afternoon), Todd Nuke'em (evening) and Chet Tapp (overnight). Acme acquired the station from Great Stock in 1993 for $925,000; the application included a copy of a lawsuit filed by the former KJQN-FM, alleging that its former employees took equipment, including a live truck known as the "Milk Beast", when they defected, and that the ex-KJQ staffers used KJQN-owned trademarks and made defamatory remarks about their former station. Since fall 1995, X96 has hosted an annual all-day music festival called the Big Ass Show (BASh) featuring nationally touring alternative and punk bands, as well as providing a stage for local bands. In 1996, X96 underwent a major technical overhaul, moving to 96.3 MHz from a transmitter on
Farnsworth Peak Farnsworth Peak is a peak located on the northern end of the Oquirrh Mountain range, approximately south west of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The mountain is named for Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the first completely electronic t ...
, increasing its coverage area (particularly in
Utah County Utah County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Utah. The county seat and largest city is Provo, which is the state's third-largest city, and the largest outside of Salt Lake County. As of the 2020 United States Census, the ...
). In April 1998, Acme sold KXRK to
Simmons Media Group Redrock Media is a media company based/their headquarters in St. George, Utah, in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily locate ...
. Simmons moved X96 to studios located on the corner of Broadway and 2nd West in Salt Lake City. In its 2006 summer double issue, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' named KXRK one of five "awesome rock outlets" that were thriving in their markets despite a recent contraction in rock radio stations across the United States. In 2014,
Broadway Media Broadway Media is a radio and digital media company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Broadway Media was founded by Former Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen. Stephen Johnson was named CEO/GM of Broadway Media in 2014, and former S ...
acquired Simmons Media Group for $11 million after having taken over operations the previous year. Broadway moved X96 and its sister stations to new studios on 50 W. Broadway (300 S.) in downtown Salt Lake City; the company currently houses seven stations at this location.


See also

*
List of Salt Lake City media The Salt Lake City, Utah, area includes many diverse media outlets, not only found within the official city boundaries, but also in the greater Wasatch Front urban area. Newspapers Major daily * '' Daily Herald'', Provo - daily morning news * ...


References


External links


KXRK official websiteX96 The Documentary
* {{Modern Rock Radio Stations in Utah XRK Modern rock radio stations in the United States Mass media in Salt Lake City Radio stations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Utah